It may be time to go on tour.
No, not with your acoustic guitar. With your very own self (or your spokesperson), a short and sweet presentation, and a leave behind.
Why? For the same reason everyone else goes on tour. To show your audience what you’re made of, to connect with your fans, and to make new ones.
This approach applies to projects too, more or less.
Your project, when completed, will do amazing things for its community. It’s going to right an environmental wrong, turn a beige industrial plot into a lively city block, or give kids and dogs a new place to play outside.
The catch is getting there. Your project will change traffic for three months, or block an apartment building tenants’ view of the river, or ratchet up the local sound level all summer.
And if you don’t tell them what’s going on, why, and who to talk to if things aren’t working out as planned, they may dislike your project and dislike you.
Failure to reach out to that audience can be socially inhibiting. And costly. Complaints mid-project can result in slowing and even stopping progress.
Yes, there’s your web site, and Facebook, and Twitter, and paid ads, but…sometimes, the best, most effective approach in community outreach involves genuine, direct outreach. Ask any politician/rock star.
Holding or participating in a community meeting will get you in direct contact with the people who are actively involved in their neighborhood. They’re the ones who can make – or break – your project.
Whether you hold your own meeting, or request to be on the agenda of a regular community meeting, here are a few tips to get the most out of the experience.
1. Don’t be afraid. While there may be a few strongly opinionated folks in the audience, in most cases, the majority will be neutral and curious. In fact, most will appreciate the fact that you’re drawing them into the loop early in the project’s life cycle.
2. Don’t bring your entourage. Arriving with your staff and lawyer makes it look like you’re invading the community, or are up to something that needs to be defended. Optics matter, and it rarely looks good when a van of suits pull up in front.
3. Dress sharp. But not too sharp. See how your audience will dress, and follow their fashion cues. Look approachable.
4. Get to the point. Your audience wants to know why you’re here, and what this have to do with them? In terms of messaging, they really don’t want to know how you make the donuts, or the history of donuts. They do want to know about the expansion of your parking lot, which will affect traffic on their street. A short intro is enough to launch into the talk on how this project will affect your audience.
5. Engage. Make eye contact. Talk with, not at. Hold questions until the end, but by all means, take questions. Be aware of your body language and strive for openness. Be prepared to answer hard questions, but if you don’t know the answer the something, say so, and promise to follow up.
6. Presentations can be helpful, but they can also be too long and too boring. Keep them short and to the point. Be prepared to do without if the facility doesn’t lend itself to audiovisual equipment.
7. Develop a leave-behind that includes a description of your project, a map that shows the area affected, artwork showing off the “after” effect, if possible, with a link to a web site where more information can be found. And of course, provide contact info for follow up.
8. And follow up. If someone in your audience asks a question you can’t answer, get back to them as soon as possible with an answer.
Showing up, meeting and greeting, and putting a face on your project – including the after bonus of what the community will get in the long term – will pay dividends in reduced friction. And it isn’t nearly as scary as you think it may be.