What are the best ways to frame your message for actionable results?

1 Identify your goal

Before you start writing or speaking, you need to have a clear goal in mind. What do you want your audience to do after hearing your message? How do you want them to feel? What are the benefits and costs of taking action? Having a specific and measurable goal will help you focus your message and avoid irrelevant or confusing details. It will also help you tailor your message to your audience's needs, values, and preferences.

2 Choose your frame

When presenting your message, the frame you use can influence how your audience perceives your information, arguments, and emotions, as well as their response to your call to action. Depending on your goal and audience, you can use different types of frames. For instance, you can emphasize the positive outcomes of taking action (gain) or the negative consequences of not taking action (loss); you can highlight the problem or the solution; or you can use a narrative or a factual approach. The type of frame that works best depends on your goal, audience, and context; therefore, it may be necessary to test different frames to determine which one generates the most engagement and action.

3 Reframe objections

No matter how well you frame your message, you may encounter some resistance or objections from your audience. They may have doubts, questions, or concerns that prevent them from taking action. Instead of ignoring or dismissing them, you can use reframing to address them. Reframing is a technique that involves changing the meaning or interpretation of something, usually by presenting it in a different way. For example, if your audience says that your product is too expensive, you can reframe it as an investment, a bargain, or a necessity. If they say that your solution is too risky, you can reframe it as an opportunity, a challenge, or a reward.

Reframing can help you overcome objections by showing your audience a different perspective, highlighting the benefits of taking action, or reducing the costs of not taking action. It can also help you build rapport and trust with your audience, by showing that you understand their concerns and that you have their best interests at heart.

4 Use emotional appeals

Framing your message isn't just about presenting facts and logic, but also appealing to emotions. Emotions can influence how your audience processes, remembers, and acts on your message. They can also create a connection between you and your audience, making it more memorable and persuasive. To use emotional appeals in your message, you can use stories and anecdotes that illustrate your points and evoke emotions; vivid and descriptive language that creates images in the minds of your audience; metaphors and analogies to make it more relatable; and contrast and repetition to emphasize your message. However, you need to use them carefully and ethically - inspiring your audience rather than manipulating or making them feel guilty or fearful.

5 End with a call to action

The last and most important part of framing your message is to end with a clear and specific call to action. A call to action should be clear, specific, urgent, and beneficial - it should tell your audience what you want them to do next, how to do it, and why to do it. It should create a sense of urgency or scarcity, as well as highlight the value proposition. This is the final push that can make your audience take action and should be consistent with your goal, your frame, and your emotional appeal. Crafting a message that resonates with your audience and motivates them to do what you want is a powerful skill that can help you achieve actionable results in public speaking. Try these techniques the next time you speak in public and observe the difference they make.

6 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?