There have been many attempts at improving human communication. This article defines what is meant by the optimization of communication with a view to future research projects focused on specialized communication. The idea of optimization is traced back to its origins in interlinguistics and followed as it spreads through early terminology and LSP research. The optimization of communication is defined as deliberate intervention with the aim of achieving some kind of improvement in the communicative act or in the means of communication. With reference to LSP research, Translation Studies and the new integrative discipline of specialized communication studies, elements of a possible model of optimized communication are discussed. Eighteen areas of communication in which forms of deliberate intervention can be observed, ranging from language planning to content management, are briefly reviewed. From these preliminary overviews of applicable theoretical approaches and an examination of the object of study, nine groups of research questions are derived.