Implementation Flashcards
What is an action program?
Primarily involves internal organizational change;
“You can’t communicate your way out of a situation you behaved your way into”
How comms strategy supports the action program?
- to inform internal and external target publics
- persuade those publics to support and accept the action
- instruct publics in skills needed to translate intention to action
Focus of the communication program
Messaging
What is messaging content strategy?
How messages are developed, created and expressed
What is messaging delivery strategy?
The channels through which message dissemination takes place
Compliance gaining strategies
- Sanction - focused on rewards and punishments
- Altruism - How it will help
- Argument
- Circumvention - relies on deceit. or exaggeration
Power and Fear
Sender has little power or control - persuasion as primary strategy
Sender has power or control - instruction or direction becomes strategy
Primacy vs. recency
First part of the message has most impact on receivers with low interest (primacy)
Last part has greatest impact on those with initial interest (recency)
Three factors in fear messages
- seriousness. or harmfulness of the subject
- probability of the feared event
- efficacy of recommended actions
One-sided vs. two-sided arguments
If receivers oppose - communicate both sides
If receivers agree - argue consistent with receiver’s view
If well-educated - both sides
When using both sides - don’t leave out relevant opposing arguments
Inoculation Theory
If readers are likely to be exposed later to persuasive messages countering your position, use two-sided messages to inoculate the audience
What is message framing?
Putting the message into a context that will facilitate compliance, understanding or agreement.
30-3-30 formula
Clay Schoenfeld theory
30 - audience will give you no more than 30 seconds to get attention
3 - some will give you up to 3 minutes
30 - minutes some audience members will give you to learn more
Principles of message framing
- know the client’s or employer’s position and problem situation
- know the needs, interest and concerns of the target publics
Co-orientation model
Helps practitioners determine the org’s position, the public’s position, mutual orientation and orientation to the issue or problem
Use media most closely identified with audience’s position
Use a communications source with high credibility
Play down differences
Seek identification in vocab and anedote
Establish your position as majority opinion
Bring audience identification into play
Modify the message to suit needs
What is newsworthiness?
- Audience impact
- Proximity
- Timeliness
- Prominence
- Novelty or oddity
- Conflict, drama or excitement
Priming theory
Previously learned info affects how receptive people are to new messages and how they interpret new info
Encoding and decoding messages
Encoding is the process of putting meaning into messages
Decoding is the process of getting meaning out of messages
Denotive and connotative meanings
Denotive meaning is the common dictionary meaning
Connotative is the emotional or evaluative meaning
What is diffusion?
The process by which new ideas and practices are spread to members of a social system
Rogers’ five stages of acceptance
- Knowledge
- Persuasion
- Decision
- Implementation
- Confirmation
Sources of influence
Change knowledge — mass media
Change behavior — interpersonal methods
Two-step flow model
Media messages through opinion leaders to social system
Opinion leaders
People who can influence the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of other people - AKA influentials (late 70s)
3 barriers in the Comms Process, aka Rhetorical Barriers
- Audience obstacles
- Speaker obstacles
- Subject and Purpose obstacles
Diffusion Obstacles
Lippmann and Gallup
1. Know-nothings
2. Interested people acquire most info
3. People seek info compatible with attitudes
4. People interpret same info differently
5. Info doesn’t always change attitudes
Why campaigns succeed (Mendelsohn)
- Assume publics are mildly interested or not at all interested
- Mid-range goals reasonably achieved
- Delienate specific targets using demo and psychographics
Common mistakes in crisis comms
Hesitation
Obfuscation
Retaliation
Equivocation
Pontification
Confrontation
Litigation
The 7 C’s of PR Comms
- Credibility
- Context
- Content
- Clarity
- Continuity and consistency
- Channels
- Capability of the audience
