Planning your communications

Communicating well is at the heart of great participation. Here are five things to think about:

• Planning: Thinking about communications needs to start at the very beginning of your planning process, and adjusted throughout as your work progresses. Consider how you can create regular communications check-in opportunities, both within your internal project team to see how it’s going, and with communities. You can read more about communications planning, and use this tool to get started.
• Audience-focused: Much of your work will include information and language which isn’t familiar to communities. It will be impossible to do meaningful participation work unless you work at a level which is accessible to them. This is partly about using accessible, jargon-free language. And partly about recognising that communities may need time and support to understand key information or ideas. You can see great examples of sharing accessible information with communities in this case study about tackling tough challenges and this case study about innovative consultation methods.
• Listening: Just as communities might need time and support to understand key information or ideas, they will hold relevant information and perspectives that you don’t know. When you are thinking about your communications plan, consider what your key opportunities are to listen to and implement what you are hearing. This might involve changing course. You can read more about active listening.
• Honesty: Sometimes things go wrong, plans change, or fixed parameters make an idea impossible. In these situations, it’s essential to be honest with communities. It might feel disruptive or challenging in the short-term, but will allow you to build greater trust for the long-term. You can read more information on facing difficulties.
• Staying in touch: It’s important to ask communities how they want updates, and then make sure you stick to your promises. You should also give them a clear contact point for who to ask if they have questions. If there are delays to a project outside of your control, let participants know when they can next expect to hear from you.
  
  Below is a prompt question to help you think about when you will be keeping the community informed.