“Please let me know if you’ll require talking points for this operation.”
“That’s really a question for the service/COCOM/DOD-level PAOs to decide how to answer.”
“Do you think the CG will want us to be active about this?”
“We’re waiting for the commander to approve the final plan before we start drafting PAG.”
Nope. If you find yourself saying these or similar statements, shut your mouth and sit back down at your PAG-drafting machine (this is what I call my computer).
Big event, exercise or operation coming up where you’re going to need multiple communicators to be on the same script? Go ahead and be the first to deliver a tangible, written way forward.
Four things this does for you and your command:
- Now you know your position and talking points, and you can point to a tangible place where they’ve been articulated. You’ve proven to yourself, your command and your partner organizations that you’ve got a firm grasp of the mission. In this process, you’ve filled your information gaps, defined your audience, and identified the communication risks that only become apparent when you write.
- Everything that follows will be a variant of your work. Writing statements and Q&As is tedious and boring, most PAOs will take any excuse to copy and paste someone else’s work. Even if others make tweaks and adjustments along the way, some (or most) of your suggestions will survive. Enable their lizard brains so that you’re the one who sets the stage for great and effective communication.
- You can shove your recommendations down peoples’ throats. They disagree with your posture or messages? Great, ask them for their own recommenda—oh wait, they don’t have anything drafted. Ideally, you will mobilize others into action and end the ceaseless back-and-forth of “ideas” that doesn’t generate a tangible result. There’s now a written document that is sitting in their inbox, awaiting their review. You will start, and be at the center of, all the conversations about your own communications plan.
- You can cross that shit off your list and move on to another meaningful task. Brief the commander that you’re driving the comms plan development with and for the relevant headquarters.
Next Step: Go ahead and write a draft for your organization’s next communication initiative. This will be easy since you’re already a savvy PAO: you understand the plan, your commander’s intent, and the operating environment.
“Here, I’ve attached a draft.”
“Recommend release at your headquarters’ level, with the following proposed statement.”
“My commander will want to be active about this,
“We don’t have the whole plan, but we know the following Q&As will be useful moving forward.”
Worst case scenario? Nobody will use it and you will have wasted your time. (This is worth the risk).
