Drafting a strategic communication plan

Learning outcomes:
LO3: Evaluate strategic communication plans and provide feedback that improves their effectiveness.
LO4: Present a final strategic communication plan that has implemented feedback to more effectively advance strategic objectives.

At this point in Module 8, you should know what is required from your final communication plan. This journal provides the first formal opportunity for you to transfer your understanding of your plan into a written format as a draft.

As mentioned in the Unit 1 notes, you will need to submit a written report of your plan as part of your final ongoing project submission. The report serves as the section of your communication plan that you would usually produce for your own eyes and understanding, but in the case of your final ongoing project submission in Unit 3, it will be seen and graded by your learning facilitator.

One benefit of completing this journal is that most of this information can be carried across to the final ongoing project submission, saving you time to focus on the other requirements of your plan. A second benefit is that if you complete this journal and work on your final ongoing project later, the period of time between each task will help you evaluate the draft you create here and see if anything needs to be changed ahead of the final plan.

Note:

You are welcome to refer to the infographic in this unit after completing your draft. The infographic is a means of evaluating your strategy and seeing if you have sufficiently included the key principles of a strategic communication plan.

Ensure that you include details on all the following points in your draft. Do not feel that you need to answer each question one at a time, as many of these points overlap. Instead, you are welcome to synthesize your writing in whatever way serves you best. The divisions between each question are only there to better distinguish between all the required information. You are, therefore, encouraged to read through all the questions here before beginning to write.

Question 1: Goals

• What goal(s) do you want to achieve by implementing your strategic communication plan?
• When and how will you know if your goal has been reached? What metrics would you use to measure whether your goal has been reached?

How will presenting your plan help achieve or advance your goals? Will your single presentation lead you to achieving your goals, or is this presentation only one necessary step toward implementing a larger strategy?

(Max. 150 words)

Question 2: Audiences and stakeholders

• Which audience can advance or achieve your plan?
• What do you want the outcome of your presentation to be? What do you want your audience to do afterwards?
• Why is it valuable for you to persuade your audience to act as you propose?
• Which stakeholders can help you persuade your audience? How can they help you? How do you get these stakeholders on your side?

(Max. 250 words)

Question 3: Persuasive strategies

• How would you strategically persuade your audience to act as you want it to?
• How would both the visual and verbal elements of your presentation help to persuade your audience?
• How could any documents distributed before, during or after your presentation support or enhance your presentation?

(Max. 250 words)