Kate's Voice

In these tough times, fundraising is MORE necessary and LESS likely for non-profits.  I have been spending a lot of time working on this for my various causes, and it seems appropriate to focus the last day of my journal on what I’ve observed about shaping the “ask” for more likelihood of success.  I will expand on this soon in an article here.  For now, here are some key points to remember when talking to others persuasively:

1.  You need to identify and stay focused on your intention.  Figure out what it is in advance and use it as a guideline in your communication.

2.  Your message needs to include a short story about the cause and your involvement and what you are trying to do. Your story reminds others of their own and will make them feel more connected to you.

3.  The appeal needs to be compelling.  An emotional element is important, not just the facts.

4.  Ask for the close and wait.  Learn to be comfortable with silence, and allow time for them to ask questions.

5.  Say “thank you” no matter what the answer.

In addition, it’s great to remember that people WANT to give even in difficult times…maybe especially in difficult times.  You may have to be creative and you may need to ask more people more often.  Still, people want to help if they can! You are giving them an opportunity to be the kind of person they want to be.

On this the last day of the Practical Application Journal, I hope you have learned a lot about yourself and your voice.  Since you made it this far, you deserve to do something nice for yourself.  Do it! And now go apply what you’ve learned!

“See” you next time!

Kate

Researchers have discovered that people whose voices are judged to be attractive tend to have sexual intercourse at an earlier age, have more sexual partners than those with voices rated less attractive, and are more prone to sexual infidelity. Now that’s quite interesting when you are teaching people how to use their voice more effectively and how to sound better.  This is a subject I would definitely like to explore more!!  Look for an article on this in the near future…and it could be fun for you to explore this theory yourself.  I’d love to hear about what you discover!