The third stage of the RACE process is communication. This stage may seem the most self-evident.  As PR practitioners, communicating is our job.  In going through the first two stages, communicating gets easier once research and actions are done.  When you have a target audience, it is easier to shape your goals and objectives to their needs.  This, in turn, shapes the way you, as a PR professional, communicate to them, especially when it comes to the medium used to get your message out to your audience.

Communications theorist David Berlo outlined a four step model of communication.  These elements include:

1. Source: the group or person who created the message
2. Channel: the medium used to convey the message
3. Message: translating ideas into symbolic code
4. Receiver: the group or individual the message is targeted to

These steps are important to think about as a communicator in the PR industry.  Communications that go out to the public need to have meaning, accuracy and the “what’s in it for me factor” to get a response from the public the message is directed to.

I wonder if anyone else has any other communication tips to add to Berlo’s list?