As a local leader, ever feel like there is a wall between you and residents or businesses? Do they struggle to figure out when meetings are? Is some of the information difficult to grasp? Do they find policy ideas overwhelmingly large?
You are experiencing a disconnect in the “Town Team.” A Town Team represents the balance of four different sections of the community. The four sections include Businesses (including nonprofits), Local Governments, Residents, and Community Influences (these are concepts such as context, places, identity, and cultures). All together, they come to form the Town Team. What are the common disconnects that local governments are having with residential engagement? What are some helpful hints and tips to improve it? Communications The Problem: “I can’t find updated information to know what’s going on.” What does it really mean? Local government bodies spend a lot of time trying to make the information they talk about available to the community. But it is difficult to have consistent communications across all the different platforms a local government may be utilizing. The Recommendation: Focus effort on platforms that are used by residents and businesses. If an online platform is no longer being effectively managed and updated, and if it is rarely used, then remove it. Too many platforms crush performance. Master the few before expanding. Focus in on multi-generational platforms such Facebook, websites, YouTube, and radio to inform the community of news and information. Time The Problem: “I don’t have time to attend a local government meeting.” What does it really mean? The normal business person spends all day in meetings or working with customers or trying to wrap up time-sensitive tasks. They are strongly disinterested in leaving work to go to yet another meeting. Residents in general have many things to squeeze in after work: shuttling children around, vet appointments, chores, connecting with family and friends. The Recommendation: Take a page from Washington DC and have a weekly conference to highlight what’s going on and what’s coming up. Post it to YouTube, Facebook, and your website. Have special meetings to engage the Town Team on special topics. Focus overly long public meetings. Keep the topics within time limits. Have a scheduled list of council/board meeting topics to be covered in the coming quarter. If you run out of time to cover a topic during a meeting, then assign a subcommittee and come back to that topic at a different time. To maximize engagement, separate meetings to inform from those for discussion and decision. The Town Team will be more involved with meetings that are straight to the point. Jargon and Presentation The Problem: “I don’t understand what is being presented.” What does this really mean? There are usually two types of misunderstanding: they do not understand the context, or they do not understand the presentation itself. The Recommendation: Watch the jargon! Jargon are words/phrases/sayings that are specific to a particular industry that may not be understood by the average citizen. Governmental policies and topics are rich sources of it. When working on a speech or presentation, use the KISS method. Keep it stupid simple and define key terms. This will ensure everyone is on the same page and reduce misunderstandings and feelings of confusion. If giving a presentation, ask a family member to review it to help ensure it is easy to understand, easy to see/read, and has a logical progression. Adding images, graphs, and quotes will help the audience tune in onto what the speaker is discussing. Controlling Context The Problem: “The topics being introduced are too much for me to understand.” What this really means? There is a separation between the information being discussed and the audience. A potential policy, ordinance, or initiative is a proposal with A LOT of hours of research, data collecting, and thought. The audience has no context for the information that has become second nature for the presenter who has been working on it for weeks, months, or years. It is the curse of knowledge! The Recommendation: Control communication context. In addition to the tips noted in the paragraph above, pause frequently to request questions. Speak slowly and really break down the main elements of the proposal in question. Take time to give the audience bite sized pieces instead of dumping the whole thing on them in one go or simply jumping to the end. Individuals who feel overwhelmed are the quickest to grumble. Generational Separation The Problem: “The council/board is all old people. They won’t like/value my ideas.” What this really means? This is a common example of clashing generational ideologies. This concept makes it hard for all individuals to feel welcome. And it limits the perspectives included in decision making. The Recommendation: Create more diversity by creating non-voting, advisory board/council members that represent a variety of perspectives and demographic groups in the community. Put them up front with the voting members to participate in deliberations. People feel most open about communicating when they feel like the governmental officials they are talking with are like them. With a balanced board, everyone will feel more represented in their thought processes. Conclusion: Deliberate development of harmony in the Town Team produces better decisions with strong support. It takes time to focus communication, define jargon, include context, and expand perspectives in the front of the room. The rewards are fewer headaches, strong alignment, and more rapid progress on initiates your community values. |
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Cobalt Community Research is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations measure, benchmark, and affordably engage communities through high-quality metrics, mobile geofencing data, surveys, and dynamic population segmentation. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help organizations thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help by calling 877.888.0209, or by emailing [email protected].
Cobalt Community Research is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations measure, benchmark, and affordably engage communities through high-quality metrics, mobile geofencing data, surveys, and dynamic population segmentation. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help organizations thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help by calling 877.888.0209, or by emailing [email protected].