What's the best way to make your cause message clear and compelling?

1 Know your audience

Before you write or speak your message, you need to understand who you are trying to reach. What are their values, interests, needs, and challenges? How do they get their information and what influences their opinions? How do they relate to your cause and what motivates them to act? By knowing your audience, you can tailor your message to appeal to their emotions, logic, and identity. You can also avoid jargon, assumptions, or arguments that might alienate or confuse them.

2 Define your goal

Your cause message should have a clear and specific goal. What do you want your audience to do, think, or feel after hearing or reading your message? Do you want them to sign a petition, donate money, attend a rally, or change their behavior? Do you want them to learn something new, challenge a misconception, or join a conversation? By defining your goal, you can focus your message on the most relevant and persuasive points. You can also measure the impact and effectiveness of your message.

3 Use the SMART framework

A useful tool to help you craft a clear and compelling cause message is the SMART framework. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. These are the criteria that your message should meet to be effective. For example, instead of saying "We need to fight climate change", you could say "We need to reduce our carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 to avoid catastrophic consequences". This message is more specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound than the vague and general one.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?