To Boldly Go Where No Communicator Has Gone Before

Business communicators are often called upon to generate multiple and diverse communications products under intense deadline pressures.  Everything from leadership speeches, talking points, fact sheets, organizational announcements to media messaging are created and vetted by leadership to ensure it meets the needs of the target audience. Sometimes there is a need to break from routine and innovate how we create effective communications products for the various publics we serve.

For example, some people want to create awesome PowerPoint Presentations that have the usual three-pronged approach: text, image , cool slide transition, then repeat. This has been a traditional way of communicating copious amounts of information across vast audiences in a moments notice. It can also become a bit of a message overload when too much text is added to the slides and then gets in the way of actually conveying an effective message.

There are some other ways to amplify your business communications. Try some of the tips below to boldly take your business communications where no communicator has gone before.

Business Communicator Toolkit 2.0:

• Let go of the words and use precise text in your presentations
  • This includes limiting the verbiage so people understand the message
  • Use the “rule of 6” by limiting the number of words per line in your presentations to no more than six words
• Use the right visuals
  • Check your images to ensure they directly correlate with the text and do not contradict your topic
• Infographics are your data’s best friend
  • Got data? What do you do if you have a lot of data you want to communicate, but you want to keep your audience engaged?
  • Leverage free, online infographic tools may help communicate data rich, complex messages into readily digestible information that is user-friendly
• Change your tech
  • Consider using online presentation tools that are web-based, mobile and provide fluid transitions from one topic to the next. I currently use Prezi which helps effectively convey various topics.
• Reduce your presentation slides by more than half
  • Do you really need 50 slides to promote a new program, opportunity or etc. to your audience? Chances are they can gain the information they need in maybe 10 to 15 slides or less. Your goal is to give them a presentation they need and not use your presentation as a backup speech transcript.
• Promote your programs and resources using diverse communications channels
  • Consider adding social media to your communication strategy to expand the distribution of your message to your target audience
  • Go old school. Some target audience members may not leverage web 2.0 tools. This may make it a  challenge when you only want to use one or two communications tools. It is important to consider  using a mix of new communications technologies and some traditional communication channels to share your messages.

Tracey Batacan is part of the GovLoop Featured Blogger program, where we feature blog posts by government voices from all across the country (and world!). To see more Featured Blogger posts, click here.