COMM 101: Building a Media & Communications Foundation

1. COMM 101:Building a Media & Communications Foundation April 20, 2010 Presented by: Stephanie Goss & David Stupplebeen

2. COMM 101: Training Objectives • Developing messages • Drafting talking points • Training spokespeople • Handling an interview • Writing press releases • Building media contacts

3. What is a meaningful message? • Concise • Messages should be honed to 1 -2 sentences • If it takes a paragraph or more to make your points, keep working! • Catchy • Messages should be easy to remember • Messages should NOT be overloaded with data points • Make your case • Link your work to a broader community issue • Communicate the issue and why it matters • Identify obstacles or misconceptions that keep people from engaging

4. Message Development: Identifying the issue • What’s the issue? • Case study: World AIDS Day • World AIDS Day is on December 1st and seeks to raise awareness about the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. For A&PI Wellness Center, observing the day includes raising awareness about HIV in A&PI communities in the US. • Example: The rate of new HIV infections continues to rise among A&PIs, an ignored community perceived to be “low-risk.”

5. Message Development: Making your case • Why does it matter? • Support your issue statement with compelling statistics or anecdotes • Example: Recent data shows the annual increase in HIV infections for A&PI men and women was higher than any other racial/ethnic group and yet over two-thirds of Asians and over half of Pacific Islanders have never been tested for HIV.

6. Message Development: Putting it together • The rate of new HIV infections continues to rise among A&PIs, an ignored community perceived to be “low-risk.” Recent data shows the annual increase in HIV infections for A&PI men and women was higher than any other racial/ethnic group and yet over two-thirds of Asians and over half of Pacific Islanders have never been tested for HIV.

7. Message Development: Know your sound bites • Sound bites are PART OF your message, but not the message itself • Sound bites reinforce the message • Example: there are three sound bites in the sample message. Can you find them? RAISE YOUR HAND!

8. What are talking points? • Concise and clear list of key points for speakers, spokespeople or organizational representatives • Useful for situations involving communication with any external audience • Use cases: • Public and private funders • Media • Policymakers • Anyone with a question about your issue or the work you do

9. Why use talking points? • Message consistency • Clarification of organizational position • When to use talking points • Fielding calls from media • Media interviews • Interactions at large events

10. Talking points format • Concise, clear and easy to remember • Speakers can use their own words to express the points

11. Case Study: World AIDS Day • Sample talking points: • A&PIs are perceived to be “low risk” for HIV infection • A&PIs are often ignored in broader discussions about HIV • A&PIs comprise over 40 different ethnic groups and speak over 100 distinct languages and dialects

12. Talking points format • Example continued: • The annual increase in HIV infections for A&PI men and women was higher than any other racial/ethnic group (8.1% for men and 14.3% for women, between 2001 and 2004) • Over two-thirds of Asians and over half of Pacific Islanders have never been tested for HIV. • 1 in 3 A&PIs living with HIV don’t know it • Clearly, HIV prevention education and testing must be culturally and linguistically competent in order to better serve the needs of the A&PI community.

13. Do you really need spokespeople? • YES! • Trained spokespeople are your strongest advocates when talking to an external audience • Why do you need spokespeople? • Strength • Credibility • Authenticity

14. Who are your spokespeople? • Staff members (ED, program staff, etc) • Board of Directors • Clients and community members • Public and private funders • Political leaders and policymakers • Experts

15. Training your spokespeople:Practice, practice, practice! • Hold a training • Training logistics: • Videotape the training, if possible • Pay attention to time • Practice staying on message

16. Handling an interview • WARNING! Interviews are business transactions • Do your homework: • What is the interview format? • How long is the interview? • Don’t have more than 3 messages for any interview

17. Tricks of the trade • Don’t be lured off-topic during the interview • Use these techniques to stay on message: Bridging – transitioning back to core message: • “Another thing to remember is…” • “If you look closely, you’ll find…” • “That reminds me of…” Flipping the script: • “That’s not my area of expertise, but I think it’s important to note that…” • “Let me answer you by saying…” • “What I can tell you is…”

18. Tricks of the trade • More techniques for the interview: Hooking – “3 things” or “2 mistakes” • “Three things people should know about HIV in our community are…” • “Two common misconceptions about HIV in our community are…” Flagging – highlighting the important point • “The important point here is…” • “The real issue here is…”

19. Tricks of the trade • More techniques for the interview: Cherry picking – answer the question YOU want! Telescoping – Explode to the big picture • “What that means is…”

20. What not to wear • Men • Solid suits in gray or navy • Cream, blue or other light-colored shirt • Careful with the tie! Complicated patterns create illusions on TV! • Women • Solid, bright colors are best • Avoid all-white or cream and busy prints • No heavy jewelry • Everyday makeup

21. Press release or media advisory or both? • A press release should be written like a news article • A media advisory is much shorter than a press release

22. Drafting your press release • Now that you have your skeleton, the press release should have muscle and skin • Inverted pyramid • Section 1: broad strokes of event or issue • Section 2: your main message • Section 3: your supporting arguments • Section 4: event and logistical details • Don’t be too wordy – keep it to a single page

23. Sample press release

24. Sample press release

25. Sample press release

26. Sample press release

27. Sample media advisory

28. Sample media advisory

29. Building an initial media contacts list • Identify local newspapers, magazines and television/radio stations that are important for your community • For newspapers: send press releases and media advisories to the major desks (i.e., Metro desk for local events, Health desk, etc.) • For radio/television: Media advisories are put on studio calendars for reporters to pick up

30. Sending out the press release/media advisory • Pay attention to deadlines • Avoid sending releases on Mondays or Fridays • Make sure to follow up!

31. More resources • Visit our project web site! http://www.banyantreeproject.org/ Questions? Contact us! Stephanie Goss: stephanie@apiwellness.org David Stupplebeen: das@apiwellness.org (415) 292-3400 x 330 and 361, respectfully