1. Effective Communication in a Politically Charged Environment
Stacey Smith, APR, Fellow PRSA
Jackson Jackson & Wagner

2. Three Stories ….

3. How Americans Typically Respond To Issues Lesly Model
  1% % % % %
Immediate Leaning Opinion Leaning Immediate
Favorable Favorable Leaders Unfavorable Unfavorable
Zealots
Minds made up as soon as hear of issue
Have
opinion,
won’t do
anything
about it
Willing to Discuss,
open minded –
will drive decision
Have opinion,
won’t do anything about it
Zealots
Minds made up as soon s hear of issue
Jackson Jackson & Wagner
jjwpr.com 3

4. PREACHING TO THE CHOIR WORKS!
Start
Here
End
Here
Readiness to
Accept
Readiness to
Reject
Immediate Early Late Skeptics Hard-Core
Acceptors Adopters Adopters Resisters
(10-15%) (20-25%) (25%) (20-25%) (10-15%)
OD Practitioner, Copyright 1988, John D. McAdam, Ph.D.
Jackson Jackson & Wagner

5. Behavioral Public Relations Model
Awareness
Rarely
Usually LR
Occasionally  
Latent
Readiness
Usually TE
Triggering
Events B R
Relationship
Building
Preparatory or
Intermediate
Behavior

6. Manufactured v. Naturally Occurring Triggering Events
Something we create
Positive or negative
Asks for intermediate or long-term behavior
Naturally Occurring
Something created by others or nature
Must be prepared, issues anticipation via environmental scan

7. Opinion Leaders: 5 Types
Role Models
True Opinion Leaders
Power Leaders
Cheerleaders
Celebrities

8. Opinion Leader Characteristics
Have an interest in your issue
Have a following
Are positivists
Are activists
Have credibility

9. How to Keep In Touch With OLs
Face-to-face
Dipstick Research
Special Events
Social Media
Personal media
Data base

10. Motivate Committed Base To Act
Positive Reinforcement
Foot-in-door techniques
Role Models
Social Acceptance
Motivation

11. Recipe for Success Know your audience Where they stand
What they believe
What other issues are important to them
Do your research!

12. Recipe for Success Understand who are their key influencers
Know who are the voices on the other side and anticipate what saying
Prepare persuasive responses

13. Recipe for Success Key Messages: Must resonate with audience – WIIFM
Gruing’s model:
Problem identification
Personalization
Constraint removal
Test and alter if not effective
“Perception is Fact”

14. Recipe for Success Cultivate relationships BEFORE you ask for support
Relationships are built on trust.
Trust is built through face-to-face communications over time, actions as well as words.
Listening is as important as talking

15. What’s Your Challenge?