
Get your communications right every time.
© iStockphoto/Bibigon
Whether you're writing an email to a co-worker, delivering on the job training to a new team member, or giving an important presentation to your board of directors, you must communicate in a way that is clear, concise, and easy to understand.
But do you ever get lost while organizing your message, or struggle to identify what your audience truly needs to know? There are so many factors to consider during preparation and presentation that it's easy to forget an important point.
The Communication Cycle is a six-step process that helps you develop and refine your message. It helps you ensure that you don't forget anything essential the first time you present it, and it helps you maximize its impact in the times that follow. By putting the process into the form of a cycle, this approach encourages you to use the feedback you receive to improve your communications in the future.
In this article, we'll examine the Communication Cycle, and look at how you can use it to improve your daily communications. We'll also give an example that shows how you can use the Communication Cycle when delivering an important communication.
The Communication Cycle (shown below in Figure 1) provides a checklist that helps you communicate effectively with your audience.
Mind Tools members, click here.
Join now for just $1, first month

Get training, help and ideas to boost your career: the Mind Tools Club gives you much, much more than you get here on the basic Mind Tools site.
And if you join before midnight on May 9th, we'll also give you a FREE copy of our Future-Proof Your Career workbook.
Join the Mind Tools Club before midnight, May 9th, and get our Future-Proof Your Career workbook (worth US$19.99) for FREE.
Learn on the move with the free Mind Tools iPhone, iPad and Android Apps. Short bursts of business training ideal for busy people.