Keep your momentum
Written by niki juhasz
Are you finding yourself more easily distracted since the election? Feeling a tad foggier? Not retaining much information? Perhaps a tad more irritable?
Check, check, check and check on my end.
If you’re distracted, and we’re distracted, then your audiences are ALSO distracted.
Yet, if you’re like a few of our clients, the work can’t stop now. If you have urgent information to release, or outreach to do, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
Here are three communications best practices from our teammates that are more important than EVER as we communicate during times of upheaval, uncertainty and crisis.
don’t fuel the emotional fire
Forthright special projects lead Jon Jon often shares advice about how to approach tough topics. He shares his advice about emotional language here:
“When we perform certain emotions to reassure people that we understand how they feel, we’re always making an educated guess. No two people react to any message exactly the same.
Language that one person might find comforting could make another feel condescended to or offended.
For example, let’s say your organization is commenting on recent legislation aimed at trans people, and you’re sending an email to your major donor list. You want to underscore the urgency of the moment and rally your supporters to take action, and you decide to communicate this urgency with the subject line: Utter Disbelief! This Terrifying Legislation Must be Stopped!!
This emotional language might resonate with some donors who are unfamiliar with the historic and present of discrimination against LGBTQ people – maybe these donors really are unable to believe what’s happening. But for plenty more people, they’re opening this email well-aware of the moment, and they’re already feeling it.
So, if they’re already feeling afraid, how can your message show that you’re listening? Would a message that speaks instead of shouts — i.e. ”We’ve seen this before. And it’s time to act, together.” resonate differently?
When we remember that our reactions to what is said have just as much to do with who we are, we’re less likely to rely on emotional appeals to do the heavy lifting for us.
Remembering this in this time of uncertainty and upheaval is critical to our advocacy.”
>> Read more about how to communicate about tough topics here.
make your messages as simple as possible
Our Vice President Emily is urging her clients (and everyone) to keep it simple.
“When people are stressed out like they are right now, they have a harder time absorbing information. This means it’s more important than ever to write simple messaging, no matter who your audience is. Here are a few steps we find helpful in writing easy-to-understand messaging.
Struggling to get started to get it just right? Reset your brain. Take a break, go for a walk, go sit in a new spot. Some of our team members swear by writing at a coffee shop with Slack, their phones and emails all silenced.
Create your first draft. Don’t be too hard on yourself, just write what you’re trying to say.
Take a quick break. Refill your water bottle.
Come back to what you wrote and identify places where you use big words, jargon, long sentences and long paragraphs. Ask: can I explain this more simply? If the answer is yes – then simplify.
Send to your colleague for an edit – give them context for who you are writing to and what your goals are. Flag where you’re struggling.
Review their edits, accept what works, leave what doesn't.
Walk away again.
Come back with a fresh set of eyes before finalizing and re-read one last time!”
>> Use this free resource to help test and simplify your messaging.
only make one ask
Katie, our founder, wants to ensure that your outreach is streamlined and doesn’t confuse your audience.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve given clients feedback that their social media post or email has “too many calls to action”. When an email newsletter, donor letter or social media post has too many topics or too many options, it can lead our readers to freeze and take NO actions.
That gets worse in times of crisis and uncertainty.
To move your audiences to action, simplify. Pick one single ask and repeat it throughout your communication.
For example, if you’re sending out a newsletter reminding your donors that your work is more important than ever as the administration changes, don’t include multiple ways to donate in one email (ie: Be a legacy donor! Be a monthly donor! Donate $5 now!). Instead, select just one and stick with that. Repeat that one single call to action in your outreach.”
We’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – we’re in this together.
Now let’s go do this.
