A communication plan is a means of delivering messages to an audience that is commonly used by marketing, personnel, corporate secretaries, and public relations. Developing a communication plan helps you realize your goals.
Step
Method 1 of 1: Creating a Communication Plan
Step 1. Determine why you need to communicate with your audience
What changes do you want after communicating?
Step 2. Think about who you need to communicate with
Write down the audience who will receive the message.
Step 3. Consider the audience's opinion on the issue or topic you are going to cover?
How can you find out what they think? Write down what you already know or things you need to know.
Step 4. Think about the impact you want
After communicating with the audience, what do they need to know, think, or do?
Step 5. Write an important message for the audience
You may write the same or different messages to different audiences. Focus on the goals you want to achieve by communicating.
Step 6. Decide when you will deliver the message
Delivery time will affect how you communicate.
Step 7. Decide how to deliver the message
Communicate in writing if information is conveyed only to build awareness. Use an interactive approach including face-to-face if you want to convey a message that needs clarification or is controversial.
- Who will deliver the message? How will you make preparations?
- What resources are needed?
- Do you need feedback? How do you know that your audience has received the message?
- What benchmarks do you use to determine that your audience has understood, acted, or changed after communicating?
- How do you follow up if your audience wants to stay in touch?
Tips
- Remember that you will be communicating regularly so the communication plan should be consistent with daily activities.
- Get to know your audience. Messaging is more effective if you know a variety of things about your audience, such as their priorities, opinions, problems, and environment.
- To record this information, create a table with several columns and then title it:
Audience | Results | Message | Method | Deadline | Speaker | Target/Follow Up | Resource
- Use creative ways to communicate with your audience. Find out where you can communicate with them. Use the internet to communicate with your online audience. Hold a meeting to talk face-to-face with an audience working on the same building and floor.
- Prepare the message in detail and understand the content thoroughly.
- Focus the message on the needs of the audience so that you can determine what needs to be conveyed and craft the message as well as possible.
- Determine why you need to communicate. This plays an important role in determining who will communicate, how, and when the communication will take place.
Warning
- Don't share information that you don't believe is true. Clarify and make a commitment to follow up on the information.
- Be sincere, open, and honest in your communication.
- Don't randomly send messages to lots of people hoping a few will respond.
