Communicating strategically

Before you start communicating to the world, ask a few simple questions:

Context: What is your current situation?

Objective: Where are you trying to get to? How will your communications help you achieve this?

Audience: Who is your target audience? What is essential to understand about them before you begin communicating with them?

Strategy: How do you plan to achieve your objective?

Tactics: What are the specific components of your strategy? This will involve a plan for the right messenger to deliver the right message at the right time.

C-O-A-S-T gets you a long way.

See also ‘Communicating effectively’ for more on the messages, and contexts, that work best.