Archive for the ‘4. Words That Work’ Category

When we are trying to make something happen, conservationists sometimes think like cowboys. We break out the cattle prod and try to shock the public into action with a stiff jolt of bad news. There’s a time and place for that — but to motivate people, you have to mix the bad news with a more positive environmental message.

Here are some examples of “cattle prod” messages that have crossed my desk recently: “Giant corporations will spend billions to control our elections,” “Massive portions of the ocean blighted by plastic trash,” “methane entering the atmosphere threatens to accelerate global warming crisis.” Yikes! Sometimes the content of my morning inbox makes me want to just go back to bed and pull the covers over my head.

Of course, these messages are true. And you have to tell the public about a problem to make the case for your solution. But if you just jolt them repeatedly with the bad news cattle prod, you might demoralize and desensitize your audience. Sure, they might agree with you — but they won’t do anything.

To give you a flavor for what I mean, I recently ran some conservation outreach materials past a test panel of everyday citizens. Here are some reactions to the shock messages:

Shock Messages About Bad Environmental Habits:

• “There was so much garbage shown and the damage was so big that it gave me pause. Would what I could do really help stop all that horrible waste?”
• “The actions of one person alone do not really add up to much.”

Shock Messages About Financial Need:

• “My action/donation would only be effective only if I am one of MANY who donate. Land is not cheap…”
• “I wouldn’t be certain my small donation would really make a difference…”

Shock Messages About Government Inaction:

• “Being only one voice, my single opinion can hardly effect political manueverings…”
• “I realize that state representatives receive hundreds, if not thousands, of complaints and suggestions everyday. Unless this action is taken on a large scale, I am doubtful it would hold a significant impact on government policies…”

Not exactly the words of people poised to spring into action to save the day, are they? These quotes underscore the urgency of mixing in some encouragement and words of success. That’s what author John W. Gardner meant when he wrote, “the first and last task of a leader is to keep hope alive.”

So listen up, cowboy — you might get a few cows moving with your trusty cattle prod, but it’s the herd mentality that moves society. People find hope and courage in that herd. Read how our test panel reacted to some conservation messages that evoked the sense of strength in numbers:

When Told Others Are Working Together to Change Bad Habits:

• “…one person’s acts multiplied by many thousands of like minded people can have a profound impact on the problem.”

When Told Others Have Already Done Their Part to Give:

• “…having donations matched makes my action seem like it would have a bigger impact.”

When Told Others Have Made a Difference by Signing a Petition to Officials:

• “…a widely distributed petition can have some influence on the various representatives of the petitioning constituencies.”

So next time you find yourself sitting at the computer to concoct an environmental message that you want to motivate your some audience to some action, remember the importance of the hopeful herd.

Moo!

Click the image to see in full size. It's worth it.

Yup. This is cool. Click the image to see it in full size, it’s even cooler. And for good measure,”balance” is a word that works.

This picture was posted in an article by the American Public Works Association, by the way.

You’ve heard the phrase “look before you leap.” But what does that mean when it comes to environmental writing and communications?

First, a marketing urban legend about what can happen if you don’t look before you leap: Enjoying healthy sales of its Nova automobile in the U.S., Chevrolet introduced it to Latin America — where it bombed. As it turned out, “no va” — means “no go” in Spanish, and the name was turning potential customers away.

Environmental insiders make mistakes like this all the time, but you don’t have to.

When the stakes are high, savvy communicators pre-test their message before they commit to it. Ad executives invite customers to watch their latest commercial, before they spend millions to air it. Political campaigns test out slogans and speech lines with voters, before the candidates use them on the stump. Trial lawyers practice their arguments in front of pretend juries, before they head into court.

They use the pretesting to avoid mistakes — and to sharpen their message so they get what they want.

In my practice, I help nature protection and pollution control organizations pre-test their fundraising letters, petitions, brochures, webpages, and related materials. I see some mistakes come up again and again. So here’s a short list of our own “no va” moments that you should take care to avoid:

• Mistake #1: “If only they knew.” I hear this one from my clients a lot. “If only they knew they lived in a watershed,” “If only they knew they knew the storm drain went to the creek.” So they produce materials that are long on science education and short on action messages. As you might expect, these materials produce little action.
• Mistake #2: Weak photography.Nature protection groups use a lot of pretty nature pictures. Pollution control organizations show a lot of pipes and oil slicks. No problem there, but when we pre-test those messages, test subjects often ask for photographs that demonstrate what action they can take.
• Mistake #3: Professional jargon. Scientists, engineers, and lawyers tend to use professional lingo that sends the message to the public that your message isn’t meant for them. Pre-testing your materials is great way to uncover words that you thought were plain English, but aren’t.
• Mistake #4: Too depressing. Sure, you have to convince people there’s a problem before they will do something to help solve it. But if you go to far, you will demoralize your audience.
• Mistake #5: It’s all up to you. Let’s face it. Most of the things that everyday citizens can do to protect nature or control pollution make a pretty small difference — and they know it. But when we all do our part, it adds up to something big. So it’s very important to include in your message some words and pictures about the other people who are doing their part: donating, picking up after their dog, turning off their lights, signing that petition, etc.

Learning what the five mistakes are is a great way to avoid them. And another way to avoid these mistakes is to follow some writing guidelines like the Water Words That Work environmental message method. This 4-step method incorporates the findings from many environmental message pre-tests and opinion polls.

Finally, pretesting your environmental message isn’t just for those with deep pockets anymore. I have designed our forthcoming environmental message pretest service — the Due Diligence Test Panel — to make it easy and affordable for you to catch mistakes and sharpen your message, just like major corporations and candidates for high office do. When you simply can’t afford “no va,” pretesting is a “no brainer.”

It was a great pleasure to deliver the “Water Words That Work” presentation to the Watershed Action Alliance of SE Massachusetts yesterday. Thanks to you all for being so understanding about the need to reschedule due to the great DC area blizzard.

Click the links below to download the presentations in PDF form.

• Water Words That Work
• The 4 Step Environmental Message Method