Communication Goals

The five general purposes a professional message can serve. Every message should have one primary overarching goal, identified during the Preparing step of the writing process. Knowing the goal drives all subsequent decisions about medium, style, and approach.

How It Appears Per Course

ADMN 233

Goal-setting is sub-step 1.3 of Preparing. Having more than two goals in a single message is almost never advisable — split competing goals into separate messages.

The Five Goals

graph TD
    G[Communication Goals] --> I[Inform]
    G --> P[Persuade]
    G --> T[Train]
    G --> E[Engage]
    G --> GW[Promote Goodwill]

    I --> I1["Disseminate facts, data, findings"]
    I --> I2["Share new information"]

    P --> P1["Convince someone to follow recommendations"]
    P --> P2["Encourage people to think or act a certain way"]

    T --> T1["Add to skills or knowledge base"]
    T --> T2["Instruct on how to do something specific"]

    E --> E1["Attract interest or involvement"]
    E --> E2["Invite participation or collaboration"]

    GW --> G1["Build friendly, helpful attitudes"]
    GW --> G2["Build brand image"]

Goal	Core Purpose	Example
Inform	Share facts, data, findings	Price increase announcement
Persuade	Change beliefs or behaviour	Sales proposal, recommendation report
Train	Build skills or knowledge	How-to guide, onboarding manual
Engage	Invite participation	Social media post, team initiative email
Promote goodwill	Build positive relationships / brand image	Thank-you letter, community post

How Goal Shapes the Message

Identifying the goal early clarifies:

• Medium — goodwill → social media; training → step-by-step document
• Approach — informational price increase → indirect writing approach; persuasion → strongest points first and last
• Tone — engaging content is warmer; informational content can be neutral

Key Points for Exam/Study

• Five goals: Inform, Persuade, Train, Engage, Promote Goodwill
• One primary goal per message; max two goals — never more
• Goal is identified in Step 1 (Preparing), but shapes everything that follows
• Know examples of each goal
• Inform ≠ Persuade — disseminating facts vs. changing behaviour

Cross-Course Connections

Argument — the “Persuade” goal in ADMN 233 is essentially argumentation applied to a professional context; PHIL 252 provides the logical structure behind persuasion
Communication-ManagementPersuasion — persuasion in writing ↔ persuasion in business decision-making
WritingProcess — goal-setting is sub-step 1.3 of the Preparing stage