Draws on Eugene Schwartz's stages of awareness (Breakthrough Advertising, 1966), Alan Cooper's personas (The Inmates Are Running the Asylum, 1999), and William Ury's going to the balcony (Getting Past No, 1991).
Takes on the viewpoint of one named reader, their role, prior beliefs, mood, and awareness of the problem, before drafting, so a message starts where that reader is.
When to reach for it
When a pitch, announcement, or proposal gets one chance with an audience who will not be in the room when it is written.
How it runs
- Name one specific reader, with a role and a recent quote.
- Picture where and when they will meet the message.
- Place them on the awareness ladder, from unaware to most aware.
- List their prior beliefs and live concerns.
- Write the opening line as they would read it.
- Reread later as that reader, and fix where they drift.
Where it sits in SOLVE eX
Go to the source
- Breakthrough Advertising, Prentice-Hall, 1966
- The Inmates Are Running the Asylum, Sams, 1999
- Getting Past No: Negotiating with Difficult People, Bantam, 1991