I am smitten with this amazing resource from the Public Interest Research Centre in the UK. They’ve taken the years of work they’ve done on researching public values, and how to frame messages to appeal to these values, and distilled it down into this extremely useful five part guide.
They highlight the mistakes that various campaigns have made (with real examples) in talking about unjust systems as though unfairness is part of some natural order, and focusing on villains over encouraging collective responsibility and action. And helpfully, provide real-life examples of campaigns that have framed their issue properly. (It’s great to see the Irish campaign In Her Shoes get a shout-out here!)
It’s so interesting – read it with both your cause’s supporters and your own attitudes in mind. PIRC have provided an incredible framework to apply to our messaging; I intend to measure past messaging against it and use it for future campaigns.
I’d also really recommend checking out PIRC’s other work on values and framing, which you can get on their website.