Tackling challenges with a proactive approach.
In times of change, the words communicators use to convey their messages matter.
This can be seen in how political comms teams, bank executives and large corporations frame their messages, often taking the negative and turning it into something more positive and digestible for their audience.
This is not done on accident, said Michael Ricci, former speechwriter and director of communications for John Boehner and Paul Ryan, at the PR Daily Conference.
“There’s something I like to call the ‘first mover-metabolism,’” he said. “In business, ‘first mover’ means first on the market,” he said. “For our purposes, I don’t mean being the first to say something.” On the contrary, he said. This is an opportunity to be more prepared and more ready to tackle conflict with the right words.
Communicators should avoid overcorrecting and overreacting, he said. Instead, ditch the ‘war room’ mentality and focus on shifting the message, he added.
This can be done in four steps, which include:
- Take a proactive and predictive posture: Rank and measure your risk. Track regulatory and policy drafts to better understand what’s coming down the pipeline and what might affect your organization. What does it mean and what impact will it have? How can you address this without getting lost in crisis response mode? “The earlier you can see the issue, the earlier you can plan for it,” Ricci said.
- Tackle issues through framing and shaping: Do your homework so you understand what the challenges are and how you can speak about them. Who will be most affected? How can you frame your message to address concerns but also offer positive solutions? How can your organization be useful and constructive? Framing messages should be thought of more as steady state responses and less about reacting to conflict, he said.
- Know your brand and values: Understanding your brand and what its values are can ensure you’re using words in your messaging that not only align, but accurately reflect your organization’s top priorities. “Healthy organizations tweak their messaging as priorities shift,” Ricci said.
- Game out scenarios: What are your escalation paths? When and where can you intervene? “This helps you understand who you need in the room to make decisions…it’s more about exposure therapy,” he said. What are the specific scenarios and how can you adjust to them? Who do you need to reach and who can you team up with to better share your message?
“Disruption brings discomfort,” Ricci said. “Don’t just react to pressure. Reframe it as an opportunity to lead, clarify your values and connect with new audiences.”
Click here to watch the full presentation.
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
The post 4 steps to creating ‘first-mover’ messaging appeared first on PR Daily.
