Crafting a Message

There is a classic study where a group of people are brought together to witness a singular event. The event occurs and these witnesses are isolated and asked to describe what they just saw. Invariably, numerous versions of the same event are described making one wonder what, in fact, really happened. People have their own lenses and their own biases. As a result, these traits help shape what they feel, experience and, in the case of this experiment, see. For instance, one person may perceive a particular act to be more important than another. The result is they either minimize or even omit it in their description of what they witnessed. To another person, that piece of information may be extremely important and, as a result, is given a high priority in their version.

One thing these two witnesses of the same event in this experiment have in common is they are describing what they saw from their own perspective, not anyone else's. Often times, communicators or professional public relations practitioners do not have this luxury. In putting together a particular message, it is essential communicators maintain a strong awareness of how their publics perceive a particular matter. An example would be a public issue such as global warming. When putting together a communication strategy with carefully crafted messages, communicators need to know such things as the questions and/or concerns a public might have about the issue; the perspectives the public might have; their level of knowledge; how the issue might currently be affecting them; and other sources of information on this issue to which they have been exposed.

With this insight into a particular public, the communicator can shape their message in a way that specifically addresses some of the concerns and questions the public might have. As a result, it makes the message more relevant to the public and raises the odds people pay more attention to it and possibly even support it. All this is to say messages devised by professional communicators require thought, research and an awareness of what others are thinking and perceiving. It is vital, of course, for communicators to create messages that accurately reflect their own views. But it helps when one has a strong sense of how others are perceiving that same issue. Messages should not be things that are quickly thrown together the same way a quarterback launches a Hail Mary pass at the end of tight ballgame. The quarterback takes the hike, drops back, tosses a long pass to a receiver and hopes for the best. Communicators - good ones - do that, too, from time to time, only their effort should be much more strategic.