Planning policy influence workshop Communications strategies – challenges and opportunities Antony Robbins, 24 November 2008

Three things The communications environment and a few communications basics The foundations of a communications strategy Practical tips for success

Communicating for impact Central to our mission Policy assesments; policy advice; research results – no impact unless communicated Part of ‘four pillars’ of what we do Integral – yet hard to measure

Modern communications 24-hour communications culture Growing competition Tell a good story – about people Be available, be dependable Establishing your expertise – big picture stuff User-generated content Understand the audience

DFID and its public DFID – ‘re-igniting the conspiracy of 2005’ Expanding communications resources Focus on ‘the public’ What would my granny in Lincoln say? Growing ministerial expectations But 19 th century system – submissions and red boxes! Changes needed are cultural

Getting the fundamentals right Why does our organisation exist? What are we trying to do? What are our objectives? Establish our position

Who are your audiences? List and prioritise them…..are they: policy makers; agricultural specialists; researchers; decision-takers; government ministers; civil servants; journalists; broadcasters; special advisers; administrators; members of the public?

The shoes of your audience… Who are they? where are they? What’s our relationship with them? How do we want to change it? How do we prioritise them? What do we want communications to achieve? -Change behaviour? raise profile? Attend an event? lend support? commit funds?

What’s the message? Understand what you’re trying to say Purpose? What’s new or different? Write like you talk Plain language – is not dumbing down Basic principles

Top tips for all audiences – do Keep it human and personal Keep it relevant Short sentences – words Check – and then check again Think pictures ‘ Almost everything easy to read is difficult to write and everything difficult to read is easy to write.’ Anon

…and don’t Overuse acronyms and jargon Make assumptions Write long meandering sentences – one point per sentence Overcomplicate …..and mind your language

Policy horror! ‘The government’s sub-optimal performance will be tackled through a programme of retrenchment, and a multi- donor basket funded programme of targeted capacity building interventions.’

The shout from the bus

Policyspeak Actors; drivers; pilots Develop a networking approach to policy dialogue Capacity-building; modalities; pro-poor Outputs and interventions Health extension workers

Meeting audience needs How would you reach them? Web? Article in a newspaper? ? Briefing? Speech? Networks? Podcast?

Writing for publications Work backwards from publication date Be realistic about consultation time Break up the text. Short sentences/paras Text boxes – short and infrequent A picture’s worth a thousand words Executive summaries are good Distribution?

Writing a speech Attention-grabbing intro – clear conclusion Lively chatty style Short sentences Avoid jargon and acronyms Use punctuation to indicate a pause for breath Make it personal – read it out load

How to write for the web Be concise – short to the point Readability – careful about assumptions Usability Accessibility Context – catchy headline Low-res photos

News Agenda May work in your favour …or against you Be prepared to respond Learn from others

Summary Think about distinctivness Be clear about your message Shoes of your audience Plan ahead. Check everyone understands and knows their role Watch the jargon and the policyspeak Tell a story Keep it simple

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