Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

Are the copy and images in your nonprofit marketing materials drugging readers into ignoring you and your issue entirely? It’s a process called narcotization.

Here’s how it works. People were shown pictures of gum disease. One group saw photos of a mouth just a little rotten. The second saw photos of moderately rotten gums. The third saw horribly blackened mouths. The impact on dental care? Group one did what they always had. Group two did somewhat more flossing and brushing. Group three gave up entirely and stopped taking care of their gums and teeth. The idea is that if you think a problem is inevitable and overwhelming, you shut down and stop trying to fix it.

I read this example in Chuck Palahniuk’s book of essays called Stranger than Fiction while on vacation recently. In an essay called, “Dear Mr. Levin,” Palahniuk describes narcotization and then goes on to show how author Ira Levin beat the process by charming people into thinking about complex and difficult social problems through his incredible storytelling, way before the issues were a mainstream concern. Rosemary’s Baby, published in 1967, is about abortion rights. The Stepford Wives, published in 1972, is about the backlash against feminism. Sliver, published in 1991, is about electronic voyeurism.

These varying levels of information and our responses to them reminded me of the research that shows a powerful story about one person works better in fundraising than stories about multiple people. I talked about this recently in 10 Ways to Use Storytelling in Your Nonprofit.

Here’s how I see the connection between the two. Using a bunch of statistics about your issue is like showing a mouth that’s just a little rotten. It doesn’t motivate people to change at all. Showing them the suffering of large groups of people is like the blackened mouth. It’s just too much to take and people throw up their hands and don’t see how a donation to you will make a difference. But talking about a single person’s plight is like the moderately rotten gums. It’s bad enough to motivate people to want to help, but not so bad that they feel helpless.

So what can nonprofit communicators learn from Mr. Levin? Palahniuk says he uses metaphors that slowly reveal the issues and solutions without blatantly hitting us over the head with them. He uses humor to charm and worst-case scenarios to scare (Against a woman’s right to choose? Well, what would you do if you were pregnant with the Devil’s baby??) Says Palaniuk of Levin: “You created a fable to get our attention and inoculate us against the fear by creating a metaphor, a character that models the wrong behavior . . . That method gives the reader the moment of realization, the emotional moment of ‘ah-hah!’ And teaching experts say that unless we have that moment of chaos, followed by the emotional release of realization, nothing will be remembered.”

We may not be capable of writing some of the best-selling suspense novels of all time, but we can certainly apply some of these concepts in nonprofit communications. Bring your potential supporters along through your story. Build up to that “ah-hah” moment. Show that one donor what he can do to help, without making him feel helpless. Use anecdotes to let your volunteers learn from the mistakes and successes of others.

As I was looking over annual reports from environmental groups this week, I noticed that both Environmental Defense (ED) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) claimed that they were largely responsible for getting California’s law on global warming passed.

Now, I really have no idea who did what or how much, and I am sure that both organizations played vital roles. The fact that I am pitting them against each other in this post would probably send them both into a tizzy, since I suspect they work closely as partners on many issues and wouldn’t want to be viewed as competitors.

But let’s get real. Annual reports are largely about wooing donors and these two organizations do compete for funding. So who did the better job in taking claim for this ground-breaking legislation?

Environmental Defense — and here’s why.

1) They tell a better story. They describe how negotiations nearly collapsed and how their attorney “met Schwarzenegger outside the tent where the governor smokes cigars and cuts deals, and told him what was needed . . .” You can see The Governator in your head, and for anyone who knows anything about legislating, you know this is exactly how things work. It’s feels authentic, and it shows how ED has the right kind of access.

For all I know, NRDC was right there too, but they don’t say that. They talk more generically about getting lots of different interest groups in the state to support the bill. This is great work too, but it’s not nearly as compelling as ED’s story.

2) They include a great testimonial. “Environmental Defense played a pivotal role in drafting the bill and securing broad support that was critical to its passage.” — Fabian Nunez, Speaker of the California Assembly. Who better to quote on your legislative effectiveness than the Speaker of the Assembly? NRDC mentions working with the speaker and other bill authors, but that’s not nearly as good as a testimonial.

In its report, NRDC says, “It was NRDC’s reputation as honest brokers of science and the law that helped push the bill past the tipping point.” That’s great, but it would have been so much better if it came out of someone else’s mouth.

3) They give credit to NRDC by name. When special interests tried to thwart the legislation, “Environmental Defense joined with the Natural Resources Defense Council to fight back. We led an unprecedented coalition . . .”

NRDC only refers generically to working with “its partners.” Again, the ED article feels more authentic, because it includes the specific details. To be fair, NRDC does cite other partners by name, like the American Lung Association and PG&E, but note that these are not other environmental groups. Unless you read these two reports side-by-side, you wouldn’t catch this distinction. But the fact the ED names another environmental group as a leader demonstrates ED’s own confidence in its work.

I’d love to hear what you think. Here are the specific pages I’m talking about: NRDC’s Global Warming Pages | ED’s Global Warming Pages. You can get the full reports on their websites: NRDC | ED Read the pages and leave a comment on this post with your take.

This specific comparison aside, I think both groups do a good job with their annual reports. I’m preparing to publish a series of annual report reviews on NonprofitAnnualReports.net to help nonprofits better understand ways to improve their own annual reports. Both reports will be included in the reviews I’ll share later in September. FYI, subscribers to my free “Annual Reports Insider” e-newsletter will be the first to hear about these reviews, so subscribe if you want to read them sooner than later.

Storytelling is all the rage in the marketing world these days, because it works. Examples are everywhere in commercial advertising. Samuel Adams commercials feature real employees and customers talking about beer. Those Geico commercials (not the ones with the gecko or the cavemen) feature customers and celebrities telling real stories. The UPS ad executive at the white board is telling real stories.

“Stories” is the sixth pillar of effectively communicating your ideas, according to “Made to Stick” — which is, by the way, a fabulous book that every nonprofit communicator should own. (I may be the last blogger on the planet who got a review copy to actually mention the book, but that’s because I wanted to wait a few months after reading it to see if, well, it would stick with me. It did. You should buy it.)

Recent research into what works in fundraising appeals shows that a powerful story about a single individual moves donors more than general information or even stories about more than one person.
So how can you inject storytelling into your day-to-day communications? Here are ten specific examples of ways nonprofits can use stories.

1) Include a story about a real person in every speech you give. Talking to potential volunteers? Tell a story or two about a real volunteer and the difference she is making in the lives of others.

2) Turn a story into a how-to article for your newsletter. Using the first person (”How I . . .”), have someone on your staff, a board member, or a volunteer explain how to do something, based on his own experience in learning how to do it.

3) Include testimonials in your event marketing. Ask people who attended your workshop to provide testimonials about how they personally used what they learned at the event in their own work.

4) Single out one person you are helping in your next fundraising appeal letter. Instead of talking broadly about the need for low-cost childcare in your community, talk about the plight of just one single mom.

5) Use serial storytelling on a campaign blog. Hook in readers with frequent updates about a particular person, animal, or item. Environmental and humane groups use this tactic effectively all the time (e.g. tracking a particular whale’s journey — “Will he evade the evil whale hunters?” — or a dog that has been badly abused, but is now on the mend after being rescued — “Will she live? And walk again?”).

6) Give each board member at least one good story to use, and have them practice telling it. Your board members should be advocating for your organization at all times. Give them real stories they can use that will put your organization in a good light with potential donors, volunteers, community decision-makers, etc. Make time on your next board meeting agenda to learn the stories and to practice telling them.

7) Lead your next press release with a story. The media loves real stories, so use them as angles in your press releases. If you can make the real person in the story available for interviews, that’s even better.

Incorporate a story into a training session. Who do you train? Volunteers, new staff, community members, others in your field? Incorporate a good story into your next training session.

9) Add stories to your annual report. They can take the form of personal profiles, first-person accounts, or short testimonials, but include stories about real people in your annual report to reinforce the narrative about your accomplishments and activities.

10) Rotate stories on your website home page. Collect stories about specific people related to your organization and rotate them on your home page.

I plan to talk much more about storytelling on this blog. But until I get all those posts written, check out the quick primer on nonprofit storytelling by Nancy at Getting Attention.

As I copyedit text supplied by my nonprofit clients, I am constantly removing jargon. While phrases like “capacity building” and “fostering innovation” may mean something to your foundation funders, these terms usually have no meaning to the people you are serving with the grant the foundation gave you.

Never cut and paste your grant application language into a marketing brochure for a program and expect it to work as is. You are speaking to two different audiences who need to hear about the program in different words and ways. What is meaningful and memorable to a foundation project officer will not work for a busy, low-income single mom who needs your services. Write for your audience at all times.

I recently stumbled upon this list of foundation/nonprofit jargon terms. While the explanations about why each term is bad are rather long-winded, they will help you appreciate the problems with these phrases.

So how do you get the jargon out? After you find it, replace jargon with words that are more specific or include an example that illustrates the reality behind the term.

A Postscript: This post was picked up by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Much of the battle in helping nonprofits communicate more effectively is in convincing them to put a different spin on what they are currently saying in person, in print, and online.

When talking to donors, that spin might be changing the language from the first person (”We, the nonprofit”) to the second person (”You, our supporter”). When marketing an event, that spin might be emphasizing the social and networking aspects to generate “I gotta be there” buzz, rather than the technical details that will come from behind the podium (which that excited person will probably use to justify the purchase order to attend).

To experienced communicators, this kind of spin is obvious and second nature. But to nonprofit staff new to the communications world, the whole concept of spinning can feel manipulative and slimy. And, of course, spin really can be a bad thing when done with selfish or ill intent or to mislead your audience. Some people prefer to call it “messaging” because that sounds better than “spinning.” But to me, it’s the same thing: Getting the information we want to distribute out there in a way that will appeal to our intended audience.

How can you get comfortable with spin, but remain authentic? Here are a few tips:

Be personable. When communications come from a real person, rather than a faceless organization, they feel more genuine. If your name and face are attached to the communication, you are more likely be sincere, even if you are spinning a story.

Don’t exaggerate. Don’t say you are hosting the best or the most important conference of the year unless you have a whole bunch of people who are willing to give you testimonials that say your conference is the best or most important conference they attend each year. Back up all of your enthusiastic claims with facts or testimonials.

Pay attention to your stomach. There is sometimes a fine line between being a little queasy about a bold new approach and feeling sick to your stomach because you know if you get called out, you’ll crumble. Never say anything you don’t actually believe to be true and always feel confident that you can defend what you said if challenged. Even if the packaging of your message flops, as long as you were completely honest and sincere in delivering it, you’ll be OK.

Be specific. Use specific, descriptive language. The more vague you are, the more wiggle room you leave for being misunderstood - or being accused of the bad kind of spin.

Concede unfavorable facts. If certain facts don’t support your position, don’t pretend they don’t exist or, even worse, make up lies to dispute them. Concede them, and then clearly present why your case trumps the other side’s facts. (Certain politicians regularly fail on this point, which is one reason why the American public no longer trusts them.)

Keep these tips in mind, and spin away!

I have long advocated that one way to make your newsletter and other nonprofit marketing materials more interesting is to share your opinions, not just objective reporting on your work and your issues. Jeff at Donor Power Blog says this is a good idea in fundraising too.

Why? Because opinions tend to be more entertaining, though-provoking, and emotion-grabbing than straight reporting. It’s why talk radio and blogs have boomed. In this age of information overload, we are all looking for a few voices we can trust to help us sort through the noise.

As a nonprofit leader, you are in a great position to establish yourself as one of those voices. Go out on a limb and you may lose a few supporters, but you’ll endear yourself to many, many more of the people who really matter to your organization long-term.

Here are a few ways you can inject your opinions into your communications pieces:

- If you have a “from the director” column in your newsletter, use it to share how you feel about legislation, changes in your field, or what’s happening in your community. Don’t be meek or equivocal — clearly state how you feel and what you believe.

- Be clear about what “change” means on your issue. All nonprofits are working to bring about some kind of change in the world. What’s wrong with the way things are now? What’s right? How do you want things to be? Why is it so important that your organization succeed? Answer these questions with conviction.

- Makes sure that the quotes you include in your press releases express your confident opinions on issues and don’t simply restate facts. Talk about what the facts mean.

I asked whether this blog’s readers find that they write too much, too little, or the right amount in their first drafts, and about 60% answered “too much.” Here are six tips for editing your first drafts when they are too long.

1. Drop the first few sentences. Lots of people (including me) need to warm up as they start writing and don’t really get to the point until a few sentences in. Warming up is good for working out, but not for writing at work. Get right to the point.

2. Jettison the background information. We often assume that people need more history than they really do. Sum up any critical background in one sentence and tell the readers where to find additional background or to contact you if they need it.

3. Focus on what you want from the reader. Are you expecting the reader to take a particular action based on your memo or whatever it is you are writing? If so, focus your draft around that. What do you want them to do? Why should they do it? How should they do it? Cut everything else that doesn’t contribute to moving that reader to action.

4. Watch for tangents. It’s easy to stray from the main point. Watch for tangents and babbling streams of consciousness. Turn those sections of your draft into separate memos or articles.

5. Cut the the wordy phrases, redundancies, cliches, etc. Shorter is better. Cut out all the words that don’t contribute meaning. You’ll find lots of tips on writing more clearly and concisely here.

6. Read it out loud, then cut any parts you read quickly or skipped over. If you find yourself zooming through sections when you read something out loud, it likely means that section isn’t that important and can be edited out.

Do you have any favorite tips for editing your own work? Leave them here in a comment.

Whether it’s a board meeting, a seminar, or a conference, the events your organization hosts or attends can provide great fodder for newsletter articles — if you highlight the most important points and forget about the rest.When you start writing an event summary, you may be tempted to regurgitate the agenda with a few extra details sprinkled in. We’ve all read these kinds of articles and have been bored stiff by them. “John opened the workshop and welcomed the speakers. Fred talked about ABC. We broke for lunch. After lunch, Jane talked about XYZ. It was a successful workshop.” There’s no value for your newsletter readers here.

Instead, pick just a few highlights from the event. Think of the event as a whole and pick the best resources or information from the day. What three things did you learn? What three points surprised you? What would someone who attended the event go back and tell her co-workers around the water cooler? What points would she highlight to the boss, to emphasize that the registration fee was money well spent? If you feel strongly that you need to mention every speaker, pick the single most important or memorable point from each presentation and focus only on that point.

Leave all the boring, mundane and pro forma details out of your article. Welcoming addresses are typically devoid of real substance and don’t need to be mentioned (unless they were given by a very big name). We also don’t need to know what was served for lunch. It’s not unusual for at least one speaker to bomb, and if you were bored in person, imagine how bored your newsletter readers will be if you try to summarize that person’s entire presentation.

Also think about different article formats that you could use to summarize the event, rather than straight reporting. Try “Top Ten Insights from the Workshop” or “How To (Insert Task): Lessons Learned at the Workshop.”

You can wrap up the article by mentioning speakers you didn’t highlight and suggesting ways that newsletter readers can get more information on the topic. For example, if you hosted the event, ask speakers to provide electronic copies of their presentations or handouts for your website. You can also ask readers to mark their calendars for the next event.