Authenticity
One of the hardest things most speech
writers will attest to is the ability to “get”
their speakers voice. Jon Favreau is former
Director of Speechwriting to retired
President Obama and if you listen to his
interviews and his public lectures, you will
get a good sense of what I’m talking about.
I have been listening to the President’s
speeches with much keenness over time
and I will tell you for sure, this was his
authentic voice. Apart from the energy,
and just like the trampoline metaphor, the
messaging showed that the President had
been a good listener.
It carried the sincerity of a father that
had heard the cries of his children and
he was making sure that every child first
understands that indeed he was going to
do something and that before he does
it; the children should all know that he
is doing what he is doing for the greater
good and out of love. That, punishment
is equally just a sign of love even though
it might feel painful for some time. Mr.
President, a 7 from me for being yourself.
Outputs, Outcomes and
Impact
When you set out to deliver a speech,
somewhere at the back of your mind,
you must have set some goal: to inform,
to educate, to persuade, to avert risk, to
manage expectations, to handle a crisis, to
change behavior etc. These are all forms
of goals that communication can help you
achieve. Naturally too and as a binding
principle, when goals are set, there must
be some form of evaluation as well.
The President delivered a good speech no
doubt: non-divisive, people clapped and
most cheered him on, but is that where
it should end? It need not end here. If
anything the real work begins. Measuring
the impact of communications is the grey
area unloved by many but with a mighty
potential of giving elaborate insights.
To borrow from the works of David
Rockland, the
CEO
of
global
communications firm-Ketchum Global
Research & Analytics, messaging can
be measured on 3 levels i.e. Outputs;
Outcomes and Impact and in so doing
one needs to evaluate on the following
metrics post-the-communications:
and feel after the address?
v. Behavior: Has there been a change in
the people’s behavior?
So, in conclusion Mr. President, I will
end just as I started. Hopefully while
delivering the next feedback and being
the good listener that you are, Kenyans
would have bounced off enough ideas to
you that will amplify, energize, and clarify
your thinking even more. And through
that, through many more handshakes and
the nation’s undying resolve, you would
have gained even more in energy and
height, just like someone jumping on a
trampoline as you tackle our nation’s ills.
Hopefully that will happily coincide
with that time when all Kenyans will be
called to State House for the party of the
year because truly, those are moments we
Kenyans live for.
i. Reach: What portion of the target
audience did the message reach?
ii. Awareness: Did the target hear, read or
see what they’d never heard before?
iii. Comprehension: Did the recipients
understand what they didn’t understand
before?
iv. Attitude: What did the people believe
Chabala H. Walter is a perceptive,
amiable, and
conscious
Sales,
Marketing and Communications
consultant and Director, Partnerships
@My Leader Kenya. You can commune
with him on this or related matters via
email at: Chabalawalter@gmail.com.