Empowering Africa's Next Generation: The AI Leadership Blueprint
Forbes donna 6107_powerpoint
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Editor's Notes
If we consider this definition of communication as provided in the text the key phrase here is “reciprocal”. One cannot truly communicate without a two way exchange.
To analyze the lack of communication we will start by understanding what a communication is and which the are different elements that compose it.Communication can be defined as a process that allows organisms to exchange information by several methods.We can say that the basic components of a communication are:Sender: Is the person that sends a message, and is in charge of making it reach the destination.Receiver: Is the person that receives a message, and is in charge of decodifying it.Channel: Is the medium defined for the transmition of the message.Noise: Are the external stuff that affect the message. We use this concept to envelope everything else that is not the sender, the receiver or the channel.
Lets begin by understanding the factors from a PR perspective that impact our messages being received.
Communication failureIn an ideal world if every component of the communication worked properly and accomplished correctly its function there would be little or no communication issues. The problem appears when we apply these concepts in a real world.There are two key issues that happen between a sender and a reciever when coding and decoding messages, the first is Lack of Shared meaningFor us this picture may illustrate 2 persons in a room with a window, whereas for people who live in Africa it may illustrate 2 persons; 1 carrying a package; and a palm behind them.Using this example we can say that every person has mental model which is composed by the culture, by his experiences, etc. By thismental model the person see the world and the reality (his reality).It is not enough that sender assures that the message reached the destination, he has also to be sure that the message was clearly understood by the receiver.
The second is Mass MediaPublic Relations Communications compete in a crowded message environment. In the US alone;- More than 60,000 new titles (books) published each year. A child watches 1023 hours of TV a year there are approx 14,000 radio stations- 12,000 daily and weekly newspapers-150,000 magazines 1300 TV stationsThe first task in Communication is then to GET THE ATTENTION OF YOUR INTENDED RECIEVER!- not to mention rthe internet…YouTube, Facebook, blogs, etc…All this competes for attention.
This seems simple but attracting attention is difficult when talking about PR and public opinion.
The common notion of public opinion is that it simply the aggregation of individual views on some issues. Public opinion has never been more powerful, more fragmented, more volatile, and more exploited and manipulated. Public opinion polls have been a major force in guiding politics, government programs, entertainment programming, even corporate decision making.
In public relations we deal with organizations and advising and managing their relationships with the various publics. Whether public opinion is “real” or “perceived” it must be considered when deciding what message to communicate.
Source: text p. 203Communication affects of mass media have long been the objects of concern and study in PR practice. Concerns range form “all-powerful” to “no effect”.Walter Lippmann’s model supports more recent evidence that mass communication effect occur under specified conditions. The model show a triangular relationship between the action (includes people, places, things) , people’s perception of that action, their response based on that action and if the response causes an impact on the original scene of the action…this is where Mass media fits. For example, the earthquake in Haiti, Mass media reports, people’s perceive the Action (quake), and response based on that perception is to send aid which changes the action. Another response may be to impact government policy. This would be true in the example of early tsunami detection and alarm systems being implemented after the tsunami hit Thailand in December 2005.
Sociographioc and demographic variables such as age, education and income, naturally segment society into very large groups. Add to that the many different ethnic, racial, religious, geographic , political , occupations, social, and special interest groups and the result is a group so broad that it holds little value in public relations.
Grunig took Dewey’s concept a step further to say that without communicating these defined publics remain quite powerless (LATENT) , but if these publics begin to communicate they move to (ACTIVE) publics and become more powerful.
Hot issue publics change and include the topics that become a widespread social conversation, usually after media exposure. Public messages must be individually tailored to fit the information needs of different publics, based on how active or passive their communication behaviour is and what are the issues of importance to them
It is a common enemy, problem, or issue that unites a public. Chebucto Road in Halifax was expanded in 2008-09 which caused an ACTIVE public who opposed the widening to appear. The issues determine each publics composition, size, and range of responses. Those who meet the three criteria will determine how passive or active the communication behaviour of a public is. This is very important to understand when determining who to build relationships with when considering publics and how to communicate with them.
Class discussion and list on board. Coach and then refine to active, passive.
Break into small groups and ask them to identify three active and one passive group.
When developing messages for your publics the best messages are strong and clearly demonstrate you understand the target audience.Reference: Emodi, B, Messaging and Public Opinion lecture, Mount Saint Vincent University, fall 2009.
Think about good messages that resonate with you? Can you think of any examples?Get responses……have bit of a class discussion before moving on.
You get from both these examples that its personal, it involves you.Ask class, what publics do you think Obama intending to reach with his message of yes we can? Discuss latent publics in terms of disenfranchised voters that were energized by this message who became an active public.
Maple Leaf has create a simple message that sums up their food safety pledge, speaks to open dialogue with you, the consumer. No jargon.
Talk to student about going back to their exercise in small group they were in.Tell them to identify the issue that would bring this public together, outline the value system of the public, clearly articulate what you (the organizers of the Olympics) needed to communicate and then draft a message.Have the teams read the messages.