| TIPS ON WRITING
How
to Talk to Yourself
8 Ways to Improve In-House Communications
Therapists call it “self talk.” It means the things
you believe about who you are and what you can do: Are you confident
and self-assured? Are you uncertain and hesitant? Like individuals,
nonprofit organizations engage in self-talk every day. Board members
communicate with senior managers, managers with staff, staff with
one another, and so on. Indeed, anyone can talk—or not talk—to
anyone else at any time.
The quality of these in-house conversations can spell the difference
between mediocre and optimal communication with the outside world.
If you can’t keep your in-house act together, how can you
expect your show to play well on the road?
We’ve all seen it happen. In her speeches, the President
starts emphasizing a new direction for the organization—it
will soon begin phasing in new programs and eliminating others,
including the long-standing Programs A and B, which have declining
enrollments.
Alas, this information has not reached the person who answers
the phones, the director of Program B, three gifts officers, several
board members, and the advertising agency that writes the group’s
direct mail copy, among others. They are aboard a ship that’s
changing course and don’t know it. Moreover, they are selling
tickets to ports that are closing.
How does such a thing occur? Too easily. Poor communication
can leave staff and volunteers in the dark—and unable to
do their jobs well. Good communication empowers rather than constrains.
It makes everyone a well-informed advocate for the organization.
Here are ways to improve the quality of your group’s self
talk:
Make communicating a priority.
This starts at the top. If the President wants to change some
important
way in which your institution sees itself, he had better give
everyone a new set of eyeglasses. This can happen only when a
senior communications staffer has a seat at the decision-making
table. Then, an expert can help ensure that new information gets
out in effective ways.
The communication need may be simple or complex. To convey a
new emphasis on serving the needs of older students, for instance,
may require memos and newsletter stories. To begin positioning
the university as a national rather than a regional institution
may require a comprehensive communications program including a
variety of meetings, discussions, and publications.
Keep communications tools up to date.
Especially in large, growing, or fast-changing nonprofits, basic
sources of
information must be current and reliable. Some staff may be far
removed geographically from new centers of activity, or unaware
of major changes in programs elsewhere. Others may simply fall
behind on developments in the bigger picture outside their immediate
sphere of work.
This means your capability brochure describing all that your
institution can do must offer an accurate picture of the whole
and the parts. Your major gifts fund-raising pitches must flow
from a thoughtful and persuasive case for support. Your video
and other presentations must convey current messages of importance.
When widely shared within your group, such essential tools can
help shape in-house self-talk and heighten the chances that everyone
speaks in one voice to the world outside.
Encourage conversations.
Bring staff and volunteers from diverse parts of your nonprofit
together as much
as possible. If they don’t understand the organization,
they can’t explain it to others. Begin a series of informal
sessions at which the President meets with small groups of staff
members from various departments to share his views and learn
theirs. Create regular opportunities for staff members in each
division to meet informally over lunch or dinner. Establish an
intranet so individuals can share news and experiences that help
colleagues understand their programs.
Share excellent presentations with others.
Every department must communicate with various audiences throughout
the year. Arm each with a strong core Power Point presentation
about your nonprofit—the same one your President uses all
the time. They can wrap their own department message around it.
Send updates when needed.
Be certain each department has photos, graphs, and other images
that help tell the larger institutional story. These should illustrate
the most important messages about your nonprofit’s programs
and achievements.
Create talking points for elevator rides.
Given just a minute of so, what should a director or manager
say to outsiders?
Are there three striking things that make your nonprofit stand
out? Bullet each. Add a couple of lines on why each makes a difference.
Get those talking points out to each department head. Suggest
they share them with staff that deal with outside audiences. Staff
members will appreciate the useful summary of information—it
makes their job easier—and everyone will begin talking from
the same place.
Encourage top executives to take a slow walk.
Ask your president or CEO to take a stroll through the building(s)
now and then
and say hello to staff members. A president offering a warm greeting
as he pokes his head in the doorway can prompt conversation. Sure,
cynical wags will make remarks. But such casual encounters offer
real opportunities for staff to clarify their understanding of
things (“Oh, by the way…”), and to do so in
a non-threatening situation. They become yet another chance to
share information within the family.
Invite questions and concerns.
Ask staff members to submit questions anonymously in advance
of large in-house
meetings at which the President speaks. This creates an opportunity
to dispel misunderstandings on crucial issues. The more frequent
the meetings, the better the chance of catching problems early
on.
Send an occasional letter.
Nothing will ever replace the humble low-tech letter. Your president
probably
sends a regular missive to donors and others now. Consider starting
an occasional Presidential letter to staff and volunteers. Send
it only when there’s something afoot that will affect self-talk
within your nonprofit. Then, everyone will understand what’s
what, the ship’s direction will be made clear, and no one
will be mistakenly touting a Program A or B that’s on the
way out.
This article originally appeared in Contributions
Magazine.
|
