Don’t “wing it” – it’s best to have a written presentation

Presentations can be career-enhancing or career-limiting moments. It is worth spending the time to prepare fully
to deliver an effective presentation.

Make sure that your presentation is written out fully so you do not forget any details. Full text also helps you from getting lost or wandering off the topic during your presentation. When preparing to write a speech, analyze the audience to which you are presenting. If the audience are not experts in the topic you have to “win them over” with your message(s). Ideally, the audience should take away three messages. Liken your presentation to a sales pitch where you are selling your organization and/or ideas. It is therefore essential to end a speech (“the tail”) on a high note with an “ask”. Think of the benefits for the person to whom you are speaking and not necessarily the benefits to yourself when you are pitching the “ask” in your presentation.

Connecting with your audience

The page setup of your text is critical to making an effective speech. Emphasize “punch words” with underlines, and place symbols beside words that will indicate when to look up at the audience. Symbols will also assist you to  pause and slowdown during your presentation. Try to maintain some eye contact with the audience and DO NOT FORGET TO SMILE!

Make eye contact with people that are listening to you by finding two or three members of the audience who are showing an interest in your remarks. Vary your tone and level of voice by “milking the meaning” of key words. Look down on the text with your eyes and not your head. This can be accomplished by setting up the page so that the text is in a large font, double-spaced and only set out on the top half of the page. The larger the room, the slower you should speak. Remind yourself to slow down by writing this in the text of your presentation.

Use pauses – they make the audience think about what you have just said and they also give the audience the opportunity to prepare for what you will say next. If you are worried about your voice, do breathing and sound exercises to relax prior to your presentation. You must have enough breath to carry through your sentences. If you are trying to squeeze words out at the end of your breath, you will look and sound nervous. Therefore take long, deep breaths before you begin your presentations. Do not overdo physical gestures and avoid fidgeting with props or paper. Be natural with your audience.

Leave room for unscripted anecdotes/stories

Include stories/ lived experiences approximately three times during a presentation. This will allow you to escape from your text as it is easier to speak without notes about something that you have done or believe in. Talk about yourself as the audience often wants to know who you are. Be personal when appropriate. Once you are feeling comfortable move away from the podium. The most appropriate time to do this is when you are about to tell a story. This is a great technique to engage your audience

“Connectors” and “The Ask”

A presentation should be no longer than 20 minutes to ensure that you maintain the audience’s attention. Your presentation should have a “top”, “body” and “tail”. Be strong off the “top” with your remarks as you are being judged within the first 10 seconds. The “top” of a speech should begin with a strong “connector” with the audience. For example, asking for a show of hands with a simple question will engage you with the audience. The “body” of your remarks will provide detailed information about your topic and the “tail” should close with “the ask”. The “ask” is not necessarily about asking for money but could include asking the audience for support of your cause. Remember that a presentation should build in momentum. Leave some powerful material to the end.

You are the message, not PowerPoint. Keep slide text to minimum

If you are using PowerPoint, keep the text in each slide to an absolute minimum – the simpler, the better. Do not use PowerPoint if your presentation is less than 10 minutes. The presenter is the centre of attention and not the slide presentation. Use diagrams and pictures only when you cannot describe the details from your text. Slide presentations also allow you to move away from the podium as you can point to the screen. This movement can help increase the audience’s attention. If you do have a lot of text on a slide, allow the audience to read it for themselves. Take a pause from your presentation while they are reading; silence can be effective. Slides can be used as a pacing device. Don’t forget to print out your slides for distribution.

The Presentation Environment

It is important to check the presentation environment prior to the delivery of a speech to ensure a proper comfort level. Check the audio-visual equipment is functional and that the lighting is effective. Ensure the room is accessible for all participants. Use a signing service to assist those with a hearing disability. Set up a room’s tables and chairs so that the speaker’s position minimizes the distance to those seated farthest away. For example, at a boardroom table, the speaker should be in the middle of the room. Do not stand in front of a window, as you will be in silhouette which obscures your face. Ensure that the podium is at your height or, if you feel comfortable, stand alone.

Be better dressed than your audience; you are the guest. However, wear comfortable clothing that you do not need to fidget or adjust. Be careful not to wear too many accessories. Remember that what distracts, detracts from your speech.

Good Resources

1. Canadian Public Speaking, Melanie Novis, Pearson Education Canada, July 2003.
2. Presentation Dynamics
3. University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies – Public Speaking and Presentation Course
4. The Presentation After the Presentation, Stephen D. Boyd, Techniques: Connecting, Education and Careers; March 2004, Vol. 79 Issue 3, p. 42-43
5. Media and Presentation Training at Media Profile
6. Are you bored with Power Point? National Speakers Bureau

Know the funding environment, and tell the story

All nonprofit organizations are dependent on external funders. Some of these funders are wise, patient and understanding. Other funders will enter into contractual arrangements with an organization to deliver defined services with specific outputs. These funders may or may not have a mandate to worry about the organization’s core capacity, and they may or may not be sympathetic to the pleas that a sustainable organization needs a stable, reliable and professional staff complement.

In any relationship, the ability to communicate effectively depends on a common, shared base of information. Employees need to know and understand the funding environment – particularly the leaders of the union. And they need to hear it from management.

Employees need to understand the challenges in managing an organization based on the disparate priorities, timetables and approaches of multiple funders. They need to know that the ability to invest in the organization’s biggest resource – the staff – can be compromised by funding arrangements. An understanding of the organization’s budget setting process is essential. If staff is engaged in this process, it is a step towards understanding the larger strategic planning and/or decision-making process.

Communications is not just about the financial circumstances of the organization. Good employee and union relations requires investment in relationship building. Depending on the size of the organization and bargaining units, this will mean different things: For example, an employee relations committee, a joint health and safety committee, a well-being committee and a recognition committee. It also includes inclusive practices and developing a shared commitment to the organization’s mission.

Remember that a benevolent social mission never – or at least, rarely – compensates for poor human resources or union relations practices

Workers in the nonprofit sector are generally proud to be working in an agency that is committed to the public good. But a mismanaged payroll or poor labour relations will strain the goodwill of even the most angelic of employees.

The people who work in the nonprofit sector must balance the social purpose of the organization against the “bread and butter” concerns of themselves and their families. Rarely do people working in the sector expect that compensation will equal opportunities that may exist in some parts of the private sector, but neither should one expect the individuals who deliver public services to subsidize the cost of delivery of public services.

There are other rewards to working in the sector. It is therefore important that these are shared with employees at every level as they can affect morale. The stories of organizational accomplishments, lives turned around, and grateful families and communities should be shared.

Recognition and genuine thanks does not replace adequate compensation, but it is a strategy for building a strong team. Management is very good at recognizing the contribution of volunteers. However recognizing employees is equally important.

One caution, beware of generational differences. Many leaders of community agencies, management and board members were involved in founding organizations, and helping them grow; they may have a stronger emotional connection to the cause than their employees. However, a young poorly paid employee, with a huge student debt, might simply resent the poor pay and benefits.

When bargaining your contract, choose negotiators very, very carefully

One may be tempted to use community board members, or if large enough of an organization to hire an external negotiator. However, negotiators with a strong personal relationship can smooth many inevitable bumps on the road of negotiating a collective agreement. It is important to have a negotiator who is experienced, understands the process and the laws and is committed to find win/win solutions.

Collective bargaining is only part of the relationship with unionized employees. The relationship will continue after the contract is resolved. Ensuring that the negotiator understands that context is extremely important. Be very careful about choosing a negotiator who does not have an ongoing stake in the smooth resolution of employee disputes and the effective implementation of the collective agreement.

One may think that the union is bringing in an outsider. But chances are that person is a union employee who will have some relationship with the local, and may even be back at the table next time. Do not assume that the union’s outside negotiator has to be matched by an outsider on management’s side.

Be prepared for external solidarity with your workers, and do not take it personally

Many trade unionists see the nonprofit sector as the next frontier in seeking justice for low-paid, vulnerable workers. Remember that the nonprofit sector is performing some functions that were formerly carried out by the public sector. Generally it has translated into lower pay and benefits for the same work that is being conducted.

The argument for moving certain services out into the public may be about community control, but if it comes with lower wages it is obvious that there will be a negative reaction. This makes the nonprofit sector a natural target for trade unionists and others who worry about the erosion of decent-paying, middle-class jobs.

Management’s job is to overcome the financial vulnerability of the organization in order to provide a public benefit; management do not see themselves as the greedy top-hatted millionaires from the Monopoly game. However, it may come as a surprise to hear them being characterized as a “management scumbag”. But the worst thing they can do is take this personally.

The reactions of well-meaning management have been so bitter that it has made bad situations worse, and led to public and private statements that are extremely unhelpful to resolving disputes and rebuilding a strong relationship between management and labour. Bite your tongue, as everyone must live with each other afterwards.

Adopt a corporate social responsibility model for looking at employee relations

The tightening of the labour market is changing the way that large private sector employers view their labour force. Increasingly, employees are identified as a key constituency for private sector communications and responsibility.

In the nonprofit sector, there are not as many resources to invest in the development, productivity, health and well being of the employees. Therefore lessons of corporate social responsibility – or CSR – cannot be directly transferred. But it remains a very sound business practice.

CSR, broadly speaking, describes a corporation’s performance in areas such as community philanthropy, environmental stewardship, and employee relations. Obviously the nonprofit sector is doing quite well in community philanthropy and reasonably well in the eco-friendly area. But the nonprofit sector can do a better job of connecting good employee practices to overall organizational effectiveness.

CSR, it must be remembered, is a business tool. The philosophy is that doing the right thing can also be a profitable strategy. In the area of employee relations, the research supports this. A federal government study found a direct link between improved labour productivity and good employment practices among private sector employers.

The nonprofit sector has work to do in developing the most important resource: a more stable, effective and healthy paid workforce. Good employee relations and good relations with the unions that often represent workers in the sector is a crucial element of this work.

Five Good Resources

1. Canadian Master Labour Guide, published annually by CCH.
2. Ontario Labour and Employment Legislation, published annually by Canada Law Book.
3. Ontario Ministry of Labour
4. Ontario Human Rights Commission
5. Canadian Labour Arbitration, by Brown and Betty 3rd edition, Canada Law Book Inc. 2003 (with periodic updates available as a service)
6. CLV Reports (Canada Labour Views Reports), newsletters reviewing Canadian wage settlements, cost of living increases, arbitrations and labour board decisions, published monthly by Carswell

What is an inclusive organization?
An inclusive organization links its parts into a cohesive whole. It employs interactive processes that support an environment with structures and systems that allow people to perform at their best. People cannot be inspired and energized with memos, mission statements, data, charts, goals, objectives, measurements, systems, and processes alone. While all these tools are important for improving performance, an organization that is inclusive has the capacity to unleash human potential, so that individual and collective creativity and innovation can flourish.

Leaders in organizations need tocrystallize their organization’s mission and a purpose for existence. They need to provide clarity that is grounded in actions and behaviours. Leaders also need to inspire, motivate and maintain an environment where everyone finds dignity, meaning, and community at work.

Think of leadership as an action, not as a position

Organizations in the 21st century need leaders who can inspire and support people to experience an inclusive community at work. Leaders often find that a worker’s fear of change is their greatest challenge in the change process. Change forces us to give up what is familiar in favour of what is unknown. Workers need to feel secure in their workplace; they need a sense of belonging, a feeling of community, and a sense of connectedness. Established core values, a well-articulated vision, and support for employees’ diversity of opinions and perspectives all help to foster the sense of inclusion. If an organization is inclusive, decision-making processes cannot be top down. It needs to be participatory. Ideas must be generated from across the organization so that each person feels that they are contributing to the process.

Understand that there is an acceptable margin of error throughout the organization at all levels. It is from this acceptable margin of error that the organization builds from its strength, lessons learned and best practices.

A truly inclusive organizatioal structure incorporates a horizontal design where processes are not standardized. In a horizontal approach open systems are used to allow individuals to be creative and to challenge them to do their work differently.

It is important to recognize the diversity of employees within the organization. For example when planning organizational activities keep in mind personal needs of workers – i.e. setting up prayer space, structuring vacation so that parents have time off, accommodating religious and cultural priorities

To achieve an inclusive organization processes should be aligned to demonstrate a sense of awareness and sensitivity to the workers. By doing this workers have a better understanding of their roles and can contribute meaningfully to the organization.

Engage your organization in real talent development

Maintaining a culture of inclusion alive in an organization requires management to engage in comprehensive processes that are transparent and inclusive (i.e. selection, organizational leadership, training, promotional practices, incentive systems, and internal networking).To build on staff talent the organization must invest in training and development. Time must be given to the staff to take advantage of this training in order to potentially become the next leaders. It is also essential to create opportunities for staff to take on additional tasks and equally important to provide coaching and mentoring opportunities for them to develop the skills to succeed with these new challenges. Engaging workers in ways that inspire and motivate them to rise to the challenge and align their personal mission with the organization mission is critical for success.

Employ a self-directed team approach

By employing a team approach leadership is diffused throughout an empowered workplace. Decentralized decision-making can contribute to efficiency as employees in an inclusive organization know they have a say in defining their work environment.

Characteristics of high-performing teams that use a self-directed approach include:

• Empowering staff to use the skills, knowledge, and talents of all team members
• Staff hold themselves accountable for optimal performance
• The organization provides recognition and appreciation for each other’s contributions
• All members of the organization develop trust and respect for each other
• As a result everyone can celebrate their successes, challenges and even failures

Know your organization’s DNA

An organization’s DNA refers to unique processes and qualities of the organization that cannot be easily replicated. Recognize the uniqueness of your organization by examining your core values, and service priorities. For example, Microskills recognizes its DNA as the high quality service it provides to its’ clients, staff, board, volunteers and all who do business with the organization. To operationalize the DNA you must know what you do best both internally and externally and align all policies, processes, behaviours and actions.

Embrace diversity as an ethical imperative, not simply as an economic advantage

If diversity is not reflected in core organizational strategies (i.e. strategic plan, human resources etc.) then it is merely “window dressing” to diversity. Diversity is about social change. It is about valuing what individuals bring to the workplace and is not simply based on ethnicity. Diversity is primarily about the ability of individuals to support organizational growth by valuing everyone’s opinions and ideas and therefore ultimately valuing the person.

Organizational change that lacks clarity, inclusiveness, transparency, and a real purpose will be ineffective. Many experts recognize that change is a long-term process, not a quick fix. For change to be successful, leaders must be prepared to invest fully in the process.

The change process impacts the entire organization, and therefore challenges are present at all levels. Certainly workers can resist change, making transformation difficult; however at the same time leaders must listen to all staff, and involve them in a meaningful way during times of change.

Five Good Resources

1. Ethics, the Heart of Leadership, Joanne B. Ciulla, Quorum Books, 1998.
2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Steven Covey, The New York, NY: Free Press, 2004.
3. Leadership is an Art, Max Depree, New York, NY: Doubleday, 2004.
4. Leading Change: The Argument for Values-Based Leadership, James O’Toole, New York, NY: Ballentine Books, 2004.
5. Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World Revised, Margaret Wheatley, San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler, 2001.

• introducing something new
• creation resulting from study and experimentation

While innovation is about creating something new, it is also about:

• transcending the traditional
• combining thoughts or ideas that have never been combined together
• turning something on its side
• thinking outside of the box

Useful social invention and innovation should have at its core: a need, problem or issue that it is addressing. It should also be aligned to a powerful vision and key guiding values. And, for the purpose of social innovation, it should have positive change as its end goal.

Innovation is also about effective action – not just having an idea. It is essential to realize the importance of rigorous feasibility and business planning plus excellence in the implementation and evaluation of a new idea.

For an idea to take root, it needs a good producer and promoter to inspire, touch, motivate, cajole, alleviate fears, shift perceptions and garner results. And that champion must be courageous and doggedly determined.

Think of your cause as a movement

The word “movement” at its essence embodies concepts such as:

• Action
• Change
• Direction
• Strength
• Dynamic energy
• The involvement of many
• Interconnectedness
• Momentum

Just the very essence of what movement implies, awakens new possibilities. A movement invites people to rally around an idea, approach or initiative. The power of many supercedes the power of a few. If we think of organizations and causes from a more active and engaging paradigm, we will awaken and animate our cause, our vision and our dreams for a better world.

Margaret Wheatley says, “We have begun to speak in earnest of more fluid, organic structures, even of boundary less organizations. We are beginning to recognize organizations as systems… no longer in this relational universe, can we study anything apart from ourselves.”

This way of thinking about interconnectedness immediately begins to awaken one’s creativity and ability to innovate. This is because you will begin to consider new partners, new markets and new entry points for your services and programs. In our complex environment, the need to create interconnections between our efforts is more essential than ever before.

There is a wonderful Ethiopian saying that states: “When spider webs are woven together, they can catch a lion.” This saying embodies the idea that we can collectively weave a web or strategy that helps us overcome our greatest, largest and most powerful challenges and problems in our work.

When you think of your cause and begin to envision it as a movement, who – and what else – do you see yourself connecting to? Where can you link to others and where do you have heightened points of influence with making change?

We are part of a system or many systems. Thinking this way challenges us to explore and examine issues with a goal to uncovering innovation and creative solutions that address broad systemic challenges. Systemic change results in powerful social change. It changes the entire spider web.

Pump up your “opportunity recognition” muscle

Recognizing opportunity and being inventive is a skill, not a character trait. There is a need to build entrepreneurial or “opportunity recognition muscle” in order to identify exciting new possibilities.

Social leaders in the face of change have honed their ability to identify opportunities and “transcend the traditional”. These leaders are often at the forefront of positive change because they focus on opportunities and minimize threats. These leaders are like warriors who stand on the battlefield and strategically assess and reassess their best plan of “attack”. They are forward thinking and acutely aware of what they have to work with in their environment. They anticipate situations and identify challenges – always along with strategies to address them.

Below are ideas to help pump up “opportunity recognition” muscle:

Monitoring Emerging Trends

Constantly monitor emerging trends. Those leaders with bulging “opportunity recognition” muscle understand the subtleties of their environment. They see what opportunities and threats exist. They constantly ask themselves what opportunities they should be maximizing in light of their strengths and weaknesses.

And they do this a variety of ways including:

• tracking trends in the media
• reading voraciously just about anything written on issues of importance
• touching down with “Mavens”
  Touching down with Mavens refers to people who accumulate knowledge. The term “Maven” was used by Malcolm Gladwell, in his book the Tipping Point – which looks at social epidemics and mass social change and shifts. According to Gladwell, Mavens are exceptional information people who see trends – they are curious and actively seek out information. They are in the know and they seem to sense what hot new trend is coming next. Are you a Maven or do you know a Maven?

Social innovators also engage a breadth of smart people and sources from different vantage points in their process in order to create a more dynamic process and result.

Studying Best Practices

There is a wealth of learning and knowledge that is already present in the nonprofit sector. Looking at what others are doing and uncovering does not only save time, it also allows one to consider new possibilities and ways of doing things. In finding a best practice, we often have to modify the idea and approach to suit our unique environment. It is in that adjusting of the idea that we come up with an even newer concept.

Assessing Risk and Risk Taking

Social innovators are very good at gauging risks. They are risk takers, but only after they have undertaken a thoughtful assessment of what a given strategy might involve. If a strategy is risky but bears exploration, smart innovators create contingency plans and alternative options. They take nothing for granted.

Remember, opportunity recognition is not a trait we are born with. We can exercise muscle and open ourselves to emerging trends, best practices and effective risk assessment strategies so that we create meaningful innovation.

Seek out and engage the unusual

If creativity is the idea of simply combining two new things together, then looking for and involving unusual elements in your work will result in invention.

What unusual suspects can I involve in my initiative or undertaking? What individuals, groups, associations, entities, companies, and bodies of people can I engage? Who might be the most unlikely group to link to my cause? Who might be the most obvious to engage and who do they have links to that I have never thought of before?

Engaging unusual people is an investment in one’s future ability to innovate. Unusual people bring different perspectives and ways of seeing things that result in even more alternative thoughts. Ultimately, unusual suspects strengthen an organization’s creative muscle.

A second way to consider the unusual is to ask yourself if there are unusual ways that you can combine two new approaches or strategies together to create a new initiative. This idea is illustrated by Mary Gordon from Roots of Empathy. As an educator, Mary worked within the school system. She also worked on early childcare and child development issues. She came up with the idea of bringing an infant baby into the classroom to teach children empathy skills. Now who would have thought that an infant could be the best teacher on the topic of empathy? But it makes sense!

A third way to look at the unusual is with using new mediums or places to promote an idea or concept. Develop creative communications and messaging strategies that build momentum for your cause.

By exploring and embracing the unusual it can lead to combining together the most intriguing and stimulating people, concepts and mediums – with far-reaching and positive results.

Create and steward learning cultures

Organizations that are learning organizations are committed to continual improvement. Everyone is encouraged to embrace the concept of continuous learning as we all have new things to learn from each other and from new ways of thinking.

The strongest leaders have an unquenchable curiosity to understand the world. They are constantly in a learning posture, as they never believe that what they know is enough. They ask everyone around them for advice and a fresh perspective. They weave ideas together from all kinds of sources never believing that they alone have the right answer.

Studies show that this “exploration” quality is a critical element of excellent leadership. It ensures that many ideas are considered before problems are solved. It also results in a humble non-arrogant approach that heightens people’s loyalty for the leader.

For example 3M and other companies, known for innovation, emphasize the importance of creating a culture where people are encouraged to experiment. In order to learn, we must be willing to make mistakes. We must be willing to learn from what does not work as much as what does work. These findings can often change our entire approach or hypothesis for our work.

As a social innovator, build your organization’s culture to innovate. Build this culture everywhere that you go. Encourage people in your organization to think productively. Ask them how many different ways they can look at a problem. How can they rethink it? And how many different ways they can think to solve the problem? Reward experimentation and challenge your peers to think outside the box or, better yet, consider changing the box.

Humour is a marvelous way to create new possibilities and uncover new ideas. A famous quote reads: “At the height of laughter, the universe is flung in a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.” When you are laughing you are not attached to anything. Your mind is wide open. It is in this place that a new idea may arise. There is a strong correlation between creativity and humour. Humour is a new, bizarre and wonderful way of looking at something.

New ideas also rise at quiet moments. Scientists report that most often their best ideas come through in moment of silence following periods of intense focus. The idea arises in an open space. They often describe the experience as if they were “inspired by the idea”.

This teaches us that there is a need for breaks away from our focused, intense work. Organizations with the strongest learning cultures work hard but they also play hard. A part of sustaining a learning organization is balance and even time away from the work.

Think to be effective – not to be right!

As linear thinking expert, Edward De Bono says, “the purpose of thinking is not to be right but to be effective.” Being effective does eventually involve being right but there is a very important difference between the two. Being right means being right all the time. Being effective means being right only at the end.

Circles represent 360 degrees from which to look at something. Looking at situations from different points around the circle will help us understand the situation better. We are more likely to develop a new paradigm or way of seeing something, which may lead to new approaches. An outrageous idea is important to consider not because it is the right idea but because it jettisons our mind along a new trajectory that results in an effective idea.

Often the best innovators and leaders work hard to protect seedling ideas because one day they will sprout up into something marvelous. We must learn to remove our egos from the thinking process and we need to eliminate our need to be right. How do we do this? It requires being able to be in a place of not knowing. It requires that we embrace uncertainty. This requires courage, adaptability and a willingness to be wrong. It also requires the need to stretch your mind and think about things differently.

There are many techniques to train your brain to think in different ways. Strategies that build your lateral thinking process help. This includes techniques like:

• reversal thinking where you train the mind to think in “reversal” – or in extremes, opposite and polarities. And while it often results in obviously wrong ideas, it leads the mind to think in other directions and therefore open up new possibilities.
• techniques to fractionalize situations – this is about how you take a problem apart – depending on how you segment the problem, you will find different ways of seeing it and solving it
• mind mapping -a whole brain activity that allows you to see the big picture in a more spatial way
• brainstorming with others and suspending judgment

The goal in the end is to find new ways to restructure ideas and patterns of information in order to provoke new ones. The more you think effectively and make space for this approach in your life and leadership style, the more it will rub off. Others will begin to value the power of effective thinking and it will be less and less important for people to be right all the time. It will become more important for people to explore issues from many vantage points so that the final idea or outcome is effective and right!

Many things start with your ideas and intention. Gandhi said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” So pay attention to your thoughts and ideas. Watch where they lead you. Maximize your brainpower and harness new ways of thinking.

Five Good Resources

1. How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, David Bornstein Oxford University Press, New York, 2004.
2. Enterprising Nonprofits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs, Gregory J, Dees, Jed Emerson and Peter Economy, Wiley Nonprofit Series, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 2001.
3. How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day, Michael J. Gelb, Bantam Dell, New York, 2004.
4. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference, Malcolm Gladwell, Back Bay Books, United States, 2002.
5. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Quarterly Journal, Center for Social Innovation. Stanford Graduate School of Business, United States

When I joined Media Profile in 2000, I did not fully understand the full range of responsibilities PR people took on. However I did know that by then they were everywhere, clogging up the fax machines with press releases, and at that time, just beginning to invade my email with their clutter.

At the same time, the work load of most reporters was increasing, in part because of emails. A reporter on average receives 70 press releases a day, press kits, notices of news conferences, etc. They file for their online editions as well as their papers or newscasts.

I realized that the PR consultants who were guaranteed success, were those who understood the environment and context in which a reporter was working in. For example, if the reporter I said great story, but the Illinois Court has just charged Conrad Black – there wasno point in wasting time that day with a pitch. But they could come back with a fresh angle at a later date.

Yesterday was a perfect example. I had a great little story about the steelworkers at Algoma Steel trying to prevent a giant hedge fund from calling a special shareholders meeting to vote on distributing the company’s very hard earned profits, instead of saving them for pension liabilities. However, at the same time I was fighting for media coverage against the General Motors closures. In the end I did succeed in getting the message out by releasing the story a bit earlier than anticipated to a select number of reporters. It was eventually covered by Canadian Press. I also was able to get the story out by using the following good ideas.

Media Relations is a very personal business

Media relations is driven by two complementary principles – client service and media relationships. The media are clients. We can not help them cover stories if we do not help them. Take an interest in what the reporter is working on, read their stories or watch the series and complement them sincerely. Everyone likes to be complemented! It is critical to have a personal and professional relationship with reporters in order to get your calls answered and your emails read.

An up-to-date database with contact information of reporters is essential. If you send material to someone who is no longer in the position, your material will be dumped and ignored. Reporters do move, but call every few months to check if an important contact is still in that same place. Mark on your database when the date you spoke or emailed the person.

Ensure your messages are relevant to the current news agenda

So much of media relations is about “hooks”. We would all like to be proactive by placing stories in the media at the time we want. But that rarely happens. A more common tale is we are combing the newspapers and listening to radio and television, the light goes on and you say, “I can help expand or build on what the reporter is talking about.” Do not simply add another quote on the same topic. For example with General Motors job losses perhaps you could develop an angle about retraining. Find a reporter that you know well and pitch the angle. Remember to match your agenda with the current news item.

Take advantage of seasonal holidays for good story ideas. Christmas is a great time to pitch stories about good deeds at home and abroad. For example, we received huge coverage a couple of years ago when the hotel and restaurant students at George Brown College made Christmas cakes for Canadian troops in Afghanistan. Small gesture – big play.

Strategize about times of the year when you can leverage what you are doing. Reporters are always looking for the next great human interest story. But when you pitch, underplay the story. Do not load on too many details.

Learn how to pitch a story

It all starts with the headline – or even more important is the subject line of the email. We just held a little event last night for the Canadian Securities Institute. On the surface it was not newsworthy – an event to get attention for the CSI Research Foundation and $200,000 in academic grants that had just been awarded. I struggled over this and then realized the obvious subject line: “Fred Ketchen invites you.” Fred is the chairman of the Research Foundation. I know very well that all business reporters know and love Fred. As a result of this subject line an astounding number of reporters showed up “for Fred”. Fred was away, he did not have a clue we had invited people that way but he was very happy with the turnout, and so was our client. The subject line sold the event.

You have to learn to write catchy, provocative, punchy, colloquial headlines that are to the point. The headline and the first paragraph are what sells the piece.

If you are approaching the media with a story idea keep in mind the following:

• Be absolutely clear about the story and the supporting facts
• Be sure who you are calling – is it the right journalist?
• Explain why your pitch is being made – why should others care?
• What is the news?
• Do not overstay your welcome. Listen to the tone and/or watch the reporter’s body language. Do not provide too many details
• Paste information into an email. Do not send attachments.

Prepare for every encounter

Before you talk to a reporter keep your main point in mind. Can you summarize your message in three lines? Rehearse your comments with colleagues. You only get one chance to make the pitch. Reporters truly appreciate the headline that is short and succinct. Remember media is a business. You have a lot of competition for readers’ time as well as their hearts and minds. Approach a pitch to reporters with three bullet points, backed up with some examples to illustrate your point. Be aware when the reporter is losing interest. If so, come back at a later date with a new angle.

Be prepared to pass on stories to reporters without immediate payback

To build a good relationship with reporters, take every opportunity to help them do their job, even if it has nothing to do with your own issue. Act as a resource by suggesting contacts who might help with other stories or directing reporters to information they might not have. And do not forget to get out there and network. Go to public events that reporters will be in attendance. Canadian Journalists for Free Expression event are a good example. Introduce yourself to reporters, chat with them and ensure you take their business cards. Do not forget to keep track of their work.

Five Good Resources

1. Enroll in a communications/media relations course on writing for press releases, advisories and speeches – www.ryerson.ca and www.impacs.org
2. Target publications should be read on a regular basis – www.prcanada.ca
3. Google to research previous work of reporter – www.google.ca
4. Spend time reading publications, checking their websites, and even calling the various desks to see who covers what issues.
5. Telephone reporters and talk to them about issues, build a rolodex of contacts saying who they are, what they do, their deadlines, how they like to receive their material

Develop a strong, clear value proposition

It is critical to illustrate your organization’s unique importance and relevance. Ensure that everyone in your organization can answer the following questions:

• what you are / what you are not
• what you do
• what your organization hopes to achieve
• who benefits from what you do and why it is important to the community
• and, who would lose if you were not funded.

Whether your proposition is designed for an elevator pitch or a longer funding proposal with depth, use plain language and a powerful explanation of why your organization is uniquely positioned to make an impact on the community you serve.

Understand your corporate partners

Know who you are soliciting – both the individual and the corporation. There is a growing importance to companies that they be seen as strategic in their community investment. Corporations are leveraging partnerships to fulfill business goals and looking for goal alignment. Companies give for many reasons:

• To be good corporate citizens – it is the right thing to do
• To create good will and good public relations – to respond to marketing interests
• To create brand value and for positioning

It is important to understand what these motivations are. Find the companies whose interests match your organization and find the people that care about what you do enough to invest in it. Tailor your message and address to the issues that they are passionate about.

In addition to the larger and more well-known corporate sponsors, don’t forget to target small to medium sized companies in your own community for potential opportunities of support.

Build support within the company

It used to be that corporate executives exchanged “asks” for their respective causes. While this model of securing support hasn’t disappeared completely, the process has been considerably broadened and professionalized. While corporate leadership is still relevant, there are increasingly more thoughtful approaches to corporate philanthropy.

Increasingly corporations are also listening to their employees. Companies want opportunities to engage employees and to be responsive to them so make sure they are talking about you! Create opportunities within your organization to engage corporate employees in your cause, for example special events and volunteer opportunities. Human resources departments have an increasingly important role in creating and permitting opportunities for employee engagement. It is critical to cultivate these internal advocates.

Cultivate employee funds

Employee funds are an important potential revenue source. These funds are pools of undesignated (and unrestricted) monies created through employee donations that are allocated to worthy causes. Companies are seeking opportunities that are relevant to their corporate interest or employee interest. While these are not officially corporate dollars, they are accessed through the corporate domain. The funds are usually not very large (i.e. $5,000) but it is still a good way to develop a relationship with the corporation. Moreover it is often possible to leverage matching corporate dollars from some employee funds.

Develop meaningful recognition and stewardship

It is important to understand what your corporate partner is looking for – recognition, stewardship, and many engagement opportunities. It is dangerous to assume you know what they are looking for. Ask them! Engage them and understand what they want from the relationship.

Ensure that you are transparent about what you can and cannot do. Do not promise what you cannot deliver, e.g. widespread media coverage. Attempt a customized approach by providing unique and meaningful recognition. Understand if there is an employee component to their recognition and stewardship needs. Consider providing content for company newsletters and opportunities for employee tours and/or volunteering.

Stewardship is complex. How you respond to, and provide information to the donor can be challenging. Statistical information on grant impact and evaluation is often difficult and does not adequately convey how a grant has impacted your organization and the community you serve. Try to communicate how lives have been changed and how communities have improved; try to bring the agency to life. Identify engagement opportunities such as volunteer opportunities, briefings on issues and speakers. Take donors on tours to agencies so they can see first hand the impact of their dollars at work.

Five Good Resources

1. Corporate Social Responsibility
   Industry Canada – Corporate Social Responsibility – Information on the benefits of CSR, case studies, tools for business as well as what the private sector and Industry Canada is doing to promote CSR. There are also links to Canadian and international sites that contain further information on CSR including The National Corporate Social Responsibility Report: Managing Risks, Leveraging Opportunities from the Conference Board of Canada.
2. Corporate Foundations
   Directory to Foundations and Corporations.
   BIG Online Canada – Directory of donors, individual, corporate and foundation.
3. Proposal Writing
   Building Foundation Partnerships: The basics of foundation fundraising and proposal writing – From Imagine Canada, free with the subscription – but not available to non-subscribers. 72-page manual. (free with membership)
   Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal – A practical Guide that provides both instructions on how to write a funding proposal with actual examples of a completed proposal
4. Regional Small Business Directories
   Toronto Business Directory 2005
   Contact Toronto 2005: An Annual Who’s Who of Top Employers and Decision Makers in the Toronto Region.

Executive directors and members of management are involved in the organization on a daily basis whereas board members usually meet once every three to four months. At meetings, board members must be brought up to date on the organization’s activities as an information “abyss” can exist and must be dealt with. The purpose of the board is to create value for the organization. How do we maximize directors’ time and value when they attend board meetings?

What information does the board need?

The chair of the board and the executive director must collaborate in advance of the meeting to carefully consider what materials are relevant for board members and to structure an agenda for the meeting. Board members must receive an agenda and relevant information needed to participate in the meeting. Often the executive director will also provide an executive summary report highlighting what has taken place within the organization from the last board meeting to the current meeting. This presentation should be approximately five minutes.

An experienced and effective chair is essential if board meetings are to be successful. To assist in the process of identifying existing board members as a potential chair, review each director’s skill sets. Do they have the right leadership skills? If you do not have a natural successor to the current board chair it is the responsibility of the organization to bring in an appropriate board member in a timely manner, and provide experience so they can become the next chair.

In order to maintain a variety of stakeholders at the board it can be mandated within the by-laws that a director must come from a particular sector. If the executive director is leaving and would like to remain engaged in the organization, it is appropriate to have a two year ‘cooling-off’ period before he/she can join the board.

An executive committee can be helpful in improving communications between the board and the executive director. Both the board chair and executive director participate in sharing information and making decisions that cannot wait between major board meetings and do not require full board approval (or can be ratified later by the board). Generally the powers of the executive committee are set out in the organization’s by-laws.

Timeliness

The majority of nonprofits’ bylaws stipulate the board should receive a certain amount of notice prior to a meeting. Most executive directors will book the board for the monthly meetings well in advance. However, often the meeting is scheduled but the information for the meeting is not provided in a timely manner. Board reports and agendas that board members need should be delivered with sufficient time for review – a minimum 72 hours in advance – ten days is preferable.

If a board member has not read the material (and it was provided in advance), the chair has to be prepared to shut down questions which have already been answered in the background material. A simple reference to the material should be enough; do not waste time answering questions that have been addressed in the report. A useful tip for the executive director is to call the directors a day in advance to make sure they have received the materials and to ask if everything is clear.

The agenda should assign specific time allocations to each agenda item. During the meeting it is the responsibility of the chair to keep the agenda on time.

To encourage board members’ engagement, one suggestion is to ask directors at the start of each meeting to comment on what they have done in the past several months to further the interest of the organization. For example did you speak to someone about the organization? Did you secure a donation? In addition management should encourage board members to visit the office of the organization to see how it is run on a daily basis or to visit a particular service or program. Ensure that the board members know the organization well. This will always improve communications.

At the end of each meeting always leave 10 minutes for an ‘in-camera’ session. An in-camera session allows the board to meet alone for discussion without the executive director and other staff members. It can become an environment where the board does not feel threatened or constrained by management. It is also an opportunity for new board members who may not feel comfortable speaking out initially.

Minutes for the in-camera session are taken separately from the main meeting’s minutes and are retained by the chair. A crucial aspect of in-camera sessions is that the chair must sit down with the executive director immediately following the meeting (or early the next morning) to relay what was discussed to ensure that the relationship between the board and the executive director is not undermined. Management should not feel disheartened by an in-camera session. Often times there will be nothing to discuss and it is simply an opportunity for board members to interact with one another. However be consistent and incorporate the session into each meeting so that it is used regularly and not only when, for example, there are difficult personnel issues to resolve or performance reviews to complete.

Use Plain English

Use plain English or the common language of the group especially when addressing technical areas. Most people do not understand jargon, so do not use it at the board level. If you must use jargon break-it down so it is understandable.

Recognize that the chair and the executive director have more information than other board members, a situation that can influence the direction of board discussion. This is known as “anchoring” – getting stuck around the information provided by the executive director chair or another board/staff member. This information may be biased in some way or may not provide sufficient context for innovative solutions. One solution is for the chair to designate a board member as a devil’s advocate.

Make use of a Consent Agenda

Minor decisions that need little to no discussion can be grouped into a “consent agenda”. The board can review these items in advance and the consent agenda can be dealt with at the beginning of the meeting, saving time for more substantive agenda items. The executive director should call board members within 24 hours of the meeting to ensure that they received the agenda/ information package and to ask if there are any questions about the items on the consent agenda.

How do you determine if the item should be on your consent agenda? One rule is the ‘ten percent’ rule – if the item impacts 10% of your budget, it should be discussed as a separate item at the board meeting, otherwise it can be on the consent agenda. Another rule to consider: if the item has a material impact on the organization, it should not be a consent item.

Record and verify the minutes asap

Once the meeting is over, draft minutes must be sent to board members within 24 hours of the meeting.
If the executive director does not receive comments back from board members within 72 hours, the draft minutes then become final.

Five Good Resources

1. BoardSource
2. Institute on Governance
3. Making Time for Good Governance, Douglas Macnamara and Banff Executive Leadership Inc., Leadership Acumen, Issue 11, August 2003.
4. The Best of Board Café, Jan Masaoka, Saint Paul, MN, Amherst H. Wilder, 2003
5. Volunteer Lawyers (Ontario)- 10 Point Legal Health Checkup for boards

abcGTA DiverseCity on Board, a Maytree project, also has number of valuable resources on board governance.

Why does social marketing matter? Your sustainability as an organization depends on it; if you are not marketing, others are. Success derives from social marketing; it is part of the social change agenda to persuade people to give you money. People are driven by social marketing. And lastly, the social good you ultimately strive for is a direct product of social marketing.

1. Break out of the mission versus money trap
For many organizations in the social sector money and mission are polarized: mission is the reason for the organization existing and money is needed. Many organizations find themselves desperate for money and compromise their mission to receive funds. The organization finds itself in the situation of ‘death by a thousand cuts’; small compromises followed by further compromises. Mission is the reason you exist but money can become the defining reality of your organization’s need. On the other hand, money will follow your mission if your organization has a good social marketing plan.

The mission must be clear and compelling. It must provide direction to those both inside and outside the organization as to why you exist. Often a mission is incomprehensible to those who were outside the process of creating the mission statement. The mission should be explicit on how your organization fits into the wider picture. What is your unique purpose in the world? Although the sector is by its nature collegial and collaborative, in fact the external reality is that competition is rampant for funding dollars, for volunteers, for publicity; a clear mission can make your organization stand out.

2. Know your markets very, very well.
There is a fundamental difference between selling and marketing. Again, quoting from Phil Kotler, “the purpose of marketing is to make selling unnecessary”. Too often an organization is transaction-oriented; once the cheque has been received, the transaction is complete. However in the long-term what is important is not the cheque, but the cultivation of the relationship with your organization. Additionally the focus is too often only on the organization and its mission; this can become narrow and limiting. Find a way to express your organization’s ideas in a way which builds a bridge between your organization and people you are trying to influence.

To understand markets it is necessary to put oneself in someone else’s shoes. Often the information we have about funders, for example, is superficial; we have to create intelligence and insight into who these people are. The best research method is to ask. People hate to be sold but they love to buy into causes and ideas that resonate for them. You have to be able to bridge their needs with your wants. There are three approaches:

• Look around at who matters; Who cares and why? What are their interests and needs and what motivates them?
• Look inside your organization at who is already there; Who are they connected to? What are their concerns?
• Look ahead at where things are going; Who are your competitors? Who are your comparable organizations? What can you learn from them?

There is an incredible amount of stoicism in the social sector; in spite of all the difficulties, organizations soldier on. This can be a limitation because often organizations have a hard time picturing success. Social marketing is based on a fundamental understanding that the transformation of reality is the name of the game and social marketing is one tool that can help you get there.

3. Brand your message
Branding is not about advertising and logos although both are used as elements of branding; it’s really about formulating a fundamental idea. There is a tendency to believe that because your organization exists, it is impressive. Every cause is good, however every issue has many players competing for attention and influence. With the resources available, there is an oversupply of nonprofit and charitable organizations. There is a tendency to blame others however social marketing emphasizes that you are in control of your destiny.

Branding builds on a fundamental vision of what the world can be with a clear mission and a distinct interpretation of your issue area. Branding imbues your ideas with purpose, promise and personality; the ‘brand bundle’. Those three ‘p’s have to be clear and meaningful to your target audience and target market. Sometimes it comes down to a slogan and a logo but not always; these are only some of the tools of branding. Social marketing attempts to shape perceptions; what people feel, what they believe and how they think are far more persuasive than what people know. To win hearts and minds, a good idea needs to be branded and your organization must reflect the branding; there cannot be a disconnect between the two.

4. Align the media with the message
Ninety per cent of your organization’s success comes from the alignment between the ideas and the media that you choose. The less money that you have, the more important the media becomes. In the charitable sector, often people are very proud of the money they don’t spend. Winning hearts and minds depends not on good works speaking for themselves, but good works being the assets that are leveraged to get people engaged with your organization.

Have a systematic approach to communications and make your message as good as you can; not flashy, but clear, strong communication. Follow the backwards planning principle about media; think about the channels that you have, the people that you can reach and make sure that the media you choose is appropriate. The automatic default used to be a brochure and a poster; then a brochure and a video; then a brochure and an internet site. It depends on what you are trying to do. Consider the full range of media tools: print, graphic, electronic and personal. Keep it clean, simple and consistent. Focus on content, not on style.

5. Invest your money wisely
The most frequent reasons why organizations don’t want to do social marketing: lack of time, lack of money and lack of perceived need. If you are in the social change field, you are by default a marketer of social ideas. You can do it unconsciously, or be deliberate.

Marketing is an essential thing to do with your resources. Often marketing funds are deleted from an organization in a budget crunch however research has shown that those companies who increased their advertising budgets in a recession were both short-term and long-term winners. Your organization’s capacity to carry out your vision over the next five years will be determined by how you spend your time and resources now. A low priority on marketing guarantees low returns and failure.

To get the biggest returns, be strategic. Create core materials that are versatile. Ensure that everyone in the organization is ‘on message’ and ‘on strategy’ all the time. Make your environment count; for example, be conscious of the first impression that your premises make. Centralize all marketing and communications to emanate from both one idea and one voice to ensure that your limited resources are working both synergistically and cumulatively.

Good Resources on Social Marketing “

Marketing Social Change Changing Behavior to Promote Health, Social Development, and the Environment (Jossey Bass Nonprofit & Public Management Series) by Alan R. Andreason

Social Marketing: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives (Advertising and Consumer Psychology) by Marvin E. Goldberg, Martin Fishbein and Susan E. Middlestadt.

Social Marketing: Improving the Quality of Life by Philip Kotler, Ned Roberto and Nancy Lee

The Art of Cause Marketing: How to Use Advertising to Change Personal Behavior and Public Policy by Richard Earle

Social Marketing by Michael Ewing

The Mission Statement Book: 301 Corporate Mission Statements from America’s Top Companies by Jeffrey Abrahams

Managing the Non-Profit Organization: Principles and Practices by Peter F. Drucker, Harper Business

Social Marketing For Business, What To Know, What To Do by Mark Sarner & Janice Nathanson