In studying project management, I have learned that it is important to create a communication plan as part of your project. At a minimum, this means identifying what you need to communicate, when you will communicate it, and who you will communicate it with.

Having a communication plan helps to ensure that your stakeholders and team members get the information they need when they need it. Your communication plan should identify your target audience and should include your goals for what you want to communicate, and how often you want to communicate. You should also be clear about what the message you want to communicate is.

An effective communication plan also includes identifying channels of communication and identifying how each stakeholder wants to receive information. This way you can use the right tools at the right time to communicate to your stakeholders and your team members.

Remember to also create a timeline for your communication plan that includes milestones. You should also identify the frequency at which you will communicate with your stakeholders and your team members.

Having a communication plan means you are being intentional with who you are communicating with, what you are communicating, and when you are communicating your message.

Target Audience

A critical component for your communication plan is identifying your target audience. For a project you are working on, this would be your project’s stakeholders and team members. Essentially, anyone affected by your project and who needs to know the status of your project.

For me, I take on leadership roles for my Toastmasters district. This year I am serving as Division I Director for District 28. One of my projects as division director is organizing and running the division level speech contest for my division.

For this project, my stakeholders are the members of the Toastmasters clubs in Division I. My target audience for this project also includes my team members, which are the area directors for my division and the members of my Division I guidance committee. Other people I need to keep informed are the district officers, including the District Director, Club Growth Director, and Program Quality Director.

These people are all members of the target audience for my Division I communication plan. I need to keep them informed of division events, including the plans for the Division I speech contest.

What Is Your Message?

Once you have identified your target audience, you know who you are communicating with. You also need to be clear on what you are communicating to your audience. This should include updates about aspects of your project that your stakeholders and team members need to know about. This could include progress updates if you are developing a product or providing a service. It could also include reports on project milestones.

As division director for my Toastmasters district, the message I need to communicate includes the dates of speech contests and training events. It also includes passing on the date for the district conference. It also includes reminding the clubs in my division of important dates, such as dues renewal dates and the deadline for submitting the list of newly elected club officers.

But my communication plan includes more than just dates. I also want to communicate the value of attending these events and the importance of the deadlines and other milestones for Toastmasters clubs. This means explaining the why, not just the what and the when.

Communication Channels

Another aspect of a good communication plan is identifying how you will communicate with your target audience. In other words, what communication channels will you use? And you can use different communication channels for each stakeholder depending on that person’s preferred method of communication.

For example, I am a member of the Project Managers United Toastmasters club. In this club, information is shared via different channels. Sometimes we use email to communicate club business. Other times we use the WhatsApp messaging app. We also communicate with updates at club executive committee meetings.

My own communication plan as Division I Director includes both email and in-person communication. The goal is to have the area directors in my division emailing the clubs in their areas on a regular basis to keep them informed of area, division, and district events. The plan also includes in person announcements when the area directors hold area council meetings or visit the clubs in their areas.

Another communication channel is a newsletter. This can work for community clubs or organisations. It could also work for companies that regularly circulate newsletters for their employees. These newsletters can include announcements and other pertinent information about the projects that stakeholders need to know about.

And don’t forget about direct forms of communication, such as picking up the phone and calling stakeholders to give them updates. You could also schedule one-on-one meetings with individual stakeholders or group meetings with multiple stakeholders.

Evaluation

Somethings else I learned about effective communication plans is that they should plan for evaluation and feedback. This means having a way to determine that your message is reaching its intended audience and that the right messages are being conveyed. It is also important to allow your stakeholders and team members to provide feedback on how effectively you are communicating with them.

Evaluation and feedback can help you to learn what is and isn’t working. This will allow you to adjust your communication plan to incorporate that feedback and to improve the reliability and effectiveness of your communication with your target audience.

Conclusion

Having a communication plan helps to ensure that your stakeholders and team members get the information they need when they need it. Your communication plan should identify your target audience and should include your goals for what you want to communicate, and how often. You should also be clear about what the message you want to communicate is.

An effective communication plan also includes identifying channels of communication and identifying how each stakeholder wants to receive information. This way you can use the right tools at the right time to communicate to your stakeholders and your team members.

Remember to also create a timeline for your communication plan that includes milestones. You should also identify the frequency at which you will communicate with your stakeholders and your team members. Also remember to regularly evaluate your communication strategies and to get feedback from your stakeholders.

Remember, having a communication plan means you are being intentional with who you are communicating with, what you are communicating, and when you are communicating your message.