1. www.com-matters.org Listen www.com-matters.org

2. Listen  Good listeners listen to understand, not to respond  Listening can take many forms: paying attention to news cycles, participating actively in social media, running regular focus groups or opinion polls, and more.  Listening also takes time. It is not something you do once, or once a year. Communicating is an active process made up of three continuous and mutually reinforcing actions. It starts with listening, but involves equal parts learning and sharing. Doing all three well requires intentionality, focus and time.

3. www.com-matters.org Listen www.com-matters.org Listen 74% Percentage of nonprofit leaders who named fundraising as a challenge to their personal and professional effectiveness in the Meyer Foundation’s Executive Director Listening Project.

4. www.com-matters.org Listen www.com-matters.org Listen 1 Organizations' rank of the importance of communication and listening skills compared to other skills.

5. www.com-matters.org Listen www.com-matters.org Listen 3000 The number of marketing messages an average American is exposed to each day.

6. www.com-matters.org Listen www.com-matters.org Listen 125-250 The number of words per minute the average listener is capable of hearing. By contrast, we think at 1000 to 3000 words per minute.

7. www.com-matters.org Listen “ “So many of the issues we work on are stuck because the dominant narrative is wrong, and that doesn't change just by doing good grantmaking that gets results. To leverage those results, to create new narratives, takes strategic communication.” COMMUNICATION LEADER Private Foundation

8. www.com-matters.org Listen “ “Persistence is a problem in the philanthropy world. For all the talk about we’re in it for the long haul, there’s a certain amount of impatience in philanthropy.” EXECUTIVE LEADER Private Foundation

9. www.com-matters.org Listen “ “Tell me one major, successful social change initiative that did not have very strong communications as part of its success.” COMMUNICATION LEADER Private Foundation

10. www.com-matters.org Listen What intentional, consistent methods for listening do you use?

11. www.com-matters.org Listen What tools do you utilize for monitoring your message?

12. www.com-matters.org Listen What listening tools can you build into your communication actions?