About a year ago I had a salon for Houston City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem, Adrian Garcia. He was running for County Sherriff. Although he needed funds, what he needed most was to raise awareness of the importance of the Sherriff role and how he could leverage the role for the citizenry. Unlike a fundraiser, the salon was a question and answer session facilitated by a senior colleague who knew Adrian well. We started off with general questions about Adrian who was born here but his father emigrated from Mexico and kissed the ground when he entered the US legally. As a policeman and a city councilman Adrian had shown the personal touch and caring that was needed. Since the Sherriff makes immigration policy and works closely with Homeland Security, Adrian knew how to make sure none of the bad guys get in but the hard-working good folks get supported.

What happened in that salon was that people in my part of town got to know Adrian and what a Sherriff does. Even better, they got to talk about the ideas that matter to them and got to hear his thinking. Unlike fundraisers, there were no speeches and no money changed hands. Like all good salons, the purpose of the event was an exchange of ideas. Adrian gave the participants the “Coming Attractions” so they could get a picture of how he would run the County Sherriff’s Department. Adrian won the contest for Sherriff getting votes from both parties who learned about him from that salon and other events.

         “Coming Attractions” Get Others Tuned In To Your Message

Hollywood studios know that they need to prepare their audiences by giving them a taste of the movie to come. They use advertising trailers to highlight
the “Coming Attractions.” These mini-movies draw an audience in, making them eager to see more.

A similar approach is very helpful when readying a work audience. A few carefully chosen extra words, before you launch into the main thrust of your message, helps engage your audience - whether that’s one person or many – readying them for what you want them to remember, and giving their thinking a jump-start. I call this organizational version of ‘Coming Attractions’ a “priming frame.” It’s a vital leadership technique. Offering some context to your message helps take your words beyond mere instructions, but helps others understand the what, why and how of what they are about to do, empowering them to act swiftly and confidently.

The simplest priming frame is a set of verbal bullet points letting listeners know what points you will cover: “Today we’ll discuss a, b, c, d and e. I’ll spend about 3-5 minutes on each point.” If you follow this with an explanation of why you are doing this – “This will allow us to systematize our project work over the next three months so that we’ll all be on the same page as we move towards our overall goal” – your listeners will be absolutely clear about where you are going and how it relates to them, so they know to listen up.

The main messages that a priming frame should be used to convey are:
1) the agenda of what you’re going to say,
2) the timing of what you’re telling or asking,
3) the purpose behind your request or comment, and
4) the vision or goals that you’ve discussed before.
The extended bullet-point example above efficiently achieves all four. Depending on your audience and your objectives, you will want to put more or less emphasis on one or other at different times. Agenda and timing are straightforward to convey; you just give the facts. The other two benefit from a little more consideration.

Beginning with the purpose behind your request clearly sets the stage for your audience, emphasizing that the work they do for you is meaningful. The phrase “so that” is very useful here. It concisely indicates the overall rationale. “We’re doing this so that we can make the deadline.”

Referring to a previously discussed vision or goals is useful when asking something new or controversial. Your vision – a clear statement or set of principles shared by everyone – acts like a collective anchor to which you can then attach specific requests. Your “priming frame” should indicate how your new instructions are a way to further that vision.

For instance, if your organization has agreed that it needs to raise its profile through investing in corporate social responsibility initiatives, and an opportunity has arisen to prepare a bid to invest in a local public school mentoring scheme, the fact that you are asking the team to work overtime for the next week to pull together the bid makes sense. But you need to make that link explicit upfront, rather than just hoping people will make the link for themselves: “A great opportunity has come up for us to make our corporate social responsibility target, and really make a difference to the local community, but it’s going to require some extra work from everyone.” Asking people to work overtime at such short notice without tying it to a shared goal would just generate resentment.

“Priming frames” are a proven technique to help audiences tune into your messages. Using them not just in person, but also in correspondence, helps ensure that you communicate successfully and avoid springing things on people. Your listeners will thank you and will be disposed to move into action at your request.

Further Reading