Tools for Communication Workshop

Editor's Notes

• #2: **Distribute Evaluations   Thanks for being here and wanting to talk about the Communication Planning process. My name is Christine Dascenzo and I am an AmeriCorps VISTA with Montana Public Outreach, working on Community Outreach. Here's my contact information if you need to get in touch with me after today. I've been working with nonprofits on Public Service Announcements for the station which is how I learned there was a need for this kind of workshop. This workshop just had it's first 
• #3: This workshop in it's current form, morphed out of one that was going to be a related, yet very different topic, helping nonprofits Access Media.   When I started doing a little research and talking with different nonprofits, a more immediate need rose to the surface. 
• #4: Big Take Aways Review the ideas you want to tell your co workers about How you see implementing this process with your organization Workshop Feedback What worked in this session? Anything irrelevant? Anything you didn't grasp? How well did the exercises help in understanding?   In the long run, this process will help in accessing media. 
• #5: Organizations were lacking a plan for what to do after, let's say you got that interview
• #6: or event made the front page of the paper.
• #7: On the other hand, what happens when you don't get any coverage?  Well, the answer is to have a plan in place before you try need the media coverage. One you have developed with staff and board,
• #8: That way, you'll be ready to frame the conversation back to your mission and a few strategic objectives.
• #9: In the end of this process, we'll find out what your communication methods are actually saying about your organization. That's basically what a communication plan is, it's a specifically designed and managed process to help an organization achieve its mission through your methods of spoken and written word.
• #11: Agenda also a quick overview of what the planning process looks like.
• #12: What do you want to say? This will be your message platform. 1. Set objectives you want to see come out of your organization's work. How many? & When? 2. Who do you know that can help with your goals - Who is your audience? 3. What do you know about them? What do they need to hear from you?
• #13: 4. Frame your messages around this information. This will be the driving force behind your communication plan.
• #14: What Do you Say? How your organization talks about itself. ex: brochure, logo 1. The look of your organization 2. The content quality in your materials 3. Cost Analysis for each piece Use Samples Break
• #15: Come back to the things that are a little more outside of your control. Google It Find out what people see when they try to find you online. More and more, people's first step to make contact with you, is to google you. 1. Google Search 2. Google Image Search 3. Google Map Search 4. Social Media Search   Break
• #16: On the Media Analyze your media coverage - every newspaper article, every TV news story, every quote.
• #17:   - National Issue Coverage , ex: housing
• #18: The primary purpose of a plan is to connect all of your communication back to your mission and a few strong strategic messages.
• #19: Very typical of doing some things well but lacking consistency. This process can get touchy. Working more for mission than the paycheck. When someone says your organization needs to change, or isn't doing something right, it's natural to feel the need to defend it. So I'm hoping to avoid that by using an outside organization we can feel comfortable critiquing. That being said, if anyone wants to volunteer your organization for some of the exercises we'll do today, feel free.
• #20: It really is a hefty process. If your organization has an annual retreat or more in depth planning meeting, that would be the time to go through it.
• #21: It's important to get everyone involved in the process, staff and board members as much as possible all in the same room.
• #22: This first time you go through the process, you'll be dealing with everything ever said by, about or to your organization.
• #23: The time required can range from half a day to two days, depending on how deep you're looking into your organization and how long your org has been around. Then there's also prep time involved in digging up all of your methods of communications.
• #24: Some of the exercises we'll do here you might want to do ahead of time at staff and board meetings prior to the actual planning meeting - gets buy in.
• #25: But if you review your plan every 6 months or once a year, you'll be focusing on what's new within that time frame. It gets more and more manageable as you go.
• #26: Although I hope each and every organization in the room goes out and implements a complete plan, that's not necessarily realistic. I want you to know that if you're coming into this knowing your organization won't go through this whole process, you will still leave with things you can do on your own, so I think you will still benefit from this workshop.
• #27: Any questions so far?
• #28: **Write on Big Paper & Leave up ground rules **If no one has anything:     Well I'm not up for a free for all, so I've got one. Turn off Cell Phones Leave the room if you need to If you have something to say and aren't getting the chance, feel free to raise your hand and I'll do my best to get you some air time. On the other side of that, please be aware of your contribution to the conversation and give everyone space to speak. In other words, that's the Step Up, Step Back rule. Respect Opinions Respect the fact that we're coming to this from different phases of the process. This includes myself -- please let me know if I've skipped a step in the group's understanding. Respect different goals Confidentiality Participate Reach Closure Can everyone agree to these?
• #29: **Write on Big Paper & Leave up We will not be making the plan today, It's a much bigger project than that. But I do hope you'll feel prepared to take the process and implement a plan with your board and/or staff. -Organic conversation, this workshop will be the most beneficial for you if we share from personal/professional experiences, giving us a chance to learn from each other. -Key Audiences -Messaging Objectives -How to monitor your methods of communication - Things you can do when you go back to the office after this -What is your biggest source of coverage? Buy In **For things we won't cover: Contact after this and I should be able to help you find what you're looking for.
• #30: Your Name,  Organization and  something that's either a communication challenge or makes you proud.
• #31: 1:20 It'll be a slightly different version than the one you played as a kid. Does anyone not know how to play?   1. First person whispers to the person next to them.   2. That person passes it to the next person. 3. Repeat until the message reaches the last person.   4. Compare 1st and final versions.  The only thing different about this version, is you'll be divided into groups of different sizes. And to make it a smidg harder, I'll have some music playing. Divide the room, 1 big (A), 1 smaller (B) and 1 smallest (C)   Go through as many rounds as you can.   Stop when the music stops & you see this...  
• #33: Play Lady Gaga Telephone 3:40 Prompts: "I dropped my cellphone in the river" "My puppy tracked mud all over the kitchen floor." "I tried bleaching my hair and it turned orange." "I grew 200 pounds of zucchini in my first garden." "New Zealand will never be the same since Fran's trip." **As they play notice how many rounds each size group gets through in how much time. On an easel, make a chart with group name on the edge and how well the message was received at the top.     No change       small changes, but the             Complete mess                             point got through A B C
• #35: The dance party's over. How'd it go? Get the funny outcomes. I see this game as an analogy for how organizations communicate with audiences. Their messaging often does not come out of a strategic plan, and is even less likely to be followed up with an evaluation. Did any of the messages get through to the last person in tact? How many points got across even if the exact quote didn't survive? How many got completely garbled? intended messaging
• #36: From your group's experience and looking at the chart, what are some conclusions we can make? - Messages got across to smaller groups easier. Focusing on a certain group, more targeted messaging, creates a more accurate perception. More focus on who they said it to. - The big group got through less rounds than the smaller ones.  By the time the message reached the middle, the first person might want to move on but the last person hasn't even received it yet. Have you experienced that in your work? This can happen when you're talking to members or trying to make a change within your organization.     On the plus side though, the big group did not overload the audience or send out competing messages. So it had a bit more focus on what they said. Was there any difference when folks used prompts verse improve? -If prompts went better, that's kind of like having a plan in place. You didn't improv a message which is good, but it also didn't really mean anything to the person saying it or hearing it. Nothing went into making the message relevant to the audience.
• #37: Be close to 1:30!
• #38: What do you want to Say?   Form a message platform, of three or four priority messages you want to focus on.
• #39: not your mission statement, but set goals based on the work you do everyday. What are you working towards?
• #40: Audiences you need to talk to    New audiences? What events can help?
• #41: Research - How? Survey Monkey  Google Analytics Frame messages around what will motivate your audience to take action on the goals.
• #42: Front of room brainstorm Activity
• #43: who do you already know? Who do you need to know? Targeted audiences Can you track these categories in your database? At this point, you know   who your audience is and  you have things for them to do...
• #44: Research - How? Survey Monkey  Google Analytics Frame messages around what will motivate your audience to take action on the goals.
• #45: Research - How? Survey Monkey  Google Analytics Frame messages around what will motivate your audience to take action on the goals.
• #46: We're going to walk through the process of developing a communications plan.  Who here has a plan in place already?   What has your experience been?   Who here has no idea what a communication plan is?    >Reveal definition >>Seems simple enough but will take a hefty amount of time and discussion among staff and board Revisit every 6 months.
• #48: Any Questions?
• #49: 2:00ish
• #50: Find out what you have, this will help define what you want and expose the changes your organization needs to make to get to where you want to be. What's working and why? What's not working and why? AKA "Talking Taxes"
• #54: Does your logo/wordmark/tag line appear on every piece? Are they identical on each piece? Is your color palette limited, consistent and easily recognizable? Is there some kind of design consistency? Would an outsider easily recognize these pieces are from  the same organization? Is there consistency between your printed and digital communication? What three adjectives would people use when looking at this? (Use the Brother-in-Law test) Even if it's cheap to produce or made in house, does it look professional? Is there a warmth or human touch? Does it feel cold/institutional?
• #55: **handout sample
• #58: What You Need: Time, Samples from current & previous year's organization produced materials Samples from last year's media coverage
• #62: **Handout Analyze the Content   Are they immediately engaging to the reader? Do photos reinforce main messages? Are they high quality and compelling? Are headlines meaningful, grabbing and informative? Do you use subheads, captions, side bars and drawn quotes for skimmers? Is content relevant to the readers? Does your mix of communications relay 1 or two main strategic messages? Are there contradictions? Does each method link to all your channels? Is the website on all printed materials? Are publications on the website? Does social media feature the newsletter? Critique the quality of the writing. Do publications speak different from the website? Watch out for in speak/jargon. How's the length? Do other voices appear? Is it the same person always speaking?
• #64: **Handout worksheet sample
• #65: doing well
• #66: what misses the mark?
• #67: Reflection
• #68: 3:00ish
• #69: Know what's being said about your organization and its work online. More and more, the first thing people do when they want to know more about your organization is google you.
• #70: Know what's being said about your organization and its work online.
• #71: Add new social media sites as they become relevant...     ex of the change: Delicious Social Media Response 101: Incorrect - Correct it Negative - Don't Engage or Delete Weave opportunities into your list of objectives. Do a search with a different org in the group for each step.
• #72: **Handout Digital Identity
• #73: Note where irrelevant and negative results are in the mix. Do you want a presence where you currently lack one?
• #74: Does anyone want to use your organization?
• #75: Any Questions?
• #76: Take out the samples of media coverage your org received over the last year.   Refer to back to the What do you want to say Section to know whether media objectives are being met.
• #77: Start with coverage generated by your efforts (media relationships/press releases) Then work on coverage brought on by efforts outside the organization.
• #78: Hand out samples
• #79: **Handout Media Analysis   Take out the samples of media coverage your org received over the last year. Start with coverage generated by your efforts (media relationships/press releases) Then work on coverage brought on by efforts outside the organization.   Refer to your Audit and Analysis for insights into whether media objectives were met.
• #80: Any questions?
• #82: 6 similar organizations national local established new tour website
• #83: Do any of these exercises on a for profit business and see how you compare.
• #84: **Evaluation reminder   Something we talked about that you will tell a co-worker  or friend Feed
• #85: **Collect Evaluations