Final answer:
Strategic communicators begin every communication effort with Research, which involves understanding the audience's social, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. Defining the purpose and creating a strategic messaging plan follows the research. The Cuban Missile Crisis exemplifies the high stakes of effective strategic communication, emphasizing the importance of research before crafting messages.
Step-by-step explanation:
Strategic communicators begin every communication effort with Research. This phase is essential to understanding the audience's perspective, including their social, cultural, or linguistic factors that could influence the effectiveness of the communication. It includes gathering information about what the audience knows, their lived experiences, and what is important to them to effectively shape the narrative.
Defining the situation and setting a clear purpose are crucial. For example, someone might state, 'The purpose of my project is to educate the public on environmental issues,' and then continue to develop a thesis or line of inquiry based on researched data and goals. Strategic messaging, including crafting issue-specific messages and responses, is done afterward to ensure the communication is impactful and succinct.
The historical example of the Cuban Missile Crisis illustrates the stakes of effective strategic communication. President Kennedy's administration relied heavily on comprehensive research about the Soviet's values, goals, and thinking to craft their communication strategy, highlighting the significance of research before engagement.
When planning a project or communication strategy, one will define goals and objectives, the audience, and the methods used to reach the audience. Subsequent steps may involve creating a graphic organizer to understand known information, discerning gaps in knowledge, and determining methods for further information collection, such as research or interviews.