Capecci Communications provides training, consulting, and advanced writing services
to help clients communicate with clarity, confidence, and impact.
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Mapping Messages
| Not Just for Crisis Communications
Last year my friends at Brandspeak Communications asked me to help create a promotional video for Gilda's Club, a nonprofit that
provides support programs to individuals dealing with cancer. I've continued working with Gilda's Club on various communication initiatives, and one of the projects we're currently
developing is a message map that
will help support efforts as they raise the capital to
"open the red doors" of a Gilda's clubhouse in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
A message map is a graphic
representation of an organization's key content that provides an at-a-glance guide to
anticipated questions or concerns. Mapping was first popularized as a means of helping organizations manage emergency communications
in high-stress, emotionally charged situations. In its simplest form, a message map is a
columnar chart with key messages written across the top and supporting facts
below them.
I've used message mapping with a number of organizations and individuals as they prepare communications, and we've found that when you break out of the simple chart format and think creatively about how messages relate to one another, mapping is a technique that's useful in a variety of situations--not just for crises.
As a Mnemonic Device
for Media Prep A few years ago, I helped a client launch a national training program that
used scrapbooking as a means of connecting caregivers of people with Alzheimer's to their
loved ones, preserve family memories, and learn about issues related to patient care. To prepare the program's spokespersons (physicians
and caregivers) for media appearances, we devised a simple message map for rehearsal that outlined their key messages (What, Why, How, Where/When, Who), and showed how to bridge back to those messages should the interview take too long a detour into related topics such as Alzheimer's diagnoses, trends in treatment, caregiving issues, or program sponsorship.
As a Way of Locating
Your Story Each year, WomenHeart, the National Coalition for Women with
Heart Disease, trains a large network of WomenHeart
Champions--women living with heart disease who speak at community and media events. Each woman has a unique "heart story" that helps audiences
understand the need for early detection, accurate diagnosis, and proper
treatment of women's heart disease. To help in their preparation, we devised a
map that began with a simple statement, "I am a heart disease survivor and a
WomenHeart champion," then linked words in the phrase to key messages of the
organization. In addition to helping visualize and recall key messages, the map
helps champions locate where their life stories fit into the organization's
mission, and where those personal narratives can support key messages.
As a Way of Getting
Everyone on Board Because Gilda's Club is in the middle of a persuasive
campaign to convince audiences that the Twin Cities needs their services, we're designing their map to follow a tried-and-true persuasive strategy that gets
attention, shows need, satisfies with a solution, visualizes the solution
working, then presents a call to action. (That's good ol' Monroe's Motivated Sequence, developed in the 1930s by Alan Monroe, Purdue University.) As the
Executive Director, staff, and Board Members speak to potential funders, the
message map will provide a way of keeping everyone focused on a clear and
compelling argument for the organization's future.
Ah, finally you can put all those PowerPoint skills to good use. PowerPoint is great for experimenting with how key messages relate to each other. Another simple app I've used is MyMind (Mac, Donationware) and, with some creative adaptations, Timeline3D allows you to develop fancy moving charts that incorporate images (Mac, $65USD). But Post-Its™ and a conference room whiteboard work just fine, too.
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Should I Use Humor? (Stop me if you've heard this...)
| Being funny is serious business
"Should I use humor in my
presentation/interview/meeting facilitation?" It's the
perennial question posed to communication trainers. My usual response is "If it's
appropriate to the setting and topic, if you have very good knowledge of the
audience, and if it comes naturally to you." When I was asked this question again recently by a client, I decided to call upon
a colleague to provide additional perspectives on the complex relationship
of humor and communication.
I
turned, cleverly, to one of the funniest and smartest people I know, Joanne
Gilbert, Ph.D., author of Performing Marginality: Humor, Gender, and Cultural Critique. A former stand-up comic,
Jo is now chair of the Department of Communication at Alma College, where she
gets to practice her schtick daily for delighted students. She agrees that the
three must-haves when employing humor are comfort, appropriateness to context,
and audience analysis. But her other practical and theoretical notes underscore how serious being funny is. Here are some highlights from our talk.
Be dang
sure: "Unless
you're
absolutely certain that the funny line you're
starting with is going to get a laugh, don't use it.
Because if the line you think is funny doesn't get a
laugh, it rattles you, it makes the audience feel insecure and it's really
hard to get them back. I often begin presentations about my own work, which, of
course, deals with the relationship between humor and power, by telling the
audience that I will be showing some clips during the presentation that might
offend them. I add that I want to give them that disclaimer beforehand and that
if, when I'm
done, someone has not been offended,
they should come up to me, and I promise to offend them at that time. I've
learned from practice that this is a solid opening."
How to
get to Carnegie Hall: "Whether you're
telling a joke, making an ad lib comment, or telling a preset joke, timing
literally is everything. So it's not
about simply being comfortable using humor. It's about
practicing it enough so that you actually know--just as a
musician would know--where the beats are, where the rests are."
Use humor
to erase a distraction: "Humor
in a presentation doesn't have to be a canned joke or a narrative.
It can be a reference to something that happens in the moment, using anything
that happens during your presentation to your advantage. In a stand-up comedy
situation, a server in the club drops a glass and so, instead of ignoring it
(when the audience can't ignore
it) you say something clever to the server like, "Oh, you
can just put that anywhere." Something silly that let's the
audience know that you're aware of the distraction. Similarly, if
you're
using PowerPoint and the wrong slide comes up--rather
than stopping and being exasperated and embarrassed, or skipping over it as
though it didn't happen--you can
actually call attention to it and say something like, "Oh,
sorry. Senior Moment." Unless, of course, you're
talking to an audience of seniors..."
The
relationship between humor and power: "Invariably
across contexts, the powerful people in any social group are people who can use
humor and use it well, and research supports this. Historically, marginalized
individuals have been able to use humor to at least temporarily, or at least
rhetorically, empower themselves. It's a way
of transcending the social condition. For example, historically, African
American slaves had a very rich tradition of humor. They understood that making
the master laugh would enable them not to be hit, at least not at the same
time. They understood how to disarm with humor. People who have a history of
oppression are really good at using self-deprecating humor very subversively,
putting themselves down so that the dominant culture can't beat
them to the punch, as it were. Whether you have gay and lesbian comics, Jewish
comics, African American comics, Latino comics, disabled comics, any
marginalized individuals who are getting up and telling jokes are rhetorically
empowered simply by being the focus of the situation, and
controlling the room."
Bottomline: Humor is a powerful rhetorical tool. Apart from "getting the audience's attention," or "lightening the mood," consider what else you're trying to achieve through its use--in terms of how the audience perceives you, your topic, themselves. Oh, and have fun.
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WordForum: Communication Training
for Design Professionals from Capecci Communications and Treeline |
Applying Design Principles to Speech and Text
The WordForum Series is a collection of communication workshops we've created specifically for design professionals to improve writing and speaking skills. #1: Finding and Expressing Your Key Messages
#2: Organizing Clear and Compelling Presentations
#3: Using Visuals Cleanly and Effectively
#4: Making Language Work for You
Developed in partnership with writer and landscape architect Adam Arvidson of Treeline, WordForum is the only communication training series designed by and for design professionals such as architects, landscape architects, interior and exhibit designers, engineers, or city planners. Our instruction applies the design process to the crafting of text and speech, and incorporates examples drawn from actual design projects. Each one-hour workshop focuses upon an essential aspect of written or spoken communication, and can be customized to meet designers' skill levels, learning objectives, and schedules. For more information, contact Adam at adam@treeline.biz (866.859.7593) or John at john@capeccicom.com (612.229.8896). |
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Creative Content
For inspiration about visually representing information, visit FlowingData. From picturing the percentage of drinkable water in the world to charting the repetition of pop song lyrics--if you're visual and you like to organize, the site is a bit addictive.
Catch-up
Happy day. You can now look back at past editions of our e-newsletter by visiting the archive on the Capecci Communications website.
Confirmation
A recent study shows that people are more likely to donate based on the story of one person's plight rather than the story of suffering millions.
Cloud Computing
That's one of the new phrases and words entered into the Oxford English Dictionary this month. As always, the list offers an interesting cultural snapshot ("What's not to like?").
Champion
A San Antonio attorney was recently crowned the "World Champion of Public Speaking" by Toastmasters International. While TI presentation style can often appear slightly canned, there's no denying this global organization has helped thousands enter and enjoy the world of effective public speaking.
Core Readings
"Whatever stories we encounter, whatever conclusions we draw, we can't keep them to ourselves." Paul Rogat Loeb offers inspiring advice on living with conviction in challenging times. One of the antidotes to feeling powerless: the power of stories.
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Come see what we're working on this week at capeccicom.com
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Capecci Communications provides training, consulting, and advanced writing services
to help clients communicate with clarity, confidence, and impact.
612.229.8896
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