Finding the Right Amount of Messaging
Finding the balance between too much information and not enough has always been a challenge. It’s not enough to find the right message. We must also determine how much of it is too much of a good thing.
When trying to decide, it’s important to step back and remember the intent of any message. It is not to convey everything there is to know about your work—just the opposite. The key is to convey just enough information that entices your audience to want to learn more. Getting them to that stage makes them active participants in your work right away. Doing so takes away their agency. It makes them passive observers and not potential participants.
It's as if you had walked into a shoe store and asked to see a particular shoe in your size, and the clerk says, “Well, there's the stockroom. Have at it.”
Plus, sharing your story one layer at a time allows you to learn what’s important to them based on the follow-up questions they ask. Too often, we put it all out there, hoping that our audience will wade through all we have to offer and pick what’s right for them. There are two problems with that approach:
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
One More Reason Why Research Rocks!
There are a lot of reasons why continual audience research is imperative. Here’s one: Communication is a two-way street. It’s so easy for us to forget that. If we do not regularly ask for information from our audiences—i.e., conduct research—all we’re doing is talking at them, not engaging them in our messages.
MESSAGING ON A MISSION
Listen Up: New Episodes Available!
Our podcast, Messaging on a Mission, came back last month from its summer break. Check out these two new episodes!
We’ve got a great line-up planned for the rest of the year, but if you or your organization have a story to share about how your message impacts your work, don’t be shy! Let us know! We’re always looking for new guests.
MISSION DRIVERS
Endaoment
In this recurring feature of Focal Point, we profile people and organizations on a mission! If you have someone to suggest, let us know!
Science Club for Girls fosters excitement, confidence, and literacy in STEM for girls and young women from underrepresented communities with free, experiential community-based programs.
With women making up less than 26 percent of the STEM workforce — and Black and Hispanic women at less than 4 percent — SCFG addresses a critical need, offering a continuum of engaging activities in STEM for K-8 girls, junior mentoring and leadership experiences for high school girls, and adult mentoring and role modeling by committed women with STEM careers.
For more information, visit scienceclubforgirls.org.
Focal Pointing
Focal Pointing shares some of the books, podcasts, and emails that are helping us learn, create, and grow.
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Well Said
"Our dreams must be stronger than our memories.
We must be pulled by our dreams, rather than pushed by our memories."
— Jesse Jackson
Born this month in 1941, Jesse Louis Jackson is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. Senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He is the founder of the organizations that merged to form Rainbow/PUSH.
