Ganesh, Juliet, Banu and Madhu belong to a communication network Sync and lead corporate communications at various organizations in the country. This network is like other networks anywhere in the world – that brings like-minded professionals to connect, engage and learn from each other. The group often faced common situations at work that needed resolution and they have gathered to discuss the need for an event which will bring the best out of the community. Read the following conversation and the conflicts which need answers to. Keen to hear what you think.
Juliet: “It is wonderful that we are able to get together to discuss our first ever corporate communication event”
Madhu: “I agree. This is a great opportunity to get all communicators from different organizations in the city under one roof and discuss issues we all face.”
Ganesh: “Folks, let us go back to the objectives of starting this network. We need to learn from each other since the communication challenges can only be understood by other communicators. We have a younger workforce in most of our organizations, social media is exploding and we need to get a better grasp of it, the role of a communicator is evolving and all of us need to be on the same page. There is a need to build capabilities and mentor budding professionals.”
Banu: “This is all important – however I am unsure if anyone will come for our event unless we have a big draw – like a CEO or a celebrity speaker.”
Ganesh: “You mean, our communicators will not show up for our own event that discusses communications?”
Banu: “I meant – they may come in but not most. You know how it is – people usually expect a big speaker and a leader to share what they think about the communication role and function.They are our stakeholders”
Ganesh: “This is odd. Why must someone else come in to tell us about what we do? Shouldn’t we know it already. Yes, we can always get their views and feedback”
Juliet: (stepping in sensing a conflict). “I think Banu means more people will come in to listen to leaders from the C-suite”.
Ganesh: “I disagree. If the forum is about communication why must someone else come in? Why can’t we exchange ideas based on the work we do and have done – so that everyone can gain insights? I am sure there is immense knowledge already within this forum of 100 communicators.”
Madhu: (unsure) “I feel we must have a mix – have a leader from outside and have our own communicators share knowledge.”
Ganesh: “Look. I get the draw bit – but why can communicators draw crowds? What do we lack? If we make the content relevant won’t they come?”
Juliet: “Guys, let us revisit this plan and take a poll among our communicators and then come back. what say?”
What do you think?
- Can’t communicators draw audiences?
- Why do communication professionals need ratification from stakeholders when we are the experts?
Can’t communicators draw audiences?
Communicators can draw an audience, but to an extent. If such meets are more frequent, there has to be something new that can draw the communicators for the event. Just like the communication we send out to our audience, every time we have to re-invent ourselves to make sure our audience do not get bored or put off the moment a communication pops up.
Why do communication professionals need ratification from stakeholders when we are the experts?
A communicator’s profession is no different from any other profession. The main crux of a communicator’s success is the ability to communicate the right message in a clear and concise manner. Like any other profession the growth depends on how well it is received by the audience – one of the key stakeholders for a communicator.
If we as a communicator have to go about our daily errands, we need a message from the source that needs to be communicated to the audience. We as communicators take the message and package it to make it impactful and choose the relevant channel (Digital, Print, Dialogue) to communicate the message to the receivers. This is one of the earliest models of communication. Our job here is just half done. Once the message is communicated, we have to make sure that the whole exercise is effective and efficient. To measure the effectiveness and efficiency, we gather feedback from the audience. This feedback provides the learning for future communication interventions. We have to use this feedback to enhance the effectiveness of our communication. This is how we as communicators grow as experts by using the relevant feedback and improvising. We do get a lot of feedback that is unwarranted and we do not have to concider them. However, we need ratification from both the source and receiver in order to make sure that we have delivered well on the assigned task.