Today, more than ever, animal shelters find themselves struggling to communicate effectively with advocates, volunteers, public officials, and even their own colleagues. To complicate matters further, animal shelter and rescue leaders often find themselves on the defensive, communicating from a reactive position. Some common communications mistakes include: engaging on someone else’s terms; closing off communication; oversimplifying complex subjects; getting defensive; and withholding information.
In this session, we’ll teach you how simple shifts in how we think, act, and speak can help you achieve results, win community support, and build trust. You’ll learn eight simple rules to win on the communication front every time and you’ll learn how to avoid communications traps that can make situations worse. You’ll also learn how to talk to stakeholders about complex situations and how to communicate in crisis situations. Finally, attendees will practice, using common examples.
The goal of this class is for every attendee to feel well-prepared to communicate about any subject to everyone from critics to community supporters. If you’ve been struggling to achieve healthy, productive communication with anyone inside or outside of your organization, you’ll get the help you need!
Speaker: Kristen Hassen, Outcomes Consulting
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