What are the

communications
goals that support
the big picture
vision?
WhaL are Lhe lnLernal organlzauonal goals LhaL wlll be dlrecLly lmpacLed by your communlcauons work? lor example:
o 1he number and/or communlues of new people connecLed Lo your organlzauon or movemenL have grown or deepened.
o uo you know and have a clear role LhaL you are advanclng wlLhln Lhe larger progresslve movemenL?
o uo you wanL Lo embrace dlerenL levels of creauvlLy and parLnershlps wlLh oLher lndlvlduals and organlzauons Lo lncrease Lhe scope of your
communlcauons work?

1here are also exLernal goals--such as movlng Lhe conversauon around your lssue lnLo Lhe pop culLure narrauve or LranslaLed lL lnLo key pollcles. Cr
such as malnsLreamlng a new ldea or perspecuve lnLo Lhe publlc consclousness.
What is
your story?
Some people llke Lo call Lhls a narrauve, buL l llke Lo Lhlnk of lL as a sLory. SLorles have characLers, and arcs, drama and cllmaxes, a beglnnlng, a mlddle and an
end. uL on your creauve haL Lo Lhlnk abouL Lhe sLory (or a sLory arc) LhaL you wanL Lo permeaLe Lhe publlc consclousness, buL more speclcally, Lo
communlcaLe wlLh and Lo your core audlences?
Who and whaL are Lhe vlcums, Lhe vlllalns and Lhe heroes ln your sLory?
WhaL are Lhe shared dlmculues or opporLunlues of Lhe people lmpacLed by Lhe lssue? WhaL are new ways Lo connecL Lhose people Lo each oLher?
WhaL ls Lhe unlfylng moral LhaL you wanL your audlences Lo ldenufy wlLh?
WhaL are Lhe ma[or narrauve plvoLs you wanL Lo move Lhrough your work? lf you are successful, how has Lhe publlc and pollucal conversauon
changed around your lssue?
WhaL are opporLunlues Lo Lell Lhls sLory ln dlerenL ways and over ume? 1hrough sLory sharlng of lndlvlduals? 1hrough blog posLs? 8eporLs? Cr Lhlnk
ouLslde Lhe box--vldeo games, an onllne reallLy show, plays and muslc?
Who are
your audiences?
knowlng and undersLandlng your varlous audlences are key Lo your organlzauonal level communlcauons plan.
Who are Lhe audlences crlucal for your lnLernal and exLernal goals? Where are Lhey: geography, communlLy,
WhaL do you wanL each of Lhese audlences Lo do wlLh your lnformauon and your work? WP??
WhaL ls your Lone and personallLy for your varlous audlences: funny, serlous, slapsuck, qulrky, dramauc?
Pow are you llsLenlng Lo your currenL communlues and audlences so you undersLand how Lhey are Lalklng or consumlng lnformauon around Lhe
lssues and sLory you care abouL? WhaL can you learn from Lhls llsLenlng ln order Lo shl, deepen or spread LhaL lnformauon?
Pow are you communlcaung wlLh your core audlences ln person and how do you wanL Lo relaLe Lo Lhem onllne? Pow and why would you keep Lhem
engaged across varlous plauorms? vlce versa LhaL for onllne orgs.

Who are
your partners?
WhaL are oLher organlzauons around you dolng LhaL you llke or don'L llke?
WhaL are oLher elds, books, Lelevlslon, lm, eLc.. LhaL Lell sLorles ln formaLs and communlLy engagemenL LhaL you wanL Lo learn from?
Are Lhere allles LhaL have slmllar orlenLauons LhaL overlaps wlLh your own? uo you boLh reach audlences LhaL Lhe oLher one wanLs Lo connecL
Lo? Pow can you share and supporL each oLher Lhrough Lhe ampllcauon of sLorles and conLenL, daLa on audlences, and more?
How are you
understanding
your impact?
uo you have a clear seL of quallLauve and quanuLauve lmpacL measuremenL sLandards Lo Lrack your communlcauons sLraLegy and
lmplemenLauon as lL bullds Lo your lnLernal and exLernal goals?
Are you reecung and learnlng from your lmpacL analysls ln order for you Lo learn from fallures, bulld on successes and conunue Lo be nlmble
and exlble as you adapL your lnLegraLed organlzlng and communlcauons sLraLegy?
How are you
prioritizing?
Clven your resources and goals, have how are you prlorluzlng Lhe 1,000 dlerenL communlcauons opporLunlues ln fronL of you?
WhaL are Lhe crlLerla by whlch you declde Lo move Lhrough varlous sLreams of work and noL oLhers?
Version 1: Tracy Van Slyke, tracyvanslyke.com