The point of developing a communication strategy is, of course, to win hearts and minds. You want people to commit to what you are doing. Establishing a clear path from your 'why' all the way to an open dialogue gives the team a way to engage in conversation about the change. This is critical to the success of all change initiatives.

The ultimate goal of any good marketing campaign is to establish a call to action on the part of your customers. That call to action is what you want them to buy or to do, in other words. Additionally, marketing communication has an underlying assumption; the message is targeted to reach and appeal to a chosen demographic of your product or service.

Did you know that trust and rapport are two different concepts?

Trust is defined as assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.

Rapport is a friendly, harmonious relationship, especially a relationship characterized by agreement, mutual understanding, or empathy that makes communication possible or easy.

What does our track record with change mean for current and future changes that we are entertaining? The size, impact, scope, and nature of our accumulated personal history of change provide us with a wealth of information about what we have done well and what we will do differently.

Who on your team is the "go-to" person? That team member who's the acknowledged informal leader. You know who I mean - the one who's expected to have the most information about what is going on. The person the manager relies on as a change agent for new initiatives — they are expected to win the whole team over for a new technology or process due to their credibility and standing. In other words, the usual suspect when you want to tap into the team's consciousness.