Make ’em lean in

Bootcamp Week #7: Top-Level Message

(this week’s vid)

Your answer to the question, “What does your organization do?” should make someone lean in. Actually, physically lean in. Or, depending on the listener, they might raise their eyebrows. Or tilt their head to the side while making a little ‘o’ shape with their mouth.

You get the point.

If that doesn’t happen, revisit the other points on the roadmap because you’ve either skipped one or not dug deep enough to come up with a top-level message that does justice to your cause.

Yesterday, I judged 14 teams at University of Washington’s Global Social Entrepreneurship competition (GSEC). Three of the 14 made me lean in. One of those three, Sanergy, made me lean in AND laugh. Although all three were fantastic, that’s the one I remember. That’s the one I still want to know more about.

This Week’s To-Do

Try it! Say your top-level message to as many people as possible. Start with co-workers, friends and family. Then move on to others. Keep track of who you say it to and how they respond.

Next Week

Making your message resonate with Supporting Messaging by Audience. (It’s more exciting than it sounds.)

About Claxon’s Nonprofit Messaging Bootcamp

This is week #6 of our Nonprofit Messaging Bootcamp. If you’re just joining the Bootcamp, here’s what you need to do to get started.

Do you communicate as effectively as you think?

X

Do you communicate as effectively as you think?

X