Telling the Right Story

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Telling the Right Story Adapting your message to
multiple audiences AoA Grantees
Meeting Washington, DC January 19, 2006
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Whats Ahead
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• Strategic communications once more briefly
• Messaging 101
• Know your audience
• The Art of Persuasion
• Persuade your audience
• Shaping your message

Whats Ahead
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Strategic Communications
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Five Steps to Strategic Communications

• Setting Clear Objectives
• Identifying Audiences
• Creating and Adapting Messages
• Selecting Vehicles/Strategies
• Conducting Evaluation

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Messaging 101
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What are you trying to say?
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Marshalling Evidence

• Sample Message
• EnhanceFitness (formerly Lifetime Fitness) is a
  low-cost, highly adaptable exercise program
  challenging enough for active older adults and
  safe enough for the unfit or near frail.
• Whats the evidence (not necessarily the evidence
  base)?

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Exercise (1)

• Whats your message (for an audience you are
  comfortable with)?
• Whats your evidence?

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Know your audience
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What do they care about?
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Primary Audiences

• Aging services providers
• State and local AAA leaders
• Executive directors
• Program directors
• Health care providers
• Doctors, nurses, social workers, care managers
• Hospitals
• Managed care providers and insurers

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Secondary Audiences

• Alternative sites
• Ys
• Senior housing
• Libraries
• CCRCs
• Senior colleges
• Funders
• Foundations
• Government State AAAs, Departments of Health

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Exercise (2)

• Whats your message for an audience you are not
  as comfortable with?
• Whats your evidence? Whats new?

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The Art of Persuasion
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Aristotle and the Modes of Persuasion
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Ethos
Based on the perceived credibility of the speaker
or the source. Typical Sources Testimony (self
and others), references and citations.
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Logos
Appeals based on rational evidence. Typical
sources Data, facts, figures
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Pathos
Appeals to personal motives or emotional
truths Typical sources Stories, anecdotes,
examples
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Mythos
Appeals based on commonly held values, ideas or
customs Typical evidence Narrative to create
identification and interest
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Persuading your audiences
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Persuading Aging Services Providers

• Heavier on the pathos, field-based mythos
• Build ethos for you and program
• Connect with their
• Concern for underserved populations
• Interest in ease of implementation
• Interest in new member recruitment
• Concern about cost
• Interest in better lives, not necessarily
  better health

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Persuading Health Care Providers

• Go heavier on ethos and logos
• Evidence base is helpful.
• Provide outcomes from your program, if available
• Connect with concerns about benefits for the
  practice
• Use short forms 1 pager, 2 minute video

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Persuading
Decisionmakers Practitioners

• Clear concrete language
• Concise stories
• Compelling data
• Shorter formsone pagers, information package
• Link to state/national issues
• Organizational benefits cutting edge,
  recruitment/ marketing, access to new partners or
  resources

• Clear concrete language
• Concise stories
• Compelling data
• Longer formsincluding materials, tools
• Link to local/organizational issues
• Practice benefits ease of implementation,
  availability of TA, time savings, etc.

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Shaping Your Message
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Five Steps to Effective Messages

• Listen in for their frame, values, poetry.
• Marshall your evidence.
• -What do you have? What dont you have?
• -Remember ethos, logos, pathos, mythos
• Test and, if necessary, revise.
• Find the right messenger.
• Once youve got it, stay with it.

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Strategic Communications Planning 34 West
Avenue, Suite E Wayne, PA 19087 jbeilenson_at_about
scp.com 610.687.5495 www.aboutscp.com