Key Takeaways from Our Popular APA #NPC26 Session
Apparently telling planners at the National Planning Conference “Nobody Cares About Your Plan” is a sure fire way to pack a room. 
That was the title of my session at APA’s #NPC26 in Detroit last weekend that drew a standing room only crowd of about 150 people. Looking out at the packed space, I got quite a laugh with the opener “wow, that’s a lot of plans nobody cares about.”
But it hit on a pain point that most planners and local government staff share: the same people show up again and again, and it’s a struggle to reach beyond the choir.
Here are some of the high notes from my session. We've also woven these core concepts into own new ActionReady™ program that you can learn more about here.
While it’s clear that most of us didn’t take Marketing 101, we need to know a basic tenet: if you’re marketing to everyone, you’re reaching no one.
Of course, in local government you really do have to engage everyone. The trick is not doing it all at the same time and in the same way. You can’t squash everyone together in a single workshop, especially if you’re trying to build trust and relationships with a new-to-you group. 
Once you know who you’re trying to reach, you need to grab their attention and really speak to them before you ask them to take action. Start by identifying their problem (one that they already feel is a problem), let them know you understand the problem and then – and only then – should you introduce how your plan can help solve that problem.
Your charge might be to address the “housing affordability crisis” in your city, but your audience is just thinking “why do my utility bills keep going up?” You’ve got a hook, but you have to approach it from their lens and use their words. I pull a lot from StoryBrand for this, and I recommend that resource.
We also desperately need to stop expecting people to come to a multi-hour visioning session on a Saturday in July (or the equivalent). Break them up into smaller asks and diversified ways to engage.
You might know the right audience, but be trying to reach them the wrong way. I talked about this in a recent "Earth Day is Not Your Climate Strategy" post where I note that your community members aren't taking action on Earth Day or some other arbitrary day you choose for a workshop. Find the decision points, the moments at which they will be most receptive.
And of course round it out with simple language – the cognitive load is a real thing – and consistency. Keep that conversation going, keep showing up.
Note that a guiding principle through every interaction should be choosing inclusive language. The tool I recommend for this is the Dignity Index which I also wrote a recent blog post about.
To wrap the session, I invited everyone to site down on Monday or any other morning and pull one action of your plan. Then do a quick rewrite -- a first step along the path to getting people to care about your plan.
Much appreciation to everyone who showed up to this session. We feel your pain of having worked so hard on your plan and put so much time and energy into a positive vision for your community only to get no love from that very community. This is not a "Field of Dreams" moment where you build it and they will come. But with a more strategic and intentional approach, people WILL care about your plan.
