The Necessary Components of an Effective Project Communication Plan - Essay Example

Certainly, a project communication plan requires careful attention to details in order to communicate and collaborate effectively on the project objectives. Although it may appear like a normal communication, the communication plan is crucial in project planning by conveying the message to the relevant audience through the applicable communication channels (Taylor & Dow, 2013). In this respect, it is important to note that the major elements of an operative communication plan are the audience, message, purpose, communication channels, an action plan, and the obstacles (Ramsing, 2009).

Perhaps the most important element of a communication plan is the audience, which receives and responds effectively to the message conveyed (Pritchard, 2014). According to Taylor and Dow (2013), some critical audiences must be involved in an effective communications plan in order for the message to gain wide acceptance. Pritchard (2014) states that the audiences vary greatly and they may include the project sponsor who is the main audience, professional groups, opinion leaders, employees, media, local community, and government.

All the audiences differ greatly in opinion and they may respond variedly depending on their mood and the nature of the message in the communication plan (Ramsing, 2009). Essentially, the project sponsor, media, and the local community are the major stakeholders that will especially receive full communication (Taylor & Dow, 2013).The frequency with which the information will be shared will depend on the prevailing circumstances, as it will not be possible to gather all the stakeholders at once.

Therefore, the project sponsor will receive a full copy of the communication plan while the public and the media will be kept updated daily (Ramsing, 2009).If the audiences do not receive the message effectively, then they will be separated into groups so that each group receives more attention (Ramsing, 2009). As far as the communication technology is concerned, it is worth mentioning that the project sponsor will receive communication through email, brochure, and telephone call while media will be updated via emails and video conferences (Taylor & Dow, 2013).

As for the public, the project roadshow will be the best tool in effecting communication. Occasionally, communication could become an ethical or legal issue depending on the nature of communication, the mood of the audience, mechanism of sharing information, a tool of sharing information, and the stakeholders affected by the communication plan (Pritchard, 2014).