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Communication Overtones Comments

$\"Gravatar\"$ This is very similar to a system Terry Fallis and I piloted with a client last year. We had the same idea as you: get spokespersons off the memorized message track and on to talking about themes, with examples to back them up.

To get away from memorizing phrases, we would select power words from within these themes for our spokespersons to hang on to and repeat, reinforce and restate regularly. In your example, the power word would be \"education.\" They could then use phrases that came naturally to mind i.e. champions of, supporters of, believers in, focused on, etc.

It's a whole lot easier to sound credible and less rehearsed when you're not repeating yourself like some automaton.

Answers were less forced and more natural sounding when instead of searching for the key message, spokespersons are trained to listen to the question, relate it to one of your themes, back it up, restate the theme and move on.
David Jones | Homepage | 10.14.06 - 1:13 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ David; Good ideas and glad to hear this is springing up elsewhere across the PR community. I like the idea of thinking of them as themes. I was calling them storylines, but I like themes a little better.
Kami Huyse | Homepage | 10.14.06 - 2:13 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ I think that is wonderful technique. Even more, it's not you who builds the image of your organization, but the frame that you use, which force people to thing in certain way.

Yet, may there be such a situation, when image of your organization built in the past (based on key messages and examples) will limit your possibilities in the future.
Stating once something, can make you act according to your words later, even when the situation is changing and it is getting harder to do it or it does not have any sense for organization anymore.
These messages create expectations and limit freedom of action in the future, if organization does not want to receive any negative estimation from society or being seen as inconsistent.
kateeJRMC | 10.19.06 - 11:11 pm | #

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