Stay focused on key points. If your message is too complex, your audience will get confused and tune it out. â¡ Make yo
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ANNEX 3B: Developing advocacy messages TIPS FOR CREATING A CLEAR MESSAGE (ADAPTED FROM TOOL 8 OF THE IATT MAINSTREAMING TOOLKIT – UNAIDS IATT, 2008) A successful message targets the concerns, issues, needs and interests of your audience. Your message will be effective if you can answer three key questions: ■■ What difference does your issue make to the person or people you are addressing? ■■ Why should they care? ■■ What action do you want them to take? Additional tips: ■■ Clarify the issue. Convey the problem you are addressing, the change you want, why the change is important and who will benefit from it. ■■ Stay focused on key points. If your message is too complex, your audience will get confused and tune it out. ■■ Make your message immediate and persuasive. Convey a level of urgency that the audience can identify with. Support your case with facts as well as the consequences of not taking action. ■■ Be compelling. Balance facts with stories that show the human side of the issue. Highlight the vital aspect of comprehensive education sector responses for individuals involved in educational institutions, relate your issue to human rights and sustainable development, to the responsibility of your audience and to the commitments it has made at national and international levels. ■■ Use specific examples from your own or your audiences’ experience. ■■ Use vivid language and images that your audience will be able to picture easily. ■■ Avoid jargon and complex data. Break down necessary data into terms that are easier for your audience to grasp (e.g. “The number of new HIV infections continues to outstrip the advances made in treatment numbers – for every two people put on treatment, another five become newly infected” or “[the country] has the capacity to train 3,000 teachers annually, but already 4,000 teachers have died from AIDS-related illness this year”). ■■ Focus on the audience’s interests that relate to your approach. Begin with what your audience knows and believes. Then build on these points and show how a change can create a win-win situation for everyone. ■■ Be prepared to address negative perceptions your audience may have.
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ANNEXES FOUR-POINT TOOL FOR DEVELOPING ADVOCACY MESSAGES (ADAPTED FROM TOOL 8 OF THE IATT MAINSTREAMING TOOLKIT) Advocacy messages should focus on a specific issue (rather than multiple issues) and should contain four main points: ■■ Action statement: What needs to be done? The action statement should state exactly what action you want to be taken on the issue. ■■ Action rationale: Why do we need to do it? Should explain why you are calling for the action, providing compelling reasons that the audience will be able to understand. ■■ Call to action: How do we do it? Should provide practical next steps that your targets or audience can take to solve the problem. Steps should be clear, focused and realistic. ■■ Possible objections and responses: List the most likely objections to the action you are recommending, and think of ways to respond to these objections, using the evidence you have and the principles in the EDUCAIDS Framework. The first three points are described in more detail in the IATT Toolkit for mainstreaming HIV and AIDS in the education sector (Tool 8) (UNAIDS IATT, 2008a). However, it is also recommended when developing advocacy messages to anticipate the possible objections that your advocacy targets may raise. The fourth part of your message should therefore comprise a set of responses that you can use when confronted with the most common objections to the action you are calling for. You will only need to ‘deliver’ this fourth part if your target audience raises objections to your call to action.
