Messaging & Comms
MC–02
2 steps · practice
The problem
The technique
Give people something they can picture.
Comparison
Compare a number or problem to something familiar. Instead of saying, "The average commute has increased by 20 minutes," explain what those extra minutes add up to over a workweek. A comparison gives people a way to understand the size of a problem.
Face
Show how a problem affects an actual person's life. Instead of saying, "Housing affordability is a major challenge," describe a teacher who works in the district but can't afford to live nearby. A human example helps voters understand the consequences.
See it work
Two ways to make an issue vivid.
Comparison
Before
“The average commute has increased by 20 minutes.”
After
“That’s 20 extra minutes sitting in traffic every workday. Over a five-day week, you’ve lost an hour and 40 minutes you could have spent somewhere else.”
Face
Before
"We need to address the growing housing affordability crisis in our community."
After
Our kids grow up here, graduate, find jobs, and then discover they can't afford to live in the town they call home.
Why this works
A comparison turns a number into something people can picture. A face shows how an issue affects someone's everyday life. Both make an abstract problem easier to understand and remember.
Your turn
Choose an issue your campaign talks about. Write how you would normally describe it, then try either a comparison or a human example.
Practice space
Nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere.
Cautions
A vivid example still has to be true.
Don't invent a constituent, exaggerate a statistic, or present a hypothetical situation as something that actually happened. If you're describing a real person, get permission before sharing identifying details.
And be careful with comparisons.
They should make a fact easier to understand, not distort it.