USDA’s MyPlate puts its money where your mouth is
One of my brilliant clients at Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield once wrote in a healthy-eating column:
“Instead of our steak being the size of a deck of cards (a standard, four ounce serving), it’s often the size of small laptop computer.”
I’m not a steak woman, but I do like my brie-on-brioche sandwiches to be at least as big as my iPad.
Visualizations help us ‘see’ size.
Whatever your personal dietary demons, we can agree on this: Visualizations help people make better decisions. Telling people that a serving of salmon should be the size of the palm of their hand makes it easier to control portions than to say it should be about four ounces.
That’s one reason I love the USDA’s new MyPlate graphic. It helps you see what you should eat.
The plate’s the trigger.
But there’s another reason I love MyPlate: It uses environmental triggers to help audience members implement the new dietary guidelines.
I, for one, have never eaten off a pyramid. But tell me to fill half of my plate with fruits and vegetables — and show me what that looks like — and every time I look at my plate, I remember what I’m supposed to do.
How do you write messages that readers want to read?
If you want to Catch Your Readers, you need to think like a reader. Then you need to use the bait your reader likes, not the bait you like.
So what’s the bait the reader likes?Want to learn a four-step process for making your message more relevant, valuable and rewarding to your audience. If so, bring Ann in to present Catch Your Readers — a persuasive-writing course — to your team.
There, they’ll learn the formula readers use to determine which messages to read. Discover two rewards they can use to boost audience interest in their message. And learn a magic word that focuses reader attention on their message.
Leave a Reply