Paul Revere might have gotten away with one ride through “every Middlesex village and farm.” But in modern church life, we aren’t likely to have such impact.
Two basic rules of communications are:
1. People aren’t likely to hear something the first time you tell them. To hear your message, people need to hear it multiple times — some say as many as seven times.
2. People don’t like surprises. If you want their acceptance, especially of a change, you need to “telegraph your moves.”
Here’s what I mean.
A single announcement, even of an important event, is unlikely to be heard. People tend to be overloaded with information. They are distracted. Rather than spend time and money on designing the perfect one-time announcement, plan a series of announcements that, eventually, will catch your audience’s attention.
Repetition matters more than glitz. Five brief e-mails will accomplish more than a single five-color brochure. The brochure might establish a tone and serve as a “leave behind” for the e-mails, but it is the repeated message that gets through.
A further requirement when the news contains surprise is to announce several times what is coming and why, then to announce several times that it is here and why, and then to announce several times what has been done and why, and at each stage to invite response.
A best practice of communications strategy is to have a strategy. If you are planning a change — such as a new service schedule, a staff change, or a new education program — you can’t stop with planning the new. You must plan the rollout, as well.
You can anticipate some forms that resistance will take and plan intentionally to address them. You can invite focus groups to hear your ideas and then learn from their reactions what needs to be said in a general announcement. For example, if the group says, “Sounds like an expensive program,” then address the money question up front.
Failure to communicate will undermine even the best ideas. Turnout will fail to meet expectations. Resistance will exceed expectations. People will raise trust issues. The next change will be greeted with even more skepticism.
If you want people to hear something, plan ahead to overcome their distraction, overload, and resistance.
Tom Ehrich is a writer, consultant, and leader of workshops. An Episcopal priest, he lives in Durham, N.C. The Church Wellness Project may be found at www.churchwellness.com
