Audience

If you are in the school of thought that communication is, in fact, the most critical component of successful project management, then it would follow suit that the most important aspect of effective communication is knowing and appropriately addressing your audience.
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//What does it mean to “know your audience”? More importantly…who is your audience?//

The project manager certainly recognizes the importance of communicating with the project champion or sponsor. This is the person the project manager will have initial contact with and the person who will express the business need the project is set to serve. People naturally think of members of the project team, usually representing a range of functions and disciplines, when they consider their project audience. While the members who contribute and deliver milestones might change from one project to another, project teams will almost always include an expert to guide and give input as it relates to finances.
 * Some roles are virtually always present**

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 * Who else should you consider?** Listen to the following audio clip from a subject matter expert in Project Management.

Did you catch that? In the clip, Scott Rabe, PMP, Director of Project Management & Development at STCU, mentioned the project champion and sponsor. He also highlighted the importance of considering: Depending on the type of project, you may also find, more often than not, that it is helpful to include representation from the IT (Information Technology) department.
 * Stakeholders
 * Vendors
 * All Staff
 * Training Department

Do you think that a project manager should be able to look over a project plan, identify all impacted areas and translate that analysis into a list of the project’s audience? While this might be a good conversation starter, it is just that—a helpful conversation starter.
 * How can you ensure that you’ve included all necessary members in your audience?**

Identifying your audience is a collaborative effort. Ask the team members and the project’s client and sponsor to look over the parties with whom you plan to communicate. This technique is particularly necessary if the project is the first of its kind. If your organization works on similar projects again and again, recycle information as much as possible to make future projects more effective and efficient. An example of this is a series of communication checklists: //if a project touches area “A”, individuals and agencies on “Checklist A” must be included in the communication plan.//

This question begins to get into the development of a communication plan. Still, it is important to recognize that audience members can have a wide range of needs. While one department’s “customer” might be another internal department, a different department’s “customer” might actually be the end user or consumer of your product or service. This realization will help the project manager to involve the appropriate parties who can, in turn, extend the appropriate communication to third parties or external parties. All communication does not have to come from the project manager; he/she simply must take measures to ensure that all necessary communications are carried out.
 * It’s not enough to simply know who they are… what are their needs?**

What is critical is that the needs of all audience members are met.

**Click here to learn more about communication plans >**