Two Approaches: How should the speechwriter craft the message? To get a change effort off the ground, the speechwriter must contrast the state of things as they are now with the state of things as they might be if the change is successful, and persuade people it’s worth the journey from one state to the more desired state.
There are two ways to accomplish this difficult feat: “the burning building approach” and the “promised land picture.” The key to either approach is understanding what your audience wants. The burning bridge approach basically describes the status quo in words so dire that only a moron or a fool would want things to continue as they are. If you’ve described the current situation at your company in sufficiently alarming terms, you’ve created a desire for change in your audience. They you need to give that desire an outlet by designing a solution to the problem. The key is transforming your audience from passive recipients into active enlistees.
The “promised land picture” is almost exactly the opposite of the burning building approach. You begin by describing an adequate status quo. As with the burning building approach, this approach has to be honest because of the risk of backlash when the truth comes out later. Then, you deliver, in glowing terms, a picture of a future state that has so much allure for your listeners that they are unable to resist it.
Discussion Question #1: Frank Raines, the former CEO of Fannie Mae, charged his speechwriter with crafting the message that revolved around helping more minorities realize the American dream of homeownership. To do so, he would have to get his own company and all of the major participants in the m ...