Message development and testing for climate change organisations
We’re finding that message development and testing is an increasingly popular element of our media training for climate change organisations. More and more climate change scientists, investment firms concerned with climate change or voluntary carbon market organisations and campaigners on climate change are asking us to help them to development and test their messages.
Growing concerns about greenwashing, greenhushing and scepticism among some political leaders about NetZero and climate change as a serious issue are throwing up new challenges. Organisations involved in carbon reduction and climate change are having to think more carefully about their messages. Suddenly, media interviews and presentations are becoming riskier.
What is message development and testing for climate change organisations?
Essentially, we support the PR companies and inhouse media relations teams of organisations working in the climate change space. We help them, their clients and their spokespeople to define their messages more clearly. We ensure that these messages are relevant to the target audience, and we help to identify examples case studies and proof points to illustrate and back up these messages. Very importantly, we have spokespeople to find the words and phrases fat work for them, that they feel comfortable with when conveying these messages. This means that these spokespeople sound authentic and human.
But there’s more. In our media training sessions and message development and testing sessions for climate organisations and carbon markets players we also analyse, and stress test these messages. This allows us to ensure that they won’t fall apart during questioning by journalists, regulators, politicians and others, leaving spokespeople embarrassed and exposed. As experienced journalists we can identify weaknesses in an argument or opportunities for mischief making by the media.
Many communications professionals ask us to provide media training and message development and testing for climate change organisations so that they can bring a fresh pair of eyes to bear on their messages. They know that making a claim or putting forward an argument might seem logical and reasonable to them and their colleagues but what about somebody outside the organisation?
How does message development and testing for those working in the climate change sector work?
As is the case with our media training for those working in the voluntary carbon markets and other areas of climate change, we support and enhance the role of PR companies and in house media relations teams. They bring us in because our trainers are working media professionals (operating under strict NDAs) who can bring to bear a journalist’s instincts and approach to issues.
We’ll start by taking a brief from the PR consultants as well as doing our own research into the issue to establish the broader context. Then we’ll carry out realistic role play interviews with the climate change organisation’s key spokespeople. This might be an asset manager seeking to persuade clients, potential clients, the markets and regulators that their green investments bring good returns while doing good for the planet. Our media coaching for the voluntary carbon markets enables spokespeople to explain how these systems work and to defend themselves against accusations of greenwashing.
How does message development and testing differ from regular media training for climate change organisations?
We’ll spend less time on how the interviewees came across, and more on what they actually said. We’ll ask whether an answer sounds logical. Does it leave the organisation open to accusations of greenwashing? Could a journalist or other questioner draw the interviewee into political controversy? Could the spokesperson’s answers make the organisation a hostage to fortune? Do they end up prompting more questions than they answer? If so, is the organisation ready to handle those questions.
Then there are more, basic factors to consider. Did the spokesperson appear to be human and sympathetic? Did they come across as authentic, as if they really believed what they were saying? Or did they sound like a corporate spokesperson simply delivering a line to take on an issue?
Media training for climate change organisations
All of these things have to be carefully reviewed from a factual and a communications perspective. Very often in our media training for climate change organisations when we’re testing messages, we’ll get the white board or flip chart out. We’ll start brainstorming and writing, writing, writing. No idea is a bad idea at this stage. If anything, a gut reaction or an immediate, unplanned thought can be more valuable than a carefully prepared argument. After all, it’s this instant reaction that 95% of audiences are going to experience and rely on when they hear the message is that we’re testing.
Despite all this writing, very often the process involves reducing words rather than adding them. We might use a message house or five act narrative structure to develop the message. Then we need to hone it down. We take the view that good writing isn’t about adding everything you want, it’s about taking away everything you can. This makes the message clearer and more concise – and it also reduces the risk of ambiguity and cans of worms being opened.
Testing courses for climate change organisations
Once we’ve got the message clear and everyone is happy with it, we need to think about delivering. In our message development and testing courses for climate change organisations we then need to help the spokespeople to find the words and phrases to express it in a way that sounds human and authentic.
In these workshops and with our media training generally – we teach a number of techniques to enable spokespeople to manage awkward questions and difficult issues. We help climate change organisations, be they asset managers, carbon market players or campaigners to put issues into context. We help create a narrative that sounds sensible and reasonable to show to audiences how the organisation is managing the challenges and tensions inherent in dealing with climate change.
Media Training courses for spokespeople in climate change organisations
We’re Media Training experts and Communications professionals with nearly 30 years’ experience. But we’re also passionate and, yes, excited, about the opportunities to combat climate change. Whether you’re involved in green investments and the carbon markets or whether you’re a campaigning organisation or a climate change scientist. We would love to work with you on your comms team to improve your media interview skills. Come and talk to us. You can follow us on LinkedIn here.
