Mark Webster, Manager of Strategic Communications

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Communication Skills Developing Your Message

• Mark Webster, Manager of Strategic Communications
• Emerson Human Capital Consulting

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Change Is Hard
Past
Future

• It requires navigating the space in between

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• Objectives
• To understand message development as the
  fundamental building block of communication
• To develop a message for your organization/campaig
  n
• To give an elevator speech
• To understand the basics of public speaking
  (Session II)
• To give on message remarks (Session II)
• Ground Rules
• Some of what we discuss will not work for you,
  most will.
• Slow me down I talk fast and get excited.
• Speak up, there is no bad question.
• Share with each other you will learn more from
  your colleagues than me!

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• Introductions
• Mark Webster
• Communication professional for over 24 years
• Clients include politicians member of Congress,
  corporations you may know and non-profits across
  the world.
• International work from Ulan Bator to Belgrade
  from Bratislava to London.
• Frequent contributor in the Middle East Egypt,
  Morocco and Turkey, with representatives from
  most every nation.
• Manager of Strategic Communications, Emerson
  Human Capital, a San Francisco-based consulting
  firm specializing in managing and communicating
  change (www.emersonhc.com).
• I live in Madison, Wisconsin. Birthplace of Katie
  Croake.

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• Exercise 1 Your Turn
• Tells us what you want to get out of today?
• You have 30 seconds

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Communication Basics

• Just because you said or wrote it does not mean
  someone heard it.
• Repeat, reiterate and reinforce the same message.
  
• Provide human, concrete and real examples.
• Use third-party validation and real life examples
  to lend credibility.
• Too much political communication is focused on
  negatives/positives.
• Make sure you articulate the both the pull
  (vision) and push force (status quo) in your
  campaign communication.
• Understand these challenges / benefits from your
  target audience perspective (good points, current
  state, other candidates, culture, etc.).
• Boil down your campaign to recognize its true
  challenges / benefits and start to tell your
  story.
• Frame the debate
• Figure out your target audience.
• Develop the right message.

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Recap Target Audience
Common mistake 1 Choosing the wrong target
audience. Preaching to the choir / engaging your
enemies is unproductive.
Audience Spectrum
1
2
3
5
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Firmly Opposed
Disinterested/mildly interested
Neutral/mildly supportive
True Believer
Supporter
Target Audience

• Possible result if we make this mistake
• Waste time convincing those uncomfortable with us
  that we are wonderful.
• Focus too much on those who know we are
  wonderful.

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Target Audience
Common mistake 2 Confusing stakeholders with
your target audience. They have very different
needs.
Target Audience of persuadables
Message
Strategy
Key Stakeholder / Sponsor / Key Supporters

• Possible result if we make this mistake
• Focus too much communication with insider speak.
• Emphasize solutions that mean little to average
  people.

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• Message Development
• What is a message?

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• Message Development
• What is a message?
• It is short, simple and easy to remember.
• Boils down our campaign into digestible pieces,
  incorporating challenges, benefits and landmines.
  
• Recognizing our story, our culture and our target
  audience needs.
• Not being all things to all people, trying not to
  sing to the choir or engage naysayers.
• A message is a cheat sheet, that helps you tell
  your story
• Example 1 2008 US Presidential race
• Example 2 2004 US Presidential race
• Example 3 Corporate examples

• Make sure your message is a visual a triangle
  or a box.
• Ensure you have no more than three or four main
  points.
• Buttress each point with key words, phrases,
  facts that reinforce it.
• Add a famous quote or even a visual to support
  the message point

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• Message Development
• Why have a message?
• Serves as short/sweet and a safe harbor a
  visual cheat sheet that is vital for adult
  learners.
• Keeps you and your organization focused.
• Gets peoples attention by making your work real.
  
• Highlights your best attributes.
• Answers critics and prepares you in advance.
• Refutes weaknesses helps you in difficulty.
• Forms the building block of all of your
  marketing/PR.
• Tells your story in the way your target
  audience can hear.
• In short it frames the debate to your
  advantage.

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Why Message is Important

• Message is the fundamental building block that
  helps to
• Reach our target audience with information they
  need in ways they can hear.
• Overcome specific challenges your target
  audience may face because of your campaign.
• Align leaders with a safe harbor/cheat sheet to
  answer questions.
• Serve as the basis for all communication,
  including brand, logos, slogans and advertising.
• Tell your story. Your way.
• Without message, we risk telling the wrong story
  by
• Stressing goals that are too long-term or too
  visionary.
• Pointing out goals that are unrelated to the
  needs of our target audience.
• Failing to address the water cooler talk and
  elephants in the room.
• Misperceiving the mood off voters or
  underestimating the change they must going
  through.
• Letting others define you and tell the story
  they want to hear.

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• Developing a Message
• Get the facts/answer questions
• Ask what is your purpose or real goal? What is
  your passion?
• What is your personal story? Your family, career,
  history?
• What is your greatest asset? What story best
  illustrates this?
• What is your greatest advantage?
• What is your history or the history of our
  district or region? How do you or your family tie
  into this tradition or history, if at all?
• Who is your competition? What do they say about
  you?
• What is your greatest weakness?
• What is your competitions greatest strength?
  Greatest weakness?
• Who is your target audience? Where are they?
• What problems does your campaign or organization
  create?

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• Exercise 2 Boiling Down Your Situation
• Get into your teams
• Review questions on the preceding slide/handout
• Take 10 minutes to answer questions 1-5your
  advantages, strengths and ties to your community
  and local history.
• Put your answers on white boards.

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• Exercise 3 Boiling Down Your Situation
• Get into your teams
• Review questions on the preceding slide/handout
• Take 10 minutes to answer questions 6-10your
  challenges and weaknesses.
• Put your answers on white boards.

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• Using a Message Triangle
• ?

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• 2004/2008 Campaign Examples
• ?

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Message Triangle Example MW

• Health Care
• Right, not luxury the top concern of every
  parent.
• 43 million Americans do not have health
  insurance.
• I learned much of what I know at the side of my
  93 year old grandmothers hospital bed.
• Woman
• Mothers, sisters, daughters, including young
  niece Jennifer.
• On average women get paid 76 of what a man does.
• There has never been a woman elected from this
  district in 150 years.
• Different
• Unique, new, uncommon.
• Not more of the same.
• Break the mold, quit playing the same old tune.

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Health Care
Woman
Different
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Using a Message Box as a Frame
How?Can you fix it?
What?What is the solution?
Your Campaign
Vision?What is the result?
Why ?What is the problem?
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Message Box Example
How?SHARED SACRIFICE
What?UNIVERSAL COVERAGE
1998 Congressional Campaign
Why ?BROKEN HEALTH CARE
Result?REAL SECURITY
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• Exercise 4 Creating Your Message
• Get back in your teams.
• Review your boiled down information, from both
  sets of whiteboards.
• Determine which a message frame to use triangle
  or box.
• Choose three or four major message points.
• White board your answers.
• Be prepared to report out.

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• Exercise 4 Elevator Exercise
• Youve just created a message.
• The Elevator Exercise helps you tell your story
  quickly concisely.
• Pretend you are getting on an elevator in a tall
  building. Someone important joins you a donor,
  party leader, editor, etc. You think you have 30
  floors to share your story, but they push the
  button to the 5th floor.
• You will only have 30 seconds to get your point
  across.
• You have 2 minutes to prepare your message
• This is an individual exercise you all will do
  it.
• Report out tell us what you say in your
  elevator ride in 30 seconds and stay on
  message.