An  Introduc+on  to  Thema+c  Communica+on  

Urban  Ecology  Australia    AGM  -­‐  November  11,  2008  Eric  Constan+n  

Thema+c  Communica+on    can  aid  anyone  in  fostering  

sustainable  behaviour  and  crea+ng  a  Sustainable  City.  

If  informa+on  is  your  arrow,  then  Thema+c  Communica+on  is  the  bow  which  prepares  your  communica+on  

to  effec+vely  hit  your  target.  

Think  Thema+cally  

•  the  central  or  key  idea  you  want  your  visitors  to  understand    

•  the  take-­‐home  message  you  want  your  visitors  to  remember  

A  Theme  is  different  from  a  topic.    

A  theme  is:    

Themes  are  always  expressed  in  declara+ve  sentences.      Declara+ve  sentences  have,  at  minimum,  a  subject  and  a  verb.  

Think  in  Terms  of  Themes,  Not  Topics  

•  Birds  •  The  forest  •  Sharks  •  Shark  behaviour  •  Ancient  Aboriginal  lifestyles  

Examples  of  Topics:  •  Biodiversity  in  SA  •  Sustainable  Living  •  Australian  Wines  •  Wine  making  •  Behavioural  quirks  of  winemakers  

Think  in  Terms  of  Themes,  Not  Topics  

•  Na+ve  Australian  birds  are  in  a  fight  for  their  lives.  

•  Eagles  and  falcons  help  humans.  •  Shore  birds  have  solved  problems  that  other  birds  were  never  faced  with.  

•  The  vulture  fulfils  the  role  of  “garbage  collector”,    an  extremely  important  ecological  service.  

Examples  of  Themes  for  the  Topic  “Birds”:  

Communica+ng  themes  has  a  purpose.  

•  Themes  are  beliefs;  beliefs  are  the  building  blocks  of  aWtudes  and  behaviour.  

•  Themes  provoke  people  to  think,  even  if  they  forget  isolated  facts.  

•  Having  a  theme  helps  YOU  prepare  and  be  more  focussed.  

•  If  you  want  to  make  a  difference  or  want  people  to  internalise  and  remember  what  you  said.    

•  If  you  want  people  to  change  their  ac+ons  and  behaviour.    

So  why  is  it  important  to  be  Thema*c?  

“By communicating themes and providing experiential learning, you are planting seeds (beliefs) that can ultimately influence (reinforce or change) how people think, feel and behave.” (Ham, 2003).

• Successful  interpreta+on  provokes  people  to  think.  

• Their  thinking  creates  meanings  in  their  own  minds.  

• These  meanings  form  the  basis  for  whatever  degree  of  caring  they  are  capable  of  doing.    

Thema+c  Thinking  

è  So  how  do  we  apply  Thema*c  Communica*on?  

Theory  of  Planned  Behaviour*  

Beliefs  

AWtudes  

Behavioural  Inten+on  

Behaviour  

Intervening Factors

Human  behaviour  is  ra+onal  and  consistent  with  what  we  believe  to  be.  

Our  beliefs  give  rise  to  aWtudes  that  are  consistent  with  the  beliefs  

AWtudes  give  rise  to  intended  ways  of  behaving  

Behaviorial  inten+ons  give  rise  to  overt  behaviors  that  are  consistent  with  inten+ons.  

* Ajzen 1985, Ajzen 1991; Fishbein and Ajzen 1975

According  to  the  TPB,  we  can  influence  how  others  behave  in  a  given  situa+on  by  impac+ng  three  categories  of  beliefs  they  have  about  the  behaviour  we  desire  of  them.  

Behavioural  Beliefs  

Norma+ve  Beliefs  

Control  Beliefs  

What  we  think  will  happen  if  we  perform  a  given  behaviour  (i.e.  perceived  consequences)  

What  we  think  other  people  who  are  important  to  us  will  think  if  we  perform  a  given  behaviour  (i.e.  perceived  social  pressure)  

Our  percep+ons  for  whether  we  have  the  ability  and  opportunity  to  perform  the  behaviour    (i.e.  self-­‐efficacy)  

Theory  of  Planned  Behaviour  

“Beliefs”  are  the  same  as  “Themes”.  

Through  thema+c  interpreta+on,    implan+ng  in  a  person’s  mind  a  new  or  modified  belief    that  supports  the  desired  behaviour    creates  pressure  in  the  person    to  behave  in  ways  that  are  consistent  with  the  belief.  

Strong  themes  stay  in  our  minds,  oben  forever.  

è  People  are  going  to  forget  almost  all  of  the  isolated  facts  you  tell  them–  even  the  most  graphic,  colourful,  mind-­‐boggling  facts.  

è  But  the  overriding  conclusion  or  impressions  –  the  moral  of  the  story,  the  big  picture,  the  BIG  DEAL  of  it  all  –  will  s+ck,  especially  if  it  is  strongly  relevant  to  them.  

Complete  the  following  sentence  in  as  many  ways  as  you  can:    “When  it  comes  to  my  topic,  I  think  it  is  really,  really  important  for  this  audience  to  understand  that  ________________________.”  

Write  STRONG  themes  –  Think  BIG  DEAL  

Using  the  “Big  Deal”  model,  write  two  or  more  themes  for  an  assigned  topic.    

Your  topic:    Sustainable  Living  

Expressing  a  Theme  

In  Summary  

•  Beliefs  are  the  building  blocks  of  aWtudes  and  behaviour.  

•  A  theme  is  the  take-­‐home  message  you  want  your  visitors  to  remember.  

•  People  remember  themes  befer  than  informa+on  and  facts  

•  Thinking  thema+cally  will  help  give  your  communica+on  greater  impact.  

Thank  you.      

“Through  interpreta*on,  understanding;  through  understanding,  apprecia*on;    through  apprecia*on,  protec*on.”  

-­‐ wriAen  by  an  anonymous  US  Na*onal  Park  Service  ranger  in  an  obscure  administra*ve  manual  a  half  century  ago  

Theory  of  Planned  Behavior  

Behavioural  Beliefs  

Norma+ve  Beliefs  

Control  Beliefs  

AWtude  towards  behaviour  

Subjec+ve  norm  

Perceived  behavioural  control  

Behavioural  Inten+on   Behaviour  

A persons belief that a behaviour leads to certain results, and their evaluation of these results.

A person’s belief that specific individuals or groups think he/she should or should not perform the behaviour, and their motivation to comply.

A persons belief that certain factors either enable or inhibit

Intervening Factors

EROT  Model  of  Interpreta+ve  Communica+on  

•  Based  on  two  centuries  of  research  •  When  all  four  quali+es  are  in  place,  “successful”  communica+on  is  almost  guaranteed.  

•  “Success”  means  that  visitors  pay  aAen*on  and  get  the  point  (theme).  

Interpreta+on  has  4  Essen+al  Quali+es  

1.  Interpreta+on  is  enjoyable  2.  Interpreta+on  is  relevant  

– Meaningful  – Personal  

3.  Interpreta+on  is  organised  4.  Interpreta+on  is  thema0c