Short Message Structure with Two Examples
Your Task – part one
- Choose a message and a target audience.
- Prepare a 1 minute message based on the structure below.
If you prepare it backwards, you make life easier for yourself
Performance direction
- You must make a two second pause after your contrast, solution and each action.
When you prepare your message, the structure of the message is paramount – it should go like this:
A: Pain — What’s missing?
B: Gain — The dream scenario
Solution. How do we get from A to B?
Call-to-Action? The logical and down-to-earth practical next step, if we are to achieve the goal
Reward. The one major advantage/gain for your audience
Examples
Before we delve into the model, take a look at some examples to get a feel for the terminology:
Example 1: Better Handover
Pain (A): When we do the handoff between shifts on the production floor, we stumble and reduce our own tempo.
Gain (B): But there is a way to maintain the tempo.
Solution: Therefore we must hand over more precise information in shift changes by using checklists and obeying a simple procedure.
Call-to-Action: In order to succeed with a smooth handoff, we must:
Spend three more minutes going through today’s issues
Ask if there are any concerns or questions
Make it visual, so it’s clear to everyone
Reward: This way we can consistently reach our daily deadlines
Example 2: Pick up the phone instead
Pain (A): We are in a situation where we spend way too much time writing emails.
Gain (B): We are aiming for at situation where we can free up time and do this verbally.
Solution: Therefore we must use phone calls and short virtual meetings to reach decisions faster.
Call-to-Action: In order to succeed with phoning instead of emailing, I suggest:
Be the first one to call
Call again and answer comments and ask further questions
Always be helpful over the phone
Reward: I believe we can save 30% of our meeting time.
Your Task – part two
- Add two specific examples. You can decide where the examples should go in the structure (pain, gain, solution, call-to-action or reward).
Go over your structure again, this time add two examples using the template:
A: Pain — What’s missing? +optional example?
B: Gain — The dream scenario +optional example?
Solution. How do we get from A to B? +optional example?
Call-to-Action? The logical and down-to-earth practical next step, if we are to achieve the goal +optional example?
Reward. The one major advantage/gain for your audience +optional example?
How to Build a Strong Example
| Time & Place in 1st sentence | People & Action | Optional line of dialogue | Cut | Add relevant point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two months ago one of our stakeholders called me at the office … | He had not heard from me for two weeks and was worried that we weren’t making progress. | Are you still working on it? He asked. | — | Stakeholder need constant updates – even if there is no news. |
