Escondido Falls

I hiked Escondido Falls (Malibu, CA) recently and thought it would be interesting to compare how it looked like during the drought and how it looked like recently.

Before:

After:

Keep it local

In a previous entry I discussed some ideas on how to get your audience to not only pay attention to what you are saying but actually care as well.  The takeaway lesson was using  themes and priorities that your audience is likely to care about and connecting them to your ideas which they probably don't care about yet.

Often times, when people are presented with an issue, their first reaction is assuming that what you're talking about doesn't affect them.  Even if you appeal to topics and people they care about, you might still not make the connection because they will consider the issue or problem relevant for others and not them.

For instance, you are tasked with giving a persuasive presentation on traffic congestion reduction strategies to city planners and engineers from cities across California.  Your goal is to push these professionals towards adopting pre-emptive measures to ward off potential traffic increases in the near future.  However, the problem is that a lot of these planners work in cities that do not have traffic issues and they believe that the problem is only present in dense and congested areas such as Los Angeles.  You strategy in this case should focus on making the problem relevant and local.  You need to clearly show that congestion problems are guaranteed to arrive after certain population and car ownership thresholds are reached and surpassed.  To drive (pun, although unintentional at first, is now intended ; )  ) the point home even further, show population growth projections for the less urban areas and clearly show that they are headed in the same direction as the dense urban areas.

Now, let's consider the case of a non-profit group fighting for clean water rights in California.  The main barrier that such a group faces is showing that contaminated water issues aren't just relevant in Northern California's farming communities where nitrate contamination is a serious problem.  Whenever this group wants to spread its message in a new community, it has to connect the problem to the local area.  For instance, there are many contaminated wells in Southern California as well.  The problem actually isn't just a problem for the north.  By showing that even local water supplies have been contaminated and need remediation, the group has a much higher chance of making their message relevant which can lead to greater support.  Another option is to show the clear progression of water contamination in the north to major urban areas in the south.  Southern population centers do get a majority of their water from the Northern California after all.  If the source of water becomes contaminated, it doesn't matter where the water travels, it has already been contaminated.

Whatever strategy you ultimately decide to take, just remember that if the issue isn't local or relevant, your ideas are going to have a difficult time gaining traction.

Source: http://grist.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/tap_water_anders_andermark.jpg?w=223&h=315

Why you must worry about context

In a previous entry, I discussed the importance of using pre-existing schemas, themes, and ideas that your audience might be familiar with as a way of connecting with them and getting them to care about your message. Today, we add another concept to that list, establishing context.

Establishing context accomplishes a very important goal, it provides a backstory for the ideas you are trying to get across.  Providing context is especially important when your audience is not familiar with the topic and doesn't even realize why they should care about it.  By filling in key contextual details, you can give them reasons to feel invested and more involved.  Without a proper context, your audience is unable to situate themselves and gain perspective.  As a result, it's going to be difficult for them to care or feel connected with the issue.

Yesterday, I attended a conference on water issues in Southern California.  One of the speakers presented her organization's strategy for making their message relevant for their audience.  The organization was called "Surfrider" and their goal was (is) to get people to care about pollution in the ocean and our coastlines.  Initially, they tried to convey their message through statistics and descriptions on how pollutants end up in the ocean.  However, this did not work.  Their next strategy involved making an animated film and following the path of water from the users, towards its ultimate disposal:

Following a drop of our water from its origin, through its use to its disposal reveals an expensive and often wasteful journey and makes it clear we could be using water more wisely.

 Surfrider also simplified their message and titled it "Know Your H20."  As discussed in a previous entry, this message is simple and gets to the core.  It is prioritized and the less important details are cut out.  Surfrider is trying to educate its users on where their water goes after its used, how it gets there, and what happens to it both along the way and at the end of its journey.  The simple message "Know Your H20" perfectly connects with this objective.  However, in addition to utilizing simplicity, the campaign establishes context.  It situates the typical water user in a complicated system and makes him realize that he is part of that system and his actions DO matter.  Here is the link to the video: http://surfrider.org/programs/entry/know-your-h2o

The new communication campaign ended up being much more effective than before and Surfrider even won awards for their film.  I believe this is a perfect "real world" example of how effective communication strategies and concepts can and DO work.