Getting the most from key messages in local government projects
Spoiler: USE THEM once you have them.
Last time was about writing a call to action that clearly, overtly calls the public to get involved in public involvement. Now it’s time to bring that together with persona and empathy and value proposition (from earlier editions) in key messages — building blocks to help make sure all your project’s public-facing writing flows from the same source so it stays relevant and consistent.
Key messaging is advocated by IAP2, the “organization that leads, advances and advocates for best practices in public participation.” You can see a hint of that in the course objectives under the third heading in this training description that lies outside IAP2’s paywall.
Here’s how
Write a list of short sentences, maybe with supporting bullet points — but not paragraphs. Make each a concise, complete thought that doesn’t heavily depend on the others. That’s because key messages are component pieces, like Legos. When you put them together in public-facing writing, you won’t always include them all. An example:
[Basic parameters]
This project will upgrade and repave Elm Street between First and 21st avenues. It will:
Add paths on both sides for biking and walking, separated from car traffic.
Improve drainage, so the street won’t flood during heavy rain.
[Value proposition]
The new Elm Street will:
Give Elm Elementary kids and their families a safer route to walk and ride to school.
Remove potholes that lead to drivers swerving near kids.
Cut way down on water damage, so the smooth new road surface will last longer.
[Call to action]
Sign up for project updates. We’ll let you know of events where you can share thoughts about:
How the upgraded street will work and feel.
How we can plan construction to reduce disruption for Elm Elementary families and neighbors.
[Background and details]
We expect the project to last about 18 months in four phases:
Phase 1: Planning (making sure the street will work well as an east-west route parallel to Oak Street, with connections to bus lines).
Phase 2: Early engineering (such as space requirements, signs and signals).
Phase 3: Acquiring land.
Phase 4: Construction.
During each phase, we’ll reach out to community members of all incomes and backgrounds, including people who:
Have physical challenges or who mostly speak languages other than English. (Let us know how we can accommodate you.)
Will be most affected by this project, especially those who we haven’t done a good job of reaching in the past.
Own properties and businesses in or near the project area.
Of course you’ll need buy-in from the client and/or the prime contractor on whether the subject matter is complete and accurate. But your plain-language, audience-empathetic style and tone is worth defending as a best practice for progressing in equity, inclusion and involvement.
As ever, some common pitfalls to avoid:
Mistaking boilerplate for key
By definition, a catch-all boilerplate description from a client’s website (such as its mission and vision statements) is not and cannot be a key message tailored to a specific project.
Writing great key messages … then disowning them
After client/prime buy-in comes the crucial part: Use and re-use the key messages for consistency when drafting any subsequent item of public-facing writing. Fact sheets, mailers, open-house boards, social content — create all by starting from and adapting the key messages. Stated another way: Once you have key messages, don’t start any public-facing writing from scratch. That’s really what key messages are for.
But what if a project’s circumstances change, outdating or outgrowing the key messages?
You might need to adapt, but that’s different from bypassing the key messages. Write replacement or additional key messages by starting again with persona and empathy, value proposition and call to action for the new circumstances.
Burying the most relevant stuff
Except for a few wonky/geeky usual suspects, the public doesn’t care much about the background and details. So when drafting public-facing project writing using your key messages, you must keep the value proposition and call to action close to each other and up near the beginning. If you bury them, you make it that much harder for the public to ever gain traction and get involved.
Next time: What exactly is “plain language”?
Within any work cohort, it’s too easy to misconstrue your work group’s common language as the plain language you need for reaching and engaging a whole other group: the public. Stand by for examples and measuring sticks.