Advocacy Communication

Advocacy Communication

Powerful advocacy communication uses information and stories to connect with listeners, while employing an asset-focused framework and a shared solutions perspective to engage them as supporters.

One effective approach for building an advocacy narrative is to use NCL’s adapted version of the model for an elevator speech outlined by Toastmasters International. In this approach, the narrative starts with the asset-oriented framework and then builds connection through data and storytelling, ending with a call to action.

Part 1. Begin with asset-oriented framing

Present adult learners and adult education programs in terms of their strengths and accomplishments, stating how they meet a need or solve a problem. Leading with a strengths-focused perspective and a broad value such as human potential orients listeners toward shared goals and engages them as partners in supporting solutions. “This helps people see the issue as a shared concern that warrants a public response. It presents the communication as believable and uncontroversial, and opens people up to hearing and considering what comes next” (Frameworks Institute, Order Matters).

  • Learn more about asset-oriented framing here
  • View a Frameworks Institute video (1 min 45 seconds) on Alternatives to Vulnerability Framing here

Part 2. Provide relevant information and data

Provide information on how learners develop their skills and abilities in an adult education program, or data on outcomes. Choose information and data that is relevant to the listeners, acknowledges their concerns, and outlines the larger structural causes of the need for adult education, such as inconsistent access to K-12 schooling. Providing data elicits trust on the part of the listeners because it shows that you know what you are talking about. Referencing the societal causes of limited educational attainment helps listeners recognize that generating solutions is a shared public responsibility. “Offering a causal explanation before we mention racial, social, or economic disparities can be helpful. …We can avoid perpetuating stereotypes or stigma by showing how it happens before talking about who it happens to” (Frameworks Institute, Order Matters).

  • Find summary data on adult education participants, adult education providers, and adult education outcomes from the National Reporting System here
  • View a Frameworks Institute video (1 minute 45 seconds) on Framing Data here

The mistake of a novice persuader is saying what you want to say
rather than what the audience needs to hear.

– Clay Warren, emeritus professor,
Department of Organizational Sciences and Communication,
George Washington University

Part 3. Tell an anecdote (a success story)

Telling a story about one learner or a small group of learners creates the emotional impact that makes the information and data you have provided real and salient for your listeners. It allows you to demonstrate the links from program strengths to immediate outcomes for adult learners to broader, longer term outcomes for the community. Describe the challenges that the learner(s) faced, but keep the focus positive by describing the strengths that they brought to the learning process: skills and experience, commitment and motivation, knowledge of the community, persistence. How did the learner(s) build on those strengths to obtain the outcomes that they achieved? How have they continued to grow and contribute to the community?

=> What are your learners’ superpowers?
  • Find adult learners’ success stories from NCL member organizations here
  • Watch a powerful example of the use of storytelling to support the value of education as a human right by Jodi Versaw of Minnesota Adult Education here
  • Download a Frameworks Institute resource on developing effective success stories here

Part 4. Start a dialogue, make a request

Close with an invitation for your listener(s) to consider ways that adult education affects their own daily experience in the community. Encourage them to act on what they have heard in some way:

  • Noting the literacy, numeracy, and digital skills that daily life requires
  • Communicating what they have learned about adult education to others
  • Supporting a program through volunteering, in-kind donations, or financial support
  • Sponsoring or supporting policy change

The point is to make your message responsive to the perspective of your listeners while encouraging them to recognize larger systemic challenges and engage in finding solutions.

Points to Remember

  • Put the message together in a way that works for you
  • Stay on topic
  • Focus on what can happen, not what can’t
  • Don’t be shy

NCL encourages everyone who understands the importance of access to foundational education to commit to becoming an advocate. Follow NCL’s four-step process for developing your advocacy skills:
1. Discover different types of advocacy and choose the one that fits your situation
2. Understand how and why to use an asset-oriented framework
3. Develop a powerful advocacy message
4. Practice!