Effective Messaging
Hey, folks! I thought I’d share the process my field uses — though adapted — for public messaging. You don’t have to follow this format, but, if you’re having trouble getting started, this might be helpful:
Know your audience, know the issues. Understand what kinds of messaging (images, phrases, concepts, platforms, etc.) are effective for the audience you are trying to reach, and research the issues effecting them.
Hook your audience in. Use eye-catching visuals, thought-provoking introductions, and strong wording to make your audience want to read/listen/learn more.
Connect your audience to something tangible. Use something tangible affecting your audience to relate them to the larger issues. This could be any of the many EOs, foreign policy, D.O.G.E. cuts, or the admin’s other policies, but find something affecting your audience and the people they love to make what you’re talking about real.
Connect the tangible impact to a broader intangible message (using something visceral and universal). That is, relate the specific issues affecting your audience to make a case for the broader message of “Government of the People” or “Remove, Reverse, Reclaim.” The best way to do this is via universal concepts that everyone can understand — visceral, basic human concepts like, “loss,” “hope,” “struggle,” “resilience,” or “freedom,” for example.
Give the audience something actionable. Your message should give the audience at least one thing they can directly “do” to help. It should be specific, and it should be something nearly everyone can act on.
Some other tips: -Keep it simple. Use the fewest words possible to communicate your point, and keep it to the fewest points possible. “Kill your darlings,” as Stephen King said. -Keep it focused. Don’t include anything that doesn’t directly contribute to your overall message. -Keep it universal. Try not to alienate anyone (except billionaires and their political stooges) with your message. -Keep it accessible. Avoid jargon, and try to use words everyone can understand.
Obviously, you can’t do all this in a sticker (that’s more for general raising awareness), but I find this technique helpful when I engage in any public messaging that’s a little more developed.
Please drop more tips for effective messaging below, and take the lead when you have an opportunity to message to your community!