Most of us have had to give a speech at some point in our lives. Whether we’re representing our organisation at a professional event, pitching an important project to clients, or giving a toast at a wedding, public speaking can be nerve-wracking. I’ve spent days and even weeks preparing what I’m going to say, how I’m going to say it, and hoping I’ll connect with my audience.
Imagine if you’d only started writing your speech the day before. If you’re anything like me, that’s a nightmare scenario. Would you really be doing yourself and your message justice if you’re not giving it the preparation it deserves?
The answer is obvious. Yet this is what’s happening at a larger scale within so many organisations. I often see teams that aren’t investing in communications until the 11th hour, when a press release needs to be written or a major announcement is about to happen. By then, it’s a messy and high-intensity scramble to get the messaging over the line. How is that approach going to set you up for success?
Press releases are frequently used as strategic tools to drive key messages, as many of you told me last year, when I published a newsletter about why you should scrap them entirely. Almost everyone I know in PR and communications has a story about uncovering major information gaps while drafting an urgent press release, or using the press release deadline as a way to create alignment and agreement on what you want to say.
That’s a big problem. If you’re using a press release to drive your key messages, it’s already too late. Years too late. You’re leaving untold opportunity, revenue, prestige and public support on the table.
Drake’s lesser-known 2015 mixtape about communications strategies
Press releases should be the final step in your communications strategy (again, if you use them at all – I will never stop beating this drum). You shouldn’t be agreeing on your key messages at the final hurdle. Instead, key messages should be designed and developed at the very beginning, and tactics like press releases should flow from these messages – not the opposite.
Doing this at the very beginning is critically important – and almost inseparable from strategy. It creates clarity and focus, like any other strategic tool, and equips people to do their best work. By investing in messaging and training, your staff can become your greatest allies and evangelists. Getting everyone on the same page translates to better outcomes, both internally and outside your organisation.
Try asking your team to describe your organisation’s identity, mission and impact in a few sentences. Do you all sound aligned, or are you all saying “it’s complex?” What about key impact – can you name them beyond publications or collaborators? If you or your team pitch to donors, are you comfortable, or stressing and scrambling to decide what to say? Do you all agree on what you’re saying about yourself?
Communications and strategy are inseparable, and yet so many organisations treat them as two completely areas and skills.
So how do you fight the scourge of the last-minute press release? Invest in developing your key messages from the very beginning. Agreeing on what you’re saying about yourself – both inside your organisation, and to the outside world is crucial – no one funds or supports something they don’t understand. You need to have a story that people can engage with and get excited by. Even scientists at NASA have to learn how to pitch.
Engaging with colleagues, pitching ideas internally, securing institutional support, speaking with students and alumni, presenting to donors, writing grants, posting on social media, developing project descriptions and copy for websites, speeches, pitch-decks, prizes and more – all of these activities can be supported with one set of key messages that are adapted to different audiences.
I know that making the time to do all of this isn’t easy – but neither is writing a speech the day before. I’ve seen firsthand how much more confident leaders are when they have strong messaging from the get-go, and how much easier the process is on PR and comms people. And just think of how much time and money is saved when every project doesn’t need individual, bespoke messaging.
It would be madness to create a new strategy from scratch for every project. So, why do we keep doing this with comms and PR? Instead, let’s take a stand against the tyranny of the last-minute press release, and start the era of the key message.
Inspiring me this week … Dr Weliton Menário Costa
Kangaroos. Drag queens. The bush. Ballet dancers. Samba. A banging beat.
I’m not talking about the Aussie Eurovision entry – unfortunately – but this year’s winner of the international Dance Your PhD competition, Dr Weliton Menário Costa of the Australian National University, who turned out the club hit of the year with “Kangaroo Time (Club Edit)”.
Originally from Brazil, Dr Costa is a triple threat as the musician, director and producer of the video – not to mention his day job as a researcher. The video is a love letter to Australia, where Dr Costa first arrived on a Scientists Without Borders scholarship over 10 years ago.He’s the fourth Aussie to take home the prize since the competition began in 2008.
There’s much to love, but I think my favourite thing about this is the wonderful variety of people, cultures and dance disciplines featured. In an interview with ABC, Dr Costa said the diversity in the video reflects the diversity of personalities in the kangaroo communities he studied – which was a key finding of his study.
The video is inspired by the many aspects of Dr Costa’s identity as a scientist, creative, immigrant and gay man. (Image: ABC, supplied by ANU/Nic Vevers)
Performing under the name WELI, Dr Costa’s first EP is out on March 1st – with the rather excellent name “Yours Academically, Dr. WELI.”
We’re obsessed with… the the Selfie Rats
Move over Skinner boxes: in 2024, it’s all about the Selfie box. I absolutely love this whimsical experiment in which Paris-based photographer Augustin Lignier trained rats to take selfies.
But first … let me take a selfie (via the New York Times)
The experiment was inspired by B.F. Skinner’s groundbreaking work on “operant conditioning”, a type of learning that happens as a consequence of a behaviour. “Skinner boxes”, one of his most famous inventions, enable this kind of experimentation. An animal is put inside with a lever or button, and the box will deliver positive or negative reinforcement when the animal presses it, like a treat or a loud noise. This teaches the animal to associate behaviour with outcome.
This experiment is a cheeky commentary on social media, which has been called a “human Skinner box”. The results were somewhat inconclusive; the rats continued to take selfies, even without rewards, but it’s not clear if they knew what they were doing. That said, I agree with Lignier that the resulting images are extremely cute and fun. Ironically, seeing these in my feed might just keep me scrolling through Instagram…
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