"Say all you have to say in the fewest possible words, or your reader will be sure to skip them; and in the plainest possible words, or he will certainly misunderstand them."
A fascinating study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that repeated exposure to one person's perspective and viewpoint has almost as much influence as exposure to shared opinions from many people. The lead author of the study, Kimberlee Weaver of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, discovered that "feelings of familiarity increase with the number of exposures, independent of their source." What's more, the study states that the "repetition of the same opinion gives rise to the impression that the opinion is widely shared, even if all the repetitions come from the same single communicator."[39] In short, the more people hear a message, the more it resonates with them. Does this mean that spokespeople should be like a "dog with a bone" and deliver the same message over and over again? Of course not. But it does mean that a carefully crafted message that is repeated through the media can dramatically influence public beliefs and attitudes. This chapter will present rules for crafting effective messages, define different types and forms of media messages, and examine a template for creating messages that shape public opinion.
In its most basic form, a message is information passed from a source to a receiver. In the corporate or public relations world, messages are an intentional form of communication that presents calculated information to a defined audience. That audience is generally made up of various stakeholders such as investors, retailers, customers, and critics. These messages can be used to put issues into context, build brand awareness, manage image, influence opinion, or develop customer relationships. Although that may sound complicated, there are some basic rules that ensure messages address key subjects and make an impact on stakeholders.
Use simple words.
Keep sentences short.
Create stand-alone sentences.
Avoid qualifiers.
Scratch your "but."
The last rule is not a typo and is not meant to be funny. Okay, maybe it is meant to be funny, but it's still very important. All of these rules are critical for crafting clear and persuasive messages.
Using jargon or buzzwords can make your messages appear convoluted, overly technical, or even patronizing. In responding to customer complaints about online booking problems, Virgin Trains stated, "Moving forward, we at Virgin Trains are looking to take ownership of the flow in question to apply our pricing structure, thus resulting in this journey search appearing in the new category—matrix format. The pricing of this particular flow is an issue going back to 1996 and it is not something that we can change until 2008 at the earliest. I hope this makes the situation clear."[40] To be honest, they lost me at "flow in question."
Compare that to Steven Jobs's response to early adopters upset by Apple reducing the price of the 8GB iPhone by two hundred dollars: "First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it," wrote Jobs. "iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many customers as possible in the iPhone 'tent.' We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season."[41] By using clear, straightforward language to share the rationale for lowering the iPhone price, Jobs was able to both mollify disgruntled customers and advance the discussion.
Marketing spokespeople use terms such as "value proposition" in their messaging, while those with technical backgrounds talk about how their products provide "solutions." These are two examples of "buzzwords" that are so overused that they lack meaning. BuzzWhack (www.buzzwhack.com) defines a buzzword as "a usually important sounding word or phrase used primarily to impress laypersons." Direct from BuzzWhack's website, here are some of the most dreadful buzzwords as voted on by the website's readers: leveraging our assets, mission-critical, information touch point, relanguage, and critical path.[42]
You can probably think of many more buzzwords or jargony terms that you've heard circulating in offices, meeting rooms, and professional conferences. Maybe you have even used some of these terms or phrases while communicating with colleagues or clients. However, the simple fact is that media messages are intended to connect with and appeal to a broad group of stakeholders. Using simple language will reduce the risk of confusion, increase the accessibility of your message, and make your words sound more sincere.
Newsmakers feel obliged to speak in long sentences for a variety of reasons, in part because they usually want to include as much relevant information as possible in each sentence since their peers will read their quotes and they don't want to appear glib; while, at the same time, other people rely on using long sentences because they don't know what they want to say, so they drone on in the hope they will stumble upon the point, and even if they do, chances are the reporter will find it extremely difficult to isolate a quote from their lengthy sentence.
Wow. With its one hundred words, the previous sentence winded me just writing it. Besides, if a reporter's question is answered in a sentence with a hundred words, it is unlikely the journalist will quote all one hundred words. Chances are ten of those words may be quoted, and in all likelihood, those ten words will not appropriately reflect the context of your message.
Instead of answering a journalist's question with a one-hundred-word sentence, deliver ten sentences of about ten words each. The key is to use short sentences and not give short answers, unless called for. Short answers can come across as terse and defensive, whereas short sentences are focused. Short sentences demonstrate clarity of thought. They have impact. They are quotable. The obvious exception to the short sentence rule is the Problem Solution Formula message described in the previous chapter.
To keep sentences short, make your point, put a period in there, and make your next point. Sometimes, this is easier said than done. During stressful situations, many people's minds begin racing. This means they form thoughts faster than their mouths can form words. People then try to recalibrate by using the word "and" to transition to the next thought. Only, many times a next thought is nowhere to be found. To help limit sentence length, be mindful of conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs—words like and, which, rather, however, because, nonetheless—all of which make the ends of sentences elusive. Conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs weaken the focus of a media message and leave spokespeople vulnerable to saying something they later regret.
Simply put, a stand-alone sentence is a phrase, thought, sentence, or quote that can be understood independently of what came before it and what comes after it. Stand-alone sentences help newsmakers manage context. Stand-alone sentences ensure that each sentence makes sense on its own. Stand-alone sentences minimize opportunities for quotes to be taken out of context.
Often, people feel the need to respond to media questions in a linked or interreliant sequence. However, doing so can expose a message to the harsh realities of the editing process. By weaving sentences together and making one reliant on the other, a spokesperson's individual statements can end up making little sense on their own. Consider the following four sentences that comment on government policies to teach developmentally delayed children: "We disagree. If we do this the way they want us to, it won't work. Teaching developmentally delayed children must be done in a thoughtful way. Our approach is to work closer with parents and teachers to ensure the needs of developmentally delayed youngsters are met."
The problem is that sentence number one is incomplete until you hear sentence number two, which by itself makes no sense until you hear sentence number three. The final payoff to the response comes in sentence number four. If you attempt to build a case through interdependent sentences, you risk opening tomorrow's paper and seeing sentence number two ("If we do this the way they want us to, it won't work") as the only quote used, leading you to predictably exclaim, "Where's the rest of what I said? They took me out of context!"
Because spokespeople never know which sentences or quotes will permeate the media filter, their challenge is to ensure that every sentence makes complete sense on its own. Here is an example of an answer that contains stand-alone sentences:
- Question:
Does your company have a poor reputation when it comes to diversity?
- Answer:
At ACME Industries, we are proud of our commitment to diversity. When it comes to diversity, we hold ourselves to a high standard of integrity. Being a strong supporter of diversity is important to the way we do business.
Regardless of which sentence the reporter chooses to quote for the article, the question is answered in a coherent and thoughtful manner that presents ACME in a positive way. To ensure messages and answers have context, create each sentence as a stand-alone sentence.
A qualifier is a word or phrase that limits the scope of an assertion or alters the meaning of other words in a sentence. Often, qualifiers are used to hedge or moderate a statement. Specifically, I am referring to phrases like "I think," "I believe," "I feel," and "I hope." When you use these types of phrases, it indicates that you're not certain of what you're stating. A comment like "I think we're a global leader in antivirus software" implies doubt. Whereas, a statement like "We are a global leader in antivirus software" conveys conviction. Leaving off qualifiers like "I think," "I feel," and "I believe" represents the difference between an opinion and a fact. To sound confident and assured, be mindful not to use qualifiers.
Spokespeople say "but" far too much, and often with harmful consequences. The word "but" has two negative impacts. First, it negates the goodwill that preceded it. Consider a statement like, "Our government supports initiatives to house the homeless, but. . . ." Can anything positive follow a setup like that? It's similar to a husband telling his wife, "I love your hair, but. . . ." The second problem with the word "but" is that it signals that an excuse is following. For example, "It's true we went over budget on the construction project, but it's due to the rising cost of materials." This statement sounds defensive. The solution in this case is to drop the word "but" and replace it with the word "and." "Yes, it's true we went over budget on the construction project and it's due to the rising cost of materials." With that one small change, the tone of the answer shifts from sounding like an excuse to sounding like an explanation.
The word "however" has the same negative effect as "but." For sentences that you believe need a word like "but" or "however," consider the following two options: start the sentence with the word "though." For example, "Though we ran over budget, it happened because we changed the scope of the project." The other alternative is to separate the message into two sentences: "The government supports initiatives to house the homeless. Our concern is whether the government's particular plan offers the best way to help the homeless meet their needs."
An exception to the Scratch Your But rule occurs when "but" helps you make your point. For instance, "The FDA has approved a lifesaving wonder drug, but the drug is too expensive for patients to obtain." Here, I've deliberately negated the goodwill that precedes the word "but" because the situation calls for it. Without the word "but," the focus of the message would be on the positive news of the drug approval, not its inaccessibility due to cost.
Messages are what you want the media to report. They are, in essence, the quotes you want to see yourself delivering to reporters and stakeholders. By preparing messages before media interviews, spokespeople have the opportunity to influence the story the reporter writes. Creating these messages also makes reporters' jobs easier by giving them what they need to craft their stories. If spokespeople fail to prepare their messages in advance of media interviews, it leaves them vulnerable and only able to respond to questions without presenting their own agenda. In which case, the risk is that spokespeople may not have their story told.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution, however, for media messages. Different stories and situations call for specific types of messages that provide journalists with the quotes they need to report the news. Message types include those that tell your story, offer facts, provide perspective, show concern, and move people to act. In some cases the different message types are best used together, while at other times there is a need to select the message types most suitable for a specific situation. The following sections examine the most effective types of media messages, explain their usage, and offer real-world examples of each.
The Your News Is message must be from your perspective, not that of others. If a special-interest group wrongly accuses your company of poisoning the river, the news may be "ACME Industries accused of poisoning the local river." But that's not your news. Your news is "We are proud of our environmental initiatives." That's providing this is true, of course. Some more examples include these:
- The news:
ACME agrees to pay smaller firm $500 million in patent settlement.
- Your news:
This settlement paves the way for the two companies to collaborate and innovate.
- The news:
Warm weather leaves no snow for Olympic downhill event.
- Your news:
Even with the mild weather, we have all the technology, people, and expertise to deliver a first-class event.
- The news:
Oil company to slash refining jobs.
- Your news:
Streamlining the refining division will let us compete better in the future.
In crafting a Your News Is message, imagine it will be the only message the media will report. Therefore, it must be able to convey the essence of your story, ideally in one simply worded and short sentence. The "Your News Is" message must get to the heart of your story and provide people with the information, perspective, or emotion you want them to encounter once they see or hear it.
Frequently, news reports feature three quotes from the principal newsmaker. If that's you, it's important to be both proactive and succinct. Reporters have little desire to wade through a mass of information in the hope of picking out a few sentences that represent the salient points of your story. To help exert greater influence over how your story is told, be able to tell it in three simply worded and short sentences. Using the tobacco industry as an example, here are three short sentences about the sector's place in the American economy:
"Tobacco is a legal product."
"Tobacco is used by 20 percent of the adult population."
"Well over two-thirds of the cost of a package of cigarettes is taxes."
Regardless of which quote the journalist selects, the spokesperson's point is made. The Tell Your Story Message is of particular value for brief interviews in which reporters are simply looking for a couple of quotes for their story.
In identifying which stories to report, journalists, editors, and producers need to have a sense of who is affected by the news in question. To qualify as news, the story must matter to someone, somewhere. This message identifies the impact your news or story has on other people. Does your news offer information that is meaningful, interesting, or useful? Does your story directly affect people's lives? Here are three examples of the What News Means to Stakeholders message:
- Story:
Federal regulators offer incentives for cooperation in probes.
- What news means to stakeholders:
People can now avoid jail and civil claims by helping regulators investigating cases.
- Story:
Company rejects hostile takeover attempt.
- What news means to stakeholders:
Shareholders deserve more money for their shares.
- Story:
Wireless companies call for usage pricing.
- What news means to stakeholders:
We'll need to bill folks the same way as water and power companies.
Without facts, news is about guesses, hunches, and gossip. Reporters need facts to frame and write their stories. Mostly, fact messages are numbers, statistics, dates, and percentages. Facts work especially well when newsmakers need to demonstrate mastery over information. For example, if a health care critic claims that people without proper insurance are being turned away from hospital emergency rooms, facts and statistics are needed to prove it.
Facts are also useful in persuading people to look at particular issues in a different light. Recognizing that the public feels it is being fleeced on gasoline prices, a leading oil company in Canada launched a campaign to offer perspective on pricing. Petro-Canada reported that around 45 percent of the cost of a liter of gas is used to capture the crude oil; 32 percent of the cost goes to taxes; and 20 percent is spent refining, transporting, distributing, marketing, and retailing the gas. Petro-Canada used facts to prove to consumers that its retail profit in 2007 was about 3 percent of the average pump price.[43] Upon hearing those statistics, consumers may not have gained greater sympathy for the oil companies, but at least they knew the facts on pricing. Here are a few examples of fact messages using quarterly numbers provided by the Newspaper Association of America as a theme:
Facts provide an accurate, unbiased representation of an issue or situation, but facts by themselves do not tell a complete story. At best, facts are one- or two-dimensional and leave much open to interpretation. That is why journalists often look to experts and analysts to provide interpretation of facts—thus the need for what I call color messages.
Sporting events on television are usually hosted by two types of announcers. The first type offers a play-by-play description of everything that happens on the field. This announcer provides the "facts" of the game. The second type of announcer provides what is commonly called "color commentary." This includes offering an interpretation of the game, the individual plays, and the performance of its players. Similarly, the color message is designed to enhance the fact message. This type of message provides interpretation of a story's facts and expresses concern for those affected by it. In addition, color messages provide an opportunity to relate facts to values and offer an illustrative means for understanding complex or unfamiliar concepts. There are four different types of color messages: Context Color message, Concern Color message, Absolute Color message, and Figurative Color message. Here is a brief summary of the four types:
Context Color message interprets and explains what facts mean.
Concern Color message tells people you care.
Absolute Color message responds to relentless attack or highlights values.
Figurative Color message creates a word picture and simplifies a complex message.
Some news stories call for messages from all four categories. Other news stories require just one or two of the message types. To determine which types of color messages are called for in a given situation, here is an explanation of each category and suggestions for when to use them.
Just as the name implies, a Context Color message adds context to a Fact Message. It embraces theme, meaning, and interpretation to explain what the facts mean. The Context Color message is particularly valuable for stories containing complex facts. For example: "The packaging of the genomic DNA into chromatin in the cell nucleus requires machinery that facilitates DNA-dependent processes such as transcription in the presence of repressive chromatin structures." In this instance, the following would be an appropriate Context Color message: "Dividing human cells is a tricky process."
Here are a few more examples of fact messages and corresponding Context Color messages:
- Fact:
Three million dollars has been spent on this safety initiative.
- Context:
This new safety program is a good investment.
- Fact:
Recycling programs diverted twenty-five tons of waste from dump sites.
- Context:
Environmental programs are important to the community.
- Fact:
Our power transmission reliability rate is 99 percent.
- Context:
We provide homeowners with safe, reliable power.
Though fact and Context Color messages generally work well in separate sentences, there are circumstances in which they work better together. For example, if reporters question your intention to purchase a company that is underperforming in the marketplace, your response requires context:
- Question:
How much are you planning to offer to purchase the company?
- Answer:
$40 million.
The answer reflects the "fact" portion of the response, but the answer by itself will lead to further questions about the wisdom of the purchase. What's missing in the answer is context.
- Question:
How much are you planning to offer to purchase the company?
- Answer:
For the $40 million we're willing to pay, we will have access to a new product line and manufacturing facilities that will return far more value than our initial investment.
Rather than just serving up numbers and statistics, use Context Color messages to wrap context and perspective around your facts.
Sometimes people just want someone to listen to them and understand their angst. Recently, my smartphone mysteriously erased my task list, which helps organize my daily activities. I was extremely upset. I contacted a call center representative responsible for handling such concerns. During the call I let my feelings get the best of me and spoke in a manner that resulted in the call center representative telling me not to raise my voice. That's when I became really angry. I felt that the person on the other end had no idea of the impact of losing all the items in my to-do list. It made me feel as if he was not the one to help solve my problem. In fact, no one was able to fix my problem. However, some recognition of my angst from the call center representative would have helped me feel better.
The Concern Color message shows that you empathize with others, especially when they are negatively affected by something you may have done or that may have occurred under your supervision. If, for instance, the flu has claimed the lives of several residents of the nursing home you operate, an example of a Concern Color message would be, "We're deeply saddened by this loss of life."
Concern Color messages exist on a sliding scale. For instance, if employees or customers are killed, spokespeople must express their deep "sadness" for such a "tragic" and "devastating" event. In this type of terrible situation, the Concern Color message is a vital component of any response. But if someone slips on a wet floor and breaks a leg, words or phrases like "unfortunate," "lamentable," and "sincerely regret" are more appropriate. Accordingly, if employees go on strike, spokespeople can be "upset" that customers are "inconvenienced" and "worried" about labor-management relations.
In tragic situations where there is an employee death, the Concern Color message must convey warmth. For instance, if two employees have died in a workplace accident, consider these choices: "ACME Industries is devastated by what happened to our colleagues." Or, "We're devastated by what happened to our colleagues." In this case, using "we" instead of "ACME Industries" has a warmer, more genuine sound to it. Using first-person plural pronouns like "we," "us," and "our" instead of a company's name makes messages sound more inclusive and heartfelt.
In situations involving unproven allegations, it is still appropriate to be disturbed. For example, an allegation of sexual harassment in your office should have you "concerned" or "troubled." The Concern Color message is of use even in situations where you may feel concern is not warranted. For instance, if a fringe environmental group believes vapors from your plant harm the community's worm population, the group's concerns must still be treated with respect. Even though you may feel the concern expressed is trivial and ridiculous, it is nevertheless worthy of acknowledgment. To say "We understand this is a concern for some folks" does not mean you lend credence to a specious or absurd claim. If anything, it shows you have respect for the beliefs of others.
The Absolute Color message provides spokespeople with an opportunity to identify shared concerns with other parties and assert their values at the same time. The Absolute Color message is intended to ratchet down controversy. Many large companies, organizations, and governments tend to make bad news worse by arguing with critics. Rather than make a bad situation worse, the Absolute Color message serves to build common ground, providing spokespeople with an opportunity to identify shared values with other parties. It demonstrates to critics and stakeholders that you appreciate the significance of what has taken place, especially when your company or organization is under attack.
Imagine your company has just had a major chemical spill. Hazardous compounds including nickel and cadmium have spilled into the local river. Greenpeace is protesting outside your plant, calling your company an "environmental criminal." An example of an Absolute Color message to use in this situation is, "The environment must be protected." Did you expect me to say the environment must be protected? My guess is you did not. Was I wrong to say the environment must be protected? No. Who, if anybody, would you expect to say, "The environment must be protected"? If you answered Greenpeace, you're right. In fact, after hearing the comment, Greenpeace officials would likely say, "Hey, that's our line." But it is true, the environment must be protected. No one can argue against it. It is an absolute.
There are no two ways about an Absolute Color message. You cannot argue against it because it is an absolute, much like the following:
Inner-city housing prices must be affordable.
Medicines must be safe.
Employees must be treated well.
Compare the following two quotes: "The environment must be protected," and "We must protect the environment." Does the second quote qualify as an Absolute Color message? It could, but the question of who is "we" remains ambiguous. Is "we" the company or is it "we" the people? True Absolute Color messages should not, as a rule, make use of pronouns like "I," "us," "we," or "our," or the name of the company you represent. To be considered a true Absolute Color message, it should read, "The environment must be protected."
There are two useful tricks you can use to help identify whether the message you create is an absolute or not. First, see if it sounds absurd when "not" is inserted into the message. For instance, it would sound ridiculous to say:
Inner-city housing prices must not be affordable.
Medicines must not be safe.
Employees must not be treated well.
The second way to identify an Absolute Color message is to ask yourself whether you can visualize your critics delivering the same words in exactly the same way. I can certainly see critics making statements like "The environment must be protected" and "Medicines must be safe."
When an organization is attacked for an actual wrong it committed, the Absolute Color message stands as is. That is, if a government agency is proven to be wasting taxpayer money, the response begins with a Problem Solution Formula message (to admit and fix) and is then followed by an Absolute Color message: "Taxpayer dollars were not spent appropriately, and we will cooperate fully with government auditors to ensure there is integrity to the process. Taxpayer dollars must be well spent." On the other hand, if an allegation that government tax dollars are poorly spent is unfounded, then the Absolute Color message is revised to read, "Taxpayer dollars must be well spent, and they are." Adding the extra words of affirmation at the end of the Absolute Color message ensures the point of propriety is made.
Absolute Color messages need not be more than four to seven words long. Spokespeople who have difficulty crafting Absolute Color messages can use the Context Color message as a gateway. For example, in a scenario that has shareholders complaining about a corporate acquisition not in the best interests of the company, an appropriate Context Color message would be "We make acquisitions that offer value for the long term." Then, turn that Context Color message into "Acquisitions must offer value." Now you have an effective Absolute Color message that cannot be denied or disputed.
This type of message uses phrases or figures of speech that achieve their effect through association, comparison, and resemblance. They're often vivid, convenient ways of explaining complex ideas or encapsulating multifaceted issues. They do so by providing an instant word picture, like the one from Russia's Vladimir Putin. Responding to press allegations about his personal fortune, Putin said the report was "muck picked out of someone's nose and smeared on paper."[46] Not a pretty picture, but a picture nonetheless. Figurative Color messages comprise four basic figures of speech:
An idiom is a descriptive phrase that has a different meaning than its individual parts would indicate. It can create this meaning through a picture or exaggerated image that describes a specific action or event. Some examples of idioms include these:
Burn the candle at both ends.
Grab the bull by the horns.
Fall asleep at the switch.
In the preceding examples, the images figuratively equate to working too hard, taking charge of a problem, and being inattentive. Due to their utility and convenience, many idioms have become clichés.
A metaphor is an implicit comparison made between two unlike things that actually have something in common. In simple terms, a metaphor states, "X is Y." Examples of metaphors include these:
Business success is a constant battle.
Karen in Accounting is a machine.
ACME Industries is a big fish in a small pond.
These metaphors vividly depict the difficult nature of business success, Karen's machinelike efficiency, and ACME's dominance in a limited market. Because metaphors assert two things are the same (X is Y), they are the most direct type of Figurative Color message.
A simile is a type of metaphor, but it makes its comparison more explicit by using words "like" or "as." In simple terms, a simile states "X is like Y." Here are three examples of similes:
In some parts of the world, guns are like cell phones.
Tom was as quiet as a mouse.
Sarah was like a shark smelling blood in the water.
The benefit of this construction is that it allows the two ideas or objects being compared to remain distinct. Guns aren't actually like cell phones. You can't call someone with a gun. It's just that in some parts of the world, guns are ubiquitous. Accordingly, similes are best used to imply a limited similarity or reflect a simple or singular comparison.
Like metaphors and similes, analogies compare dissimilar objects or events. However, while metaphors and similes are usually descriptive, analogies are used to make a logical connection, argue a position, or make something complex more understandable. In essence, an analogy infers that if two things are alike in some ways, they must also be alike in other ways. Analogies can be short, but in many cases they take the form of extended metaphors or similes. U.S. Representative James Greenwood delivered a triple-header analogy when he told Enron accountant David Duncan, "Mr. Duncan, Enron robbed the bank, Arthur Anderson provided the getaway car, and they say you were at the wheel."[47] In a MediaStrategies training program for an antivirus software company in Silicon Valley, an engineer (there is hope yet!) created a perfect analogy: "Our product is like a fortress, while everyone else's is like a picket fence." That single quote was reported worldwide.
Reporters eat up Figurative Color messages like candy. At a news conference I attended as a reporter, the spokesperson was failing to deliver a clear, concise message. We were there to write a story about a new product, but the messages she delivered were dull and uninspired. Suddenly, the spokesperson declared the new product would sell "faster than a chicken with the Colonel running after it" and the room came to life. We all scribbled in our pads "chicken—Colonel—running" and featured the quote in our stories.
Figurative Color messages are best used in good news stories and must be avoided like the plague in bad news stories. What are you going to say in a bad news story, "They're dropping like flies"? It won't work. Bad news Figurative Color messages to stay away from include the following:
It's a sinking ship.
It's a train wreck.
They're running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
There is an exception to the rule, however. When I trained a group of nuclear plant operators to talk about a radiation leak, one of their messages stated, "One REM per hour of radiation was released." How much is one REM of radiation? Is it harmful? Is it deadly? In this case, an appropriate Figurative Color message would be, "Exposure to one REM per hour of radiation is like getting a chest X-ray." Now I feel safer.
"Just say no to mosquito spraying" is a message that calls people to action. A Call to Action message is just that—a rallying cry for people to act on information they have just heard. It is designed to get people to do something as a result of what you have told them. People who read or watch the news sometimes feel strongly about a story they see or hear, so much so that they want to become a part of the story and help in some way. The Call to Action Message tells them how they can become involved. Special-interest groups are especially effective in issuing calls to action, particularly on matters where the public is polarized. Consider the abortion debate. Pro-life and pro-choice advocates each know how to tap into the sentiments of their stakeholders and get them to act, whether it's through a protest or an online petition.
A Call to Action message is particularly useful in situations where pressure needs to be applied, especially on government or a sector of industry. For instance, when forty mayors from around the globe gathered to meet about global warming, they urged G8 leaders "to commit to a long-term goal for the stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations." As former London mayor and group spokesman Ken Livingstone said, "This is a clear wake-up call for the G8."[48]
When crafting messages for the media, spokespeople focus mostly on the information and the quotes they want reported. Their objective is to use their messages to tell their story. But journalists have a responsibility to probe newsmakers and ask questions that make spokespeople feel uncomfortable. In those situations, the solution is not to use messages that bear little resemblance to the issue or question causing the discomfort. Instead, the solution is to be ready by having a message prepared for the difficult or discomforting question. The If Asked message is the message spokespeople use to address questions or matters they don't want to bring up but know the reporter will. For example, if a political candidate discussing his platform suspects he will be asked about drug use as a youth, he will use the If Asked message to address it. When that very subject came up at a meeting with magazine editors, then-senator Barack Obama was ready with a response: "When I was a kid, I inhaled," he said. "It was reflective of the struggles and confusion of a teenage boy. Teenage boys are frequently confused."[49]
Knowing what you want to say is essential when engaging journalists. The Compelling Message Creator is a one-page template that provides a process for crafting quotable messages that meet the needs of journalists and assure you the opportunity to present your agenda in a proactive manner. By bringing together various message types and ingredients, it can be used to prepare messages for both good news and bad news situations. A reproducible copy of the Compelling Message Creator can be found in the Appendix.
Since its initial creation, the Compelling Message Creator has constantly evolved to better reflect the elements reporters require when crafting their stories. Currently, many professional spokespeople successfully use the template on a daily basis and in media reports worldwide.
To complete the Compelling Message Creator, start by transferring your Value Compass words from Chapter Two. Then, if you are facing a bad-news situation or widespread criticism, transfer your Problem Solution Formula message from Chapter Three. After that, fill in the blanks provided for each type of message. For definitions and examples of each type of message, refer to the preceding section, "Media Message Types." The explanations and examples in that section correspond directly to the template format. To see an example of a completed Compelling Message Creator, continue to the next section.
In the opening chapter, we met Joan Smith, chief executive officer of JLA Life Sciences Corporation, maker of the very expensive cancer drug Biojax. When we first met her, Joan was being interviewed about the price and availability of Biojax. The news story that resulted from her interview highlighted a number of negative quotes that tarnished her company's image in the media. As a reminder, here are some of the quotes that were reported:
"It's not as if Biojax is dangerous or unproven."
"We are not greedy."
"We are not letting people die."
In a Chapter Six interview do-over, Joan will be asked the same tough questions. What will change, however, are her responses. Knowing what attributes she wants to project in her responses, Joan used the directions and examples provided in the previous "Media Message Types" section to prepare the Compelling Message Creator shown in the following sidebar.
Armed with a comprehensive selection of compelling messages, Joan now needs to learn how to effectively deliver these messages. In the next chapter, I'll explain how to manage nervousness, use body language and vocal inflection, and avoid common presentation mistakes in order to optimize message delivery.
Using simple words and simple language in your messages will reduce the risk of confusion, increase the accessibility of your message, and make your words sound more sincere.
Keep your sentences short. Instead of answering a journalist's question with a one-hundred-word sentence, deliver ten sentences of about ten words each.
Create stand-alone sentences in order to ensure messages and answers have context.
Leaving off qualifiers like "I think," "I feel," and "I believe" represents the difference between an opinion and a fact. To sound confident and assured, be mindful not to use qualifiers.
Spokespeople say "but" far too much, and often with harmful consequences. The word "but" has two negative impacts: it negates the goodwill that precedes it and it signals that an excuse is following.
The Compelling Message Creator, found in the Appendix, is a one-page template that provides a process for crafting quotable messages that meet the needs of journalists and assure you the opportunity to present your agenda in a proactive and positive manner.