How can you include diversity in your strategic communication?

1 What is diversity in strategic communication?

Diversity in strategic communication means acknowledging and respecting the differences and similarities among your stakeholders, such as their identities, cultures, perspectives, experiences, and needs. It also means designing and delivering your communication in ways that are inclusive, accessible, and relevant for diverse audiences. Diversity in strategic communication can help you build trust, credibility, and engagement with your stakeholders, as well as foster innovation, creativity, and collaboration within your team.

2 Why is diversity important for strategic communication?

Diversity is essential for strategic communication as it can assist in achieving communication objectives and aligning with values and mission. Including diversity in your strategic communication can help you reach and influence more people, especially those that are underrepresented. Additionally, it can improve your understanding of audience needs and preferences, as well as demonstrate your commitment to social justice, equity, and inclusion. Furthermore, diversity can help you avoid stereotypes, biases, and errors that could damage your reputation. Lastly, it can leverage the diverse skills, perspectives, and experiences of your team members and collaborators to create a culture of learning, growth, and innovation.

4 How to include diversity in your strategic communication team?

To include diversity in your strategic communication team, you need to consider four key aspects: recruitment, retention, development, and culture. When it comes to recruitment, use fair and transparent processes and criteria that value diversity and inclusion. Seek out diverse applicants from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Retention requires providing your diverse team members with opportunities, resources, and recognition. Invest in the professional and personal development of your team members by offering them training, mentoring, coaching, and feedback. Foster a positive and collaborative team culture that embraces and celebrates diversity. Lastly, promote a shared vision that aligns with communication goals and outcomes while encouraging the diverse contributions of your team members.

5 How to include diversity in your strategic communication skills?

In order to incorporate diversity into your strategic communication skills, there are four key skills to practice: listening, empathy, critical thinking, and creativity. Listening actively and attentively to stakeholders, especially those who may differ from you or disagree with you, is essential. Asking open-ended and clarifying questions and summarizing what you hear can help build rapport, trust, and respect. Empathy is the ability to understand another person's feelings and needs. Critical thinking involves analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information in a logical and systematic manner. Creativity involves generating new ideas and solutions to enhance the impact of your communication. To practice these skills, be aware of your own emotions and biases, open-minded, curious, skeptical, imaginative, playful, explore different possibilities, seek feedback and improvement.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?