Change is complicated. But, as David Pitre shared at the seventh annual Poppulo Communicators Forum in New York City, creating effective communication about change doesn’t have to be.

More than 95 communicators gathered for the opening keynote to hear David dish about change communication, which included his secret sauce: stakeholder segmentation.

“The key to creating a change communication plan that really works is understanding your stakeholders,” says David. “How can you craft communication that breaks through unless you know who they are and what they need?”

Hosted by the employee communication software company Poppulo, the event provided attendees with opportunities to learn from industry thought leaders like David, who literally wrote the book on change communication.

David walked attendees through a six-step process for planning and implementing change communication. He then put them to work with interactive exercises designed to boost thinking and collaboration, using a stakeholder segmentation model. David advised attendees to carefully consider various stakeholder groups based on the complexity and impact of change.

Attendees walked away with a new tool to use on their next change communication project. One attendee shared, “I will definitely think more critically about audience segmentation and use this tool.”