Less telling, more listening: the art of shared understanding in donor, beneficiary and staff communications.
My studio is my sanctuary. There’s no better day than one spent mixing color and painting. But as comfortable as the studio is, I have to venture out occasionally to try and up my game a bit. This involves traveling to workshops, where usually around eight of us paint all day for three or four days. The other painters are usually more accomplished than me, and I’m playing over my head on purpose. It’s completely exhausting, and completely worth it.
In the end, it's impossible not to compare workshops and instructors and the experience they’ve left you with. The very best don’t want you to paint like them or to follow instructions. They move from one person’s easel to the next, asking questions about your process and struggles with the subject at hand. It would be easy for them to “fix” your painting, but instead, through extremely focused dialogue, they problem-solve with you.
In more scientific terms, this is called Collaborative Troubleshooting. I see the technique applied in trauma-informed practices and interventions, especially in human services or mental health contexts. The behavioral science behind it involves Self-Determination Theory, giving people a voice in decision-making, and Cognitive Reappraisal, allowing multiple perspectives to help people constructively reinterpret challenges. And it can benefit most anything, from shared decision-making in an exam room to parenting your teenager.
But there’s one place it’s practiced too infrequently: cause communications. Nonprofits plead for help from donors. Prevention messaging attempts to threaten and scare, reinforcing the obvious and alienating their audience.
There is a better way. Here’s a look at three dialogues, and how each can benefit from collaborative troubleshooting.
1 |
Donor Communication
At some point, we’ve probably all resorted to the urgent appeal. We let the cause lead, and the more dire the beneficiary’s need, the more we tend to leverage it. However logical or true our rationale, this isn’t the most compelling ask.
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2 |
Prevention MessagingMost of us have enjoyed long careers in service of our respective causes. Please don’t let that make you a know-it-all. Traditional awareness building has a place only if the problem is new, and very few of them are new.Your audience already knows what’s dangerous. They need messaging that acknowledges their agency and intelligence. Catchy slogans don’t do that, demonstrating understanding does. You need fresh insight from primary research at least every three years, no matter how long you’ve been at the wheel. |
3 |
Internal CommsNone of us has all the answers right now, and we’re not going to have them next quarter either. Own that. We’ve been taught that leadership means decisive decision making followed by explanation. That might be ideal, but it’s not realistic right now.Foster dialogue through scenario-based communication planning or small group roundtables that identify friction points and collaborate to mitigate challenges. Think of your organization’s culture as always in motion. Facilitate communication well, and you can steer it. |
When choosing a painting workshop, I intentionally look for what makes me uncomfortable. And flailing attempts in new territory can be frustrating. But it makes coming back to the studio with some freshly acquired knowledge all the sweeter. I’m trying to think of this time similarly. We’re all being tested and pushed. Let’s emerge better for it.
Fondly,
Kevin
