Now More Focus is Needed on Skills of Communicating!

The manner of our communication in business as well in day to day life plays a major role in our success or failure. Better communicators find it easy to get ahead in life. They know how to put themselves across to others. Ability to express views and ideas clearly and convincingly is a skill. Your will communicate better when you think right, express what you think right, behave right and show that you understand. The skill of communicating is an asset and more you develop and sharpen it higher will be the benefits that you will get.

You can communicate by words, by gestures, symbolic expressions and various other methods of communication. For example the way you walk, your posture, the clothes you wear can communicate about you to others.

The eyes that flash anger, the yawn of boredom, the thumbed nose of derision, the stamping feet of impatience, the applause of approval, the raised eye brow of excitement, the laughter of joy, the smile of friendliness and the wink of affection too are types of impersonal communication. These are more effective and clear than verbal communication because a closed mouth catches no flies

When one think of the subject of communication one feels that the whole World is a Stage and every one of us is an actor or actress. Each one of us in it has to assume a different role to fit the occasion.

For example a person will assume different roles to fit different situations like a) when talking to a business associate, b) when talking to an intimate friend, c) when talking to a subordinate, d) when talking to wife and e) when talking to a pet dog. Therefore, as actors and actresses of this wonderful stage the world we use gestured to give emphasis to the meaning of a word or group of words that is how we verbally communicate. In written communication too we use fitting language and our choice of words and the way of using sentences gives effectiveness to what we try to communicate. A musician, a singer, a sculptor, an artist are using their skills to communicate something to others. Also in communication it is not what one says or writes but it is how one says or writes is what express the real meaning.

The business communication is not much different from the above described general communication. Because in business too words fitly spoken and the clarity of expression and attention grabbing presentation receive better response and communication skills in these aspects is very important in business. Best businesses employ better communicators to handle their businesses. A business has to build its image and maintain and for that effective communication about the business to the public is a must. The products and services need to be marketed in a competitive environment and it is the communication that does the main part in winning customer loyalty. For business communication in addition to the directly approaching of the customers and convincing them to buy the products there are other ways of reaching the customers via advertising and other forms communications. Communication what ever the form used is used to create a need in the customers mind to buy the particular product over the other competing products. Appropriate communication can make a buyer who does not want to buy a particular product to change the mind in to buying it.

We are in the age of communication. It is revealed in a recent survey that 20 % of the entire world population is using the internet as at end 2007. That means a population of 1,320,000,000 people. Therefore, internet as a means of communication can reach a world wide diversified segment of potential buyers. Therefore, greater skills and internet oriented methods of communication will be most important for market based business

operations.

How Customer Communications Creates New Factors in a Marketing Communications Plan

• In delivering a customer communications management system, there are extra considerations in respect of the development of a marketing communications plan.
  

The marketing communications plan can provide a clear guideline as to how to execute, the expected costs and the expected return. Customer communications management will increase the ease with which a multi-channel marketing communications strategy can be executed. It will also increase the sophistication with which a company can communicate in a relevant manner with its customers.

In the context of discussing the plan I will use Philip Kotler ‘P’s framework as this is the standard study for virtually all marketers.

First off, lets establish the Four P’s of product marketing in context with customer communications management:

• Product - Which products are you looking to promote? Today’s customer communications management platforms mean that you can market more than one product in an individual campaign based upon an individual users profile. Therefore Product Range Selection is an additional component in the customer communications management driven marketing communications plan.

• Place - Customer communications management processes give the marketing communications plan complete freedom to choose from a wide range of communications methods. These include voice, Direct Mail, Transactional Mail, Email, Social Media oriented email, social media direct, SMS, mobile and web. Therefore channel flexibility is a key advantage for the marketing communications plan.

• Promotion - Specifically what is your promotion and what are the promotion objectives? To garner new customers? To market more to your existing customers? To raise awareness of a product launch? To build brand appeal through a news advisory about your company’s efforts in the community? To raise funds for a charity that your company sponsors? The options are wide and varied. The key thing to note again here is that with an integrated customer communications platform, you will have promotion flexibility.

I’ve highlighted four key phrases here that I feel should now be implemented within the marketing communications plan. Lets review these individually.

Product Range

A good customer communications infrastructure will provide significant data analysis and extraction capabilities. A good propensity to purchase analysis model will allow not just a single product to be promoted to an individual customer but, a range of relevant products that will appeal.

Remember that each customer can be communicated with on a genuine one - one basis. Therefore the scope of products that you wish to promote should be considered - They may not be in the same category but you may desire to push certain products in certain categories harder.

Price Elasticity

Not all customers are born the same. The data analysis process within customer communications management will allow you to build price elasticity into your marketing communications plan. You may know for example that keener customers may only buy when a promotional offer is in place. Other customers may buy only when the product is the newest item available. The marketing communications plan may need to consider price elasticity and the targeting of offers on a one to one or customer segment basis.

Channel Flexibility

The ability to deliver a standard but relevant message, in a synchronised way to virtually any customer communication channel has always been a holy grail. My list reveals 9 communication channels here. Each has its merits and with the ability to systematically deliver consistent messages across each, the power of these systems is as yet unexploited by marketers.

Certain channels bring the capability to target the consumer 24 hours a day. Others such as mail have the benefit of longevity and time in front of the customers eyes. The scope for ever increasing sophistication in marketing is increasing all the time.

Whilst this level of flexibility is new in the market, I can see that the next few years will reveal much interesting data about the use of these channels and their performance in different customer and product segments. The ability to analyse the performance of campaigns using data from a single system is a new feature that works in support of the marketing communications plan.

Never before have companies had such a choice of communications channels combined with the ability to manage them effectively. The next decade is going to offer some very interesting insights in communications channels and their relevance in different market segments.

Please visit the Document Projects website for more information relating to this topic.

Total Cost of Ownership for Marketing and Customer Communications Management

In developing a business case for Customer and Marketing Communications Management, there are some significant consideration in developing the overall Total Cost of Ownership elements of the business case. There are many aspect to a customer communications solution that will need measuring in different ways.

A full implementation of Customer Communications Management will demand hardware, software and human resource. The differential in costs could be significant between the various vendors.

There is no single vendor that can deliver every aspect of your Customer Communications Management infrastructure although there are one or two that get fairly close. In designing you implementation strategy you will need to think about whether a best of breed approach with integration is better or, a minimal vendor approach is desirable.

Lets take a look at some of the key focal points for you customer communications management infrastructure:

Customer Communications Management Support & Maintenance for Software, Printers and Inserters.

Support and maintenance contracts with vendors will apply across the full spectrum of products. Within the software arena, It is likely that vendors will offer similar contracts terms and terms of service. But do check the terms of service. If the business is a 24hr operation, you are going to need 24hr support. Also examine the level of support offered in the regions in which you may install the software systems. If you are based in France and all support operations are based out of the US, how quickly can people be on site to support you if matters go critical?

The software elements of the Customer Communications Management infrastructure should also be examined. Will major upgrades come free of charge, or will there be an expectation that more money is spent to stay on the upgrade path?

Also, the upgrade policy should be examined in context with the development plans of the vendor. Does the vendor guarantee backward compatibility between point releases of the software or will the document applications have to be re-written to cope with the upgrade? This could be a very significant cost if you run a number of document applications. If your company is not able to swallow this, are you comfortable being left with a technology that will ultimately stagnate over a period of a few years?

There are at least two significant hardware components within a customer communications management infrastructure. These are high volume printers and the mail finishing devices or inserters. Both of these items will have significant capital outlay and will require regular servicing. You will need to ensure that engineers are available locally and quickly.

1. Hardware vendor service contracts. Look carefully at service contracts between vendors, as they can vary significantly.

2. Printer and Inserter Replacement Component Costs. Also look at the cost of components if they need to be replaced. How do they compare between vendors?

3. Print and Inserter Servicing. Are their charges for out of normal hours servicing?

4. Print and Inserter Component Inventory. To guarantee normal operations, it may be valuable to hold an inventory of hardware components at your own document production facility. What does the manufacturer recommend that you hold, and what are the costs of holding and maintaining this inventory?

5. Printer and Inserter Power Consumption. High speed colour printers and inserters are power hungry devices. What is that power likely to cost the company?

6. Building Environment Costs -A few printers require specialised working environments. They may require climate controlled environments. What are the costs of the space to provide this environment. What are the costs of adapting a building to deliver this climate managed environment. What are the acquisition and running costs of the climate control equipment.

7. Headcount Requirements - Realistically, how many people are going to be required to operate the inserters and the printers? Take along experienced document production managers when assessing the hardware equipment required and be pragmatic in this assessment.

8. Growth in document output volumes. Carefully consider current and future ouput volumes. If you anticipate a growth in output volumes, then plan this. Will the equipment that you buy today be able to meet those volumes? Will you need to invest in extra printers or inserters in the foreseeable future? Will the space you have be able to accomadate any growth in capital equipments.

9.Printer and Inserter Replacement costs. Unlike software, machines will eventually become ineffective and unproductive to maintain and operate. How long does the hardware vendor anticipate the equipment will last under your production loads? What is the anticipated replacement costs in the future? Take these figures, build in some contingency and plan for this.

10. Leveraging legacy equipment. You may already have printers and inserters that may be suitable for much of the output that you plan to undertake. What are the costs of getting this equipment suitable for participation in the process and how old is the equipment? Is it worth upgrading?

Speed of Customer Communications Management Software Installation, Configuration and Development

Not all software products are borne equal. Whether we are looking at data, authoring, composition, channel distribution, print management or print stream engineering the products differ. Some products are built upon ageing platforms whilst others utilise the latest technologies focused upon speed of deployment and overall cost of ownership. The differences can affect Total Cost of Ownership in a number of ways.

11. Devlopement Costs. Development and / or configuration of some kind will need to take place across all of the software components being installed. Document Composition comes with its own development environment and data products will require detailed configuration and embedding into the environment. Applications will also need to be developed if you plan on using print stream engineering technology.

12. Skill Levels. Depending upon the vendor, some applications may still require heavy IT skill to develop within whereas others will offer a strong GUI (Graphical User Interface) environment that take much of the rough work out of developing applications and linking systems together. Look carefully at this as long term cost of ownership could rise significantly if the software requires.

Customer Communications Management Application Component Re-Usability

13. Service Oriented Architecture. One of the key features of advanced service oriented architecture based platforms is the ability to re-use components across multiple applications in potentially widely different environments. The ability for software to integrate effectively into a Service Oriented Architcture model and leverage exisitng organisational components whilst contributing valuable new components will have a significant bearing on overall lifetime cost of ownership.

14. Marketing Communications Vendor Technology Trial. You may want to consider a 'bake-off' scenario once you have a vendor shortlist. Establish a set of tasks that test the speed at which an application environment can be brought live - make it challenging but not over complicated. The vendor will likely put their best resources on this and it will not only be a test of the software but, a test of the vendors ability to deliver skilled human resource when required. Give each vendor a level playing field.

Cost of Customer Communications Management Integration

For Customer Communications Management to serve the Marketing function effectively, ease of integration is a key factory. Look at the vendors experience here.

15. Data Integration. Can the data ETL and analysis tool-set integrate easily with your existing systems. Look at the breadth of systems that you are likely to want to integrate with in the future. How easily can the system talk to systems across multiple platforms that may range from z/os to SAP to Siebel to a wide variety of other applications.

It is not just the vendors components that are important, how open are systems containing vital data? Can you get this data out of them easily?

16. Marketing and Customer Communications Design and Authoring Integration. How does you company do this today? What tools are used and, will they integrate easily with the Customer Communications Infrastructure that you have or, will a change to a proprietary vendor design and authoring environment become necessary?. Will the vendors design environment meet the needs, goals and objectives of your design and authoring teams and what will the cost of change be?

Perhaps fundamentally will it be possible to push design and authoring out to the business community? This is a fundamental tenet of customer communications management but some vendors still won't be able to do this very well. Pushing the responsibility back to IT will significantly raise costs and will reduce business and marketing agility massively.

Also look at work-flows, many companies have deployed standardised work-flow environments. Will your vendors solution be able to integrate here? All these factors have a bearing on cost.

Customer Communications Management Vendor Licencing policy

17. Customer Communications Management Software Environments.

This is a big one and there are differentials between vendors. As a minimum, you will need development and test environment and a production environment. What are the vendors policies for development licences.

18. Multi Site Licence. The other key factor that may affect you is multi site licencing. If you operate in different places around the world, what are the costs of rolling out mirror environments to new sites? Examine carefully the vendors policy here.

19. Cost per seat. What is the cost per seat for the elements of the customer communications management infrastructure? Does the vendor of bulk purchase discounts. Are the number of seats likely to grow over time?

20. Operating System. Some vendors charge different prices depending upon the operating system in use. How do vendors compare?

21. Additional non-vendor components - Here we might be looking at factors such as obtaining mail compliance databases, Websphere components or other factors. What additional software components may you need to source to deliver the application that your business needs?

Management of Legacy Applications

22. Leveraging new and old. Some document applications may not justify redevelopment. However, what is the cost of integrating the legacy into the environment to obtain say production integrity benefits? Can this be done easily or are you going to be running some applications out of scope of the customer communications environment?

Customer Communications Management Server and Desktop Hardware costs -

23. Server Requirements. Don't forget your going to need servers to run this all on. Consult with the vendor carefully in respect of the required hardware configuration and get costs from your hardware vendor early. There will be a difference depending upon the operating system you are running. Is the desktop configuration suitable? Will you need upgrade licences for the desktop?

Business and Technical Training Costs

24. Training Considerations in Customer Communications Management - At the very least, you will require administrators, some level of application development capability and training for end users.

What are the vendor training costs and, do they offer 'train the trainer' courses to help you reduce overall education costs? What are machine operator training requirements going to be? What level of skills are you going to need across the infrastructure, and what is this going to cost?

Production Mail Health and Safety

25. You will need to ensure health and safety compliant environments for the physical print and mail elements of the Customer Communications Management infrastructure. What are the costs and training implications. Will you need to adapt the building to meet health and safety guidelines?

As can be seen, there are many factors to be considered in developing the Total Cost of Ownership equation for Customer Communications Management. The multi-point nature of Customer Communications Management means that there is much to be considered and deriving truly accurate figures is likely to be a near unachievable goal. However ball park understanding is achievable.

What should be clear from this is that in developing the business case arguments for the implementation of a Marketing and Customer Communications Management infrastructure Total Cost of Ownership should not be ignored as it is a significant element of the overall budget and perhaps over a period of a few years, far more significant than the initial capital outlay.

For more information and articles related to marketing and customer communications management please visit Customer Communications Community.

Different Kinds of Communication

Each communication

type can be classified on the basis of the various methods, processes, channel and style used for it.

On The Basis of Communication Channel

The process of communication involves encoding and sending of a message by the sender and transmission of the same via a communication channel for being received by the receiver who is responsible for decoding and processing of the transmitted information and replying back via a communication channel.

• Verbal Communication: This can be further differentiated into oral and written communication. Oral communication lays emphasis on speaking words which are utilized for face-to-face, on-the-phone, voice chat or Internet communication. The effectiveness of these words depends upon pitch, speed, voice modulation, clarity and volume of speaking.
  

Written communication includes communication by email or snail mail. The writing style, grammar, language precision, grammar and vocabulary used are important facets of written communication. Pictorial representations, paintings, photographs, signboards, sketch and symbolic communication also falls under this category. Humans have used this for recording history through cave writing dating back to more than a million years.

• Body Language: This includes communication through a person's body language through the body movements, postures and hand gestures. Facial expressions play an important part in conveying the intensity of the communication. Emotions can be independently conveyed through a hug, a smile or hand gestures such as a handshake. Accurate reading of a person’s body language helps in indicating whether they are angry, upset, stressed out, nervous, relaxed, happy, tired or sad.
  

On The Basis Of Purpose Served

• Restrained Communication: This kind of communication occurs in a predefined formal format with a straightforward, precise and stringent tone attached to it, for communicating in a corporate environment. The communication style is very official in these cases involving meetings, corporate letters, written memos and official conferences.
  


• Unrestrained Communication: This includes cases of free communication being employed by people for creating an informal rapport with one another. This communication type is not bounded by the limits of time, subjects or place and is devoid of any rigid guidelines and rules to be followed while communicating. The foremost requirement in this kind of communication is that the involved parties must properly understand each other.
  

On The Basis Of Technology

• Electronic or Digital Communication: This includes communication through modern technological tools like computers, faxes, satellite television, telephone, radio, cellular phone and e-mail. These technologies have helped mankind in fulfilling its quest for efficient communication.

Communication is an integral part of the lives of every human being. The technological advances in the field of communication have provided us with wonderful resources and tools leading to the enhancement of our lives aided by convenient communication. Amongst all the above communication forms, face-to-face communication is probably the best communication type. It helps in keeping the emotions, thoughts and feelings intact between two human beings and make accurate perceptions about each other which is a rather difficult task in modern technological methods because of the absence of humanness in them.

Effective communication is not just about speaking correctly, but its also about respecting others’ opinions. Learn how did people communicate in the past and what are the top communication strategies to improve your presence in this present World.

Get to learn about different types of communication and how to improve your communication skills at http://www.communication-type.com/

Nonverbal Communication: What’s it All About?

Communication is critical to continued human development throughout our life span. It is what allows us to share thoughts, feelings, wonderings, and knowledge with others. Whether you are a verbal or nonverbal communicator, the vast majority of communication we do is through nonverbal channels.

So if nonverbal communication makes up a substantial portion of our communicative experience, what does it involve? Many of us associate facial expression and gestures with nonverbal communication, but these are not the only two types involved. There are, in fact, eight different types of nonverbal communication:

• Facial Expression This makes up the largest proportion of nonverbal communication. Large amounts of information can be conveyed through a smile or frown. The facial expressions for happiness, sadness, anger, and fear are similar across cultures throughout the world.
• Gestures Common gestures include pointing, waving, and using fingers to indicate number amounts.
• Paralinguistics This includes factors such as tone of voice, loudness, inflection, and pitch. Tone of voice can be powerful. The same sentence said in different tones can convey different messages. A strong tone of voice may indicate approval or enthusiasm, whereas the same sentence said with a hesitant tone of voice may convey disapproval or lack of interest.
• Body Language and Posture A person’s posture and movement can also convey a great deal of information. Arm crossing or leg-crossing conveys different meanings depending on the context and the person interpreting them. Body language is very subtle, and may not be very definitive.
• Proxemics This refers to personal space. The amount of space a person requires depends on each individual’s preference, but also depends on the situation and other people involved in the situation.
• Eye Gaze Looking, staring, and blinking are all considered types of eye gaze. Looking at another person can indicate a range of emotions including hostility, interest, or attraction.
• Haptics This refers to communicating through touch. Haptics is especially important in infancy and early childhood.
• Appearance Our choice of color, clothing, hairstyles, and other factors affecting our appearance are considered a means of nonverbal communication.

By the time most children are one year old, they are experts in nonverbal communication. They have spent the whole first year of their lives making their wants and needs known, as well as sharing their experiences through nonverbal channels. Around the time of their first birthday, they add the next layer to their dynamic communication repertoire with the verbal piece. Even with the addition of verbal communication, nonverbal expression continues to be the main mode of communication for children as they add more and more words to their vocabulary. Even after children are talking in sentences, nonverbal communication continues to add meaning and structure to the messages being sent and received.

This use and understanding of nonverbal communication becomes automatic for ‘neuro-typical’ children. It is so automatic that many of us are completely unaware that we employ facial expressions and gestures, or that we are using this information to enhance the words we are hearing from our communication partner. We continue to use this mode of communication throughout life.

Think about the word “no,” which can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the nonverbal communication that is being conveyed along with the word. If we say “noooo” with a wrinkled nose and a questioning tone or funny voice, this could convey that we are unsure or don’t really believe what we are hearing. If we hear someone say “NO!” with a loud, or harsh voice, we can interpret that they person is angry or wants an action to be terminated. If someone asks you if you would like a drink, you may answer with “no”; but your tone of voice will most likely be even with little inflection, and your face may just be neutral. In each of these examples the person was saying “no,” but there were three different meanings being conveyed. Without nonverbal communication, it would be difficult to know how to interpret the word.

Many children with autism spectrum disorders have difficulty interpreting multiple modes of communication, and because of this they often miss the nonverbal communication piece that allows accurate interpretation of what is said. In the examples provided above, most children with autism spectrum disorders would only hear the word “no” but miss the nonverbal pieces which help to interpret which “no” is being communicated. This misinterpretation can lead to frustration on the part of both the communicator and the child who is struggling to understand what is happening. At other times, the child may interpret a facial expression, tone of voice, or gesture but not hear the words that went with the nonverbal, which again results in miscommunication. These breakdowns make it difficult for the child to make sense of his/her world.

Working to improve the use and understanding of nonverbal communication is essential for a person with an autism spectrum or neurological disorder. In most cases, working to improve nonverbal communication is the best place to begin improving communication abilities. Expanding the ability to use and understand nonverbal communication provides the necessary foundation for building meaningful dynamic communication. Just as a neuro-typical infant begins by communicating nonverbally, going back and teaching this mode of communication for children who may have missed this step is the foundation for productive communication throughout life.

Communication

is critical to continued human development

throughout our life span. It is what allows us to share thoughts, feelings, wonderings, and knowledge with others. Whether you are a verbal or nonverbal communicator, the vast majority of communication we do is through nonverbal channels.Teaching nonverbal communication should be done in a natural way that makes sense for each individual child. Telling a child, “look at my face,” or showing a child several pictures of people’s faces and having him/her identify the emotions he sees is not a natural way to work on nonverbal communication. Spending time doing activities with the child where the adult uses very little verbal communication, but is communicating through nonverbal channels, is an effective way to begin introducing nonverbal communication. Playing games where you have changed the rules slightly so as to use only nonverbal communication can also be a fun and more natural way of working on nonverbal communication. For example, you might play Simon Says, using a made up signal for when Simon says to do something. Playing charades can also be a fun way to work on nonverbal communication in a natural context. Take a walk with your child; but instead of saying, “hey look at that dog,” you might pause, point and vocalize, “oh” with a rising inflection to draw attention. There are many ways to work on nonverbal communication that can be explored and used to build this critical foundational piece of communication.

Communications Articles

Internet is a big source of communications

, world is a global village and it is all based on communications. The communication articles include all those subjects that are helpful to communicate

from one person to other, related to different places of world. Letters, opinions, business dealings, advertisements, sales and promotions of a particular product or service in different countries from a particular country is all done through the communication articles. Communication is a demanded subject in almost every country, thus all countries of the world produce the communication articles. Communication articles include knowledge related to all communication sources; the hard sources or the software

types are all covered in the communication articles.

Communication technology and sciences are best explained in the communication articles. People who are close to communication fields believe communications are best held through Internet. The growth of new technology and software on Internet has made it easier to communicate people of the world outside. The communication articles also contain related topics of communication like the use of cell phones and mobiles, ipods and mp4 thus all those sophisticated sources that are used for the communications. The study of communications and its related topics are best available on Internet. The history of this subject, its usage in today’s fast life and the future of communication is evaluated and thoughts for it are covered in these articles. The communication articles for teaching purpose are best used. The dealers and the retailers need to know well for it where as the businesses those who deal with the communications projects and sources compete on behalf of these articles. Researches made on technology are overviewed on articles so one can get collective knowledge of a particular thing by reading these articles.

Many websites are based on the communication sources and earn on its grounds. Communications done internationally are also dealt with communication articles. Like those advertising, the communicating articles also prove to be a good source of acknowledging of a product or service to the interested clients. Those who are working in media and broadcasting, tend to get a lot of knowledge by communication articles, articles being also a part of newspapers are published on internet giving full fledge information to the reader audiences. The sales and advertisement is also done through the communication articles, thus the communication articles on Internet and other sources like radio, and TV and newspapers make a connection web. People get knowledge and awareness of their interested fields and the awareness of their surroundings through these sources where Internet now plays a great role via the communication articles.

Do You Know How to Communicate Change to Your Employees?

Do you ever find yourself confused on how to best communicate

changes to your employees? Here is where you need to do some serious brainstorming. Why? Because it takes a lot of communication to make a change successful.

As soon as you know that you will be creating change in your department, you must communicate to your employees so they know what is happening. You are probably thinking...why get them anxious about the change when you don't know all the details yet. They sense it already...as if the walls in the conference rooms have ears. It's much better to hear from you and not from someone outside the department or company.

Your communication plan needs to start right alongside the strategic planning. Aligned your communication plan along with all the steps of the project. Even if the change is relatively small, communicate throughout the whole process.

You will make changes as your receive feedback from employees and others, but if you have a solid communication plan in place already, making minor changes is easier. You and your employees have to feel as much in control as possible...so no surprises if possible. This plan will not guarantee there are no surprises but will reduce the possibility.

What you need to do is create a communication template and use it diligently in all of your significant changes. Here are some ideas to creating your communication plan

==>Communication Plan

-What is the goal of the change?

-Who are the stakeholders? (who is driving the change and/or benefiting from it?)

-Who is the project leader for your communication plan?

-What changes will need to occur in the department in order for you to meet your objective(s)?

-How long will it take to implement the change?

-What are the tangible results you would like to see from the communication plan?

-Who will need to change in order to insure the results will occur? Critical to know who will be most impacted as they are the individuals who you will need to insure fully understands the change.

When planning your communication events you need a solid foundation for all messages to your employees. Your communication must include clarity, consistency of messaging, continuous communications, and a forum for feedback. You want to insure that the information is received correctly and you are providing the necessary details for the employees to understand and accept the change.

Note: Before you send out your messages, test the message with a few people to get their feedback. You probably have worked on the message numerous times and can't see the more obvious missing points. You need to provide information in a language that people will understand. A fresh pair of eyes will be helpful.

Build a master list of communication activities that make up your plan. Here are some sample headings.

-Create a list of communication events organizing them in the order that you will distribute. Include date and how you will communicate the message. These communication events will be aligned with milestones of the project.

-For each communication event, create a list of details. For example, who will write it, what is the topic, how will it be distributed, and how will you follow up.

-Create a Calendar with Planned Events - you can visually see all of your communication events and plan accordingly.

-How will you communicate the message? (verbal and written)

-Who is responsible to communicate the message

-Pretest message

-Actual Delivered Date

Note: Communication Calendar - have one on the wall or close by so you can see visually all of your planned communication events.

==>Verbal communication

Make sure you mix verbal as well as written communication so that the employee gets an opportunity to ask you questions and come away with more clarity around the change. Create a script for your verbal messaging so you are consistent with the written message.

==>Receiving Feedback

Create several ways to receive feedback and let the employees know how they can share their thoughts, concerns or suggestions. People handle their concerns differently, some more outspoken, others more reluctant to speak in a large group. If you have several venues for them to give you feedback, you will have more information and fewer surprises. Here are some ideas to use for gathering feedback:

-Focus groups

-1:1 meetings with managers

-Create a separate website for employees to ask their questions.

Note: A separate website can also hold past communications and FAQs for repetitive questions.

Employees feel more comfortable when a manager informs them throughout the process. They may still feel anxious about the upcoming change, and yet if you are open, you build a lot of trust with them. When an employee trusts their manager, they are more open to the change.

Why People Live in Gated Communities

What do you think of when you hear the words "gated community"? According to the US Census Bureau:

- There are approximately 7 million households living in gated communities in the U.S. That's about 6% of the total households in the country.
- About 4 million households in the U.S. are in communities where access is controlled by entry codes, key cards, gates or security guards.
- Gated developments are growing in popularity in places like Atlanta and suburbs of Washington D.C.
- Nearly 40% of new home construction in California is in gated communities. The percentage of new construction within the walls of gated communities is rising nationwide.
- The top gated communities in Cherokee County are among the most sought-after neighborhoods in the metro-Atlanta area.

What is it that makes homes in gated communities like Laurel Canyon, The Orchards and Lake Arrowhead such popular choices with new home buyers? Homeowners in the top gated communities in Cherokee County cite the same reasons that their fellow homeowners from around the country give when asked "Why buy a home in one of the top gated communities in Cherokee County?"

The reasons cited most often include:

Leisure and Recreational Opportunities
Gated communities offer many opportunities for leisure and recreation, especially those built on a master plan that emphasizes leisure time activities. Community centers offer recreational and fitness facilities available to residents, as well as classes and social activities on a regular basis. The top gated communities in Cherokee County include facilities for tennis, swimming, boating, hiking, biking, fishing and water activities and more.

Community
Master planned gated communities like Lake Arrowhead are specifically planned to be offer easy access to amenities and needs like dining, recreation, community involvement and shopping. While critics of gated communities in general bemoan a lack of community involvement among those who live in gated communities, actual experience tells a far different story.

In Lake Arrowhead, for instance, the community turned out en masse last spring to help rebuild the home of a local family that was destroyed by fire. "Everyone seemed to want to be a part of this project," said the director of ABC' s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, who put together the project. Faith Tipton-Smith, the homeowner, said "It just goes to show how much love there is in the community."

The Amenities
Many choose to live in gated communities for the amenities that they offer. Depending on the community, those amenities might include public docks for lake access, mountain hiking trails, water parks, a security guard at the gate, fine dining at local restaurants and a membership to the community clubhouse. Among the amenities that will be offered at the top gated communities in Cherokee County are a world class golf course, junior Olympic sized swimming pool, family access water park and a full service marina.

"Nice Neighborhood"
Most residents in gated communities cite "living in a nice neighborhood" as a major reason for choosing a gated community for their new home. Having an active homeowner association contributes to the upkeep and maintenance of the community. Roads, walkways and paths are well-maintained and homes are kept up in accordance with the standards of the community. "I know that the neighborhood is always going to be a nice neighborhood," said one long-time resident of a local gated community.

Safety
Many residents choose to live in a gated community for the safety it provides. That safety is far less about protecting the community from crime than it is about more general concerns. The gates keep pass-through traffic out of the community, offering the children and pedestrians safer streets and keeping speeders at bay. Security gates, guards and cameras deter thieves and other criminals from entering the community as well, reducing the risk of crime.

Property Values
Homes in gated communities tend to maintain their property values. The attention of the neighborhood association to maintenance and repair keeps the surrounding neighborhood beautiful, and maintains the property values of all community residences.

Natural Beauty
In Cherokee County, the top gated communities are situated on some of the most beautiful land that the country has to offer. Many home lots offer stunning views of the mountains and lakes, and make the natural beauty of the environment a key factor in home selection. Because development companies make preserving that beauty a priority, residents in communities like Lake Arrowhead and Laurel Canyon can choose homes and home sites that make the most of the stunning natural beauty of the North Georgia countryside.

Communication: Mechanical and Social Principles

Communication

is one of the fundamental necessities of our relationships with other people, whether it is a stranger, work colleague, family member, child or life partner. While our interpersonal relationships can be rewarding, many of us find ourselves in situations of mis-communication and communication breakdown, often leading to interpersonal conflict.
Do you find that people often misinterpret what you are saying or your intentions? Have you ever felt that you have totally missed the meaning of what someone else was communicating to you? Do you have difficulty expressing what you would like to say? Rest assured, many of us are confronted with situations like this in our relationships with others! We are left feeling like we are not being heard and our relationships suffer. In the end, our most developed societal tool is also one of the most productive conflict factories in the history of mankind.

In order to tackle two problems with a single solution, we've devised a comprehensive article on communication - and how improving it can not only improve your personal relationships, but also ensure that your professional life is on the right lane.

What is communication?

Body language, sign language, verbal language, writing, gestures, broadcasting - you name it, it is part of the process of communication. Communication is a broad concept and its history can be traced from a wide variety of pathways. Gesture and body language are the most primitive forms of communication, being practiced even before humans were able to produce 'sound' verbal language. Verbal language is possibly the most prominent human form of communication (albeit not the most used - it is perceived to be only 7% to 11% of communication). Some philosophers affirm that our capacity to verbally communicate with each other is the link which separates humans from other animals in the evolutionary scale.

Written language, another particularly prominent and advanced form of human communication, was initiated not so long ago - around 3,000 B.C. when the Egyptian civilisation created their first set of hieroglyphics. The complexity of human communication evolved analogously with the human capacity of learning, invoking major evolutionary changes in the brain structure and resulting in our capacity to improve (or arguably complicate) the way in which we communicate to each other. For the purpose of this article, we'll focus on verbal communication and body language.

Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communication can be defined as the transactional process of creating meaning through mutually responsive entities - or less formally, transmitting and receiving messages to and from other individuals. When people are communicating, they're being bombarded with information which, in most cases, they vastly fail to perceive. Why? Because people are not aware of the manner in which others perceive the world and themselves. They may have a rough idea, and even share some commonalities, but being able to predict interpretation of meaning to its full extent is impossible. However, it is possible to recognise some general trends.

Interpersonal communication has a core structure: sender, receiver, message and context. When the first 'message' is produced, a receiver will interpret that message according to his personal background (values, culture, experiences, knowledge and more) and according to the context in which the message was produced (situation, relevance, sender characteristics and more). To effectively communicate, people need to be able to align each individual's background information to the verbal or cultural significance of the message being transmitted. Relationships are based on that common level of understanding, and the more people fail to communicate to each other, the more they develop personal assumptions that could lead to conflict.

Barriers to communication

Considering its complexity, understanding the core challenges to interpersonal communication can vastly improve the process of interpreting people's messages, and helping them understand how to interpret yours. According to Bolton (1993) there are twelve major communication spoilers, listed in three different categories:

Judging

1. Criticising - making a negative evaluation of the other person.

2. Name-calling - stereotyping the other person.

3. Diagnosing - analysing the other person's behaviour.

4. Praising evaluatively - making excessive positive judgments to the other person.

Sending Solutions

5. Ordering - commanding the other person to do something you would like.

6. Threatening - controlling the other person's actions by warning about consequences.

7. Moralising - telling what the other person should do in a given situation.

8. Inappropriate or excessive questioning - using close-ended questions in excess.

9. Advising - giving the other person a solution to a problem.

Avoiding the Other's Concerns

10. Diverting - "pushing" a solution to the other person's problems.

11. Logical argument - attempting to convince the other with an appeal to logic and facts.

12. Reassuring - trying to stop the other person from feeling negative emotions.

Improving Communication

There are many effective strategies to help improve interpersonal communication. Effective communication does not only involve the transmission of a message, but also ensuring that the other person is devoting enough attention and that the environment is appropriate to transmit the message (controlling the 'noise' and 'interruption' levels).

Attention is the major skill that needs to be 'practised' during the communication process. The more attention devoted to a dialogue, for example, the better a communicator can recognise body language and voice trends. Furthermore, understanding the context of each message and aligning that to the other person's cultural and emotional background plays a key role in creating reliability in the interpretation.

Basic Communication Skills

Such rules are beneficial for any communication process, but particularly important during a formal relationship.

1. Listening well - valuing the client and demonstrating interest for the conversation.
2. Observing - observing body language, voice tone and emotive expressions.
3. Acknowledgement - the recognition for the client's initiative to state his/her issues.
4. Awareness - ensuring that the counsellor's body language is appropriate for the context.
5. Thinking - reasoning about what is and what is not appropriate input to the process.
6. Verbal expression - ensuring the use of the appropriate tone, rhythm and volume of voice.
7. Reflecting - clarifying and verifying what the client has expressed to the counsellor.

How to write Marketing Communications Plans?

Marketing Communications are "all strategies, tactics, and activities involved in getting the desired marketing messages to intended target markets, regardless of the media used" (MarcommWise, 2006). Tony Yeshin (1999) defines marketing communications as "the process by which a marketer develops and presents stimuli to a defined target audience with a purpose of eliciting a desired set of responses" (Yeshin, 1999). Marketing communications are: adverting, sales promotions, personal selling, PR and direct and interactive marketing (Fill, 1999).
Consequently Marketing Communications Plan is the marketing plan which promotional plan incorporates two or more integrated marketing communications mediums aiming to reiterate the same goals and objectives. Marketing Communications Plans are considered by many professionals as an excellent way to effectively communicate with target audience.
Marketing Communications Plans are generally based on two different frameworks: Marketing Communications Planning Framework and SOSTAC (Fill, 1999).
Marketing Communications Plans consist of the following vital elements:
"Context analysis
Promotional objectives
Marketing communications strategy
Promotional mix (methods and tools)
Budget schedule
Evaluation and control" (Fill, 1999).

When writing marketing communications plan it is important to:
1. Set corporate, marketing and marketing communications objectives, which would support and integrate with each other.
2. Develop segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies
3. Develop creative message with which Marketing Communications Plan with communicate with target audience
4. Select and justify one or combination of marketing strategies (push, pull or profile)
5. Develop well-rounded and creative set of promotional mediums and allocate appropriate budget for each medium.
6. Create contingency planning strategy (in case something goes wrong)
7. Set strict set of evaluation and control mediums which would include milestones and continuous evaluation

Communication Skills Training - Effective Communication

Good Communication

Skills are essential

Being an effective communicator takes real skill. Communication skills have to be developed, honed and added to on an on-going basis. They are the heart of interpersonal skills and the greater your awareness of how it all works, the more effective your communication will be.

To be effective in business, you have to communicate well. To be a good manager

, you have to communicate exceptionally well.

Here we look at basic communication dynamics, learning skills to improve your communication, using effective communication to improve and promote interpersonal relationships, creating an effective communication strategy.

We could write a book about the importance of communication key skills, but for now you can content yourself with some essentials for becoming a more effective communicator.

Communication Core Skills - The Essentials

Communication is Individual

We're Not All The Same

When you look at communication, presentation skills are not all there is to it. Far from it. Everyone communicates differently and sees the world differently. The greatest skill you can have in order to instantly and significantly improve you communications skills is to understand the other person's point view and how they see the world. Then you can adjust your own communication to take that into account.

Change Yourself to Change Others

Alongside this has to be the knowledge that the only person you can be sure of changing in any communication is you. Therefore, the most effective way to be in charge of what happens in any communication dynamic is changing what you do. When you can do this you are well on the way to promoting better relationships.

You are the Only One of You

There's never one right way to communicate. Authentic effective communication always happens when we reply on those things we know to be true about or for ourselves. Remember your personal style probably says more for you that all the words you use can.

What's Already Working?

Most people tend to look at what's wrong with themselves and other people rather than focusing on what already works. Remember, something (more than one thing, of course) has to be working well for you to have got this far already!

How Communication Happens

Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

Interpersonal skills. Everything communicates. Remember! If you aren't clear about what you mean and what your intention is, the other person (or people) could easily (and sometimes deliberately), misinterpret what you mean.

What you do matters as much as what you say. It's now accepted that the words account for only 7-11% of a communication. Your behaviour will 'read' unconsciously to other people and you can certainly be more in charge of the reading matter!

Language is one of the most powerful reflections of how we think and feel about ourselves and others. You need to be aware of the padding, justifications and excuses you use and whether they are appropriate. You can make a big impact simply by changing some of your language and developing your verbal skills, This way you can significantly improve your communication skills.

Communication Cycle

There is a neat communication cycle we've come across that can help you understand how to make communication work better. It means that you can take responsibility for every stage on the Communication Cycle:

Spoken - Heard - Understood - Agreed To - Acted On - Implemented.

Be aware of where you or others tend to fall off the cycle.

What can get in the way of Effective Communication

Here are some Common Barriers to Effective Communication.

We all make Too Many Assumptions

Be aware of the assumptions you make, especially making something up and then acting as though what you made up was true. Notice if you alter your behaviour with certain people because of the assumptions you make about them. Also be aware of the assumptions you think other people make about you.

Assumptions aren't necessarily 'bad'. Sometimes it's important to let people keep their assumptions (or some of them at least!) about you.

One effective way to deal with assumptions is to say to the other person, 'I've assumed such and such. 'Is that true?' or 'I'm making an assumption here about... Do you agree?'

Good communication in the workplace is often sabotaged by too many unconfirmed assumptions.

Patterns/Reverting to Type

We are pattern-making beings, which is good. However, sometimes we get so used to behaving and responding in certain ways that it's hard to see that there's any other way of doing things. When the pressure is on or we are under stress, even our best intentions may go out the window as we revert to type.

Habits, patterns, routine ways of thinking and behaving are difficult to change. Noticing your patterns at least gets you aware of them! One way to practise this is to see how many communication habits and patterns have crept into your workplace. Try not to judge them. You can always decide if you want to change them or not.

Needing to Be Right

This is one area we all know about - the need to be right and in turn for the other person to be wrong. One skill that does need practise is to let go of needing to be right. Think of it as presenting information or a point of view rather than having to bludgeon someone else with your arguments.

If you want to promote effective relationships, this is one of the greatest communication key skills you can have is to be able to change what you want from a communication. You may have started out wanting the other person to agree with you, but by giving that up you can change your want to letting them know you understand their point of view.

Conflict Resolution

Conflict

One of the purposes of conflict is to arrive at a resolution, so if you avoid conflict, the problem usually (though not always) gets worse. The earlier you can identify that there is a problem and intervene, the better it will be. Good communication skills require you to be able to resolve conflict.

Agreement

Find something (anything will do) in the other person's argument which you can genuinely agree with. This is a great way to take the wind out of someone's sails and ensure you don't get drawn into an insoluble argument. People usually won't listen until they feel heard.

Bridge Building

Really listen to what the other person is saying - they usually give a lot of information without realising it. Building bridges by making an offer can help enormously, as can changing what you want.

'I' not 'You'

Use 'I' statements, not 'You' statements to avoid blaming. This also means that you take responsibility for how you feel, rather than making the other person responsible for making things all right for you.

Improving Communication Skills

Be a Good Influence

Attitude

You can change the direction of a communication if you change your attitude. There is no one attitude that's the 'right' one to have, though being direct and clear certainly helps.

Effective Listening and Responding

You can have tremendous influence on a communication as the listener and the responder. When we get little or no response from the listener, we often project our assumptions onto them about what they are thinking (and usually we assume they aren't thinking good things about us!).

Be Positive

Use affirmation and encouragement to get the best out of people. Notice when others do things well (even if it's part of their daily routine). This shows you're being attentive; most people respond well when they know that others are aware of what they do.

Quite simply, the workplace can be a far better place to be if you consciously sprinkle your communication with positive feedback.

The Importance of Basic Communication Skills

What's most important is that you don't leave the business of communication to chance. Raise your awareness, develop your skills and you'll be a role model for effective communication.