This week, we focus on a few tips to make your visual communications more effective. The first tip – know your goal, your message, and your audience.
Your goal is the single most important factor in communications. Your goal will lead you to good decisions about what to communicate and how best to deliver that communication. So, start with a goal statement, then identify the best way to meet that goal. You’ll likely see some new, better options from the get-go when you put the goal first and you’ll have a touchstone to test options throughout the communications process.
Your message is the clearest, simplest version of what you want to communicate. Your message is a mixture of word selection, frame of reference, and clarity. Precision is what you are aiming for with your message so that the recipient of your message is sure of what is being shared with them and so that all that you are not saying falls away. The other goal is to communicate value – why is this message important? The best messages are simple and compelling. Good messages engage your audiences quickly in a meaningful way in what you have to say, share, or show.
But, who’s your audience? That’s the question you want to answer because who they are will impact many decisions. Where does your audience get its information. What sources do they trust? What level of knowledge do they have? What else are they hearing that could conflict with your message? The answers to these questions will lead you to more tailored decisions about how to attract and keep their attention.
When you get the message and audience right, your graphics team will have what they need to help amplify your communications to better engage your audience.
Stay tuned for tips from our in-house design experts Warner Architecture + Design. They’ll share their tips for transforming your message into visual communications to effectively reach your intended audience.
The Collaborative Services Blog Team
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