Read the guide OVERVIEW and the INTRODUCTION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

A perspective on communications, with information about how to use the guide.

• FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: A biographical note about me, and a direct address to you, the reader.

• INTRODUCTION: A CASE FOR COMMUNICATIONS: The role of communications is not simply to publicize an NGO’s work, but also to build grassroots support. That means engaging people in creating a shared vision and taking action to fulfill that vision. READ the short version of the introduction.

• HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE: An overview of the guide, with pointers about how you—no matter your job role—might get the most out of it. Includes a feature on using the guide in tandem with AI, or artificial intelligence.

SECTION 1: STRATEGY AND SYSTEMS

Ways to consistently produce the best communications with the biggest impact. 

• ORIENTATION: Centering your work around a mission, vision, values, solutions, connections, and emotions. Includes features on the importance of hope and the value of listening.

• STRATEGY: Making a plan to define and fulfill your organizational goals.

• SYSTEMS: Using methods to build teamwork, create and store content, and share that content with audiences.

• ETHICS AND STANDARDS: Upholding professional rigor and your NGO’s values in communications.

• EVALUATION AND LEARNING: Measuring the impact of your communications and learning how to do better.

• EDITORIAL MISSION AND GUIDELINES: Determining what you will publish and why.

• ROLE OF THE EDITOR: Editing for the success of the team.

• MEDIA RELATIONS: Understanding where your organization's needs overlap with those of journalists.

SECTION 2: PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE WRITING

Principles to make all your writing more effective and engaging.

• PURPOSE: Writing with a goal in mind. Includes a feature on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

• PEOPLE AND ACTION: Centering your writing on people. Includes a feature on personal writing style.

• CLARITY: Writing in language that’s easy to understand and connect with.

• ORGANIZATION: Structuring your writing so that it’s easy to follow.

• ECONOMY: Using only as many words as you need.

SECTION 3: FORMS OF WRITING

The why, what, and how-to of common forms of social-impact writing.

• EMAILS AND NEWSLETTERS: Getting to the point in this most common form of writing.

• PRESS RELEASES: Identifying what is truly newsworthy about your work.

• OP-EDS AND BLOGS: Making one—and only one—persuasive point in your opinion writing.

• SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SPEAKING: Connecting personally with people in real life, rather than online.

• MESSAGES: Distilling what you want to say to its essence. Includes a feature on how to deliver messages in media interviews.

• FUNDING PROPOSALS: Clearly explaining what you hope to achieve and how you’ll do it.

• Q&As AND TESTIMONIALS: Letting people speak in their own voice.

• LISTICLES: Grabbing the reader’s attention with easy-to-read articles in the form of lists.

• VIDEO SCRIPTS: Balancing words with images and audio to get maximum impact.

• AUDIO SCRIPTS: Taking advantage of the audio medium to spark the listener’s imagination.

• PRESENTATIONS AND WEBINARS: Using presentation software to engage your audience.

• REPORTS: Sharing the impact and import of your work to gain more support.

• TOOLKITS AND GUIDES: Helping people do their jobs better by providing “how-to” resources.

• POLICY PAPERS: Providing practical insight that will inform policymaking.

• PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS: Using words to illuminate your images rather than overwhelm them.

• SOCIAL MEDIA: Using and learning from the “social” aspect of social media.

• CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS: Providing information to protect people in crisis and promote your crisis response. Includes a feature on dealing with misinformation and disinformation.

• ARTS AND CULTURE: Using creative communications to connect with audiences on many levels.

SECTION 4: STORYTELLING AND INTERVIEWING

Journeys into the lives of other people, recounted in any format.

• MEANING: Developing your “story radar” to tell stories that give audiences a way to learn, feel or connect.

• STRUCTURE: Organizing the events of your stories in a way that transports the reader.

• PEOPLE AND CONTEXT: Exploring the personal and the political by writing about people and their context.

• RESEARCH: Gathering the information necessary to write accurate and powerful stories.

• INTERVIEWS: Talking with people to learn about their experiences and perspectives.

• QUOTES FROM INTERVIEWS: Selecting the best and most representative passages from an interview to use as quotes in a story.