Communicating in a Time Like No Other

Preparing for Success & Avoiding Pitfalls in the Public Square

We recently had a client approach us to help them raise the public profile of an issue toward the goal of effecting change. It’s not an uncommon request, but we live in uncommon times that make this request more challenging than ever.

Why has it become so challenging to raise the profile of an issue — even one worthy of public attention? Because the nature of debate in the public square has changed dramatically. In the past, the perpetual coverage of politics and policy was reserved for the last month before a general election. No longer. More issues compete within shorter news cycles and shorter attention spans across an exploding number of news outlets, both traditional and online. Simply put, everything is important, therefore nothing is important.

Add to that the active disinformation efforts meant to divide people on even the most mundane of issues and social media algorithms that monetize anger.

So how do you break through the noise? We’ve compiled a checklist of questions for engaging the public in our present, chaotic era.

The main goal is to connect the people who are trying to promote an issue to the average American, who is just trying to work, put dinner on the table and get to sleep before they get up and do it all over again.

1. Did you do your due diligence? How do you know that your issue matters to people? What messages help make your case? Is your organization seen as credible on the issue? Make sure you’re on a firm foundation before investing the time, money and political capital.

2. Do you have the full backing of your organization’s leadership? It needs to be sanctioned — if not driven — by top leadership. That needs to be clear both internally and externally.

3. Are your efforts aligned with your organization? Make certain that what you are promoting is intuitively aligned with the organization. Not indirectly aligned, not tangential, but so obviously relevant that your audience doesn’t even have to think about whether it makes sense.

4. Is everyone within the organization singing from the same song sheet?Whatever the message, it needs to be socialized within the organization, horizontally across all geographies and vertically from the interns up to the c-suite. It’s a difficult standard to meet, but if it’s not top-of-mind internally, you’re not ready to take it on the road.

5. Are you committed to what you are trying to achieve? Timidity, hesitation and defensiveness are to reporters (and the public to some extent) like blood in the water to a shark. Don’t mail it in or cut corners. Commit to what you are trying to achieve.

6. Does the effort have the resources necessary for success? The issue either matters or it doesn’t. If you are coming up short for the necessary resources, it should tell you something about the importance of the issue to your organization.

7. Is your effort authentic? Easy to say, harder to do. If it even has the whiff of PR, whitewashing, greenwashing, window dressing, etc. — then kick it to the curb. The best place to test this is outside the organization. Doing so helps avoid cognitive biases such as groupthink.

8. Are you standing on principle? Principles matter. Even those who disagree with you will respect your commitment to principles.

9. Are you ready for pushback? Preparation means gaming out all of the potential criticism and roadblocks that will come your way. If attacked, respond, directly and aggressively. Defend it as if the future of the organization depends on it.

If you want to gain attention for a public initiative in today’s hyper-partisan, noisy public square, your effort has to be rock-solid on the fundamentals. The checklist won’t guarantee success, but it’s a starting point for making sure you’re getting the basics right in a landscape where every critic and cynic has a smartphone.