The challenge of... developing a communication strategy
“Communicate, communicate, communicate”, despite being a cliché, is nevertheless a helpful reminder that ‘failures in communication strategy’ (e.g. what balance between synchronous and asynchronous methods) are at the heart of many failed projects and initiatives.
Organisations often articulate their approach to this challenge as as…
- consultation strategy
- PR strategy
- media strategy
- media management
- communications planning
- communication management
- strategic communication
- corporate communications
- communication strategies
Definitions 
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“communication” is “the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviours to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else. A process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behaviour”
A “communication strategy” is “a plan through which a company can achieve the communication objectives. It constitutes different elements such as setting the goals of communicating, selecting a target market, and then formulating a plan.”
- Assuming that the other person heard what you said or read what you wrote
- Assuming that the other person understood what you said or wrote
- Assuming that the other person remembered what you said or wrote
- Forgetting to ask questions, to listen to the other person
- Bombarding other people with too many messages
- Reacting quickly to stop the spread of rumours and ‘fake news’
Developing and implementing a communication strategy
is necessary in the other specific challenges, including:
Whether to say sorry
How to answer questions in press conferences
What to say to the media
How to answer questions in press conferences
What to say to the media
How to communicate vision
How to consult and communicate with stakeholders
Real world challenges
Prendo’s customers face many challenging situations when developing & implementing a communication strategy:
I just assumed that they had read the memo
Weren’t you listening in the meeting?
I don’t have time for face to face meetings with these people
This press release is going to commit us to this course of action
How do we deal with these false rumours in the press?
We’re not sure when to stop consulting and start deciding
Advanced simulations can help leaders address these real world challenges
At Prendo, we believe that the complex skills and deep understanding that are needed for developing and implementing a communication strategy are best developed with advanced simulations that provide accelerated experiential learning and the opportunity to explore the underlying cause and effect models.
Talk to us to understand if our simulations can address your specific challengesLearning to develop and implement a communication strategy
To address the challenge of developing and implementing a communication strategy, leaders need a combination of skills (know-how) and understanding (know-that), in the same way that the driving test combines the practical and the theory:
leaders need to be able to…
- develop effective stakeholder consultation strategies
- develop, use and adapt a communication action plan
- create a communication plan that reflects cultural preferences
- communicate with all of the key stakeholders, both internal and external
- consult in order to gather information and understand different perspectives
- inform in order to disseminate information
as part of an overall approach to or strategy for effective communication
leaders need to understand…
- that people don’t necessarily hear the same thing as what you said
- the many traps and wrong assumptions that can be made
- that people can have very different communication preferences
- that people base their opinions on their perceptions
