This document provides an overview of communication strategies. It defines a communication strategy as a written plan for achieving communication objectives that identifies audiences, key messages, and activities. The document outlines the components of an effective communication strategy, including background research, mission/vision, objectives, audiences, messages, channels, timing, resources, risks, and evaluation. It emphasizes that a strategy ensures activities are coordinated, responsibilities are clear, and progress can be measured against objectives. Developing a communication strategy helps optimize the communication process.

2. Introduce yourself in turn by stating your name
(and role if relevant) plus:
• one WORD to describe what COMMUNICATION
means to you
You have 30 seconds to think of your
statements, after which each person makes their
statements
INTRODUCTIONS

3. PART 1:
BASICS OF
COMMUNICATION

4. Objectives
• Define and understand communication and the
communication process
• Barriers in a communication process
• Forms of communication
– Listening
– Verbal and non verbal communication
– Body languages

5. Hearing
Seeing
Smell
Touch
Taste
Communication –
a Series of Experiences of……..

6. What are the most common ways
we communicate?
Written Word

7. What is Communication?
Communication is the transmission of an idea or feeling so that the sender
and receiver share the same understanding.
Communication is not a mysterious process.
It takes place when the ideas from your mind are transferred to
another‟s and arrive intact, complete, and coherent.

8. Sender
Encoding
Receiver
DecodingChannel
Feedback
Message Message
Noise
Communication Model

9. Communication Channels
Written Communication
Verbal Communication
The Grapevine
Nonverbal Cues
Electronic Media

10. Types of Communication
One-way communication
Two-way communication
One to many

11. Benefits of effective communication
• Quicker problem solving
• Better decision making
• Steady work flow
• Strong business relations
• Better professional image

12. Facial
Expression
55%
Tone of
Voice 38%
Verbal
Meaning 7%
DEFINING COMMUNICATION
 Communication is the transferring and understanding
meanings
 The best idea, or suggestions, or plans cannot take
form without communications
 Communication can take
many forms:
• Oral vs. written
• Verbal vs. non-
verbal
• Interpersonal vs.
organizational

13. Forms OF COMMUNICATION
• VERBAL
• Intra verbal: intonation of word and sound
• Extra verbal verbal: implication of words and phrases,
semantics
• NON-VERBAL
• Gestures
• Postures
• Movements
• SYMBOLIC

14. What comprises Effective Communication
• Active Listening
• Eye contact
• Posture
• Simple language
• Questioning skills

16. The 7 C’s of effective communication
1.Clarity/Clear
2.Concise
3.Concrete
4.Coherent
5.Correct
6.Complete
7. Courteous

17. GAME
Partners describing the objects

18. COMMUNICATION PROCESS

19. When we COMMUNICATE
• 7% WORDS
• Words are only labels and the listeners put their own interpretation
on speakers words
• 38% PARALINGUISTIC
• The way in which something is said - the accent, tone and voice
modulation is important to the listener.
• 55% BODY LANGUAGE
• What a speaker looks like while delivering a message affects the
listener’s understanding most.

20. BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
• Noise
• Inappropriate medium
• Assumptions/Misconcep
tions
• Emotions
• Language differences
• Cultural differences
• Poor listening skills
• Use of jargon
• Distractions
Filtering
Emotions
Selective
Perception
Information
Overload
Apprehension
Language

21. EXERCISE 1
IN THE COMMUNICATION
PROCESS-
HOW MANY
OPPORTUNITIES ARE
THERE FOR
MISCOMMUNICATION ?

22. GAME
Chinese whisper

23. A. LISTENING
Hearing – Physical process,
natural, passive
Listening – Physical as well
as mental process, active,
learned process, a skill
Listening is hard.
You must choose to participate in the process of listening.
Hearing Vs Listening

24. Active Listening
The process of recognizing, understanding, and
accurately interpreting communicated messages
and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal
messages.
Steps to Effective Listening:
• Hearing
• Interpretation
• Evaluation
• Respond

25. Active
Listening Skills
AcceptanceResponsibility
Intensity Empathy
LISTENING EFFECTIVELY• Make eye contact.
• Exhibit affirmative nods and
appropriate facial
expressions.
• Avoid distracting actions or
gestures that suggest
boredom.
• Ask questions.
• Paraphrase using your own
words.
• Avoid interrupting the
speaker.
• Don„t over-talk.
• Make smooth transitions
between the roles of
speaker and listener

26. B. IMPROVING VERBAL COMMUNICATION
 Eliminate Noise
 Get Feedback – Verbal & Body Signals
 Speak Slowly & Rephrase your sentence
 Don’t Talk down to the other person
 Listen Carefully & Patiently
 Do not interject, wait for the other person to
finish speaking

27. C. BODY LANGUAGE
Remember that you are dealing with “PEOPLE”
TYPES OF body language:
• (P)OSTURES & GESTURES
• How do you use hand gestures? Stance?
• (E)YE CONTACT
• How’s your “Lighthouse”?
• (O)RIENTATION
• How do you position yourself?
• (P)RESENTATION
• How do you deliver your message?
• (L)OOKS
• Are your looks, appearance, dress important?
• (E)XPRESSIONS OF EMOTION
• Are you using facial expressions to express emotion?

28. Exercise 2
Can u read their body
language!?

29. IMPROVING BODY LANGUAGE - TIPS
• Keep appropriate distance
• Touch only when appropriate
• Take care of your appearance
• Be aware - people may give false cues
• Maintain eye contact
• Smile genuinely

30. Exercise 3:
Need for communication tools/products
Q1. Why do you need a
communication tools?
Q2. What are the different types of
communication tools used in the
government /development set up

31. PART 2:
COMMUNICATION
STRATEGY

32. WHAT IS A STRATEGY?
• A plan of action designed to achieve a vision.
• All about gaining a position of advantage over
adversaries or best exploiting emerging possibilities.
• A detailed plan for achieving success in situations
such as war, politics, business, industry or sport.

33. WHAT IS A COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY?
• Written document – not just in people’s heads
• Collaboration between the project leader(s) and the
communications professional(s)
• A reference document against which to judge progress
• Contains clear and measurable objectives
• Identifies relevant audiences
• A plan of activities and a timetable
• Identifies resources – financial and people

34. TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
• Organisation – ideally reviewed annually
• Major, complex, long term project
• A major announcement – e.g. new endowment which
will fund a scholarship programme
• A big event – e.g. a conference
• Building and opening a new building

35. WHY IS A STRATEGY IMPORTANT?
“Why don’t we just get on with it?”
• Taking time to agree what you want to achieve
• Plan ahead rather than last minute panic
• Exploit all the channels available to you
• Agree responsibilities
• Identify and seek resources
• Identify risks and plan how to deal with them
• A plan against which to measure success
• A process which helps you learn lessons for the future

36. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Step 1
• Identify objectives
Step 2
• Identify communication needs of the objectives
Step 3
• Select appropriate communication medium
Step 4
• Determine roles & responsibilities of change agents
Step 5
• Evaluate & adjust communication as per change needs

38. A comprehensive communications strategy
includes:
i. Research
ii. Mission
iii. Vision
iv. Aims
v. Objectives
vi. Audiences
vii. Messages
viii.Channels
ix. Timing
x. Resources
xi. Risks
xii. Evaluation

39. i. Background research
• What are your objectives?
• Your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?
• Learn lessons from previous projects
• Learn lessons from peers’ and competitors’
experiences
• Look at past media coverage, event attendance, web
visits
• Speak to colleagues – experienced and fresh-faced
• Focus groups and surveys among your key audience

40. ii. Mission (purpose) + iii. vision (ambition)
WWF‘s
• Mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the
diversity of life on Earth.
• Our vision is to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature.
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it
universally accessible and useful.
PricewaterhouseCoopers’ mission is to deliver a fair and clarified auditing
service, in order to improve presentation of financial information.
University of Oxford
• Oxford’s mission is to provide excellent teaching and conduct excellent
research
• Oxford’s vision is to be world leading

41. iv. Aims
Example of Oxford
• Engage and persuade audiences of the value (for money) of an
Oxford education and the personal and public benefit that flows
from it
• Persuade audiences of Oxford’s commitment to improving
access and widening participation
• Demonstrate the impact of Oxford research and persuade
audiences of the value of public funding for research

42. v. Objectives need to be SMART
• Specific, significant, simple
• Measurable, manageable
• Achievable, agreed, assignable
• Relevant, resourced
• Time bound, trackable

43. Examples:
Not SMART:
“We need to raise more money.”
SMART:
“We want to raise £5million to set up a fund to create an extra
20 graduate scholarships from October 2014.”
There can be one or more objectives

44. vi. Audiences
• Government, local council
• Your colleagues, the wider
University
• Alumni
• Donors
• Future applicants
• Local community: residents,
businesses, groups
• Media: local, national, specialist
Two considerations…
• Who holds the keys to success or
failure?
• And who influences those people?
And…
• Don’t forgot the internal audience –
e.g. students and colleagues in your
department or college, people in your
division

45. Categorise your audiences in relation to
your situation and your objectives
• Power/influence + interest + supportive – your partners in
achieving your objectives
• Power/influence + interest + opposed – use persuasion and
dialogue; accurate coverage of your objectives/views; correct
their claims
• Power/influence + not interested – capture their attention; enlist
the help of your partners
• Use third parties to help persuade and create interest

46. vii. Messages
• What do you want them to know?
• What do you want them to think?
• What do you want them to do?
• Why should I care? How does it affect me?
• Tailor them but avoid contradiction and false promises
• Statistics and case studies
• Third party endorsements

47. Make people sit up and listen
Example:
“Oxford offers the most generous
bursary package to undergraduate
students from the least well off
households”
Inspire action
“We need 5,000 signatures
on our petition to the local
council to save our library”

48. viii. Channels of communication
Media: local, national, international;
print, broadcast, web, social
Lobbying: local and national
government, funding bodies, special
interest groups
Marketing:
brand, website, advertising, brochures, flier
s, video
Events: conferences, launch events, public
speeches, tours of building sites

49. ix. Timing
• Work backwards from your deadline
• Accommodate long lead-in times
• Exploit ‘hooks’ to attract interest
• Availability of spokespeople and venues
• Coordinate who is told what and when
• Create a timetable of activities
• Monitor timetable and adjust as necessary

50. Timetable
Insert the due date
here
Insert the due date
here
Insert the due date
here
Lobbying
Ask local MP to
book venue
Send out invitations Event in parliament
Media
Identify key
messages and
spokespeople
Propose an
interview
Issue press release
Publications Design invitation
and display boards
Print the materials Distribute the
materials at the
event

51. x. Resources: people and money
• Who do you ideally need to assist you?
• Who is actually available to assist you?
• What funds do you need?
• What funds do you have?
• Do you need to bid for extra? From whom? When?
• Are there conditions attached to the funding?
• Prioritise, and manage people’s expectations

52. xi. Risks and mitigation
• Identify risks that could prevent you achieving your
objectives
• How you will deal with them?
• Identify options – a plan A and a plan B
• Prepare ‘lines to take’ – anticipate audiences’ reaction
Risk Mitigation options
A student protest could threaten the
success of your event.
Plan A: Meet with the students in
advance to discuss issues.
Plan B: Change the event date/venue.

53. xii. Evaluation: did you succeed?
• Often neglected
• Did you change understanding, opinion and behaviour?
• How will you measure – and will it cost anything?
• Quantitative
– Event attendance, website visitors, donations, column
inches
• Qualitative
– Feedback forms, focus groups, key messages in the
media
• ‘Wash-up’ with the project team

54. The written strategy
• Introduction: summary; emphasise added value
• Mission and vision, aims and objectives
• Audiences, messages, channels
• Timetable
• Resources
• Risks and mitigation
• Means of evaluation
• Approvals process

55. The essentials
• One or two clear objectives
• List of key audiences
• Summarise the key activities and dates
• Agree who is doing the work and who will pay
• Still write it down, even if it’s just a side of A4

56. And finally…
• Keep a record of the communications strategy
• Electronic and printed copies of material produced
• Record of quantitative and qualitative evaluation
• Minute the wash-up; record lessons learned
• Keep a contacts list
• Share best practice with peers
• Publicise your success
• It’s good PR for our profession!

57. QUESTIONS?
“The most important thing in
communication is hearing
what isn't said.”
Peter Drucker