The Flexible Technical Writer

A lady working on her desk with her laptop

As a Technical Writer, you have no control over the number of revisions a document will go through when it comes to, for example, the Requirements document or the Technical and Functional Specifications. Even if you have attended every meeting to gather information for the new product, problems will arise. Why?

  • Because more than likely, the product/application will in all probability have new requirements or changes at the beginning of the project and that will flow down to your initial writings. To avoid frustration, be flexible enough to go with the flow and update your documents as often as needed before the final approval of the documents are agreed upon.
  • Because once the stakeholder or client sees a prototype, they might see things that they would like changed or added. When this occurs, be sure to document the fact and update all appropriate documents, i.e., the Requirements document, with authorization and dates. The Requirements document contains high-level material, along with critical client/stakeholder requirements. Be sure to make note of all the critical prerequisites at the front of the Requirements document as well as within any Technical and Functional Specifications. Note: ensure all critical information is also stated within the Test Plans to ensure validity.

A good Technical Writer has to be flexible enough to maintain the accuracy of documents by staying on top of all changes. Changes include and are not limited to updates to the application/product, SMEs (Subject Matter Experts), management, resources, timelines, etc. In other words, anything that has to do with the project.

A good Technical Writer will always take the initiative to perform some research to confirm that what was stated at the meeting could be executed. Make sure you know and are able to question the SMEs involved. Ask the SME if what was stated so far at the meeting is doable. Find out if there are any roadblocks or bottlenecks to the end result. Sometimes meetings are full of twists and turns and ideas get thrown around very quickly and certain issues could be lost. If you are not the recorder of the meeting, and are unclear of certain information, take it upon yourself to get all the facts and present them at the next meeting to ensure that everyone is aware of the requirements and are on the same page and have the same understanding.

If incorrect requirements exist, then the wrong resources may be selected, or the timeline might be incorrect, just to mention a few. Even though you do your best, there still might be changes down the road due to unforeseen circumstances, so be aware and be flexible to work with the modifications and adjust your documents accordingly. It is not easy to be a Technical Writer. Think of yourself under this situation as a mediator or intermediary – someone who is the liaison between two factions and who is trying to get the right information or to connect the dots to produce the right outcome.

The Crisis Show Ep. 2 – Crises, Crises, Everywhere!

Group-of-working-having-conflict-due-to-workplace-crisis-

Three crisis pros bring their expertise right to you

The Crisis Show is coming to you live every Wednesday at 7 EST/4 PST! Combining the talents of three top crisis management professionals, Jonathan Bernstein, Melissa Agnes, and Rich Klein, the show aims to cover the hottest topics in the field each week. One bonus of running the show live is that it gives us a great opportunity to connect with you, our readers, and viewers. If you want to be a part of The Crisis Show, hop on Twitter (like you’re not already logged in!) during the broadcast and tag your tweets with #TheCrisisShow, we’ll be watching, and taking periodic breaks to respond right there on the show. Of course, you’re welcome to submit questions or comments at any time, just visit our “Ask the Experts” page.

In case you missed it, here’s the footage from our second episode. (Mea culpa here, please forgive the technical interruption that resulted in the show being a two-parter. It shouldn’t be an issue next time, but as they say…crisis happens!)

Part one:

Part two:

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training, and co-host of The Crisis Show. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Shoe Shackles Raise Consumer’s Hackles

annoyed-business-partners-arguing-during-meeting

Thoughtless design leads to crisis for Adidas

When it comes to business, it’s essential to have the ability to step back and look at decisions or products from an outsider’s point of view. If you don’t, being part of the internal process could blind your entire organization when it comes to potential negative reactions to, or results from, its actions.

Adidas found this out first hand last week, when it released an image of an upcoming shoe on Facebook, the JS Roundhouse Mid, that features a bright orange plastic chain and shackle dangling from the heel. Immediately, the Adidas Facebook was swamped by comments blasting the company for being racist and promoting slavery with its shoe design.

How’d Adidas handle the situation? Here’s their initial response, and the follow up that put a halt to the issue, from a PRDaily article by Michael Sebastian:

First, Adidas weighed in with this comment (to Fox News):

“The JS Roundhouse Mid is part of the Fall/Winter 2012 design collaboration between Adidas Originals and Jeremy Scott. The design of the JS Roundhouse Mid is nothing more than the designer Jeremy Scott’s outrageous and unique take on fashion and has nothing to do with slavery.

“Jeremy Scott is renowned as a designer whose style is quirky and lighthearted and his previous shoe designs for Adidas Originals have, for example, included panda heads and Mickey Mouse. Any suggestion that this is linked to slavery is untruthful.”

Notice the company stopped short of apologizing; it didn’t even issue one of those “we’re sorry if someone was offended” non-apologies.

 

Shortly after issuing that statement, Adidas chimed in again, saying it won’t release the controversial sneakers in August and, in fact, issuing the “we’re sorry if you’re offended” apology. To wit (via New York Daily News ):

“Since the shoe debuted on our Facebook page ahead of its market release in August, Adidas has received both favorable and critical feedback. We apologize if people are offended by the design and we are withdrawing our plans to make them available in the marketplace.”

Although Adidas did miss what should have been a fairly obvious fact, that placing shackles on a shoe marketed strongly to an African-American demographic would create loads of ill will, the athletic shoe giant did a solid job of stopping the crisis before it got out of control. The initial response shared facts and explained very clearly that the shoe absolutely was not meant in any way to be associated with slavery. When public opinion continued to spiral downhill, Adidas decided to apologize and pull the plug on the shoe altogether. Although it undoubtedly lost them money in the short term to do so, the reputation saved will be worth infinitely more in the long run.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training, and co-host of The Crisis Show. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Strategic Marketing

Close view of marketing strategy with an arrow pointing forward

Marketing Strategy

Simple Ways to Solve Small Business Struggles

Talk to just about any entrepreneur. They’ll tell you pretty much the same things. They all seem to struggle with:

  • Working long hours, but with no marketing plan in place
  • Worrying about how to attract new customers
  • Losing market share and not understanding why
  • Losing sight of marketing trends
  • Stress about their company’s future

How to Approach Positioning Your Business

Yes, you work hard. That’s not one of the reasons businesses fail. Generally, they fail for lack of strategy. That especially applies to marketing strategy. It’s a simple concept, really. Not complex or confusing. But the truth is that most business leaders are just plainly too busy to take time out, sit down with the team, and dedicate focused time to developing a solid, up-to-date marketing strategy and marketing plan.

Ponder these three simple steps to get started:

  1. Explore the marketplace. Which of your competitors are successful? Why?
  2. Clearly define your goals. Make them measurable and achievable.
  3. Assign responsibilities for action steps toward those goals.

Fundamentals of a Solid Plan

Be sure to include these elements in your discussions and incorporate them into the final plan:

  • How to reach new customers – brainstorm a list, then narrow it down
  • How to promote your business – include traditional and digital platforms
  • Build your reputation – positive word of mouth is super-important
  • Help new potential customers say, “Yes, I’ve heard of you!”
  • Put together a Public Relations Plan
  • Develop a Public Relations strategy
  • Create a Media Kit and Press Release Campaign
  • Develop a distribution list
  • Persuade the media, your customers and potential customers
  • Use the power of social media to enhance your image
  • Create a Crisis Communication plan

Want to build your brand equity, but aren’t sure how? Need to build awareness with potential customers?

Positive Word of Mouth – A Must-Have

Stop for a moment to think about this: 90% of customers trust referrals from people they know, 70% trust credible reviews posted on the internet, and a measly 14% trust traditional advertising.

Brands need to encourage a dialog around their products if they wish to compete. Interactive Marketing channels — from social media platforms (like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Yelp and YouTube among others) to the exploding array of mobile applications (like FourSquare) — facilitate communication between users and therefore host these brand-related conversations.

Have you updated your marketing strategy and marketing plan?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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Unintentional programming

A-programmer-working-with-a-desktop-in-his-apartment
This is something that we do often and often realize the wrong results from it. It happened to me this morning in a very obvious way and I’m sure it continues to happen in ways I don’t even realize.

The Situation

I’m driving this morning to take my son and a few of his buddies to golf lessons. It’s a new golf course about 20 minutes away. I generally know the area where it’s located, but am excited to use my new Garmin to take me there.
Before we leave, I program the address that I find on the return envelope and off we go. It starts taking me on some major freeways and then on some back roads. When we arrive at our destination, I realize that we are at a community center and not a golf course. I pull over in a parking lot to look at everything that I brought with me.
Soon I realize that there was no mailing list or address included for the actual golf course, just the mailing address for the parks/recreation center for this city. And this department is located at the community center it brought me to.
I call the golf course and explain the mix-up asking to direct me to the right place. I’m in the right city, just need to find the course. He starts talking about roads I don’t know about and he doesn’t know the roads I’m talking about. Soon I hang up in frustration. Next, I call my husband at work to direct me, but he’s not available. So I go to my backup. I turn off the GPS and tap into my intuitive GPS. Eventually I get us there, unfortunately a little late and a little frustrated.
The way home I discovered a much simpler, easier and more efficient route.

Lessons Learned

A way for me to let go of this frustrating experience was to turn this experience into a fascinating lesson learned. What can I/we learn from this, I kept asking. The answer came with the idea of unintentional programming.
It wasn’t the GPS’s fault and it’s not that I’m against using one. I had programmed in the information and it took me directly to where I had asked it to go. It was my fault for not taking the time to make sure that what I was programming into it is really where I wanted to go.
I had assumed that I received information for the program that the only addresses listed on the information was the one that I needed. I assumed it was the same place I needed to go. I trusted in the system – the GPS – to get me there even though it was taking me a different way.
This is good and we want to be able to trust in new ways to get us to our destinations in life. IF we first take the time to make sure that the end result is really the end result we want.

The Example

Let’s take another example of losing weight with this analogy. Say I want to lose 40 pounds. I can see the end result of me looking and feeling better after I’ve lost the weight. So I program into the GPS, the universe, that I want to lose 40 pounds. The GPS will respond to that and focus on) I want (it hasn’t happened yet); 2) lose (the negative); 3) 40 pounds (a number). I have good intentions on what I’m programming into it and I see the result, but if I let it lead me to where I want to go, it will focus on the three aspects I explained and could never get me to my end result.
Instead, if I take more time to really think about the end result and what that looks, feels, smells and sounds like. Then I might program something different into the GPS, the universe, that could take me a different place. I program in that “I am healthy, feeling and looking my best. I am eating great, exercising and doing everything I need to be my ideal weight.” The GPS will respond to that and focus on) I am (as if it is happening); 2) healthy, eating great, exercising (positive attributes); 3) ideal weight (not a specific number but end result).
Again, the GPS will bring us what we program into it; this example would bring us a different result. Different directions, turns and options will come to us than the one originally programmed.

Golden Nugget

So the next time I use the GPS, I am going to be more intentional. I’m not going to take for granted that just because it’s a technological advancement that it will bring me to the exact place I want to go. When I set my intention, tap into my intuition and clarify my destination, this will ensure the alignment I need to effortlessly arrive to the next part of my journey.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Great Research for Nonprofits: Millennial Impact Report – Involve the 20-35 Year Olds

a-group-of-employees-discussing-office-matters-in-a-meeting.

The third annual Millennial Impact Report has just been issued and it is full of important data. The report is issued by Achieve and Johnson Grossnickle Associate and funded by the Case Foundation. The data used to develop the report is quite extensive and drawn from over 6500 surveys completed and focus groups of “Millennial Professionals” aged 20 – 35. 95% of the participants were college graduates. The goal of the study is to develop a better understanding of successful strategies for nonprofits to engage millennials. Because it included both surveys and focus groups in Indianapolis, Seattle, and Washington D.C it has both breadth and depth. Each section features “Takeaways” and I am including those comments and tips in this article. The report is grouped into three categories –

  • Connect
  • Involve
  • Give

Thanks to The Millennial Impact for sharing these great infographics.

This article covers the Involve aspect of the report. The companion article at Marion Conway – Nonprofit Consultant, Great Research for Nonprofits: Millennial Impact Report – Part 1 – Connect discusses the “Connect” aspect of the report. Check back for an article that will be published in both blogs on the “Give” results.

I like to write about research reports, butI always add my own commentary as I go along. So I warn you in advance – it isn’t just an article summarizing the report. You have to suffer through my remarks too. Sorry. There is a lot of meat in this study and if you are interested in extending your reach with Millennials you will find a lot of useful information here.

You can download the whole report here.

I have been writing about engaging Millennialsfor a long time. Too often, nonprofits consider this group to be of “low donor value” but they have a lot to offer and shouldn’t be written off. I have a 27 year old son and so I have a personal sample of one to add to the study. My assessment – This study is dead-on correct. And…. I think a lot of this applies to older folks too – not just Millennials. I bet you will identify with much of what is in the report. However, objective data always boosts my confidence level.

Here are some key overall findings and assessments from the report:

Millennials want to be taken seriously as donors, volunteers, and leaders for causes they care about. Young donors are fully immersed in technology, but they are also invested in timeless values. They want to give and to serve. They want involvements that engage their minds as well as their hands. Most important they are interested in building authentic, personal relationships with nonprofits. Millennialshave high expectations o for themselves and the nonprofits they support. My note: Corporate employers are learning the parallel or is same things and adapting to deal with their younger employees.

Study Findings on “Involving”

The 20-35 age span is a time of major transition. There is a lot of change in lifestyle, interests, available time and more. But as they transition from college to a career and eventually a family, the ways in which they are willing to be involved will vary. It is important for nonprofits to create a continuum of volunteer engagement from micro-volunteer projects that take little time, one-time volunteer projects, opportunities to volunteer with friends or family, and leadership roles that utilize their professional skills. Millennialsare interested in leadership roles in nonprofits, even if they can’t commit a lot financially right now.

Volunteer

63% of surveyed Millennials reported they volunteered for nonprofits in 2011. By a margin of more than two-to-one, Millennials who volunteer for nonprofits are more likely to make donations. So how do they find out about volunteer opportunities? Here’s how they answered this question:

HOW WOULD YOU PREFER TO LEARN ABOUT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES?

  • Friends and Family 81%
  • Email 72%
  • Website 67%
  • Facebook 55%

My note – This makes it sound easier than it really is. It may be easy to contact a Millennial via these channels but you better have a clear, concise description which sounds like the work will have impact and you have your act together.

Takeaways

“I want to know exactly what I will be doing as a volunteer. Organizations need to be clear about what the organization is about and how the volun­teer job ties into it.”

Tips to increase volunteer involvement:

  • Provide one-time and long-term options
  • Explain how the volunteer services benefit the organization
  • Utilize Millennials’ professional skills
  • Be clear about time commitment and duties
  • Provide group volunteer opportunities for families and friends

WHAT SPECIFIC TYPE OF VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES DO YOU PREFER?

  • Use my professional skills 48%
  • Interaction with services 47%
  • Event Planning 45%
  • Work with friends/Family 40%
  • Board Committee 40%
  • I’m not picky 20%

The best way to lose Millennial volunteers? According to focus group feedback, a bad experience or a situation in which volunteers’ time was used badly will turn Millennials off from future volun­teering. Be clear in your expectations and the time needed of volunteers before hand.

Board, Committee Positions and Professional Skills

The focus group feedback was clear – “Don’t stick us at the kiddie table” and don’t think that social media is my only skill. Participants said that they do not want to be the token “youth representatives” on a board. They want to engage in authentic leadership, with real tangible impact on the organization. When asked if they were in a leadership position either on a board, young professional group or committee or interested in joining one, 77% said they were either in a position or interested in joining.

My note – Millennials are an untapped resource of skills, energy and willingness to step up. Just as young professionals who are working in nonprofits are anxious to have more responsibility and independence to do things their way, young professionals are anxious to be full partners in leadership. This can be a win-win for the Millennial and the organization. Their work can provide them with valuable experience and networking opportunities and your organization can benefit from their hard work and skills. This can truly forge long term relationships.

I saw this with my son who was appointed to the search committee for a new pastor for our church. I think people thought it was nice to have a young representative. They soon found out that he was very skilled and considered himself a full partner with the older members of the group. Since then he has been elected to the church Board and chairs the property committee. People talk to him as a church leader – not as someone who represents young people. He has established himself as a respected leader. He is fully engaged and confident in his own skills. He has also been recruited to be a member of a nonprofit board but he has concerns about time commitments and his ability to give what he thinks a Board member should. Yes, I am a very proud mother talking, but I think there are lots of Millennials that can bring so much to nonprofits and are overlooked as prospects for leadership positions.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

Your Federal Grant Proposals Should Not Be Clichés

Be creative with grant proposals

Because words are so important in federal grant proposals, your proposal narrative should avoid clichés – words/phrases that have been worn out and have lost their meaning and effectiveness … especially the latter.

Clichés distract reviewers from the core of your proposal. They also waste the reviewer’s time, which can be very frustrating. Eliminating clichés, therefore, will help make your prose more persuasive, effective, and easier to read.

These are just a few of my “favorite” clichés:

Best of breed
If you are not selling puppies, why claim that you solution is the “best of breed?” The phrase comes from the world of show dogs.

Utilize
Sports announcers frequently use the word “utilize.” That is a compelling reason to drop it.

Well-seasoned
Managers who are “well-seasoned” probably have been consuming too much pepper and nutmeg.

Hit the ground running
Are you training for the Olympics or trying to get a grant?

Leverage, World Class, Uniquely Qualified
This is how you write an hour before the deadline. Quite simply, these words are meaningless.

Such words and phrases, which could be multiplied forever, are examples of wordiness, a lack of precision, and the inability to discuss topics of substance. Studiously avoid imprecise language that makes you appear unfocused and inept.

Clichés are the kinds of words that organizations frequently use to cover up problems, difficulties, or a lack of qualifications. That alone is a good reason to avoid them.

Choose Effective Wording

– some simple rules to help you avoid mind-numbing clichés in your grant proposal prose:

• Focus on what’s most important to your reviewers, and avoid unnecessary or overly long set-ups.
• Be as specific as possible while avoiding pompous words and phrases.
• Eliminate redundant words.
• Use the correct word in context.

Here are two examples of how you can turn your clichés into good prose. Clichés are in bold.

Before: The Jones building is the shining jewel in our downtown.
After: The Jones building is an outstanding example of early nineteenth-century classical style architecture in downtown Centerville.

Before: The J. D. Smith Center is widely admired as a fiscally responsible family planning organization.
After: The J. D. Smith Center received a #1 rating from Charity Navigator for “outstanding financial management” for the fourth year in a row.

If you use clichés, reviewers may conclude that you are not likely to communicate clearly and effectively on your proposed project because you cannot communicate clearly in your proposal. Avoid clichés, and your proposal will be more persuasive.

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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies. Contact Jayme Sokolow.

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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Neilsen Report

Young man gong through a report statistics

State of the Media Statistics – Interesting and Useful

Marketers rely on statistics to make decisions every day. “How does my target audience act?” and “What does my target audience want?”

Media and marketing statistics help answer those incredibly important questions. At least, they give marketing executives insights, so they can communicate with their target audience in more meaningful ways.

THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION

Internet Access

In 2000, 132.2 million Americans had internet access. Today, that rate has more than doubled to 274 million Americans with internet access.

Social – Blogs and Networks

81 BILLION minutes is now spent on social networks and blogs by 169.6 million visitors. 81 billion is a number that may be hard to grasp. Think of it this way: the amount of time spent on social exceeds the time spent on email.

Mobile Phones

An astounding 64% of mobile phone time is spent on apps. When you consider that Americans regularly use 2,000 – 3,000 minutes per month, 64% of that is 1,280 – 1,920 minutes per month on apps. Quite surprising! By the way, App usage among adults peaks at 5pm.

Share of Internet Time by Category

  • 21.3% – Social Networks & Blogs
  • 7.7% Online Games
  • 6.5% E-mail
  • 4.3% – Videos & Movies
  • 3.8% Portals

Top Websites Visited While Watching TV

  1. Facebook
  2. YouTube
  3. Zynga
  4. Google Search
  5. Yahoo! Mail
  6. Craigslist
  7. eBay
  8. Electronic Arts (EA) Online
  9. MSN/WindowsLive/Bing
  10. Yahoo! Homepage

With this introduction to the Digital Revolution, it’s clear that consumers are deepening their usage. Smart marketers will continue to consider the impact of online media in their market research, planning, and communication.

What has worked for you or your company?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book, The WebPowered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available in July 12, 2012 at Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/MyaQmp and Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/M5T0KO . Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. She helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

M is for Message

Colleagues working happily together

What’s your message? So many times we have data or facts we need to get across, but without a message to tie it together, set the stage or give it context, those facts can get jumbled or just ignored.

For speaking success, start and end with a big-picture message about why you are speaking and why the audience needs to hear what you have to say. It is up to you as the presenter to figure out what the message is, rather than hoping it will become clear as you go. You know the content best, and if you are planning the presentation or meeting, you should know what you wish to accomplish.

Do this even if you think it should be obvious. It isn’t. And even if it is, the audience still needs to hear it from you. They need to hear it in the clearest, most compelling way you can tell it.

Some examples of messages:

  • As we migrate to this new software, we will have new efficiencies and accuracies that we’ve only wished for in the past.
  • By turning in your vacation requests when due, we will be able to process your vacation pay and make sure your requests for time off are honored.
  • Adopting kaizen measures in our plant will result in cleaner, more efficient workspaces, making our jobs easier and most likely saving time and money.
  • Purchasing this new equipment for the office will allow us to operate more safely and efficiently.
  • A deeper understanding of accounting principles will help us to make better financial decisions on a day to day basis.
  • The purpose of this meeting is to bring everyone up to speed on the project, and to determine and assign action items that will keep us on track.
  • In our phone conference today let’s hear from each of you on customer concerns so we can use that information to improve our service.

What did you notice about these examples? Hopefully, you noticed they:

  • Are complete sentences, not phrases or questions
  • Are short in length, and use simple, common language
  • State or imply benefits for the audience, team or organization
  • Are big-picture, generally not including specific details
  • Suggest actions to be taken by those listening
  • Tell the audience what to expect

In order to create a strong message, take time to answer these five questions:

1. Who is your audience?

2. What do you want to say?

3. What do they want/not want to hear?

4. What strategies can help you bridge any gaps between 3 and 4?

5. What do you want them to do, say, think, feel or remember?

The answers to these five questions should help you formulate a message or overview statement. As you begin to capture your ideas about what your message is, play with the words, tighten the message, and say it out loud a few times.

If you aren’t convinced, then your message isn’t right–yet. Walk away for a few minutes, and come back to it fresh. Or ask someone else to talk it through with you. Just don’t settle for a message that leaves you cold; that is not a great way to start your presentation.

Once you capture it, you will experience a positive recognition that “this is it.” Be sure you capture your message on paper so you remember to start and end with it.

When you approach your next meeting, training session or presentation with a clear and compelling message, you can speak with confidence, and your audience will be able to understand and remember what you said. How great is that?

Improving/Expanding Your Fundraising Program

Colleagues discussing about their organization's fundraising program

The Summer Is A Great Time To Make New Things Start To Happen !!

It would be a good time for a Development Program Analysis/Assessment/Audit to take a look at your current fundraising activities/programs to determine:
• What you’re not doing that you could do; and,
• What you’re doing that you could do more (cost) effectively !!

That should include an evaluation of your fundraising leadership and your leadership potential. It should incorporate an assessment of your fundraising knowledge/skills. It should determine how effectively you’re getting your message out to your (potential) donors, and how your donors/leaders/volunteers feel about how they are recognized for their support/efforts.

It would be a good time to begin Creating/Enhancing your Major Gifts Program — you could:
• Identify potential leadership;
• Identify potential major donors; and,
• Figure out how to get them to tell you what you need to do to get them to do what you
   want them to do !!

Major focus of this process is to learn what it is that would make folks want to become major donors to your organization.

It would be a good time to begin working on that Bequest Program you’ve been thinking about, so you can:
• Ensure long-term (5-, 6- & 7-figure) cash flow;
• Build a volunteer leadership that will want to help you create the program; and,
• Design a “Recognition Program” that will encourage potential “Legacy Society” members
   to want to join you.

In addition to the elements noted for the first two activities, you must determine what it would take to get people to want to name you in their wills.

And, to emphasize “the” critical factor for all of the above, the fact-finding and planning must focus on how, by supporting you, the (potential) donors will be satisfying their own needs.
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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at AskHank@Major-Capital-Giving.com

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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.