Communications Skills

2. Communications Skills • Strategy • Break • Attention • Break • Presentation

3. Communication Skills Phone Conference call Email Formal letter Proposal Presentation Report Newsletter • What do you do?

4. Communication Skills Boss Co-workers Grantees Vendors Membership Partners “clients” Executives • With whom do you communicate?

5. Communication Skills Status/Updates Project action Ask for help Tell what to do Invite to Request input Get funding Summarize results • For what reasons?

6. Communicate Strategically? • Outcomes! Know what you are trying to do • Audience!Translate knowledge of audience into communications tactics

7. Outcomes When communicating strategically You are never just providing information

8. Outcomes • Providing information … • Management status report (updating the boss) • Strategically delivered … • Sustain confidence • Address agenda • Gossip success • Get attention • Create opening for resource request

9. Audience, audience, audience • Audience insights • Them • You • Issue • Interests • Media habits

10. Audience, audience, audience • Need to know • What do they know about your topic? • What do they feel about your topic? • What do they think of you? • What are their expectations? • What do they need? • How will they benefit?

11. 1-Minute Communication Strategy • A tool for thinking strategically about communication • aka “thinking about what you'll say and how you'll say it”

12. 1-Minute Communication Strategy • What do you want to happen? • Who is your audience: what do they think about you and the issue you want to discuss? • What's your clearly-defined, single-minded position or issue? • Why should they believe you?

13. 1-Minute Communication Strategy • What do you want to happen? People to attend training. • Who is your audience? Co-workers, people who know me and my work. People who value learning and education. Busy people with many demands on their time. • What's your clearly-defined, single-minded position or issue? Glynis’ free training would be worth your time. • Why should they believe you? Picked for MCH Institute Have seen my skills other times Be with people they like/enjoy/learn from Free Dessert

14. 1-Minute Communication Strategy • Exercise - Collaborate on a strategy • Group against decision-maker • ID Situation: ____________________________________ • Audience research • Strategy brainstorming

15. 1-Minute Communication Strategy • What do you want to happen?

16. 1-Minute Communication Strategy • Audience Research • What do know about your topic? • What do they feel about your topic? • What do they think of you? • What are their expectations? • What do they need? • How will they benefit?

17. 1-Minute Communication Strategy • Who is the audience? • What do they think of you? • What do they think of the issue? • Where do our agendas overlap? • What strength/weakness can I leverage?

18. 1-Minute Communication Strategy • What's your clearly-defined, single-minded position or issue?

19. 1-Minute Communication Strategy • Why should they believe you?

20. Strategic Communication Skills • Break • Attention • Break • Presentation

21. Attention - How do you get it? • Job One: get read, break through • Your own “competitive environment” • Audience’s media mindset • Information overload • High standards/production values • Changing dramatically (email, www)

22. Attention - How do you get it? • Data Point: Uses and Gratification • Viewer not passive recipient; involved, active communicators • Message is always within the context of other possible influences • Media effects are based on the characteristics, motivation, selectivity and involvement of audience members • Media effects explained “in terms of the purposes, functions or uses (that is, uses and gratifications) as controlled by the choice patterns of receivers. A. Rubin, Kent State

23. Attention - How do you get it? • Applied: satisfy the audience’s need(s) • Media selection • Convention • Audience + goal + available resources • Media landscape • Medium is the message

24. Attention - How do you get it? • Media Selection - email Positives Negatives Fast Hit lots Efficient Manageable Allows for reflection Documented Intrusive Never sure User capability Privacy No verbal cues Miscommunication Documented Easily dispensed with; action required for full delivery

25. Attention • Applied: satisfy the audience’s need(s) • Email subject lines = headline • Gratify – tell what and why • Use a verb • Be descriptive • Most important words first • Consider filing and search functions • Break through!

27. Attention • Your turn! • Write two ideas for email subject lines • All copy on handout • Brainstorm possible audiences • 1-Minute Communications Strategy Program Announcement The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) have issued a Program Announcement for the fiscal year 2004 Drug-Free Communities Support Program.

28. Attention • Break • Presentation

29. Presentation • . . . matters • Audience needs/frames • Delivers a message • Rich with opportunity • Discussion and application • Speak the language • Answer their questions • Consider their mindset • Make it easy

30. Presentation • Data point: Framing • Big ideas -- shared and durable cultural models – that people use to make sense of their world. • These simplifying concepts are “triggered” by such readily available, familiar and high charged vehicles as symbols, pictures, metaphors, and messengers – the grammar of storytelling. • Once evoked, frames provide the reasoning necessary to process information and to solve problems. S. Bayles, Frameworks

31. Presentation • Applied: understand and use the audience’s frames • Applied: satisfy the audience’s need(s) • How can presentation help?

32. Presentation • Speak the language • Business-ese/Academic-ese • “leverage” “execute” • “associative” “risk and protective factors” • Enthusiasm is personal • We are excited to … • Passive Voice • Mary and Ted argued • There was an argument between … • Documentation mode • A number of opinions were expressed including dissatisfaction with report findings and concern over the lack of …

33. Presentation • Answer their questions • What is it? • Do I have time for this? • How does this impact me? • What do I have to do? • Is this an opportunity for me?

34. Presentation • Answer their questions • What is it? Relevance? • This is … • Based on your request • ID audience • Time concerns • Above the fold/in the window • Size • Executive Summary

35. Presentation • Consider their mindset • My opinion about this is … • This pleases, amuses me • I’m expecting …

36. Presentation • Consider their mindset • Lead with agenda-identification • Value of endorsement/association • Apply power of imagery • Production values

37. Presentation • Make it easy • Scanability • Page Color • Subheads • Bullets • Tables • Charts • Fonts • Spacing

38. Presentation • Original Draft vs. Revised for Audience • Evaluation criteria • Scanable • Language • Attention

39. Presentation • Exercise: Re-present email • Pick one proposed subject line • Write opening sentence • ID what can be bulleted • ID any missing information

40. Closing • Questions • Evaluation • Contact: Glynis Shea sheax011@umn.edu