Audience -
Focus on people open
to persuasion
Who you direct your communications to makes a difference. Focusing on people who are open to understanding and persuasion helps you tell your own narrative and story and avoid falling back into narratives that surface unhelpful thinking.
Avoid focusing on those who are firmly opposed.
- They hold their views strongly and are unlikely to shift their thinking. Treat a noisy opposition as inevitable and a fundamental part of shifting thinking and systems.
- Their narratives may be loud and demand your attention, responding to their narratives can use a lot of your communications resource with little impact.
- By responding to them you risk repeating, negating and myth busting their dominant narratives which inadvertently amplifies them and surfaces unhelpful thinking.
Focus beyond those that already understand your goals and vision.
- If you talk only to those who are already onboard (your base), you won't develop new communication strategies, new narratives or deeper understandings.
- Your base plays a critical role in spreading your helpful narratives to those that are open to persuasion and understanding.
Focus on the people who are open to persuasion and understanding.
- Aim your communications at people who don’t have a fixed view or who have mixed and sometimes competing views on the issue (persuadable or fence-sitters).
- These tend to be the majority of people and can be persuaded by your effective communications.
Find out what matters most to the people affected. Ask communities what they want for housing-related health then make sure your communications align with their vision for decent homes.
Use two-way communications developed in collaboration with communities and those that are most affected by unhealthy homes. This means you will include important aspects of local knowledge and behaviours. You will also build support in the community for necessary policy and behaviour changes.
Tips for listening and building relationships with your audience
Find out what matters most to the people affected. Ask communities what they want for housing-related health then make sure your communications align with their vision for decent homes.
Use two-way communications developed in collaboration with communities and those that are most affected by unhealthy homes. This means you will include important aspects of local knowledge and behaviours. You will also build support in the community for necessary policy and behaviour changes.
