This was part of an article on CallCentreHelper.com
Ditching the “Carpet-Bomb” Approach
An often-overlooked aspect of poor communication is over-communication. We are frequently told that there’s no such thing as too much communication,[1] and even Harvard’s Professor John Kotter suggests leaders should increase their communication tenfold.[2]
Yet this is often misinterpreted as a simple volume game: broadcasting every message to every audience, all the time. This “carpet-bomb” approach – email blasts, Yammer posts, and endless updates – can actually create distance, not connection.
Responsibility shifts subtly from sender to receiver: “The email went to everyone; if they didn’t read it, what else can we do?”
The real power of communication lies in focus, and so effective communicators apply the three I’s:
- Identification – Who the audience is
- Intent – What they need to do differently
- Impact – How success will be measured
For example, when a major telecommunications firm prepared to migrate all its systems to the cloud – a £10-million efficiency initiative – the project team initially planned a mass email to all frontline advisors.
Applying the three I’s revealed that these advisors would experience no functional change: same systems, same logins, same workflow. There was no action for them to take, so no message was required.
By adopting this discipline, the organization reduced internal communication volume by almost 90%, freeing time and attention for the 10% of messages that truly required action.
The communications team could then track behavioural outcomes and continuously refine their approach, driving both efficiency and engagement.[3]
References
[1] Fisher, M. (2018, December 13). There is No Such Thing as Over Communication. Medium.
[2] Kotter, J. (2012, February 10.). Think You’re Communicating Enough? Think Again. Forbes.
[3] IoIC. (2025). The role of internal communication. Ioic.org.uk.
