Complete firstStakeholder Mapping
An overview of the relevant stakeholder groups with influence, interest, and information needs is available.
Without: Without a stakeholder map, messages go to the wrong people or key groups are forgotten.
RunsheetDelivery
Communication Plan
ComplexityLow
Time45-90 min
Participants2-6
FormatWorkshop + async
MaturityCanonical
01
Prerequisite
What needs to be finished first
Complete firstInitiative Briefnot in catalog
A one-page initiative brief with goal, scope, timeframe, and sponsor is documented.
Without: Without a brief, messages are inconsistent and stakeholders receive conflicting versions of the story.
02
Preparation
What needs to be ready before start
Materials
Table with columns Audience, core message, channel, format, cadence, owner, feedback loop; template per message (subject, body, call to action); initiative calendar with milestones.
People / roles
A communication lead (owner of the plan); sponsor or initiative lead as messenger; a representative from the affected teams; optional internal comms or PR for tone.
Pre-read
Initiative goal and desired outcome per audience; known concerns per group; history of earlier communication on the topic; blackout periods or legal constraints.
Time needed
90 min setup, then ongoing maintenance
Setup
Create the table as a shared document. Copy audiences from the stakeholder mapping. Give each audience one row, leaving cadence and channel blank for now. Add initiative milestones as a timeline at the top.
03
Core question
The one question this method answers
Which message reaches which audience through which channel in which cadence so the initiative is understood, accepted, and supported as planned?
04
Flow
Marker: Sektion
| Step | Duration | Action | Hint |
|---|---|---|---|
1Section 1: Audiences and outcomes | 20 min | Formulate the desired outcome per audience (understand, agree, act). Outcome is not the message, but the effect goal. | If the outcome is identical for several audiences, they are probably not differentiated enough. Split them cleanly instead of creating channel soup later. |
2Section 2: Core messages | 25 min | Write one core message per audience in no more than two sentences. What, why now, and what this means concretely for this group. | A message that works for everyone is usually generic and relevant to no one. Add concrete examples per audience. |
3Section 3: Channels and format | 20 min | Set the channel per message (email, town hall, Slack, 1:1, intranet). Decide the format per channel (push, pull, dialog). Name an owner for each row. | Critical messages need at least one synchronous channel with a chance to ask questions. Mail or Slack alone creates interpretation gaps. |
4Section 4: Cadence and sequence | 15 min | Bind dates to milestones (T-14, T-7, T+1, T+30). Secure the order: sponsor first, then managers, then teams. | If employees hear about a change in Slack before their managers do, trust drops. Fix the cascade order in writing. |
5Section 5: Feedback and review | 10 min | Define a feedback mechanism per audience (office hours, Slack channel, survey). Schedule review dates in two and four weeks. | A plan without a feedback loop becomes a one-way street. At least one channel must support two-way exchange. |
05
Artifact
What comes out at the end
Form
Table plus sequence list: audience, outcome, core message, channel, format, cadence, owner, feedback mechanism, status. Also includes a timeline with send slots and an appendix with templates per message.
Versioning / ownership
Create a new plan per initiative. Document changes with date and initials at the end. Update status per row after each milestone instead of overwriting it.
Tool alternatives
- Notion database with filters per phase
- Confluence page with table and template appendix
- Google Sheet with columns and an owner column
- Airtable base with a calendar view of the send slots
communication-plan-working-template.md
Compact working template for Communication Plan with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
Communication Plan Working Matrix
| Element | Description | Rating | Evidence | Owner | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||
| 2 | |||||
| 3 |
Output artifacts
- Communication Plan:
- Channel Matrix:
- Message Cadence:
Decision or recommendation
What consequence follows from the matrix?
06
Example output
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
communication-plan-beispiel.md
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Communication Plan: Self-service onboarding rollout (Q3 2026)
| Audience | Outcome | Message | Channel | Cadence | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales DACH (24 people) | agree | Onboarding setup goes live for customers on 15.07.; no sales touch needed for plan S. | Town hall + FAQ | T-14, T-1 | @lisa |
| CS Lead Team (5) | act | Escalation path changes; new playbook link, week 1 on-call with two people. | 1:1 + Slack channel | T-21, then weekly | @ben |
| C-level (3) | inform | Activation is expected to rise from 22% to 35%; risk for plan L remains open. | T-7, T+30 | @anna |
Sequence: 28.06. sponsor email to C-level, 30.06. sales town hall, 01.07. CS briefing, 03.07. company-wide Slack post.
07
Pitfalls
Recognize symptoms and steer against them
Trap
One message for everyone
Symptom
The plan contains a generic text that goes to every audience unchanged.
What to do
Add at least one concrete audience-specific consequence per message. If they sound identical, the segmentation is too coarse.
Trap
Cascade in the wrong order
Symptom
The end-customer message or Slack broadcast appears before managers and sponsor are informed.
What to do
Use a strict T sequence: sponsor, then lead team, then affected teams, then broad audience. Communicate the pre-announce embargo in writing.
Trap
No feedback channel
Symptom
The plan lists only push channels, and questions land in random DMs.
What to do
Name exactly one official question channel per audience (office hours, channel, mailbox). Document it in the plan and link it in every message.
Trap
No owner
Symptom
Deadlines get close and nobody feels responsible for sending the message.
What to do
Assign exactly one named owner per row. The communication lead checks 7 days before each slot whether owner and content are ready.
Trap
Marketing tone in internal comms
Symptom
Internal messages sound like a press release and employees respond with sarcasm or distrust.
What to do
Use a factual internal tone with consequences and trade-offs. External language only where the audience is also external.
Trap
Plan ends at launch
Symptom
After go-live there is no further communication, questions remain unanswered, and the initiative feels cut off.
What to do
Anchor at least two post-launch slots in the plan (T+7, T+30) with status, learnings, and next steps.
08
Stop criteria
Done signals checkable in under a minute
No agreed initiative scope exists, so messages would be speculative.
Sponsor refuses an active messenger role, so the cascade cannot start.
A legal blackout period extends beyond the communication window, so all slots would break the embargo.
Stakeholder mapping is missing or older than six months without an update.
The initiative changes its goal three times during planning, so the message cannot be stabilized.
No owner can be named for at least 70% of the slots, so the plan will not be executed.
Finished the runsheet?
Go to the profile for purpose, similar methods, and sources or continue to the next method in the catalog.