May 2015

Recently, we were presenting to a group of secondary-school students about the importance of communications. We explained how all too often, people tend to focus on the mechanics of an idea and pay less attention to telling people about its benefits. Communicating ineffectively is a bit like organising a party but not inviting any guests – the process and planning is important, but unless you inform people, no one will come. Effective communications are particularly vital for social enterprises, not-for-profits, community services and non-government organisations. These groups often work incredibly hard and produce great services with very little resources. However, they don’t always know how to effectively connect with the people they need to reach. So like the party with no guests, the potential social impact may not be achieved.