Reveal Course on Communication - Basic This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Level: Basic Subject: Communication Module 1: Public Speaking DU 1.1 The do´s and don´ts in public speaking as a volunteering agent REVEAL Course Communication Basic

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, Speech is power, speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. Nervousness is natural and not only to be expected, but very necessary, as even the greatest speechmakers in history will attest to. Nervousness, or butterflies in the stomach are the by-product of adrenaline, which can drive you to deliver your speech with passion. The key to conquering your fear and mastering your nervousness does not lie in famous tricks like imagining your audience naked (Winston Churchill technique) or the tot of whiskey before standing up (Churchill again actually). REVEAL Course Communication Basic Module 1: Public Speaking

Instead, your best options are the following: Be prepared and be a master of the subject Know yourself. Know your material. Know your goals. Know the room. Know the situation. Know the audience and how to connect. REVEAL Course Communication Basic Module 1: Public Speaking

Instead, your best options are: Use visual aids relevant to your topic Visualize yourself giving your speech. Concentrate on the message - not the medium. Focus on the audience, not on yourself. Start by making contact with several individuals within the audience Remember that the audience wants you to succeed and are willing you along. REVEAL Course Communication Basic Module 1: Public Speaking

Instead, your best options are: Dont draw attention to your nervousness by talking about it Don´t apologize. Open your stance and your arms Relax and smile. Turn nervousness into positive energy. Gain experience and practice Think about what you liked about your experience and what you could improve on REVEAL Course Communication Basic Module 1: Public Speaking

Level: Basic Subject: Communication Module 2: Communication with external organizations DU 2.1 The ABC of communication with external organizations for volunteering agents REVEAL Course Communication Basic

When we study "communication issues", we hear people talking about senders, receivers, messages and communication styles, but sometimes they forget about people. Our basic aim in communication is to co-operate with others. That is why communication with an external organization is vital for volunteering action and should be based on common interests. We can define external communication as "the process of planning and executing the conception of an activity (product, service, idea...), finding ways to promote dissemination and creating synergies that satisfy the goals of our NGO and of the recipients of that activity, involving them in the process. REVEAL Course Communication Basic Module 2: Communication with external organizations

External communication is concerned, therefore, with four complementary aspects: The idea or action: What do we want to communicate? The value: how important is this idea for our association and for those to whom it is directed. Why is it important to communicate that idea or action. The media: how will we spread the information, reach our targeted audience, which channels and systems are we supposed to use? How did we reach other people? The exchange: how do we establish the liaison between our audience and the "product" we offer? How can they use it? Are they participants, customers, recipients, beneficiaries? Is it consistent with what we wanted? When the exchange occurs, external communication takes place. REVEAL Course Communication Basic Module 2: Communication with external organizations

There are some aspects that we need to take into account while communicating with external organizations, this includes the following: in what context is my NGO active, what do we tell others, how do we tell it, what do we want to achieve with it, to whom are we talking, what are they actually retaining, what are the results of this communicational exchange, how do we react to those results. REVEAL Course Communication Basic Module 2: Communication with external organizations

In order to succeed in our communication with external organizations there are some guidelines that might be useful: Know your mission, vision and goals. Adapt to your target audience. Complementarity: The core idea is that we all have needs, so, state your needs for partnerships and your willingness to collaborate and listen. Communication should be based on reciprocity. Establish collaborative relationships. Adapt messages to different media. Understand the media. Respect the media. Responsiveness, be willing to exchange. Select information and dont forget the follow up. REVEAL Course Communication Basic Module 2: Communication with external organizations

Level: Basic Subject: Communication Module 3: Basic use of IT in communication DU 3.1 How to create multipurpose databases for volunteering agents REVEAL Course Communication Basic

has become an essential tool for many non-profits that need to cut costs when reaching out to donors and supporters. Considering the soaring expense of printed newsletters, and other related materials, offers a way to communicate effectively while both reducing costs and helping the environment. In addition to the large initial printing expense, many non-profits lose additional value when their paper materials become outdated and need to be discarded. offers the ability to deliver targeted digital newsletters, fundraising appeals, and other updates directly to a supporter´s inbox. This largely eliminates paper printing costs, material obsolescence, and physical storage issues. But you need a good multipurpose database to reach your communication goals. In your daily routine in volunteering you get in touch with lots of people and good contacts that might be useful for your future activities, so make sure you save and organize all these contacts, since each one of them can be used for different purposes (beneficiaries, policymakers, sponsors, media)! REVEAL Course Communication Basic Module 3: Basic use of IT in communication

A "database" can be many different things, but the one used by most of us is an address book (contact list) that includes names, addresses, addresses, phone numbers, and other pertinent information about volunteers, beneficiaries, or business contacts. Microsoft Excel is ideal for creating such a database, even though it is technically a "spreadsheet" program. Begin by typing headings into the top row, such as First Name, Last Name, and so on. Use File>Save As to name the worksheet and you will be ready to fill in the various data below the headers. One of the first tips to create an effective database for volunteering goals is to gather the name of the people and organisations that you are interested in contacting and, if available, any other information that migh be useful in the future. You can also collect contacts from your website, facebook channel, social networks, blog, forum, ing lists, newsletter recipients, fundraising events or any other events you have set up. REVEAL Course Communication Basic Module 3: Basic use of IT in communication

Your database should be divided into different types of contacts categorized in a Type field, so that you will be able to select only those that are relevant for each purpose. Make sure you personalise your contacts by adding a contact person and other useful information like their role in the organization, their area of interest as an organization. This is because you might need to check if they have actually received the information or if they are interested in collaborating, and it is always nice to establish this contact by calling people by name. Make sure you keep this information updated, since the results of your NGO depend on the effectiveness and the validity of your contacts. In this sense it is wise to send newsletters periodically, so we immediately know if contacts are still valid. REVEAL Course Communication Basic Module 3: Basic use of IT in communication

Summing up: your database should include the following information: First Name, Last Name, , telephone number (both house and work), mobile phone, address, city, zip code, state, country, time availability for contacting/collaborating, organization (Note: An organization might use a consultant, have more than one physical address, have more than one contact person, will have more than one "type" associated to it.), role in the organization, area of interest,type of contact (volunteers, media, beneficiary, policymaker, institution, donors, clients, provider, supporters…), priority (this is more an internal issue but gives you a ranking of the most effective contacts.), Follow Ups (this can be either a yes or no field or an open field) and consent (whether or not your contact has given informed consent to privacy policies). At some point you will want to sort (alphabetically) the information, probably by Last Name. Click the alpha character above Last Name to highlight the column. Then click on Data>Sort. Youll be asked if you want to expand the selection to keep the other columns synchronized. Click Yes, and then choose "My Data Range Has a Header Row." Moreover, you might want to filter by types, area of interest, state, city or even priority in order to make sure that your filtered database best suits your purpose. REVEAL Course Communication Basic Module 3: Basic use of IT in communication

Thank you! This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.