Manage the Approval Process

Rename it: One way to develop a review system that doesn't drive you nuts

by Ann Wylie, president, Wylie Communications Inc.

When I worked at Hallmark, I once had to have — no lie — 100 people review and approve an article I'd written for our employee annual report. (Lest you wonder, this was not the story where we revealed that Hallmark was actually producing nuclear arms for sale to Iraq.) Needless to say, it took much longer for me to run the approval process on that story than to research, write and edit the piece in the first place.

No doubt about it, the worst part of the corporate communications business is, in the words of Ragan Communications Editor David Murray, "the grinding, gut-wrenching, soul-sapping approval process required to get a company to say anything at all."

How to fix it? My 13-step system for taking control of the approval process is too lengthy to cover here. But here's one way to start running the approval process so it doesn't run you:

Rename it.

Why do we call it an approval process? "Approval process" suggests that we're asking for approval — for permission, consent, authorization, say-so.

And we're not. We're asking for help.

So instead of asking your content experts to approve the copy, ask them for help. Ask them to review the story, to check for errors, to assure there are no inaccuracies.

Call it a review, a fact check or a technical verification.

That will change expectations and reduce the chances that Bob in accounting will use your copy to play out his fantasy that he's red-pen-wielding Mrs. Robb, his third-grade English teacher, grading your paper.

Need more techniques for creating a structure that makes your copy easier to read and write? Check out Ann's workshops and learning tools.

About the author

Ann Wylie runs a company called Wylie Communications Inc. Ann works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out. To learn more about her training, consulting or writing and editing services, call Ann at 816/997-8753 or e-mail her at ann@wyliecomm.com. Get a FREE subscription to Ann's e-mail newsletter at http://www.wyliecomm.com/newsletter_signup.shtml.

Copyright © 2002 Ann Wylie. All rights reserved.

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