Formulating messages for illiterate rural communities

There is growing realisation of the difficulty to communicate with illiterate rural communities in South Africa. It is imperative that we also begin to use communication media that really "speak" to the people. The main aim of this article is therefore to challenge communication consultants in South Africa to take the development road when communicating with the Third World. Illiterate or lowliteracy people must be identified and as the cost of failing to communicate successfully is prohibitive, simple and clear messages should be fonnulated to ensure understanding. Crucial to the viability of successful communication with illiterate rural communities will be the relevant role-playing factors in fonnulating messages, including the question of which media to apply.