5-0 Introduction and Key Terms

Unit Four focused on professional messaging and the concepts of purpose, audience, and the measurement of effective communication. We learned that effective communication is dependent on the alignment between communicator, communicatee, and audience. These are fundamental components of communication and are key inputs into message planning which will be explored in this unit.

Unit Five comprises two lessons and two longer exercises; the importance of planning and the planning process. As you will learn, for most people, good planning does not come naturally. Planning is a skill and a learned discipline that can be improved over time. This unit has been deliberately designed so that we can take the time to practice planning.

Lesson One spotlights the importance of planning. We discover why some people are better planners than others and how, with practice, we can benefit from improving the way in which we plan. We are introduced to a basic improvement cycle; plan, do, study, act. We learn how to use this empirically successful tool in communication. Finally, we explore the consequences of poorly planned communication and some real world high stake examples.

Lesson Two details the message planning process. The six stage process that effective communicators, writers, and speakers use to ensure their exchanges are as effective as possible.The process starts with the previously discussed need to define message purpose and audience. Next steps include generating ideas, identifying a main idea, and organizing ideas. These are a combination of creative and critical thinking processes which will be covered in detail during Unit Six. The last two stages of the process are to draft the message before revising and improving it. These stages will be covered in Units Seven and Eight.

The following questions can be used as readying activities to introduce concepts, create participation, and encourage analytical and creative thinking. Questions can be used before you begin the unit, or at any time during each lesson.