Guest Blog: Who Do You Say You Are?

Which kind of persona does your nonprofit or small business project?

·         A stodgy businessperson in a suit and tie?

·         A healer with deep knowledge and a friendly bedside manner?

·         A data-obsessed nerd with lab goggles and a tablet (replacing the pocket protector)? 

·         A caring neighbor with a casserole and a smile?

Of course you don't actually say you are any of those things. 

But the words you choose say volumes about who you are.

When we think about organizational branding, we usually focus on design elements: logotype, color palette, typefaces, and so on.

Brand identity guides that go a little deeper specify how to talk about the organization. For example, they might say:

·         Write Organizations by Design, never OBD.

·         The people who come to us for services are clients, not recipients.

But rarely do nonprofits or solopreneurs consider how the style of their communications influences people's perception of their image or brand.

Here's how a stodgy or data-obsessed organization writes:

Specific and detailed standards were utilized in the development of XYZ Org's community outreach and identification guidelines for delivery of program services in target geographic areas.

Here's how a healing or caring organization writes:

We applied specific rules to choose the neighborhoods where we deliver our programs.

Wouldn't you rather be the healing, caring type?

Sure you would. The question is, how? 

If you have a communications director, that person should cover these bases. If you don't, here are some steps you can take:

1. If you haven't already, involve all staff and key external stakeholders in defining your organization's persona. (How to do that is a whole 'nother blog.) 
2. Identify your best communicator (BC). If you're solo, that's you. Or you might hire a communications professional.
3. Have BC write down specific guidelines about how to communicate your persona. 
4. Have BC conduct periodic training or coaching with all staff. 

Doing steps 3 and 4 might be easier than they sound. There are a lot of writing guidelines that fit almost any persona that is not "stodgy and data-obsessed." Reader-friendly language uses:

·         Short words
·         Short sentences
·         Pictures or graphics
·         Bulleted or numbered lists

A quick rule of thumb BC can share is that all outgoing communications should be written at 8th grade level or below. (This post is at 7.6.) If you're writing to low-income or immigrant people who may struggle to read English, try for 4th grade.

But I don't want to get into the weeds here. My intention was to show you how the words you use help define who you are to the outside world. 

What challenges do you face in communicating who you are? How are you addressing them?

Jan Gallagher, PhD, is a communications consultant and coach who helps nonprofits and small businesses get out the good word about their good work. See her blog and sign up for her email newsletter at https://www.JanGallagher.net/newsletter.