An Effective Communication Plan and Strategy for Sporting Events - Essay Example

? Alcovy Wrestling Communication Plan Many sporting activities that involve a substantial number of people need a good communication plan or framework to allow a free flow of instruction and general communication from one level to another. It has been found that education activities require good communication skills as the needs for communication are high. As such, this paper intends to explore communication requirements in wrestling as a sporting activity to determine the suitable communication plan and other related issues. Through that, it will be easy to focus on how to have an effectively better communication among different groups of audience and the possible better channels to achieve that. Alcovy Wrestling Communication Plan Communication is a considerable method of conveying a message across regions, and can take diverse ways, which include a mouth-to-mouth communication, presentations, media broadcasting, press releases, the use of posters or fliers as well as particular events. To educators, effective communication is crucial because communication is the essential aspect for creating changes in learning institutions. Therefore, educators should learn to communicate effectively and listen carefully in order to achieve the intended goals of the organization. Vos, Otte and Linders (2003) argue that effective communication is the major aspect that contributes to better performance; thus, to be a successful communicator developing a communication plan is necessary. Planning is one way of organizing actions in order to achieve the intended goals successfully. Therefore, developing a strategic communication plan is necessary because it ensures that various activities are carried out as scheduled, which increases the efficiency and, consequently, an output. Developing an effective communication plan one should take into considerations the following factors – the purpose, the audience, the message to be communicated, communication channels, ways or distribution channels, and the action plan. Wrestling is a significant psychological and physical activity, and the presence of a communication plan ensures that all activities are coordinated, thus, the realization of anticipated results is feasible. Ferguson (1999) affirms that the primary purpose of developing a communication plan is to educate wrestlers and inform anyone interested to participate in wrestling next year at Alcovy high school, so that all the parties could carry out their duties efficiently. Furthermore, studies suggest that wrestling is an imperative sport activity that draws diverse groups of people together, and it is also crucial in reducing anxiety and other health issues. As such, the presence of efficient and effective communication ensures that all the parties involved benefit both from physical and social perspectives. In essence, coaching in wrestling can be easy in case one has a good communication plan, but can be an overwhelming task in the absence of a communication plan while preparing diverse activities or aspects that should be achieved in a set period. Vos, Otte and Linders (2003) argue that developing a strategic communication plan can result into significant changes and lead to success in project implementation. Therefore, the goal of developing Alcovy wrestling communication plan is to convey information to the intended audience effectively. On the other hand, identifying the audience, whom the instructor tries to reach, is imperative because it simplifies the preparation of a logical communication plan. In this regard, there are varied ways one can categorize audience and employ the effective communication forms or approaches for communicating the message successfully. Since the majority of audiences are high school students, the use of fliers or posters will be an effective method of communicating about wrestling sports activities. To succeed, the coach will create information fliers about the wrestling site and the summer timetable for practices. Due to the existence of other audiences such as parents, teachers, and Facebook users, the use of Facebook, e-mails, and school website will make the process more effective. This is so because the information will be updated weekly, especially on Facebook and school website pages, while text and e-mails will be sent on a weekly basis to ensure everyone is updated on the current state as well as scheduled activities relating to the sport. Ferguson (1999) argues that when developing a communication plan, it is crucial to take into consideration the content, language, mood, and the design of communication. It was agreed that in the course of creating Alcovy wrestling communication plan, the instructor would use ads, which could successfully attract new wrestling learners to training programs; thus, the tutor would design the message in a way that would make an excellent deal to find out the way the audience could respond to it. Moreover, the coach will create a balance of the information by relating it with the mood of the audience through the maintenance of a positive tone of the message. This is substantial because it will make more people become interested in wrestling by listening to an appealing message. Furthermore, a positive tone of the message is crucial because it will attract the attention of many people by evoking their positive feelings and perceptions. The message will be plain and straightforward, this will enable the trainer to express the message in a simple and plain way. The educator will avoid informal messages, as their use may discourage the audience. Since channels employed in communication are essential in creating awareness and interests and vary significantly, communication will begin with ads in the local newspapers and magazines as well as announcements that will be made during the afternoon school announcements. Concerning communication, fliers and brochures can be among the best communication channels that may be used because they are more compelling than the other communication channels. The advantage of using informational fliers and brochures is that they can be displayed anywhere, especially in places where they easily capture the attention of audiences; thus, this communication channel would be ideal in this case. Moreover, designing fliers is not demanding in comparison to the printing of ads and media services. Some anticipated obstacles or emergencies may arise in the process of developing a communication plan for Alcovy. Vos, Otte and Linders (2003) argue that anticipating obstacles that may arise when developing a communication plan is important because one will be able to develop effective strategies, essential for solving a crisis that may hinder a successful operation. Varied things can take place when developing or constructing Alcovy wrestling communication plan; for instance, the tutor may forget to include an e-mail address or forget to send a message to the press for a release. At times, a key word can be misspelled in the informational fliers or brochures, and this may send the wrong information to the targeted audiences. Therefore, the first way of dealing with the anticipated communication problems and crisis is to make efforts of preventing their occurrence. Although this may not be always possible when one is faced with communication problems or crisis, it is imperative to make efforts of identifying the problems as clearly as possible. Other communication problems such as a message presentation, that may also arise, can depend on the way the audience perceives the information. This is mainly so because various people find different presentation styles preferable depending on age, knowledge, and setting among others. Studies confirm that globalization as an era has altered and continues to change the way the society communicates. This is so because of the rapid technological development, which makes the Internet and social networking sites and other media services to be highly utilized in the communication process. In addition, Pearson and Saunders (2010) point out that, managing and using information systems can enable organizations to achieve success. Therefore, to communicate effectively and enable the information to reach many people faster through mass communication, using text and e-mail messages and incorporating social networking channels are useful. This is a great advantage as the information will effectively disseminate faster within and outside the learning organizations. In essence, this is also crucial because the tutor will be able to enhance the effective communication for the intended audiences including students, parents, wrestling funs, and team members successfully. Moreover, when utilizing technology in a communication process about wrestling training programs, the tutor will characterize the diverse groups of the targeted audience depending on their behavior levels and other aspects such as collective identities. In most cases, teenagers are among the highest population who use social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and many others. Therefore, the use of Facebook and managing the Facebook page is crucial as it will enable the targeted group to achieve information successfully. The choice of the platform to be used is determined by the number of users subscribed to it as well as its accessibility. Creating an action plan and evaluating the communication plan is a significant aspect that will enable the educator to achieve the intended goals successfully. Thus, after laying down the task and putting together the task into the plan, the educator will take actions on them. Since the educator knows the purpose, the intended audience, the message or content and the anticipated issues as well as the best channels to reach the intended audience, it is essential to generate an action plan. An action plan is an effective procedure that helps one to focus on ideas and make decisions on what steps to be taken to achieve or accomplish a certain objective. It is important because it helps to turn one’s dreams into reality, and it is one way of achieving the purpose or mission of the project. Thus, the evaluation process in a communication plan is imperative as it enables the educator to continue making it better. Again, the evaluation of a communication plan would determine how comprehensively the educator will carry it out and how methodically it performs. This is crucial because it will help the instructor to make significant changes of improving the communication plan. In conclusion, a communication plan is an effective aspect, which can enable one to achieve the intended goals successfully. Again, it is fundamental because an effective communication plan will enable the tutor to pass information successfully to the intended audience. Therefore, this communication plan serves as a general guide for giving information about wrestling training programs, and it may change depending on the educator’s needs and focus. Therefore, a successful communication plan should include the targeted audience, the communication purpose, the message, and communication channels. It should also include the anticipated communication problems or crisis and the action plan. ? References Ferguson, S. D. (1999). Communication planning: An integrated approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Pearlson, K., & Saunders, C. S. (2010). Managing and using information systems: A strategic approach. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Vos, M., Otte, J., & Linders, P. (2003). Setting up a strategic communication plan. Utrecht, Netherlands: Lemma. Read More