http://archive.aweber.com/clearthinkingClear Thinking ezineThu, 03 Jun 2010 11:02:17 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/clearthinking/26SwO/h/_clear_thinking_ezine_How.htm [clear thinking ezine] Helping foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses make a bigger impact. From Clear Thinking Communications and Susan Parker Please share this issue with your colleagues. Word count: 781 Estimated read time: Less than 2 minutes Article: How Data Can Tell Your Story From time to time, a debate springs up among communicators about whether data or stories are more powerful in getting your message across. I don't think it has to be an either/or proposition. Good data, powerfully presented, can go a long way in telling your story. Visually appealing data accomplishes several things: It reinforces the story that you are likely already telling through a narrative. It attracts visual learners. Anywhere from 30 to 60 percent of people learn best visually. And it provides answers for skeptics who demand to see data. They might well be moved by a well-told story (and also remember that story long after they have forgotten the data), but well-presented and clear data provides analytical minds with the input they require to receive your message. Computer technology has encouraged the field of data visualization. These graphics can include bar charts, tables and maps as well as more complex and sophisticated computer-generated visualizations and animations. While an unlimited number of possibilities exist to showcase your data, a common theme among experts--and one that I adhere to--is to keep the information simple. A simple and clear chart or table will tell your story infinitely better than a complex, multi-media visual that is jam-packed with data. Even sophisticated applications can still keep the message simple. In the past few months, I've come across several resources that provide references and examples that might help you better tell your story through data. Presenting Data: In 2009, the United Nations published a fantastic guide entitled Making Data Meaningful: A Guide to Presenting Statistics. One of the many things I love about this guide is that it starts out emphasizing the importance of telling a story through narrative. It encourages writers to contemplate basic questions before creating charts or tables: who is the key audience, what is the context of the story being related, and how will the story be told. Only then does the guide suggest finding data that helps tell that story. Some of the most valuable parts of this guide are the practical suggestions for visualizing and presenting statistics. The guide cautions against becoming too enamored with the latest technology tools. It emphasizes the importance of understanding how humans perceive information in creating graphics. This guide also provides many helpful specifics - including an explanation of why statistics are often better understood in charts rather than tables. Throughout, it shows good and bad examples of tables, charts and maps. The guide also delves into animation and video techniques. This report is well worth printing out and keeping close by as you think about ways to present data most effectively. Examples of Data Effectively Presented: For inspiration about ideas to make data visually compelling, look no further than USA Today, most metropolitan newspapers or your favorite glossy magazine. Most large newspapers and magazines invest heavily in finding ways to tell their stories through eye-catching graphics. If you find a graphic you like, cut it out and start a graphics file of examples to remind you of the power of well-presented data. Other organizations are also taking the time to make their points through compelling graphics. Here is an example of a vivid representation of the U.S.'s most popular psychiatric drugs Also, Engin Erdogan, who works for the organization IDEO, (known for its smart use of design), wrote a thoughtful article on how to improve visual design. He has several examples, including one that shows the space that 60 people take up on a city block, depending on whether they drive, take a bus or ride their bicycle. Finally, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation--a data-driven foundation--has invested heavily in making data come to life. It has an infographics page on its website that provides visually appealing facts about its work. In one example, to show the rapid decrease of polio around the world since 1988, the foundation created an interactive timeline with a map of the world. For those of you on Twitter, if you search for data visualization you will find many other great examples. When you are thinking about how to tell a story of your organization or grantees, think always about ways to tell that story through data. You will reinforce your message and appeal to a broader group of those people you most want to reach. ******* If you enjoy Clear Thinking, please forward it to friends and colleagues. TO SUBSCRIBE FREE: http://clearthinkingcommunications.com/freeresources.html (c) 2009 Susan Parker, Clear Thinking Communications. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Clear Thinking ezine in whole or in part as long as you include complete attribution including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: By Susan Parker of Clear Thinking Communications. Please visit Clear Thinking Communication's web site at www.clearthinkingcommunications.com for additional tips on communications for foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses. (Make sure the link is live if placed in an ezine or in a web site). Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:02:17 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/clearthinking/.Meb/h/_clear_thinking_ezine_Five.htm [clear thinking ezine] Helping foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses make a bigger impact. From Clear Thinking Communications and Susan Parker Please share this issue with your colleagues. Word count: 908 Estimated read time: Less than 4 minutes Article: Five Steps to Translate Your Research Reports into English When I was in graduate school, I had a very proper British professor who had brilliant insights about the role of women in society. I believed that her ideas mattered and needed to be heard beyond our classroom and the obscure academic publications that she wrote for. One day after class, I beseeched her to write in a way that would reach more people. I told her that I would help--and that my goal was to get her featured in a popular magazine. She looked bewildered at my suggestion. And she never took me up on it. While I did not succeed with her, I have translated scores of evaluation and research reports into clear English--and I am convinced that there is a rich supply of groundbreaking reports and important evaluation results that many people can benefit from. But this information is often buried in dense, jargon-laden language. As a result, the work does not make the impact that it might. Foundations and other nonprofits spend millions of dollars each year commissioning research and evaluation projects that may end up on a shelf and read by no more than a few people. One reason these reports do not make an impact is that they are just too hard to get through. We have to make this important work inviting for people to read and learn about. Here are a few things I have learned that can help you reach a wider audience and disseminate your valuable information: 1. Determine the key audience that you want to reach. It is one of the most important first steps. Don't say the general public or even policymakers. That's too vague. You need to have a clear picture of the key people you really want to read this report. You also need to understand why they would care about what your research says. It's helpful if you can picture one person as you revise this report. For example, your audience could be a three-term state legislator in California who serves on an education committee. He's heard about the childhood obesity epidemic, but he has not thought much about the connection between healthy students and positive educational outcomes. Your report provides timely data that makes the case that students who are obese or come to school with chronic illnesses do not achieve as well as healthy students do. That's the information that the legislator needs to help convince him to start considering health issues in his policy work. It is critical to have a particular person in mind as you revise the report. By getting that specific about your audience, ironically, you will reach a much larger group. 2. Get the context. Most research and evaluation reports don't provide readers with enough context to make sense of the findings. You will likely need to add context to the report to make it relevant to the audience that you want to reach. In a blog post, Jim Canales, president of the James Irvine Foundation, wrote that Irvine's board members spoke of how important contextual information was in making sense of the information that the foundation shared with them (note: scroll down to read the April 22, 2010 post). You may be able to get the context through the research or evaluation proposal. Or you may need to do a little more research. 3. Read the report with the audience in mind and see what jumps out at you. What strikes you? What seems new? What's confusing? Make a note of it. Because you are not steeped in the subject yourself, you have a perspective on what could be truly interesting. 4. Talk to the person who wrote the report. This is imperative. The evaluator or researcher often writes for a particular purpose and narrow audience (sometimes just a program officer at a foundation). Because of this, she won't necessarily include some of the details that might be useful to the people you are trying to reach. Ask the researcher for her three major findings. Most researchers and evaluators write in the muddy middle, that is, they don't take a step back and report their overarching findings or themes. If the researcher is the least bit unclear, keep asking follow up questions. These conversations are fun to have. People are often clearer about their work when they just chat about it then when they write about it. And this is work they are passionate about. That passion will come out and you can convey that in the revised report. 5. Find a story to tell. It may be buried in the report or mentioned tangentially. Stories bring flesh and blood to findings. Find a story or example that illustrates each of the top three findings. These stories do not have to be long, but they need to paint a picture that accurately illustrates the key findings. For example, if a research report talks about the importance of schools working with their communities to achieve better health outcomes for students, find an example of a specific school working with its community to lower smog levels. Try some of these ideas and, unlike my graduate school professor, the insights in your research and evaluation reports will reach the large audience it deserves. If you need help translating your research or evaluation reports into English, please contact us at susan@clearthinkingcommunications.com or (802) 748-3070. We love to help organizations find the gold in their research. ******* If you enjoy Clear Thinking, please forward it to friends and colleagues. TO SUBSCRIBE FREE: http://clearthinkingcommunications.com/freeresources.html (c) 2009 Susan Parker, Clear Thinking Communications. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Clear Thinking ezine in whole or in part as long as you include complete attribution including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: By Susan Parker of Clear Thinking Communications. Please visit Clear Thinking Communication's web site at www.clearthinkingcommunications.com for additional tips on communications for foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses. (Make sure the link is live if placed in an ezine or in a web site). Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:11:08 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/clearthinking/20NGj/h/_clear_thinking_ezine_Just.htm [clear thinking ezine] Helping foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses make a bigger impact. From Clear Thinking Communications and Susan Parker Please share this issue with your colleagues. Word count: 977 Estimated read time: Less than 4 minutes Article: Just Say It Good Morning! says the extremely cheerful meteorologist on my local radio station. This is today's edition of an Eye on the Sky weather forecast! And with that, he launches into an enthusiastic and detailed account of the upcoming weather patterns. He speaks of low pressures coming from the Arctic that are colliding with high pressures from the mid-west. He talks excitedly of uncertain weather systems sliding here and wedges of cold air there. He goes on and on about developing fronts and potential storms that remain to be seen. He clearly loves his work. He is knowledgeable. But by the time he gets to the actual weather forecast several minutes later, my mind has wandered. I never actually hear what I want to know: is it going to be hot or cold, sunny or cloudy, rainy or dry? I'm as in the dark about the day's weather as when I started listening. And I'm frustrated. I sometimes feel the same frustration when I read reports, evaluations or other materials that nonprofits want to share with key audiences. Often authors don't take the time to think about the audience they are trying to reach. They are so engrossed in their own field that they don't take a step back and ask themselves What would be the most useful information for people we want to reach? What will encourage them to care about gaining this information? What's in it for them? That's too bad because these products contain worthwhile and important information that people can benefit from. And the people who produced them are often at the top of their field. While maybe not as outwardly enthusiastic as my local meteorologist, they clearly care about their work. Without careful consideration of the audience's needs before the words hit the page, the important and useful work done by researchers (and paid for by foundations and others) may end up getting fully read by only a handful of people. Here are three approaches that can help make your reports, speeches and programs immediately useful to key audiences. 1. Tell People What to Do If you have a message that encourages the audience to take action, make it clear from the beginning what you want them to do. The Ford Foundation commissioned a 2010 Census Tool Kit to encourage foundations to take action to support an accurate 2010 census count. The Kit was to provide background on the need for an accurate count and contain tools for foundations to use. But at more than 100 pages, the original tool kit needed to be cut way back--to about 15 pages. When Ford hired me to revise and shorten it, I suggested we take some other steps to make it easy for people to use. First, we needed to make sure that readers quickly grasped the actions they needed to take within the first page, and as a result, realized the value and purpose of continuing to read the tool kit information. In consultation with the Ford communications staff, I revised the report and developed three actions for foundations to take right away. We put those actions right up front, so no one would miss them. Click here for the 2010 Census Tool Kit to see what I mean. 2. Give People a Teaser Take an extra step and think about what would be interesting to your audience and what would entice them to read more. It might seem like a marketing approach or even an unnatural technique. But the ultimate goal is to help your organization's good work reach a broader audience. The Atlantic Philanthropies is fortunate to have a dynamic, interesting and funny speaker in its CEO and President, Gara LaMarche. His speeches are full of insight about working in the world of philanthropy and how to make positive change. The Atlantic regularly posts his speeches on its web site. But the first thing a visitor saw on the site was only the first sentence of his speech--which was often just simply thanking the audience for being there. This would not typically compel someone to click forward and read the rest of his speech. As part of a web redesign, Atlantic staff wanted to fix this problem. They asked me to write one-sentence blurbs for LaMarche's speeches as well as its research reports, case studies and other publications. I suggested that we make these blurbs do double duty. They could both describe the speech and highlight something interesting to entice people to read more. Here is an example: Newspaper reporters, baseball pitching scouts, and art dealers all provide models to help philanthropy find and cultivate talented program officers, said Gara LaMarche, The Atlantic Philanthropies' President and CEO, in this speech. Click here for the speech. 3. Tell People How They Will Benefit What's in it for them? Why should they take the time to read through this report or take action? If you have funded or offer a program that will help people, don't be shy in telling them exactly how it will help them. Spell it out. The Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), a nonprofit organization that in part works to protect the environment, needed to fill seats at a training academy it was launching in China. The academy trained mid-level manufacturing managers on environmental, health and safety compliance. ISC wanted a brochure to make the case to U.S. and Chinese companies about why they should send their busy managers to the course. It was critical to state exactly how a company and its managers would benefit from investing in this training. We listed those benefits clearly and directly in the brochure. That way, decision makers could easily recognize the importance of the training to their company and seek more information. For instance, we pointed out that manager participation could significantly reduce a company's risk of incurring hefty fines for safety violations. Saving money is always a compelling benefit. Everyone has their version of a weather forecast that they want to share. Try one of these tips to make sure that your message is one that your readers will sit up and pay attention to. Call us for help in making sure your research or program will spark the interest of your key audience. We'd love to talk with you. You can reach us at susan@clearthinkingcommunications.com or (802) 748-3070. ******* If you enjoy Clear Thinking, please forward it to friends and colleagues. TO SUBSCRIBE FREE: http://clearthinkingcommunications.com/freeresources.html (c) 2009 Susan Parker, Clear Thinking Communications. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Clear Thinking ezine in whole or in part as long as you include complete attribution including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: By Susan Parker of Clear Thinking Communications. Please visit Clear Thinking Communication's web site at www.clearthinkingcommunications.com for additional tips on communications for foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses. (Make sure the link is live if placed in an ezine or in a web site). Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:50:05 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/clearthinking/xk4b/h/_clear_thinking_ezine_.htm [clear thinking ezine] Helping foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses make a bigger impact. From Clear Thinking Communications and Susan Parker Please share this issue with your colleagues. Word count: 977 Estimated read time: Less than 4 minutes Article: Writer's Block-3 Proven Ways to Get Through It I could feel my heart racing. I was a reporter in Guatemala at a time when the civil war was still raging. Bomb scares were part of daily life. My colleagues and I nervously entered our building every day. Yet it wasn't the violence that had my heart pounding. It was an article I was writing for the San Francisco Chronicle. I was assigned a piece on the civil rights struggle of Guatemala's indigenous people. It was 1992--the year that many people were celebrating the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival. But people who were indigenous--those who lived in Central America before people like Columbus came from Spain--saw 1492 as the shameful start of a conquest that had led to the near annihilation of their culture. Many of Guatemala's 21 indigenous groups protested in the streets. Their grievances, backgrounds and demands were as varied as the different languages they spoke and the colorful traje they wore. I needed to sum all this up in 700 words. I couldn't do it. It was too much. It was too complicated. I know that I'm not the only one who has struggled with this kind of problem. One of the reasons why it's so hard is that it's not really writer's block that's stopping us. Instead, there are often two reasons why we get blocked and they're both easy to fix: 1. It's really thinker's block. If it's hard to start writing, it's often because you haven't thought it out enough. You're not ready to write. You may not have read enough on the topic or talked to enough people. The reverse is over-thinker's block. Sometimes we see so many nuances in our work that it is difficult to step out of the weeds and convey the big picture that a general audience needs. For my indigenous rights article, it was over-thinker's block. I had immersed myself so much in the subject, I couldn't step back and think about the overarching thread that tied together much of the indigenous rights protesters: they wanted cultural and political power. 2. Fear. Writing is scary. You expose yourself to criticism. Something you write may not be perfect or convey the complexity of a situation. It's intimidating to put yourself out there where you might be disparaged by your peers or experts in the field. I feared that anything I'd write about indigenous rights would be too incomplete. I was also writing for a paper in the Bay area where many Guatemalans and activists lived. I had a tough audience who might rightly criticize my piece. After a lot of false starts, I figured out three key ways to break through my writer's block. I use these steps to this day. They can help you as well. 1. Clarify your thinking. If you don't understand the material, go back and read some more, or better yet, talk to someone who is a source for the piece--a grantee, a funder or a program officer. Make sure you feel like you really understand the subject and the purpose of the piece. Once you're sure you have a grasp of both, it is much easier to write. If you know your material too well, remember the advice of legendary 60 Minutes producer Don Hewitt: tell me a story. Tell the story of your work to someone who doesn't know anything about it. Think of a person who has been impacted by your work and write that story. This happened, and this happened, and this is how we helped and then they still had this problem and this is what we did. Even if you don't end up using the story, the process will help you clarify the key points to convey when writing about a complicated program. If your topic doesn't lend itself to that kind of story, then do this: write a headline for your work. What is the one key point that you want to make? Then think of an example that illustrates that point. Do this for up to three key points. Always find an example that illustrates each point. 2. Write non-stop for 30 minutes. Once you've clarified your thinking, it's time to jump in. Use a timer and set it for 30 minutes. Then close the door and write non-stop until the timer goes off. For me, I don't care how bad it is at first, I just write. This act seems to unblock something and get the process moving. I am also too busy writing to remember to be scared that someone is going to read it. The first draft may not be much good, but it's a start. That's often what you need to get past writer's block. You'll probably see something you like and then you can build on it. 3. Step away--and then come back. After you've written for 30 minutes, take a short break to stretch, and then set the timer and go again. If you keep at this for 90 minutes, you'll have something solid to work with. The timer keeps you focused. Then, take a walk outside. If you live in a city, walk to a park if you can. Don't take your cell phone. Just take a walk to stretch your legs and be outside. The act of walking and being in natural surroundings reactivates our brain and helps us think in new ways. Simply walking away while you are in the midst of a writing project can give you new insights on how to craft it. When you get an insight, make a beeline back to your computer and start writing again. Using these steps, I wrote my article, my editor was happy and no one tried to hunt me down for not writing the perfect piece. Try these three steps. You'll be proud of what you've written. ******* If you enjoy Clear Thinking, please forward it to friends and colleagues. TO SUBSCRIBE FREE: http://clearthinkingcommunications.com/freeresources.html (c) 2009 Susan Parker, Clear Thinking Communications. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Clear Thinking ezine in whole or in part as long as you include complete attribution including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: By Susan Parker of Clear Thinking Communications. Please visit Clear Thinking Communication's web site at www.clearthinkingcommunications.com for additional tips on communications for foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses. (Make sure the link is live if placed in an ezine or in a web site). Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:01:23 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/clearthinking/huyf/h/_clear_thinking_ezine_Why.htm [clear thinking ezine] Helping foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses make a bigger impact. From Clear Thinking Communications and Susan Parker Please pass this issue on to your colleagues. Word count:593 Estimated read time: Less than 2 minutes Article: Why Worst Practices Are Sometimes Best In the foundation and non-profit world we hear a lot about the importance of sharing and learning from best practices. I understand the instinct. Why not learn from what works, rather than what doesn't? Besides, when you talk about your organization's best practices you are subtly showing that how well it's doing. But we don't typically learn from looking at what we or others do right. Both common sense and research show us why. Think about it. When have you learned the most in your life? Has it been when you've succeeded and done well? Probably not. It's hard to learn from something that flows effortlessly--you don't really have to think about it. Mistakes, however, are likely to get your attention, particularly if they had major consequences. Research confirms our experiences. Robert Cialdini, a psychologist and author of Influence: Science and Practice, recently cited research that shows we learn best from our mistakes and the mistakes of others. In one example, he explains the results of an instructional program for firefighters. During training, some firefighters were shown case studies of best practices while others were shown examples of mistakes. The firefighters who were shown the mistakes performed better on their tests and in the field than those shown the success stories. As communicators, it is imperative that we communicate the full picture of a situation and story. That full picture is rarely completely illustrated when best practices are shared. It is also too easy for people to object to a story of a best practice and say, Well our situation is different and this can't apply to us. And the term best practices can drum up memories of attending a speech by that annoying classmate in high school who did everything right and never seemed to struggle. How can you relate? What does her experience have to do with the realities of your life and job? So what does this mean for your work? Two things: 1. If you want your staff to gain skills in an area, find examples of mistakes to share with them. Show them relevant case studies that examine major and minor screw-ups. That will get their attention. Let's face it--disasters engage us more than smooth sailing. 2. If you want to influence your field, don't just look for your organization's best practices, but try and find where your nonprofit made mistakes. That can be tricky because few people or institutions want to admit to slip ups. But at the core of what we do is the attempt to make positive change--and that does not always come easily. It's never smooth and there are bumps along the way. You need to be upfront about those bumps so they don't trip up people who might want to replicate one of your organization's programs. By talking about your own worst practices, you also show that you and your organization are approachable and don't claim to have all of the answers, though you may have some that could work for others. You show that you are open to learning from others--an important trait for large foundations and nonprofits that sometimes get the reputation for being aloof and arrogant. If you'd like some help in identifying your organization's worst and best practices as opportunities for you and your colleagues to learn from, please contact us. Through interviews and case studies, we gently find out what has worked and what hasn't in your organization or program. ******* If you enjoy Clear Thinking, please forward it to friends and colleagues. TO SUBSCRIBE FREE: http://clearthinkingcommunications.com/freeresources.html (c) 2009 Susan Parker, Clear Thinking Communications. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Clear Thinking ezine in whole or in part as long as you include complete attribution including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: By Susan Parker of Clear Thinking Communications. Please visit Clear Thinking Communication's web site at www.clearthinkingcommunications.com for additional tips on communications for foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses. (Make sure the link is live if placed in an ezine or in a web site). Fri, 15 Jan 2010 06:49:08 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/clearthinking/11Ejc/h/_clear_thinking_ezine_Great.htm [clear thinking ezine] Helping foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses make a bigger impact. From Clear Thinking Communications and Susan Parker Please pass this issue on to your colleagues. Word count: 1153 Estimated read time: About 3 minutes Article: Great Interview Tips One of the most interesting parts of my work involves talking to people about what they do. I always learn something new and in the best interviews, they seem to learn something new as well. That is, through our conversations, they find new ways to articulate their work because someone has taken the time to ask them a few good questions. I started out as a reporter and have been doing interviews for more than 30 years. I also study great interviewers. Many of you need to interview people for your work--either as a communications professional, program officer or evaluator. You can get the most out of interviews by taking these simple steps: Prepare. Read the material beforehand and come to the interview with relevant questions. It helps to put the person you are talking with at ease. It also shows him that you respect his work enough to have learned about it beforehand. I read many reports and then need to interview the people who wrote them because I still don't understand the big picture of a project or evaluation. The authors often forget to do two key things in their reports: paint the big picture and give an example that illuminates the big picture. Consider those elements when preparing questions to ask during an interview. And send the questions in advance to give people time to prepare. Never call it an interview. The word 'interview' makes people feel like they are being interrogated by Woodward and Bernstein. It can cause anxiety and stage fright. Instead, ask if you can 'chat for a few minutes,' says Merritt Engel, vice president of Merrigan and Co., a Kansas City-based agency that specializes in messaging for non-profit organizations. Be enthusiastic about the topic. It's likely that the person you are talking to is discussing something that is near and dear to her heart, possibly her life's work. If you are genuinely enthusiastic it will show and encourage people to talk more about their work. If you watch Larry King, you'll notice that he is always leaning toward his guests. He does that on purpose. If you are talking to someone on the phone, you can lean forward by showing verbal enthusiasm and interest in her work. Ask the person to summarize his key message in or two sentences. Evaluators or program directors may resist, insisting that their complicated and nuanced work cannot be reduced to one sentence. But it can and should be if it is going to reach a wide audience. Ask the best question. Hands down, for me, the best question to ask is the follow-up question. It is often a why, how do you know that, or can you give me an example kind of question. To get to the heart of the matter, you often need to go deeper and press the person you are talking with to explain a bit more. Don't let him off the hook on the first answer to your question. Almost always, to get what you need, you need to ask why three times. By asking the question a few times, you encourage the person that you're speaking with to think more deeply and clearly about the subject, which will give you better information. Ask the dumb question. That is, ask an obvious question that you may be afraid will make you look dumb. Those questions are great at getting people to explain what they do. Bring your innocence to those questions. For example, ask why those after school programs are necessary for children. Why can't kids just go home and amuse themselves like we did growing up? What do these programs really accomplish? Make the person you are talking to connect the dots and spell out why the program or research is necessary. Ask the provocative question. We all get into ruts and need to get shaken up. In a nice way, make the person defend his position. Ask something like, Could these after school programs just be expensive babysitters? Are these programs band-aids that don't address greater societal problems of poverty? How would you address concerns that foundations waste a lot of money on programs that never pan out? You may get some of your most enlightening answers from these questions. It's usually best to ask these questions toward the end of your chat when you've established a rapport with the person you are talking with. Ask the short, open-ended question. NBC host and journalist Tim Russert was a master at this. In writing about Russert's interview style, Al Tompkins of Poynteronline, said that Russert's preparation and questions made him a standard for political journalism. Tompkins wrote: Too many pundits ask long, complex, multi-pronged questions to show how smart and connected they are. Not Russert. His questions were short and direct. Ask what surprised you? That may get at the most interesting findings or results of a project. Embrace silence. Don't be afraid of pauses. Most people cannot stand silence so they will talk to fill it in. Sometimes you'll get helpful insights from waiting out a pause. Ask people to translate anything you don't understand, especially jargon. If you don't understand it, chances are the audience you are trying to reach won't either. Make sure you've received the definitions you need before you end an interview. Keep people on track. If you are interviewing an expert in the field, she may tend to go into great detail, but not the detail that you need. Or she may assume a depth of understanding you don't have and fail to explain important aspects of her work. Don't be afraid to jump in and ask more questions or steer her in the direction you want her to go. You may have only a short time and need to make the most of it. Go where the interview takes you. You should have a list of questions prepared but don't feel like you have to march through every one. If the answer to one question takes you in another direction that is helpful, follow it. It might be where you get the best nuggets. At the end of the interview ask, Is there something that I didn't ask that you think is important? Sometimes your questions won't bring out an aspect that the person you are talking to feels is important. Asking the question gives him the chance to say that. Dealing with close-mouthed people. Once in a while I'll interview someone who clearly doesn't want to be interviewed and I'll get a lot of short, monosyllabic answers. If I've done everything I've talked about earlier--been prepared, showed genuine enthusiasm and asked open-ended questions--and I still don't get far, sometimes I'll just wrap up the interview quickly. Then I'll ask him to recommend other people to talk about the topic. Not everyone gives a great interview. Most people, however, are eager to talk about their work--especially to someone who is prepared, interested and asks thoughtful questions. If you'd like to talk to us more about your interviewing needs, please get in touch with us. We regularly help our clients unearth compelling findings and clear examples of their work through our interviewing and reporting skills. ******* If you enjoy Clear Thinking, please forward it to friends and colleagues. TO SUBSCRIBE FREE: http://clearthinkingcommunications.com/freeresources.html (c) 2009 Susan Parker, Clear Thinking Communications. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Clear Thinking ezine in whole or in part as long as you include complete attribution including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: By Susan Parker of Clear Thinking Communications. Please visit Clear Thinking Communication's web site at www.clearthinkingcommunications.com for additional tips on communications for foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses. (Make sure the link is live if placed in an ezine or in a web site). Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:03:19 -0500http://archive.aweber.com/clearthinking/1fEJU/h/Correction_clear_thinking.htm [clear thinking ezine] Helping foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses make a bigger impact. From Clear Thinking Communications and Susan Parker Please pass this issue on to your colleagues. Word count: 642 Estimated read time: About 2 minutes Article: 7 Tips to Get the Most From a Conference We're in the midst of conference season. Conferences can be a great way to connect with people and come away energized by new ideas. Or they can be exhausting and leave you wondering what, exactly, you did for those two or three days. Here are 7 tips to make the most out of any conference that you attend. 1. Look at the list of people who are coming and think about who you'd like to meet. Many conferences list the attendees or at least the presenters. Pick three people, email them in advance and tell them you'd like to meet them at the conference. It's helpful to schedule a time--maybe suggest coffee or a drink. Even with smaller conferences, it can be hard to connect with people without making a plan. 2. Attend one session that you have no interest in whatsoever. Seriously. It's easy to get into a rut by going to the same old things. Our brains work better and we're more energized when we try new things, even if we're not sure we'll like them. You may gain new contacts and end up better informed. 3. Bring a new idea with you. Conferences are not just about the speakers, but what all of us have to offer. Think about one new idea or book or something that you've done or experienced that could be valuable to the rest of the attendees. Find ways to talk about it during your informal chats or bring it up in the Q and A portion of the sessions. People will remember your idea AND you. 4. Think about your sharing style and decide to mix it up. If you tend to be a big talker at conferences, make it a point to zip it for a bit and listen to others. If you tend to hang back and not say much, push yourself to speak up more. Conferences present great opportunities to strengthen your speaking and listening skills. 5. Sit with people you don't know. It is tempting to hang out with your colleagues or friends from other organizations. But you won't get nearly as much out of the meeting if you only spend time with people you already know. And, you may inadvertently form a posse that is intimidating for newcomers to break into. Those newcomers could be great contacts. 6. Step away from your mobile phone. This is true both for the sessions and the breaks. During the sessions, it's just good manners to pay attention to the speakers. And the breaks are a prime time to meet new people and re-connect with friends. If you spend a good chunk of your time at a conference checking voicemail and email, you'll miss out on some valuable connections and information. Plus, you might give the impression that you're too busy or important to interact with other conference goers. That's not great for connecting with people who might be helpful colleagues. 7. Get the most out of your investment. We need to refresh our bodies and our brains after sitting for hours, especially in stale hotels and conference centers. Make a point to go outside for a quick walk at some point during the day. You'll feel better, more alert and more able to make the most of your investment of time and money. What are your tips for making the most of conferences? Let us know and we'll share them in a revised article. Email us at susan@clearthinkingcommunications.com with your ideas. ******* If you enjoy Clear Thinking, please forward it to friends and colleagues. TO SUBSCRIBE FREE: http://clearthinkingcommunications.com/freeresources.html (c) 2009 Susan Parker, Clear Thinking Communications. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Clear Thinking ezine in whole or in part as long as you include complete attribution including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: By Susan Parker of Clear Thinking Communications. Please visit Clear Thinking Communication's web site at www.clearthinkingcommunications.com for additional tips on communications for foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses. (Make sure the link is live if placed in an ezine or in a web site). Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:44:24 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/clearthinking/1bSaU/h/_clear_thinking_ezine_7_Tips.htm [clear thinking ezine] Helping foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses make a bigger impact. From Clear Thinking Communications and Susan Parker Please pass this issue on to your colleagues. Word count: 642 Estimated read time: About 2 minutes Article: 7 Tips to Get the Most From a Conference We're in the midst of conference season. Conferences can be a great way to connect with people and come away energized by new ideas. Or they can be exhausting and leave you wonder what, exactly, you did for those two or three days. Here are 7 tips to make the most out of any conference that you attend. 1. Look at the list of people who are coming and think about who you'd like to meet. Many conferences list the attendees or at least the presenters. Pick three people, email them in advance and tell them you'd like to meet them at the conference. It's helpful to schedule a time--maybe suggest coffee or a drink. Even with smaller conferences, it can be hard to connect with people without making a plan. 2. Attend one session that you have no interest in whatsoever. Seriously. It's easy to get into a rut by going to the same old things. Our brains work better and we're more energized when we try new things, even if we're not sure we'll like them. You may gain new contacts and end up better informed. 3. Bring a new idea with you. Conferences are not just about the speakers, but what all of us have to offer. Think about one new idea or book or something that you've done or experienced that could be valuable to the rest of the attendees. Find ways to talk about it during your informal chats or bring it up in the Q and A portion of the sessions. People will remember your idea AND you. 4. Think about your sharing style and decide to mix it up. If you tend to be a big talker at conferences, make it a point to zip it for a bit and listen to others. If you tend to hang back and not say much, push yourself to speak up more. Conferences present great opportunities to strengthen your speaking and listening skills. 5. Sit with people you don't know. It is tempting to hang out with your colleaguges or friends from other organizations. But you won't get nearly as much out of the meeting if you only spend time with people you already know. And, you may inadvertently form a posse that is intimidating for newcomers to break into. Those newcomers could be great contacts. 6. Step away from your mobile phone. This is true both for the sessions and the breaks. During the sessions, it's just good manners to pay attention to the speakers. And the breaks are a prime time to meet new people and re-connect with friends. If you spend a good chunk of your time at a conference checking voicemail and email, you'll miss out on some valuable connections and information. Plus, you might give the impression that you're too busy or important to interact with other conference goers. That's not great for connecting with people who might be helpful colleagues. 7. Get the most out of your investment. We need to refresh our bodies and our brains after sitting for hours, espeically in stale hotels and conference centers. Make a point to go outside for a quick walk at some point during the day. You'll feel better, more alert and more able to make the most of your investment of time and money. What are your tips for making the most of conferences? Let us know and we'll share them in a revised article. Email us at susan@clearthinkingcommunications.com with your ideas. ******* If you enjoy Clear Thinking, please forward it to friends and colleagues. TO SUBSCRIBE FREE: http://clearthinkingcommunications.com/freeresources.html (c) 2009 Susan Parker, Clear Thinking Communications. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Clear Thinking ezine in whole or in part as long as you include complete attribution including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: By Susan Parker of Clear Thinking Communications. Please visit Clear Thinking Communication's web site at www.clearthinkingcommunications.com for additional tips on communications for foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses. (Make sure the link is live if placed in an ezine or in a web site). Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:52:14 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/clearthinking/1IpYw/h/_clear_thinking_ezine_Find.htm [clear thinking ezine] Helping foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses make a bigger impact. From Clear Thinking Communications and Susan Parker Please pass this issue on to your colleagues. Word count: 884 Estimated read time: About 2.5 minutes Article: Find the Gold in Your Research Some of my clients ask me to find the gold in their research or evaluation projects. Here's what I mean: my clients know that there is important information buried within a report but it's hard to find and decipher. That's often because researchers or evaluators haven't stepped back and done two things: (1) Determined the big theme or message of their work. (2) Found the concrete example that makes the big theme or message clear to the audience. The Ladder of Abstraction--A Bad Term for a Great Tool A tool that I often use to help get at these two important points is something called the ladder of abstraction, which was conceived by linguist S.I. Hayakawa. Journalist Roy Peter Clark uses this concept to help reporters tell better stories. The ladder of abstraction works like this: a story or program is told in an order much like the rungs of a ladder. The highest rung is the big picture--the overarching theme. The lowest rung is the concrete detail--examples that illustrate the theme and include stories of real people. The middle rungs make the connections between the top and bottom. Often researchers and evaluators get stuck in the muddy middle rungs of bureaucracy and jargon, which few people understand. Here's how Clark describes the problem in the book Telling True Stories: The world of education offers good examples of the middle of the ladder of abstraction. Participants at school board meetings never discuss critical issues such as literacy or the development of young citizens who can participate in democratic life--ideas at the top of the ladder. Nor is there discussion about the children trying with difficulty to decode the reading in Miss Gallagher's first grade classroom--the bottom of the ladder. Instead it's a world where teachers are referred to as instructional units' while the conversation is about the 'scope and sequencing of the language arts curriculum--the middle of the ladder. This description of the middle of the ladder might seem depressingly familiar. You may find that you run into this muddy middle often in the research or evaluation reports that you get on your desk. You know that these reports contain crucial insights for policymakers or other audiences. But it is hard to tease them out because the reports rarely contain the big picture thematic statement or the concrete example to make it real. Here are two examples to show what I'm talking about. Example 1: From Learning Supports to Healthy Kids in School Typical muddy middle. A research report focuses on the importance of learning supports in helping kids succeed in school. Most people will have no idea what that means. The report describes learning supports in general and makes incorrect assumptions that the audience understands this insider jargon. Top of the ladder of abstraction: The report is really about the critical importance of kids coming to school healthy and well-nourished so that they can learn. Bottom of the ladder of abstraction: A 10-year-old student who attends school in a poor neighborhood suffered from persistent asthma but had no health insurance even though he was eligible. He missed 9 days of school last year because of his uncontrolled asthma, in part because the school had mold and other triggers that exacerbated his asthma. To address the needs of this and other students--20 percent of whom were not covered by health insurance--school officials set up an on-site office at the school that began signing up uninsured kids for public health insurance. Those children began receiving regular health check-ups, missed fewer days of school and increased their test scores. The school also reduced asthma triggers by removing furry pets and food from classrooms, decreasing diesel exposures from idling school buses and inspecting for water leaks that could cause mold, which reduced absences because of uncontrolled asthma. Example 2: From RFID to Technology to Help Addicts Typical muddy middle: An evaluation report uses academic speak and describes the potential of RFID, GPS and other technology to effect short-term, cognitive behavioral changes in persistent alcoholics and other people struggling with addiction. Top of the ladder of abstraction: The report is really about how cutting-edge technology can help addicts stay sober. Bottom of the ladder of abstraction: A man named John is on probation for crimes related to his alcohol abuse. John decides to have a computer chip implanted in his arm with a GPS to monitor when he goes to a neighborhood bar or other places that put him at risk for a relapse. One night when he's feeling anxious, he drives to a bar where he used to regularly get drunk. As soon as he approaches the bar, the GPS sends a signal that notifies his probation officer where he is. The probation officer calls him and urges him to go to an AA meeting instead. Tips on using the ladder of abstraction to make the most of your research and evaluation reports: Ask researchers or evaluators for their key message in 10 words or less. Keep whittling it down to this size until it sounds real, authentic and clear to an educated layperson. You'll know. Ask for concrete example that illustrate the big picture. Make sure that it points back to the larger theme. If you'd like more help in finding the gold in your research and evaluation reports, please get in touch with us. We regularly help our clients unearth compelling findings and clear examples of those findings in their research and evaluation reports. Call us at (802) 748-3070 or email susan@clearthinkingcommunications.com to discuss your needs and ideas. ******* If you enjoy Clear Thinking, please forward it to friends and colleagues. TO SUBSCRIBE FREE: http://clearthinkingcommunications.com/freeresources.html (c) 2009 Susan Parker, Clear Thinking Communications. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Clear Thinking ezine in whole or in part as long as you include complete attribution including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: By Susan Parker of Clear Thinking Communications. Please visit Clear Thinking Communication's web site at www.clearthinkingcommunications.com for additional tips on communications for foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses. (Make sure the link is live if placed in an ezine or in a web site). Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:20:06 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/clearthinking/1TDiU/h/_clear_thinking_ezine_How_to.htm [clear thinking ezine] Helping foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses make a bigger impact. This issue: How to Make Your Web Content Shine From Clear Thinking Communications and Susan Parker Please pass this issue on to your colleagues. Word count: 737 Estimated read time: About 2.5 minutes Article: How to Make Your Web Content Shine Your web site is one of the most effective ways you can communicate your work. Thousands of people may come to your site and you can quickly and inexpensively educate them about what you do. What happens too often, though, is that your most valuable information is buried. Ultimately, people come to your web site for content. That's it. It's not the design or the easy navigation or the beautiful images. It's the content. Your visitors want to learn something, gather information or complete a task. You have to make as easy as possible for them to do that. In order to take advantage of the wonderful platform your web site offers, you need to play to its strengths. Here's what I've noticed all too frequently on the web sites of foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses that I follow: organizations hire top-rate web design firms, which put together beautiful, easy to navigate sites with strong images. So far so good. But web sites also need strong content. Often the content seems like an afterthought. Staff members dump 50 page PDF research reports into the site and think they're done. Few people are going to wade through all of that dense text on the web--it's not how users like to read content on the web. Take these two steps to make your web content shine: 1. Determine the message that you want to convey. What is the purpose of the web site? Is it to provide information for grant seekers looking for grants? Is it to position yourself as a leader in your field? Is it to show your expertise as a way of gaining clients or funding? Those are critical questions to answer. If you have a marketing plan already, draw from that. Who is your audience? Policymakers? Clients? Grantees? It is imperative to have the audience in mind as you develop content for your site. What kind of information is the audience looking for? Make sure that the content you provide is something that they want, not just something you think they should want. If you're not sure, ask them. 2. Take advantage of the strengths of web content. If you have a 50 page research report that you think is important to post on your site, then take the time to make the best use of that report. Take these steps: Put the report in a text or HTML file instead of a PDF. PDFs take too long to download. Write a headline that will grab people's attention. The headline should include the most compelling finding or information in the report. Give readers a reason to want to learn more. Think about their self-interest. What would motivate them? Determine the top three points in the report that are critical to convey. Write a short, one paragraph description of the report with those key three points in bullets. Then provide a link to the report. Distill a lengthy research report into a separate two-page executive summary that contains the essential findings. This is particularly important if your audience is policymakers who want key information quickly. Include a table of contents at the top of the larger report with hyperlinks so that people can quickly go to the sections they are most interested in. Don't make them wade through 20 pages to get to the part they really want to learn more about such as results or lessons learned. Break up paragraphs into no more than three or four sentences. If you can, re-write the first sentence of each paragraph so that it conveys the essence of the rest of the paragraph. People scan when reading the web so you want to make sure they get the gist of what you are conveying. Bold the first sentence of every paragraph to make it easy to scan. Use bulleted lists when possible to convey information. Look for jargon and re-write anything that might not be clear to a lay audience (e.g., capacity building, technical assistance or LEED Platinum certified). By taking these steps, you will make great use of material that you already have on hand. In fact, you'll make it more likely that your material will get read and used. If you would like help writing or editing your web content, please contact us at Clear Thinking Communications. We've worked with many clients to help them make their web content shine and would love to help you as well. Call us at (802) 748-3070 or email susan@clearthinkingcommunications.com to discuss your needs and ideas. ******* If you enjoy Clear Thinking, please forward it to friends and colleagues. TO SUBSCRIBE FREE: http://clearthinkingcommunications.com/freeresources.html (c) 2009 Susan Parker, Clear Thinking Communications. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Clear Thinking ezine in whole or in part as long as you include complete attribution including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: By Susan Parker of Clear Thinking Communications. Please visit Clear Thinking Communication's web site at www.clearthinkingcommunications.com for additional tips on communications for foundations, nonprofits and progressive businesses. (Make sure the link is live if placed in an ezine or in a web site). Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:39:12 -0400