Identifying Roadblocks in the Message Development Process

Before deciding to undertake a message development process, roadblocks to success must be recognized and addressed. These seven questions help an organization identify potential barriers so that they can be dealt with. The questions are purposefully leading because an organization is not ready to develop a message until it can answer yes to all of them:

1. Will we involve an interdisciplinary team in the message development process?

2. Will the team include our organization’s or program’s top leadership?

3. Will we use the strategic message that is developed for a sustained period of time?

4. Will we be disciplined about how we use the message, for example, refrain from changing it due to boredom?

5. Will we commit to stating and organization expectation that everyone in the organization, including board members and volunteers, will learn to use the strategic message?

6. Will we refrain from telling our audiences what they should want to do?

7. Will we practice linking what we want them to do with something they desire?

Truly strategic messages connect an organization’s goals to what actually drive stakeholders to take action. They resonate with audience desires so that audiences are motivated to act in a way the organization desires.