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Count on it: at some point in the coming months
your communication skills will be put to the test. Here are a few good
books to help you get ready.
by Robert Putnam (Simon & Schuster, © 2000)
For more than three decades, America has witnessed a disturbing decline
in civic engagement. People vote less often, attend fewer public meetings,
sign fewer petitions, and are more reluctant to join civic groups. Since
your organization probably relies on an engaged citizenry for financial
support, to pass or defeat laws, and to "throw the bums out" (or elect
the next generation of bums), this book should be required reading. It
analyzes the reasons for this continuing decline, and while it stops short
of offering solutions, Bowling Alone is immensely valuable in helping
to define a problem faced by anyone who must convince others to join,
vote, give, or simply show up.
"Between 1965 and 1995 we gained an average of six
hours a week in added leisure time and we spent almost all six of those
additional hours watching TV."
by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D. (William Morrow and
Co. © 1984)
"Behavior change" is another common theme for public interest advocates
as we're often faced with the question, "How are we going to convince
them to do that?" Cialdini's book - which is considered a text
book in marketing circles - looks at the myriad ways people are influenced
(especially by advertisers and politicians) and groups them into six categories:
reciprocation, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority,
and scarcity. Some may look at these techniques and think, "Oh, how awful!
How manipulative!" I thought, "How effective!" and I hope after reading
this book you'll add them to your communications tool kit.
"You and I exist in an extraordinarily complicated
stimulus environment.. To deal with it, we need shortcuts. We must.often
use our stereotypes, our rules of thumb to classify things according to
a few key features and then to respond mindlessly when one or another of
these trigger features is present."
by Sheldon Rampton & John Stauber (Tarcher/Putnam
© 2001)
When I met John Stauber for the first time in April, he told me we were
in a war. On our side, he said, are the progressive activists with limited
budgets who occasionally win a battle for hearts and minds. On the other
side are PR flacks and corporate spinmeisters who retreat from their occasional
losses only to regroup, pull another $100-million out of their deep pockets,
and launch a new round of attacks. If that sounds paranoid or unduly pessimistic,
read Trust Us, We're Experts. Stauber and co-author Rampton back up this
position with case studies on global warming, secondhand smoke, genetically
engineered food, and many other hotly debated issues. Just as Bowling
Alone defines the problem of civic dis-engagement, Trust Us exposes the
hidden persuaders who are constantly working to keep the public apathetic,
confused, or dangerously misinformed.
"As the political theorist Goran Therborn has observed,
there are three basic ways to keep people apathetic about a problem: (1)
argue that it doesn't exist; (2) argue that it's actually a good thing rather
than a problem; or (3) argue that even if it's a problem, there's nothing
they can do about it anyway."
| - from Trust Us, We're Experts |
by Paul Messaris (Sage Publications © 1997)
If TV commercials, print advertising, reports, brochures, or even flyers
are staples in your communications diet, consider this book for your summer
list. Messaris demonstrates how photographic images can be more persuasive
than words, why slightly altering photos is a remarkably effective technique
for capturing attention, and how visual style can actually enhance the
substance of your message. I wouldn't describe this book as a vein of
pure gold, but there are enough nuggets along the way to make it a valuable
read.
"This ability to imply something in pictures while
avoiding the consequences of saying it in words has been considered an advantage
of visual advertising since the earliest days of its development as a mass
medium."
by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman (Simon &
Schuster © 2000)
Okay, this isn't a book specifically about communicating, but it is just
about the best book on management I've read in the last ten years. And
when advocacy or education campaigns grow large enough to require the
coordinated efforts of many, it doesn't hurt to know a few things about
getting the most from your colleagues. So even if you're not a manager
on any organizational chart (or the designated leader of your coalition),
add this one to your reading list. More effective teamwork can help you
execute more effective campaigns.
"The hardest thing about being a manager is realizing that your people will not do things the way that you would. But get used to it. Because if you try to force them to, then two things happen. They become resentful - they don't want to do it. And they become dependent - they can't do it. Neither of these is terribly productive for the long haul."
| - from First Break All the Rules |
"Now Hear This: The Nine Laws of Successful Advocacy Communications" is
a new booklet that covers much of the same territory you've been reading
about here. Researched and written by Fenton Communications (with underwriting
from the David & Lucile Packard Foundation), "Now Hear This" draws from
interviews with over 25 experts in the field of public interest communications,
including pollster Celinda Lake, SPIN Project's Robert Bray, Vikki Spruill
of SeaWeb, and even yours truly. The advice is excellent and the booklet
is free, so what's not to like? Get your copy by sending an e-mail request
to caitlin@fenton.com.
If you want to delve more deeply into the field of public interest communication,
I highly recommend subscribing to Social Marketing Quarterly. Published
by Best Start Social Marketing and the University of South Florida, SMQ
features case studies, academic papers, and reports from conferences all
over the world. The publication's style is more academic and technical
than free-range thinking, but each issue features several case studies
that will show you what works and (more importantly) why when it comes
to effecting social change with conventional marketing tools. Yearly subscriptions
are $30. For more information, send an e-mail to Jim Lindenberger at jhl@beststartinc.org.
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Copyright © 2001 by Andy Goodman,
All Rights Reserved.
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