A one-day Workshop for NPP Communicators drawn from all parts of the Federal Republic of Germany has been held in the German city of Dortmund over the weekend.

The purpose of the Workshop among other things, is to train and equip party activists with the essential communication skills and expose them to some basic techniques required for effective communication.

In his introductory remarks Mr. Kwaku Anane-Gyinde, National Organizer of NPP-Germany stressed the need for and importance of a more proactive and effective communication outfit as the 2016 elections draw near.

He noted that the success or otherwise of any political organization that intends to win power depends to a large extent on how effectively and efficiently it is able to communicate its message to the electorate and the general populace. Mr. Anane-Gyinde pointed out that getting the message across requires certain basic communication skills and techniques so as to have the maximum impact and effect hence the need for such workshops and similar training programs. According to him the NPP has demonstrated that it is the only party that has the right policies and programs to change the future direction of Ghana and added that the party needs to be more forceful and aggressive in the articulation of these well-intentioned policies and programs.

The national organizer called for consistency and coherence and coordination among communicators to avoid sending conflicting signals and messages saying “being a member of the communication team can be likened to being a member of a mass choir, we should be singing the same tune and from the same hymn book” In his closing remarks Mr. Alhassan Yakubu Tali, National Chairman of NPP-Germany thanked the NPP-NRW for sponsoring the program and expressed the hope that other local chapters will follow suit.

He paid tribute to members of the former communication team for their efforts, dedication and hard work and asked the incoming team to co-operative and learn from the experiences of the former members.

The program was facilitated by Mr. Jackson Kuntu Amankwa, a private Communications Consultant based in Amsterdam- Netherland.

Some of the topics discussed during the workshop included, the basic techniques required for effective presentation of political messages, the purpose of communication, shaping the message to fit the purpose, knowing your audience, ensuing effective communication (Accuracy, Brevity, clarity and keeping it simple). The workshop also looked at barriers to effective communication and how to overcome such barriers.