36 Messages for 36 Audiences: Tailoring Advocacy Across Political Frames

School library advocates often default to a single message: “This will help kids.” For many audiences, that’s powerful. But not everyone listens through the same lens. What resonates with one policymaker may leave another unmoved. 

In advocacy, message discipline is not about repeating the same words everywhere. It’s about adapting the message to the audience while holding firm to our values. 

Three Political Frames 
Every legislative conversation sits within at least one of three political frames: 
– Progressive: values equity, justice, and inclusion. 
– Conservative: values tradition, order, and community stability. 
– Libertarian: values individual freedom, choice, and limited government. 

Three Types of Support 
Within those frames, audiences show support in different ways: 
– Ideological supporters: aligned because they share your values. 
– Relational supporters: aligned because of trust, partnerships, or community ties. 
– Aversionary supporters: aligned not because they love your issue, but because they dislike the alternative more. 

Four Listening Filters 
Finally, people hear messages through filters: 
– Compassion: who is helped or harmed. 
– Pride: what strengthens community or tradition. 
– Data: what works and what costs. 
– Concern: what secures the future. 

Multiply those frames (3 × 3 × 4), and you have 36 possible ways to frame a message about school libraries. 

Not every legislator or voter cares about students in the same way you do. Some want data, some want reassurance about systems, some want to hear how tradition is being upheld, and some want to know their freedoms are secure. If advocates only use one frame, they miss dozens of opportunities to connect. 

This framework deserves a deeper dive than a single post allows. For now, the key takeaway is simple: the message that resonates depends on who’s listening. Effective advocacy requires flexibility in delivery without compromise on values.

For more on this topic, please view the August 2026 SLJ Webinar with John Chrastka and other state-level library advocates at “Librarians, Legislation, and Media Training: Successfully advocate for libraries in legislature and your local community.”

Filed under: Advocacy, Legislation