PRIORITIES FOR U.S. STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION

Strategic communication(s} means the synchronization of words and deeds and how they will be perceived by selected audiences, as well as programs and activities deliberately aimed at communicating and engaging with intended audiences, including those implemented by public affairs, public diplomacy, and information operations professionals.

Communication and engagement should be designed to support policy goals as well as to achieve specific effects to include:

• Foreign audiences recognize areas of mutual interest with the United States
• Foreign audiences believe the United States plays a constructive role in global affairs; and
• Foreign audiences see the United States as a respectful partner in efforts to meet complex global challenges.

Communication and engagement with foreign audiences should emphasize mutual respect and mutual interest. The United States should articulate a positive vision, identifying what it is for, whenever possible, and engage foreign audiences on positive terms.

Effective strategic communications are essential to sustaining global legitimacy and supporting  U.S. policy aims. Aligning actions with words is a shared responsibility that must be fostered by a culture of communication throughout the U.S. government. The U.S. must also be more effective in its deliberate communication and engagement, and do a better job understanding the attitudes, opinions, grievances, and concerns of peoples -- not just elites -- around the world. Doing so is critical to convey credible, consistent messages, develop effective plans and to better understand how actions will be perceived

Strategic communication(s} means (a) the synchronization of words and deeds and how they will be perceived by selected audiences, as well as (b) programs and activities deliberately aimed at communicating and engaging with intended audiences, including those implemented by public affairs, public diplomacy, and information operations professionals.

Coordinating words and deeds, including the active consideration of how US actions and policies will be interpreted by public audiences as an organic part of decision-making, is an important task. This understanding of strategic communication is driven by a recognition that what we do is often more important than what we say because actions have communicative value and send messages. Achieving strategic communication, in this sense, is a shared responsibility. It requires fostering a culture of communication that values this type of synchronization and encourages decision-makers to take the communicative value of actions into account during their decision-making. The most senior levels of government must advocate and implement a culture of communication that is reinforced through mechanisms and processes.

Strategy for Synchronization

Synchronizing deeds and words to advance United States Government interests, policies, and objectives is an important part of effective strategic communication and strategy more generally. Every action that the United States Government takes sends a message. Synchronization is therefore a shared responsibility that begins with senior leaders and specifically Department level leadership. They must foster a "culture of communication" that recognizes and incentivizes the importance of identifying, evaluating, and coordinating the communicative value of actions as a proactive and organic part of planning and decision-making at all levels. The communications community supports senior leaders by leading the development of mechanisms and processes that enable and sustain synchronization. These mechanisms include processes designed to: ensure strategic goals and messages are well understood at all levels; raise awareness about the communicative impact of decisions and actions; emphasize the importance of considering such impacts proactively; and ensure that forums exist for deliberating these impacts on high-priority issues and coordinating actions with deliberate communication and engagement.

Programs and activities focused on communicating and engaging with the public need to be strategic and long-term, not just reactive and tactical. They should also focus on articulating what the United States is for, not just what it is against. Deliberate communication also helps establish the strategic messages against which our actions are often judged by the public, and deliberate engagement helps identify how our actions are being interpreted and perceived. It is vital that the United States is not focused solely on one-way communication, which is why "engagement -- connecting with, listening to, and building long-term relationships with key stakeholders is of prime importance.. The communications community is comprised of a wide variety of organizations and capabilities including, but not limited to: public affairs (PA) , public diplomacy (PD) , military information operations (IO), and defense support to public diplomacy (DSPD). Planning, development, and execution of engagement programs and activities need to be better coordinated, integrated, and driven by research, information, and intelligence.