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How to write an annual impact report for a small charity – part 3
Anita Holford Freelance communications practitioner at www.writing-services.co.uk Posted 5 years ago
We’re often so close to what we do, and care about it so much, that it can be difficult to communicate only what’s important. The next part of my three-part blog on How to write an annual report for a small charity focuses on key messages.
What are key messages?
Key messages are the written or spoken equivalent of your visual branding. They distil who you are, why you exist, and why people should care into short, ideally memorable, statements.
Creating these with your board/team can save time in the long-run, as it prompts helpful discussions about your organisation’s purpose and values, and help you reach agreement about how to express them.
Ideally, key messages should be:
- clear and jargon-free and really easy for anyone to understand
- concise – not too wordy and easy to remember
- consistent – people need to hear messages a number of times before they act (these are called ‘touch points’ and it’s said that you need to have 6-13 ‘touch points’ with a customer before they buy/take part/act). If these are consistent, they are reinforced
- relevant to the audience and their particular concerns, world-views, etc
- focused on the outcome – how you can help them
- appealing to people’s hearts and minds – ideally they will stir emotions and be backed by facts and evidence
- evolve as your organisation evolves – but not too often that they’re confusing
You can have main messages as well as additional messages for particular areas of work, campaigns, or audiences.
How do you create key messages?
– if you have a team member responsible for communications, you may want them to draft and then agree the messages in whatever way is suitable for the team/key people in your organisation
– you could organise a meeting, workshop or series of meetings with your team to begin the process. There are some good ideas for facilitating a workshop here https://seedsforchange.org.uk/tools.pdf
Questions to ask when developing key messages
- Who are you, what do you do, why does it matter?
- What is the problem that needs to be addressed?
- What can be done (or is being done)?
- Why is this needed now?
- What can your audience do (your call to action)?
And so …
- Vision – what is the change you’re trying to create and what would the world/our part of it look or be like once you’ve achieved it?
- Mission – how do you contribute to that change – what do you do, how, why does it matter/is it needed?
- Values – what do you believe in/stand for and how does that affect your work?
2. What do you know about your audiences and their perceptions of the issue/you?
Your key messages also need to answer the audience’s ‘so what?’ – ie explain ‘why should I care’? Think about:
- What matters to them? What are they concerned about/interested in the most, in relation to your area of work?
- What do they think, feel, know about your area of work, you, and how you can benefit them?
- What do you want them to think, feel, know? Where are the tensions/what are the gaps? You might add ‘do’ (ie a call of action) if you’re a campaigning organisation, or if your message is about a particular aspect of your work.
Final tips:
- When you start writing, just draft - don’t edit yourself or try to refine your language as you go along. You can do this afterwards as a second stage. It’s more important to focus on what you say.
- Once you’re happy, test your key messages with people from your audience groups. Ask them questions like:
- Is this easy to understand?
- Does it clearly explain why we’re here and why it matters?
- Does it make you feel positive towards us?
- Does it make you want to act?
- What could be improved?
Use the process to create a crib sheet for your team - or a video or infographic.
Is there anything else that’s missing that you’d like to know, or anything you’ve found useful to consider? Do comment in the box below.
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