Communication Strategy

Managerial Communication

Managerial communication is different from other kinds of communication because a brilliant message alone is not sufficient: you are successful only if your message results in your desired response from your audience.

Communication Model

•Communicator•Audience•Message•Channel•Culture

Communication Strategy

•Communicator Strategy•Audience Strategy•Message Strategy•Channel Choice Strategy•Culture Strategy

Communicator Strategy

•Objectives•Style•Credibility

Communicator Strategy - Objective

•General objective•Action objective•Communication objective

Communicator Strategy - Style

•Tell/Sell▫Sufficient information▫Do not want opinions▫Want to control message content

•Join/Consult ▫Do not have sufficient information▫Want to understand others’ opinions▫Involve audience / gain buy-in

•Combination

Communicator Strategy – Credibility

•Factors affecting credibility▫Rank▫Goodwill▫Experience▫Image▫Common ground

•To enhance credibility▫Stress upon initial credibility▫Increase acquired credibility

Audience Strategy

•Who are they?▫Primary audience▫Key influencers: decision makers, opinion

leaders, gatekeepers▫Secondary audience

•What do they know and expect?▫Empathize with the novices▫Deal with mixed background needs▫Consider format expectations▫Address second language issues

Audience Strategy (cont)

•What do they feel?▫Emotions▫Interest ▫Probable bias▫Desired action

•What will persuade them?▫Emphasize audience benefits▫Persuade with credibility ▫Persuade with message structure

THOUGHT PROCESS (drafting)ends with conclusion

STRATEGIC PROCESS (writing)emphasizes the conclusion

TIME

Bad ideas

Assumptions

Good ideas

Facts

Data

Reach conclusion

last

State conclusion first (usually)

Organized ideas

Organized ideas

Organized ideas

Organized ideas

Message Strategy

Message Strategy

•Harness the power of beginnings and ends▫Never “bury” important conclusions ▫Keep your audience’s attention ▫State your conclusion emphatically

•State your conclusion prominently▫Direct approach▫Indirect approach

Message Strategy (cont)

•Overcome retention dip in the middle▫Chunking improves memory▫Repetition gets noticed▫Flagging signals importance▫The unexpected grabs attention▫Visuals provide reinforcement

Message Strategy (cont)

•Organize your message▫Informative message

Key points, questions, steps, alternatives, comparisons

▫Persuasive message Recommendations, benefits, problem-solution

•Choose your design cascade▫Placement, size, font, direction

Channel Choice Strategy

•Medium through which message travels

Channels of Communication

Highly interactive, always real

time

Moderately interactive

Minimally interactive, never real

time

Written Text, IM Email, blogs/mini-blogs, social networks

Hard copy, webpage

Oral Telephone, conference call

Voicemail, podcast

Blended One-to-one, consult/join meeting, web meeting

Tell/sell presentation, live webcast

Recorded webcast

Channel Choice Strategy - Written

Hard copy

Email Blogs/Mini-blogs

IM/TM Wikis WebPages

Advant-ages

Private, detailed, shreddable

Quicker distribution than hard copy

Interactive, creates community

Highly interactive, fastest response

Collabor-ative writing

Potentially huge audience

Disadv-antage

s

Rigid, delayed response

Unorganized, too uninhibited, permanent

Relies on blogger expertise

Overused, irritating

Hard to control content

No control over who reads

Channel Choice Strategy - Oral

Telephone

Voicemail Conference call

Podcast

Advantages Private Short items quickly

Multiple receivers at same time

‘Radio show’ for anyone with an MP3 player

Disadvantages

Telephone tag

Delayed or no response

Equal interaction difficult

No call-in or live feedback

Channel Choice Strategy - Blended

Tell/sell presentatio

n

Consult/join

meeting

Face-to-face

Tell/sell webcast

Consult/join web

meeting

Advantages Richest channels: verbal and nonverbal communicationReal time; can control audience receiving information

Best for relationships Reaches different locations

Disadvantages

Slower for audience because listening takes more time than readingLess detail than writing

Channel Choice

•Strategic questions▫Audience’s preference?▫Audience participation?▫Nonverbal?▫Time control?▫Permanent record?▫Detail?

Culture Strategy

•Attitudes towards▫Time▫Fate▫Communication style▫Credibility ▫Audience selection▫Persuasion▫Biases

Culture Strategy (cont)▫Message structure▫Channel choice▫Nonverbal behavior▫Space and objects▫Greetings and hospitality