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 eec+vely hit your target.

Think Thema+cally
A Theme is dierent from a topic.

A theme is: the central or key idea you want your visitors to understand the take-home message you want your visitors to remember
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

Examples of Topics: Birds The forest Sharks Shark behaviour Ancient Aboriginal lifestyles Biodiversity in SA Sustainable Living Australian Wines Wine making Behavioural quirks of winemakers

Think in Terms of Themes, Not Topics

Examples of Themes for the Topic Birds: Na+ve Australian birds are in a ght for their lives. Eagles and falcons help humans. Shore birds have solved problems that other birds were never faced with. The vulture fulls the role of garbage collector, an extremely important ecological service.

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.

So why is it important to be Thema*c?

If you want to make a dierence or want people to internalise and remember what you said. If you want people to change their ac+ons and behaviour.
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).

Thema+c Thinking
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.

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

Theory of Planned Behaviour

Behaviour
Intervening Factors

Behaviorial inten+ons give rise to overt behaviors that are consistent with inten+ons. AWtudes give rise to intended ways of behaving Our beliefs give rise to aWtudes that are consistent with the beliefs Human behaviour is ra+onal and consistent with what we believe to be.

Behavioural Inten+on

AWtudes

Beliefs

* Ajzen 1985, Ajzen 1991; Fishbein and Ajzen 1975

Theory of Planned Behaviour

According to the TPB, we can inuence 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
What we think will happen if we perform a given behaviour (i.e. perceived consequences)

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

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

Beliefs are the same as Themes.

Through thema+c interpreta+on, implan+ng in a persons mind a new or modied 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.

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

Write STRONG themes Think BIG DEAL

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 ________________________.

Expressing a Theme
Using the Big Deal model, write two or more themes for an assigned topic. Your topic: Sustainable Living

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

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

Theory of Planned Behavior

Intervening Factors

Behavioural Beliefs

AWtude towards behaviour

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

Norma+ve Beliefs

Subjec+ve norm

Behavioural Inten+on

Behaviour

A persons belief that certain factors either enable or inhibit

Control Beliefs

Perceived behavioural control

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