In Other Words

What is the emotional landscape of your audience? Are you speaking their language or are you creating an exclusive (or maybe even intimidating) environment? Avoid words inside your walls that don't translate outside. At Granger, we've recently tried to capture a list of words that effectively capture our vision in a way that resonates with our guests. We're evaluating context and re-thinking old ways of how we share stories. What worked two years ago, may not work today. It's in a constant state of refinement. Here's what we've got so far:

not  Intimacy ... but Connection
not  Small Group ... but Group
not  Fellowship ... but Community
not  Committee ... but Team
not  Ministry ... but Serve
not  Target Audience ... but Guest
not  Unchurched ... but Guest
not  Visitor ... but Guest
not  Ministry Fair ... but Volunteer Expo
not  Go Deeper ... but Next Step
not  Recruit ... but Invite
not  Need ... but Opportunity
not  Help ... but Support
not  Program ... but Experience
not  Commit ... but Explore
not  Missions ... but Outreach
not  Maturity... but Growth

People's hearts are consumed with the pressures of life, loneliness, sadness, fear, skepticism, pride, guilt and anger. Their filter is set to understand and comprehend based on what they are experiencing every day in pop culture. They're going to react to you with coping mechanisms. Evaluate that and be intentional and consistent with the language you're using in all of your mediums (messages, bulletins, newsletters, signage, etc.)

In other words, "Information is giving out; communication is getting through." - Dr. John C. Maxwell

Comments

[Kem Meyer]

Groups says it all; it implies smaller group. But, when you spell it out and say "small group", the extra adjective can be a barrier to our guests who don't use the term small group in their normal vocabulary. People say "that's my group". They don't say "that's my small group". Obviously, this type of stuff is subjective, but I always lean towards a minimalistic approach to copy. If you can say it with less words, then do it.

[Dana O]

Kem,

Why do you think "groups" is more effective than "small groups?"

thanks,

-Dana

[Anne Jackson]

Thanks for explaining that. I guess what I needed was context. I agree that explore a bible study and commit to a bible study - there is a much more inspiring tendency towards explore :)

But in the case of ... a marriage, per se...you get my point! :)

[Kem Meyer]

Ok, I realize I didn't finish my thought. Here's the word use in context... "Commit to a six week study on Romans" or "Explore a six week study on Romans".

[Kem Meyer]

Commit is a more intimidating word for a guest. Explore is more inspiring. That's the idea anyway. Thoughts?

[Anne Jackson]

So funny (sad funny, though!) with the bubble bath. I was wondering what the thoughts behind Commit - Explore were. At first glance, they seem very different?

Thanks,
Anne

[Kem Meyer]

Crystal,

You're so right. And, as a "recovering spin doctor" from the corporate communications industry, I'm continually re-evaluating my engrained ways of delivering a message. Now it's about creating space for authentic conversation, equipping people with resources to make decisions for next steps on their terms and leaving room for questions. We don't have to have all the answers...it's scary! And, liberating. We'll see you in a couple of weeks.

[Crystal Renaud]

Hi Kem.

This is Crystal Renaud and I work in the communications department with Anne Jackson. I love her for stumbling across your blog! True: we are so excited to be coming to LiveWire in a couple weeks. I think it will be a great experience for all of us and am so excited to learn more.

About your post: "It's in a constant state of refinement." I think that is true for many things. Like Anne wrote you a while back. After 5 years of pretty much the same thing around here. In the field of communications, nothing we were doing was "remarkable." It was good, but not inviting or drawing people in. It was definitely time for a change. So, new identity was born. A relatable identity. It looks great and is serving its new purpose, but in 2 years will it?

I think the area of communications will be in a constant state of refinement in our church. Our target is always looking for the "quick and easy and bigger and better." We have to keep up.