Communicating Your Impact
Guest Blog by Susan Hughes, Orgonomic, Associate Member of Maryland Nonprofits
If you participated in the Communicating Your Impact conversation at Maryland Nonprofits’ annual conference last November you know that many of our members are struggling to communicate the importance of their work.
First, I want to say that I was overwhelmed by the collective impact in this room alone–housing the homeless; bringing healthy food to people with life threatening illnesses; preventing child abuse; mentoring at-risk youth; and so much more.
You are amazing!
And yet, many of you are struggling to communicate your impact well.
Rebecca Teiff of Redstart Creative and I facilitated the Communicating Your Impact conversation in an effort to identify and respond to these struggles.
The clear take-away was:
Members want to learn more about:
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Articulating their mission in powerful and inspiring ways;
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Maintaining a consistent message when communicating with multiple audiences; and
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How to develop a communications plan and the discipline/accountability to follow through.
I heard the words discipline and accountability over and over and I think you are being overly hard on yourself. The truth is many of you have little time, resources, and money and it’s holding you back.
It’s an epidemic.
In the last two decades of working in nonprofit communications I’ve noticed a few things.
I now know that:
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Nonprofits are powered by dedicated and passionate people who are willing to do the jobs of three humans, while being paid less than they deserve;
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A scarcity of time, staff, and resources fuels most decisions forcing passionate people onto professional hamster wheels where they become worn out and develop lackluster communications; and
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When you’re in scarcity/survival mode, seeing your own awesomeness can be hard, and communicating it even harder.
I also know that:
When you’re awesome, communicating is easy. Awesome sells.
The only thing it takes to communicate well is a healthy dose of inspiration, the proper tools, and a commitment to change.
I talk about this topic in detail on my blog, The Superhero Action Network, where I share my best stories, advice, tools, and resources to help you communicate your awesomeness more easily so you can stand out and get noticed!
The Superhero Action Network is my personal mission to liberate passionate professionals from their lackluster communications
If you subscribe to The Superhero Action Network you will receive my weekly posts delivered straight to your inbox, as well as free resources and webinars to help you on your journey.
In appreciation of your subscription, I will send you a copy of my new e-book–Mission Mastermind: Mission Mad Libs for Busy Superheroes–your guide to writing clear, concise, and powerful mission statements on the go.
Rebecca Teiff of Redstart Creative and I are planning a workshop to address your biggest communication struggles. Do not hesitate to contact me at susan@getorgonomic.com. What do you need help with right now?
Communicating badly is a big drag. But it’s not a permanent condition. I’m here to help!
You rock. Let it be known.
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