Listen

Listen  Good listeners listen to understand, not to respond  Listening can take many forms: paying attention to news cycles, participating actively in social media, running regular focus groups or opinion polls, and more.  Listening also takes time. It is not something you do once, or once a year. Communicating is an active process made up of three continuous and mutually reinforcing actions. It starts with listening, but involves equal parts learning and sharing. Doing all three well requires intentionality, focus and time.

Listen Listen 74% Percentage of nonprofit leaders who named fundraising as a challenge to their personal and professional effectiveness in the Meyer Foundation’s Executive Director Listening Project.

Listen Listen 1 Organizations' rank of the importance of communication and listening skills compared to other skills.

Listen Listen 3000 The number of marketing messages an average American is exposed to each day.

Listen Listen The number of words per minute the average listener is capable of hearing. By contrast, we think at 1000 to 3000 words per minute.

Listen “ “So many of the issues we work on are stuck because the dominant narrative is wrong, and that doesn't change just by doing good grantmaking that gets results. To leverage those results, to create new narratives, takes strategic communication.” COMMUNICATION LEADER Private Foundation

Listen “ “Persistence is a problem in the philanthropy world. For all the talk about we’re in it for the long haul, there’s a certain amount of impatience in philanthropy.” EXECUTIVE LEADER Private Foundation

Listen “ “Tell me one major, successful social change initiative that did not have very strong communications as part of its success.” COMMUNICATION LEADER Private Foundation

Listen What intentional, consistent methods for listening do you use?

Listen What tools do you utilize for monitoring your message?

Listen What listening tools can you build into your communication actions?