Crafting Messages that Connect the Dots

One of the organizations I'm involved with is The Florida Center for Performing Arts and Education, an initiative to bring a Performing Arts Center to Tallahassee had a momentous occasion yesterday, as demolition began on the buildings that stand on the site of the future location of The Florida Center.

The event featured all the makings of an occasion of this sort, local and state politicians, local businessmen and women, school board members, a stage of choral singers from a local high-school. Three cranes sat behind the stage waiting for their big debut while the incoming chair from the Tallahassee Chamber, the president of Tallahassee Community College, and the Mayor of Tallahassee all gave speeches on why The Florida Center will be an important part of the community with a focus on education, economic development and entertainment. All of the speakers were eloquent but when you're committing to an undertaking that involves many years and hundreds of millions of dollars it's important to be convincing too.

Then a girl named Keaton, a high school student who wouldn't have cleared the "are you tall enough to ride" qualifications at Space Mountain approached the podium. As she adjusted the mic downward she spoke to everyone about what the arts meant to her, about how it shaped her and helped her learn. She spoke about her hopes that one day Tallahassee would have a performing arts center and what it would mean for kids like her if it did. Eloquent and convincing.

The Performing Arts Center has its opponents, some people believe the city shouldn't use tax money or that The Center isn't a priority but at that moment, when Keaton spoke The Florida Center had no opponents. If a vote was held at that moment it would have been unanimous. Bob Fosse could have been there as spokesman and Keaton would have still been more impactful.

How can a high-school girl be more effective than a mayor or college president? Because she shared with us very clear, specific ideas and stories on how the arts had effected her life. When the politician and college president spoke they presented us with lofty ideas but nothing we could hold in our hand and feel, nothing we could picture and see. They spoke about how The Florida Center would effect children by saying just that. Keaton spoke about how it'd effect children by BEING that.

When we create marketing campaigns with clever slogans and pr plans with strategic angles and even mission statements that hope to capture an organizations purpose it's easy to try to go to big. We clutter the scene with abstract language, generic and over used metaphors and fancy graphic design. We try to do too much when often all it takes is a kid walking on a stage telling the world what theater means to her.