The Well-Spoken Woman (16 page)

The Bush administration demonstrated a steely discipline in the repetitive articulation of the war message. The president along with top spokespeople repeated the themes time and again. Colin Powell gave a PowerPoint® presentation that contained “evidence” of the weapons of mass destruction. Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice remained “on message” for years. The message was repeated enough times that later surveys show some Americans believe weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq.

Repetition of message is an effective way to break through information noise and is mandatory if you want to motivate or persuade. It is never enough to say something once, assume the audience heard it, and then move on to something new. Consider how this plays out in daily living. How many times do you have to ask your partner or your kids to do some-thing before they respond? You need to feel worn out from communicating the message before it reaches the point of wear in.

The five Cs are a fundamental guide to strategic message building. By identifying the primary audience, it is possible to streamline the message agenda into three or four main points. With a tight agenda, the message can be delivered repeatedly. Abiding by the principles of clarity, connection, compelling, concise, and continual ensures a storyteller achieves results.

MESSAGE STEADINESS

If you are successful, remember it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction. Remember also that you are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped.

—Melinda Gates, valedictorian, Ursuline Academy, 1982

A consistency of message has followed Gates throughout her life. The motto of Ursuline Academy, the all-girl prepatory high school she attended, is
“Serviam”
(I will serve). The school was founded by Roman Catholic nuns with the sole purpose of educating young girls in a community invested in volunteerism. The nuns established the school in 1874 in
what was then the frontier town of Dallas, Texas. Gates says the school and her teachers had a tremendous impact on her life path and worldview. It was Sister Judith Marie who recognized and nurtured Gates's math talents in the seventh grade.

Gates first encountered a computer when her father, Raymond French, an engineer who worked on the space program, purchased one. It was, as is well-known, an Apple®. Melinda grew familiar with the technology entering financial records for a family business and playing games. A standout student, Gates choose to attend Duke University after learning the school was expanding its Computer Science Department. In five years, she earned undergraduate and MBA degrees in economics and computers. In 1987, Gates headed west to a young company based in Seattle called Microsoft®. At Microsoft, she helped develop the products Encarta® and Expedia® and then fell in the love with the boss. Her mother disapproved because she didn't think her daughter should be involved with someone at work, and at times it was lonely for Melinda. She found herself eating lunch by herself in the company cafeteria, as some co-workers seemed intimidated by her boyfriend.

Saving the World

When the couple married, Bill's mom wrote them a letter encouraging the newlyweds to seize the rare opportunity presented by their wealth: “From those to whom much is given, much is expected.”
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The couple needed a giving plan because they were besieged by countless letters from people in need. Installing Bill's father at the helm, they initially started the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide schools with computers. The effort was criticized for being too self-serving, and Gates says she soon realized it wasn't nearly enough in the face of the daunting challenges faced by public schools.

Gates retired from Microsoft in 1996 when the couple's first child was born, and the family has since expanded to two daughters and a son. As the children have grown, Gates has devoted more time to figuring out how the foundation can serve as a catalyst to tackle the enormous needs in education and global health. Some estimates say that the Gates have the potential to give away $100 billion, but that sum isn't enough given the scale of
the problems. To put $100 billion in perspective, the National Institutes of Health, the federal government's research center, has an annual budget of $29 billion. The reality of the numbers is a driving force behind the Living Proof Project and the need to seek funding partners.

Saving the world is hard work. If Gates is frustrated with the slow grind of leveraging resources or exasperated with the process of convincing skeptical governments, it doesn't show in her demeanor. She doesn't come across as someone who is overwhelmed by the desperate circumstances of the villagers she meets in remote places. She maintains a consistent, steady focus on what can and should be done next. The message is not pie in the sky, nor is it seeped in angry insinuations attempting to guilt-trip people into action. Pointing fingers and assigning blame are not effective motivating strategies. Advocates who attempt to goad people with defensive or accusatory messages find no one wants to hear what they have to say.

At a Women Deliver conference, Gates was on message about the need for the world to come together on maternal healthcare. She shared a story about a mom named Rukmini and how the birth of a child is celebrated in India. According to custom, Rukmini and her newborn remained together for six days in the birth room. Then she donned a crimson sari and dressed the baby, and they emerged to the singing of family and neighbors who thanked the sun god for the birth. Gates expressed her own joy at the birth of her children and urged the policy makers to try harder, saying more can be done for the millions of women who never experience the beauty of holding a healthy baby.

The personalized narrative about her childbirth experience made the story even more powerful. The message map is a tool that provides a structure for storytelling to ensure that stories are focused and purposeful.

CREATING A MESSAGE MAP

The message map allows you to communicate more than a slogan but less than a three-ring binder. It organizes and prioritizes information into a manageable package that can be delivered more effectively. With the map, you will develop the skill of message discipline—staying focused on the
important stuff and not getting sidetracked by trivia. The structure of the message map is based on the motivated sequence developed by Professor Alan H. Monroe in the 1930s.
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The motivated sequence is particularly suitable to persuading or inspiring audiences. The sequence allows the presenter to frame an existing problem or challenge in such a way that it touches a nerve with the target audience. Once the problem is framed, then solutions are presented. The audience is motivated to address the problem because it is clear that doing so will bring positive change to an issue that is of concern to them.

Step 1: Create a One-Page Map

The message map approach modifies Monroe's motivated sequence into a streamlined storytelling structure with four themes. The themes make up the outline of a narrative that tells a story about a particular issue or policy. The narrative allows you to frame a problem, offer solutions, and put forth a call to action that is tailored to the audience's interests. The benefit is the incentive to the audience to help you reach the goal.

The message map is laid out on a grid so that the entire message is visible on one sheet of paper. The design promotes brevity and makes the map a handy tool for preparation and practice. No more thumbing through talking points or three-ring binders. No more trying to read messy notes. The easy-to-read visual layout will help you see and remember what you want to say. The grids can be drawn on PowerPoint slides so they are portable. Some clients laminate their messages onto wallet-sized cards so they don't leave home without them.

An added bonus of the message map design is its functionality in responding to questions. As you listen to a question, you can decide how you want to answer by selecting one theme from the grid. The map facilitates fielding questions and bridging your responses back to your message. This skill provides message discipline, especially when taking tough questions from skeptical audiences or aggressive news reporters. It is the ultimate preparation guide for all types of media interviews, including print, radio, television, and online distribution.

Step 2: Name It and Frame It

The template message map can be used to develop a strategic message on any topic. Put the template to work in a messagestorming or brainstorming session. The most productive messagestorming sessions involve individuals with a range of backgrounds who bring unique perspectives and relevant experience to the topic at hand. Ideally, the group should include a mix of communications professionals, policy types, and senior staff. Below are questions to jump-start the message-storming process.

Once you have completed the message storming, review the notes on all the ideas that were discussed. The goal is to winnow the points down to three or four main themes. It will be apparent that many of the brainstormed ideas can be lumped together, as the same thought is often restated several times. It will also be clear that some ideas and words should be edited out. Eliminate any information that dilutes the main purpose of the messaging. Weed out ideas that are negative, defensive, inaccurate, or tangential. Working with the pared-down list, now draft the four headline points. Start by framing the problem and then work through the solution, action step, and benefit to audience.

Frame the Problem

What is the issue at hand, and what is the best way to frame it so it will resonate with the target audience? Framing puts the problem into a context that is relevant to your listeners. An example is the message antismoking advocates used to win big victories against tobacco companies. The advocates successfully exposed how cigarette advertising targeted children. Most people would agree that smoking is an undesirable habit. The advocates generated outrage at R.J. Reynolds when it was revealed that the company's Joe Camel character was as recognizable to kids as Mickey Mouse®. The new frame was that the tobacco companies were inducing children and adolescents to start smoking by appealing to them with a “smooth character.”

Provide a Solution

Lay out a concrete, practical solution. Be wary of solutions that are too big and cumbersome. Banning all tobacco products would be an effective way to prevent kids from smoking, but it is not a solution that is feasible in the short term. The antismoking advocates went to court to argue for resources that could be used to counter the impact of the Joe Camel ads. In the settlement of a lawsuit filed in California, R. J. Reynolds agreed to a $10 million pay-ment, $9 million of which would be used by cities and communities to fund educational campaigns to prevent children from smoking.

Detail a Specific Action Plan

What specifically do you want the audience to do? It is not uncommon for advocates to forget to make the “ask.” The action step may seem obvious to you, but it is not so obvious to others. If you want them to write a blog or call a member of Congress, ask them to do so. To keep up the pressure on R. J. Reynolds, a coalition of antismoking groups initiated a consumer boycott. It targeted the food products of companies like Nabisco, which was owned by the tobacco company, and asked shoppers to avoid buying specific food products unrelated to tobacco.

What Is the Benefit to the Audience?

Make it clear to the audience why they should respond to the call for action. You must give them a compelling rationale for taking time out of their busy lives to join the effort. According to the Federal Trade Commission, after the Joe Camel campaign was launched, the percentage of children who smoked Camels was higher than the percentage of adults. The health benefits and cost savings of preventing children from lighting up resonated with parents and anyone concerned with the serious risks and high healthcare costs known to be associated with the habit.

Step 3: Plot the Message Map

Fill in the message map by drafting the four headline themes: problem, solution, action step, and benefit to audience. Use full sentences to articulate each of the points and avoid incomplete sentences or phrases. For example, the nonprofit National Immigration Forum needed a proimmigration message after the 9/11 attacks to deal with concerns about other terrorists entering the country. The forum's response was designed to remind Americans about the long tradition of immigration to counter arguments for closing the borders. Forum spokespeople drew a distinction between terrorists and immigrants. The problem was framed by stating: “Terrorism is the problem, not immigration.” The spokespeople then called on policy leaders to fix the broken system and institute comprehensive
reforms that would address both security and economic concerns.