Identify the Target Audience. When thinking about communications activities, it is important to consider who is reached. The plan for reaching students may be very different from the one used to reach parents.

Choose the Medium. Once one has agreed whom one needs to reach, it is important to think about the best way to reach them. Determine the ideal method of communication with the audience. There is no universal choice. Depending on the audience and the message, the method could be anything from creating a website to making a phone call.

Prepare the Message. Think through what to say and how to say it. Whether making a speech to a large group or writing an article for the PTA newsletter, take the time to review and refine the PTA Talking Points (6.1.1, 259) to concisely convey the message. Consider what the audience should understand from the message. All the energy should be focused on making that message clear -- discard all the rest.

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