After you have done the basics of your communication plan – you have defined objectives, audiences and
messages – the next step is to decide how your plan will be carried out through practical activities.
CHECKLIST FOR YOUR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
FF Strategic overview: does your plan include a summary of your objectives, target groups and
messages?
FF Tactics: have you defined the activities you will carry out to achieve your objectives?
FF Timeline: have you identified a timeline including key dates in the life of your programme/
project to ensure that you meet your deadlines?
FF esources and responsibilities: have you allocated adequate resources and identified responR
sibility for the different tasks?
FF Evaluation: have you included provision for assessing whether you have achieved your goals?
PRINT AND PRESENTATIONS
Most projects and programmes will develop fact sheets, leaflets or brochures. As with all
your communication material, keep it simple, focus on your achievements and results and
cut jargon. You need to tailor your publication to the people you want to reach, so start by
asking yourself who you would like to hand out the brochure to and why.
If you have a meeting with stakeholders, a simple and neatly prepared home-made fact sheet or leaflet
printed in the office will be acceptable and appreciated. For some products or events, such as a final conference or a publication summing-up your achievements and results, you may want to employ a communications agency, which can help you with the layout and printing. If your budget is limited, share the publication
online in a PDF format rather than printing a large number of copies.
COMMUNICATION AND DESIGN MANUAL
WHAT COMES NEXT?
Remember to include information about the financial support in all communication
materials concerning your project or programme (see ‘Boilerplates’).
…The answer to all of these questions should of course be ’yes’.
PRESENTATIONS
TIPS ON PLANNING
›› our communications plan is not a shopping list of activities to check off but a clearly
Y
stated goal with matching actions and messages to engage a clearly defined group of
people.
›› hen it comes to messages ‘less is more’; focus on one idea per message targeting
W
your chosen audience.
›› reate an editorial calendar of activities taking place related to your project/
C
programme so that you can plan communications actions around them.
›› emember internal communication: promote your project already from the start to
R
colleagues in your organisation.
9
BASICS OF GOOD PRESENTATIONS
›› ne slide equals about one minute of presenting time; so a ten-minute slot at a conference
O
means around ten slides.
›› Slides should enhance what you say, not distract the audience from your messages.
›› se your allocated time wisely; rehearse your timing (standard allocation is 25% intro,
U
65% body, 10% round-up).
The remainder of this manual provides guidance on different communication
activities you may want to carry out.
›› Take care not to speak too fast (especially if there is interpretation).
›› o not be afraid to move around the podium (it keeps people alert and focused on you) but do
D
not stand in front of the projection.
›› resentations are like good stories; they get attention (shock, joke, quote, probing question,
P
etc.), hook and keep interest (build rapport, anecdotes, humour, contrast, challenge ideas, etc.)
and conclude with a punch (resolve the conflicts, summarise key points, remind audiences of
why they listened).
EEA GRANTS • NORWAY GRANTS
8
A good presentation can help you capture the objectives/targets, achievements and results of your project/
programme in a clear and accessible way. If you choose to use a PowerPoint presentation, make sure that
your slides represent visually what you ae saying verbally. Eye-catching slides with images or graphs often
help you reinforce your point, but long lists of bulleted sentences quickly lead to audience boredom. Ask
yourself whether the slide is a ‘verbal crutch’ – helping you remember what to say – or if it is helping your
audience bette "V