It’s not the messenger, it’s the message, stupid !

The best communication and advocacy training I ever received when working in the food business was to go through the certification of running a fast food restaurant. It translated internal jargon into a deep understanding of the practicalities of that business, allowed me to identify misperceptions about the company and highlighted stories that I could use externally to make my case.

Over the past 3 months, I’ve managed a number of messaging workshops for clients ranging from NGOs, private sector companies and trade associations. These workshops had clear desired outcomes : how can our organisation get its messages across to critical audiences ahead of important meetings or decision ? Comments included « Our messages don’t get traction with policy-makers »or « The competitive arguments always win in the media » etc. 

Interestingly, when the respective teams started reviewing their own messaging, it became clear that the problem was not the communication channels these organisations use to engage with their audiences, but the message itself.

In fact, all these workshops led to the same conclusions:

1- Many of your own colleagues don’t really understand the business you are in and therefore find it complex to translate in simple terms externally. 

2- Most of your key audiences will not understand your jargon and will naturally be more open to clear language.

3- Evidence is only a tiny part of exposing your case – story-telling will go a long way in convincing your audiences.