Last week I was reflecting on how to better help the Republican Party get more blacks engaged in the party and ended up taking a mental stroll down memory lane.

In my freshman year in college at Oral Roberts University, my freshman textbook for my English class was Language in Thought and Action. The author was former Republican U.S. Senator, S.I. Hayakawa from California. He was a university professor and linguist by training.

This book is must reading if you want to truly understand the art of communications and how to better ensure that the message you want to deliver to a person or group is properly received.

Herein lies the problem with the Republican Party when it comes to the black community. Republicans are horrible at messaging, especially when it comes to the black community. In the rare event that the party or a campaign hires a black, in most cases these hires have absolutely no understanding of messaging and communications.

One of my favorite quotes from Hayakawa’s book is, “meanings are in people, not in words.” For example, when blacks of a certain age hear Republicans use the term “conservative,” what they hear is Strom Thurmond or Jesse Helms (who were both members of the U.S. Senate and were strong segregationists during the Civil Rights movement). As soon as blacks hear the word conservative, they shut down because no one ever takes the time to define the word and its meaning in the 21st century.

Another example is when Republicans obsessively talk about giving more power back to the states. Well, to many blacks this evokes a painful memory and a painful history that they would rather not relive.

I thoroughly understand what Republicans are saying about giving more power back to the sates, but “meanings are in people, not in words.”

In effective communications, it’s not what you say that is important; but rather how your words are received by your targeted audience.

Just imagine a Republican standing before a black audience today and constantly using the word Afro-American or colored when referring to blacks.

When Republicans today attempt to communicate with blacks, they are using the functional equivalent of words like Afro-American and colored.

The party and its candidates for various offices are totally wasting money and time with the current approach of communication they are using.

In any effective communications strategy, there must be two elements: an awareness phase and then a call to action.

The awareness phase asks the questions what is it that I want to communicate to my audience; what is the takeaway message I want to communicate to my audience; and why am I talking before this audience?

The call to action phase asks the question, now that you have heard my speech, heard my radio spot, or read my comments to you, what is it that I now want you to do?

If you use the two above elements to analyze any Republican communication to the black community, you will begin to understand why there is no mass movement within the black community towards the Republican Party.

So, in order for Republicans to begin to effectively communicate with the black community, they must first define their terms of engagement. When they use the term conservative, what do they mean; how do they define states’ rights? Why should blacks be open or even listen to the Republican Party and its message?

I challenge Republican to answer these questions without talking about Abraham Lincoln, slavery, or mentioning Civil Rights; or using meaningless phrases like the party of smaller government, less government regulation or individual freedom.

In other words, what is the relevance of the Republican Party to the black community in 2016?

Notice when Republicans engage with the black community, there is never a call to action. There is never an email address given to contact a specific person; there is never anyone asking the black community to “join” the Republican Party by doing this or that. In other words, no one asks for the sale.

Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC is an internationally recognized political consulting, government affairs, and PR firm based in Washington, DC. Jackson is an internationally recognized radio talk show host and TV commentator. He has coined the phrase “straticist.” As a straticist, he has merged strategic planning with public relations. Visit his website at: www.raynardjackson.com.