Description
a) What is your challenge or opportunity?
I noticed that the website of the real estate company I work for is out of date and thus preventing the organization from reaching out effectively to the clients, employees, and vendors. My challenge is, therefore, to pitch a proposal idea to the executive for the approval of an upgrade project on the website. b) Why is this professionally important to you?
I was appointed the marketing coordinator of my organization from a previous lower post. My entire career I have wished to make a lasting impression through a significant organization milestone. This is thus my first opportunity to lead an impactful change and upgrade to the systems. Both the executive and the other interested parties will be reviewing the feasibility and benefits of my proposal as we go through the upgrade ( Blakeman, 2018) . Given the previous marketing team failed to get approval for the upgrade, it will be my shot to prove that I am capable of driving the change.
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2. Goal a) What goal or outcome do you want to achieve with this communication?
My major goal is to communicate the overall need for the upgrade, minimize the negativity that comes with the organization change, minimize the hitches that accompany the proposal and create a good connection that focuses on the purpose. i. Is it clear, concise, and actionable?
The objective is actionable and will involve the audience.
3. Audience a) who is your target audience?
My audience comprises the individuals who manage the functions of the organization- the executive. Various professional posts include this category, and thus commitment and collaboration will be key to ensure my proposal is approved. They are an important section of the audience as they affect the key changes in the company based on the benefits they hold.
i. What are the professional positions of the audience members?
1. Chief Executive Officer
2. Chief Operations Officer
3. Chief Financial Manager
4. Head of the Marketing Department (My manager)
5. Human Resources Manager
6. Chief Strategy Officer
7. Procurement Officer
ii. What demographic characteristics will the audience comprise ?
The audience is demographically diverse regarding gender. The executive comprises both male and female professionals. There is also a difference in the level of position and duties. The top management is headed by the Chief Executive Officer who chairs a committee comprised of other people as his subordinates. These include the financial manager, chief operations officer, the head of the marketing department, project manager, and chief strategy officer. With these levels come diversity in income and educational background. Also considered are age, religion, and interests.
iii. What is your relationship to the audience?
With my promotion as the marketing coordinator, I have had to report some of my findings and research to the executive, and thus we have interacted at some level. The relationship that exists between the audience and I is purely professional, and they are my seniors. The project requires coordination between the parties, and thus the interaction will act as leverage. iv. What background knowledge and expertise does the audience have?
As the executive team contains a diverse audience, there is a myriad of background knowledge and expertise up their sleeves. Some of these people have worked as previous project managers, and some came from as lower positions as salespeople in the real estate industry. Most of them have experience in the management of people and running successful organizations, and thus it will only need appropriate persuasion and conviction to approve the change. v. What does the audience know, feel about, and expect concerning this communication?
The top management feels that the company needs a change in the way it markets itself to be at par with the evolving technology and be at the summit of competition and thus the communication is timely ( Waddell et al., 2016) . vi. What preconceptions or biases do you possess that might prevent you from building rapport with your audience?
One of my greatest biases is that the executive is supposed to automatically realize the need for the upgrade and the basis for the communication. b) What information is available about your audience?
1. The unison in acting
2. The seriousness they deserve
3. The might they hold in decision making
i. What research/sources will you use to obtain information about the audience?
My primary source about the audience will be the previous marketing team.
ii. What conclusions have you been able to draw about the audience?
The audience holds the interest of the company highly and will not hesitate to dismiss the proposal.
c) What tone will you use to convey your message?
I will use a tactful tone and a positive one. i. Is the setting casual or formal?
The setting for the message is formal, and thus the communication also expected to be formal as it is a professional pitch. ii. Is the communication personal or impersonal?
The primary goal of the entire presentation is to make the information personal as the executive will require formal communication to which they can relate ( Hargie, O. (2016). The more personal it is, the more they are willing to buy in and share their interests, challenges, and implications of the upgrade.
4. Key Message a) What is the primary message you must convey to your audience?
The website upgrade is an important process as it will expose the company to the customers more effectively in the highly competitive market. It is clear the upgrade will make some changes but offer the opportunity for this company to position itself as a champion. The process is a challenge but to ensure it works, there needs to be cooperation from the executive. i. Is the message compelling and memorable?
The message is compelling as it requires a change to make the company competitive. ii. Is the message clear and concise?
The clarity of the message is guaranteed and needs approval from the audience.
iii. Is the message aligned with your audience’s goals and needs?
The audience will always want to know the benefit of the change and its implications to the organization
5. Supporting Points
a) What three to four points, reasons, or justifications support your message?
1. No matter how big the idea in our head is, we need effective communication to make it known and understood to the people who make decisions.
2. Consulting and offering an open channel of communication will offer persuasions and ensure buy-out for the proposed project.
3. The more the information that can be provided to and received from the executive team and the authenticity, the more the feeling that they are part of the process and that it would lead to the solution of challenges that can arise due to the upgrade.
i. What research/sources will you use to obtain facts/data about your message?
One source of information will be the previous proposal that failed the approval. This will help me in assessing where the problem was and why the other team failed. The other source will be other similar construction companies that have successfully carried out the upgrade.
6. Channel Selection a) What communication style will you employ (Tell/Sell or Consult/Join), and why?
In this case proposal, I would advocate for both tell/sell and consult/join styles of communication. This is because I need to put across the project proposal to convince the panel that it will work for the company thus using the former ( Newman, 2016) . Also, I will need the feedback from the audience as they will offer insights and their challenges that they might see with the change. My part is to put the message for the upgrade across but the real people who need to approve it have to show interest, expectations, fears, and strengths for an entire buy-in. b) What channel(s) will you use to deliver your message, and why will they be the most effective?
I. The first means to deliver my interest is through drafting an email to the executive team on my interest to have a meeting with them and the subject of the meeting. This will ensure they prepare their questions and expectations ( Newman, 2016) . The effectiveness of such communication is to ensure that everybody is at par with what I want to propose and it is the channel through which messages can reach the entire audience at a go.
II. Scheduled face-to-face meetings will be the channel to which I put across my arguments and proposal to the team. The executive has to be persuaded and thus have to learn why I want the change to happen for them to approve ( Newman, 2016) .
III. PowerPoint presentation is also a means to convey my ideas by showing the team the visualization of what the change will cause to the company. This method is effective in further convincing the panel in addition to word of mouth. c) What purpose is served by each channel you have selected?
The emails will alert the executive team together with the manager of the interest to have a meeting with me.
PowerPoint presentation will demonstrate to the team how the project will be of benefit to the company.
A personal meeting will ensure I lay out my findings and persuasions.
7. Action Request a) Is your call to action you are making to your audience clear, concise, and easily actionable?
The call to action is that the entire executive team can approve of the proposal to have a new website project and that they can all see the benefit it will have on the company. In any change that happens to the family, there are always fears that it would not work to improve the organization while cutting the cost. Hence, effective communication can help with the convincing of the entire team that the call to action is to help the company and not to jeopardize it.
References
Amy Newman, 2016, Communication planning: A template for organizational change.
Dianne Waddel, Andrew Creed, Thomas Cummings, and Christopher Worley, 2016, Organisational change: Development and transformation . Cengage AU.
Owen Hargie, 2016. Skilled interpersonal communication: Research, theory and practice , https://www.routledge.com/Skilled-Interpersonal-Communication-Research-Theory-and-Practice-6th/Hargie/p/book/9781138823778
Robyn Blakeman, 2018, Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to implementation : Rowman & Littlefield.
