Communicate a decisionso it sticks.
This is how you stop a decision being undone in side conversations. A two-line version for speed. A four-line version when the room is slippery and you need the boundaries and proof in writing.
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Appendix B6Story That Travels Template
This is how you stop the decision being undone in side conversations. Two-line version for speed; four-line version when the room is slippery and you need boundaries and proof in writing.
STORY THAT TRAVELS (Story & Spark) — two-line version Why this matters: [why] What we’re doing next: [next] Rule: if you cannot explain it in two lines, you have not anchored reality yet. — From Just F*cking Ship It · voltsmethod.com/learn
Rule: if you cannot explain it in two lines, you have not anchored reality yet. You have written marketing.
From Appendix B6, Just F*cking Ship It by Matthew Barrington-Packer
When to reach for it,
and how to fill it in.
Use it when
- The room agreed, and the decision changes shape every time it is retold.
- People who were not there are hearing a different version from someone who was.
- You need the decision repeated accurately by people you will never meet.
How to fill it in
- Start with the two-line version: why this matters, and what we are doing next.
- If the room is slippery, use four lines: what we are doing, so who can do what.
- Add how we will prove it, and by when.
- Say what you are not doing right now, and why.
- Close with what changes if you get it right.
Where it usually goes wrong.
If you cannot explain it in two lines, you have not anchored reality yet. You have written marketing.
Unstated boundaries get filled in by whoever is most anxious. Say what is out.
The people who most need the story were not in the meeting. Send it to them first.
Quick answers
How do you communicate a decision to stakeholders?
In two lines anyone can repeat: why it matters and what happens next. Add the boundary and the proof point when there is a risk of the decision being reopened.
Why do decisions get reopened after meetings?
Because nobody left with a sentence strong enough to survive the room. People retell what they understood, and versions drift.
Should a decision be communicated in writing?
Yes, always, and briefly. A short written story beats a long deck because it can be forwarded without being reinterpreted.
The rest of the toolkit.
A template fixes ambiguity.
The book fixes the room.
This is one of the tools from Just F*cking Ship It, the five-move VOLTS Method for getting stuck work shipped. Read it in an afternoon. Ship something by Friday.