Taylor Swift's Big Lesson For All Of Us

Whichever U.S. presidential candidate you support, Taylor Swift's Instagram endorsement of Kamala Harris and voter registration, posted shortly after the September 10th presidential debate, contained a critical element we should all include when helping others become more informed, fit, healthier, happier, and so on.

This year marks my 30th anniversary as a health educator focused on stress management and mental health. Like many of you, I have dispensed oceans of tips, suggestions, images, and calls to action. In my case, these communications are intended to help people focus, feel less anxious, sleep better, and more. Swift is not an educator by trade, but she reminded me of two vital questions teachers and helpers of all kinds should ask after crafting advice: how and where.

When I encourage audiences to "take deep breaths" to relieve stress, or when you suggest "getting involved" to reduce loneliness, for example, we need to ask ourselves how and where the recipients of our messages can do these things. Whenever possible, I should demonstrate or include directions for my Quick Calm technique. When appropriate, you should provide your followers, clients, and friends with links to organizations or meetup groups they can join.

Right after the debate, this is exactly what Taylor Swift did when she asked her 284 million Instagram followers to register to vote. She didn't just stop there—she included a link to a website where they could do so. You may have heard that to date, more than 400,000 people have clicked on that link. This doesn't mean all 400K registered, but do you think even 4,000 would have taken the time to find this resource on their own?

When I saw that link in Swift's post, I stood up and exclaimed, "Yes!" She, or her social media team, gave her followers both the how and the where, making it more likely they would follow through on her call to action. And we have real-time proof that it worked. Compare this to Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention two nights earlier and its memorable call to "do something" instead of just complaining about the state of our politics and world. Great suggestion, but do what and where? The former First Lady missed a valuable opportunity to quickly list a few options and provide a place to learn more about them.

Like me, I’m sure you want your communications to help your audience feel better and take positive action. So, the next time we post or present, let’s use Taylor’s tactic to help them achieve that more swiftly.

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