What is this? We wanted a clear, concise list of prompts to remind us of important things to remember when planning an action. We offer this to you and hope it helps.

A Strengthening Tonic for Stronger, Leaner, More Æffective Creative Actions

The Foundation

Dream

Have you wandered through your imagined utopia lately?

First Steps

Which path will get you to your objective the fastest: Individual change, policy change, or advocacy?

What’s your objective? Is it SMART?

Audiences

Who is the primary audience? This is the audience that has the most power to achieve your objective. What do you want them to Think, Feel and Do? Ideally, what is the physical, visible behavior audiences will do as a result of your work? What is the old behavior? What is the new behavior?

Who is the secondary audience? (An audience who may support the effort and become allies.)What do you want them to Think, Feel and Do?

Are you taking into account the cultural, moral, and demographic backgrounds of your audience? And communicating in ways they can understand?


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The Action

The Creative Process

To get to a good idea, first requires multiple ideas. Did you come up with more than 5 ideas? More than 10? More than 30? More than 50? Were some of those ideas impossible? (They should be) Did you choose the safest one, or are you taking some creative risks?

Have you created drafts, versions, or iterations? Have you rehearsed, reflected and made changes? Have you done this more than once? More than 5 times? More than…

Surprise, Spectacle, and Story

How will your action capture attention and get people thinking differently? Could it be more surprising? Weirder? Funnier? Could it involve a storyworld with characters, heroes, villains, conflict, resolution? How is it different from ordinary protests or street art?

Engagement

How does your action engage people? (spectating doesn’t count)

Is there something they can do? Can they have meaningful involvement in the action? Can they see the impact of their involvement?

Can you give your audience something they will want? Physically? Metaphorically? Both?

  • What can your audience take away?
  • What will your audience think about later?
  • How can they share their experience with friends and family?
  • What can they do to take action?
  • Does all of the above lead to achieving your objective and point toward your goal?