People use communication channels to share information with an intended audience. The key to delivering essential information to the right person at the right time and place begins with understanding communication channel principles. These principles include channel types, delivery methods and channel richness. Combined with a thorough understanding of the benefits, they bolster channel selection processes, ensuring the integrity of the commander's intent.
Channel Types
Verbal, written or nonverbal information delivery occurs through traditional or digital channels. Traditional channels, or "legacy channels," include newspapers, radio, physical mail and face-to-face conversations. No digital technology is involved with these types of channels. Digital channels, on the other hand, leverage digital technology to communicate information. These channels include social media, websites, email and video conferences.
Delivery Methods
The communication method selected impacts the audience. Your communication goals, the type of information to communicate and who needs it determine whether you should choose a formal or informal method. Formal methods follow a chain of command or a specific protocol and transmit essential information (e.g., policy updates or sensitive material). This structured approach ensures clarity, accountability and order within an organization. Informal methods, however, do not follow a chain of command but always exist in a network or organization. Non-essential information is shared during informal exchanges, such as brainstorming sessions or social interactions. Informal methods foster inclusivity and collaboration, but exchanges can easily become unprofessional, and information can lose clarity without defined expectations. As a result, effective leaders must find a balance between the two. Doing so ensures professionalism and that everyone receives the information they need.
Channel Richness
Communication channels range from rich to lean, depending on the level of complexity and interactivity. Rich channels consist of detailed, complex and interactive information exchange through two-way communications. Examples of rich channels include:
- In-person or face-to-face meetings
- Video conferences or video calls
- Phone or voice calls
Rich channels promote the use of body language, voice, tone and inflection, allowing both the receiver and the sender to have a deeper connection. A drawback to rich channels is the loss of efficiency due to narrow audience reach.
Lean channels consist of simple, one-way communications where information has a wide reach, reaching audiences quickly and conveniently. Examples of lean channels include:
- Emails
- Reports
- Social media posts
Lean channels lack the "richness" of two-way or rich channels because they do not allow for reading body language or immediate feedback. This type of channel is suited for simple messages or quick updates.
Have you ever sat through a meeting and thought, "This could have been handled through email"? This thought occurs when the chosen communication format does not match the content. Essentially, the communicator chose the wrong channel for the message. If you plan to talk to someone face-to-face, you need to have something rich enough to warrant face-to-face communication, or your listener will feel underwhelmed. Likewise, if your significant other breaks up with you via email or text, it stings! That should have at least been a video call, or preferably an in-person meeting. When we don't match the message to the channel, we betray our listener's expectations. Understanding why people use social media and what sort of content they expect to receive on Facebook, for example, should help guide us to moderate the complexity of the messages we're placing on the platform.
Check out the graphic below to view the spectrum of channel richness and communication complexity. It illustrates that richer channels, such as face-to-face conversations, convey more emotion and nuance, while text-based channels offer less engagement. Matching channel richness to communication goals ensures efficient communication delivery and progress toward the commander's end state.
Channel Benefits
Traditional and digital communication channels both unlock unique benefits in communication efforts. While some of these benefits appear similar, such as accessibility and trust, the specific impacts of each vary. Understanding these benefits helps to better determine how to reach the intended audience.
Traditional channels promote:
- Trust: Gained through listening, sharing and engaging in two-way communication.
- Clarity: Enhanced through body language, tone of voice and facial expressions. These actions minimize misunderstandings and increase “stickiness” or content understanding.
- Accessibility: Promoted through inclusive delivery methods such as clear language, physical accessibility features, multiple mediums or translation.
- Reliability: Optimized through quality assurance of information met through accuracy and integrity.
Digital channels promote:
- Trust: Increased due to the humanization of the military for people who do not have day-to-day interactions with them.
- Efficiency: Broadened with instant delivery, transcending geographical barriers.
- Accessibility: Maximized when meeting audiences where they are and tailoring content and delivery to specific needs.
- Measurable outcomes: Quantified with data analytics from user engagement and effectiveness.
Channel Selection
Selecting the right channel is like fitting a key into a lock. Like a key, communication channels possess distinct qualities suited to specific messages and the intended audience. Finding the perfect fit ensures effective communication. Channel selection occurs during the research and planning phase.
The process for channel selection is as follows:
- Identify the audience. Consider who needs information. Using personas is a great way to gain insight into the audience's characteristics. Such insights may include preferred channels, current methods of communication, and personal, professional and behavioral factors.
- Determine prior knowledge. Collect research and data to assess gaps in the intended audience's knowledge, attitudes and behaviors.
- Assess accessibility features. Channels need to meet audiences where they are and accommodate their needs.
- Identify delivery timeline. Evaluate when the audience needs the information and determine how long it will take for delivery.
- Select primary channel(s). Decide on the best channel or channels to deliver information. Note that the selected channel may change over time depending on audience needs.
- Assess impact and sustainability. Analyze analytics to determine audience engagement and long-term sustainability capabilities.
Best Practices
After selecting a channel, ensure the use of best practices and minimize the spread of misinformation in communication efforts, per Joint Publication 3-61, Public Affairs. These tenants include:
- Authenticity: Consumers should know who is communicating information.
- Professionalism: Information should preserve trust and align with DoD standards and the commander’s end state.
- Transparency: Communication efforts should be clear, consistent, sincere and respectful, and they should have a positive tone.
- Propriety: Information must be accurate, appropriate, timely, tone-aware and approved.
The above also enhances audience understanding, engagement and impact.
Remember, the key is to effectively communicate the right message to the right person at the right time on the right platform. Doing so will unlock the potential of communication channels and ensure the progress of a commander’s objective.
References
Joint Chiefs of Staff. (2016). Joint Publication 3-61 Public Affairs.