A Veil Through Which You Could Not See

There was a Door to which I found no Key:
There was a Veil through which I could not see:
Some little Talk awhile of Me and Thee
There seemed — and then no more of Thee and Me.
Omar Khayyam

IS ANYONE LISTENING TO YOU? 

I read JP Rangaswami’s Confused of Calcutta blog “But Miss, they’re not listening to me” the other day and something about it caught my eye. This is what he wrote: 

“Ever since I was a teenager, I have watched the traditional command-and-control structures come under increasing pressure, and a newer, more democratised structure emerge. This has happened at home, in educational establishments and at work, and has been covered extensively by many who are more qualified than me to comment.

 

More recently, I have begun to understand something else about this switch from hierarchical to networked, particularly in the context of expertise. Experts need power. Experts knew how to acquire power in the hierarchical world, in terms of the trappings needed. Trappings at home, in academia and at work. Trappings in the form of titles, letters before and after your name, size of room, number of windows. Trappings worn as necklaces and garlands and ties and medals. Trappings.

 

Some experts have found this loss of power disconcerting, and it can be amusing to watch the consequences as a result. A classic example is that of the “expert” speaker and his audience. The expert expects the audience to respect him and what he says, to listen diligently, perhaps even to take notes. To ask questions at the end, when invited to do so.

 

We don’t have audiences like that any more. Maybe they still exist, but not at the kind of conferences I attend.”

 

SPEAKING WITH A HUMAN VOICE

 

This made me think. Rangaswami’s message here involves speaking with a human voice. That means stories instead of monologues, humor instead of lecture, and description instead of pie charts. And why not laughter? It’s one of the signature melodies of human conversation. Conversations form the basis of human interaction and thanks to a technology that inspires; they speak from the heart.

 

A powerful global shift is happening. Today, people are talking with each other — hundreds of millions of them! The Internet is enabling conversations among us, something simply not possible in the era of mass media. People are discovering that they can invent fresh ways to share relevant knowledge with amazing speed. And you know what? It’s making them smarter.

 

It’s all very liberating. The shift just continues to grow because now they all can communicate in language that is direct, honest, open, natural, funny, sometimes awkward and, in some instances, even shocking. People are speaking out and to each other in a powerful new way.

 

NETWORKED WORLD CHANGING PEOPLE

 

These networked conversations are enabling new and robust forms of social organisation. It allows an exchange of knowledge to emerge. Whether providing information, expressing opinions or humorous asides, explaining, complaining, joking or sounding serious, these human voices all are open, natural, uncontrived. They are unmistakably real.

 

Participation in a world networked as it is today changes people fundamentally. They have discovered that they get far better information and support from one another. There are no secrets that stay hidden for long. Whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone. And everyone ends up telling you.

 

If you are organised as an entity in it for profit or not, if you fail to realise that the masses out there are now networked person-to-person, getting smarter as a result and deeply locked in conversation then, daunting as it may seem, you are missing out on perhaps one of the best opportunities around.

 

Organisations that do not belong to a community of discourse will, sooner or later, wither at the vine. To speak with a human voice, they must share the concerns of their communities. But learning to speak with a human voice is not a rabbit-out-of-a-hat trick because human communities are based on discourse — human speech about human concerns, theirs and yours. The community of discourse is your market.

 

TEARING YOUR VEIL

 

This may sound odd to some now but markets want to talk to you. They want to participate in the conversations going on inside your organisation. They want access to your information, your plans, strategies, outcomes and failures, your best thinking, your genuine knowledge. And much to your dismay, they won’t settle for your shiny new full-color brochure or your website artfully smudged over with eye candy but lacking any substance or anything new.

 

Ask yourself this question. Does your audience really need faceless annual reports or inflated self-indulgent jargon fed to the press? What’s that really got to do with them? If you want them to start talking to you, tell them something. Make it interesting for a change, like your stories. They’ll love that, warts and all.

 

Your audiences — donors, sponsors, stakeholders, constituents, the community you serve and just other plain folk you still don’t know have real power. They all have better things to do than worry about whether you’ll change in time to get their support. That’s only a part of their lives but it seems to be all of yours. So think about it: who needs whom? If you haven’t seen the light, some other organisation will come along that’s more attentive, more interesting, more engaging.

 

I’d say, wake up, tear the veil and start embracing the world of people and the conversations they’re in. They’ll always be around watching, but not always waiting. 

 

To learn more about what the author of this blog and his company do for nonprofits, please click on this link.

Author’s Note: The list of nonprofit organisations that Karl Quirino & Associates and his company, Convergent Digital Solutions Ltd., provide service to in New Zealand include: Animal rescue and welfare organisations, Blood Banks, Children’s Clubs, Clothing Distribution Centres, Community Learning Centres, Community Volunteer Fire Departments, Community Volunteer Search/Rescue Groups, Community Volunteer EMS Departments, Community Counseling Centres, Community Support Groups, Cultural Organisations, Crisis Support Organisations, Disaster Relief Organisations, Educational and Literacy Organisations, Food Banks, Food Distribution Organisations, Legal Services for Charities, Health and Medical Support Groups, Homeowners’ Associations and Groups, Humane/Animal Groups, Maori Organisations, Non-Profit Schools, Organ Donation Organisations, Pacific Islands and Other Ethnic Organisations, Parent/Teacher Associations or Organisations, School Extracurricular Groups and Fundraisers, Scouting Organisations and Groups, Shelters For Homeless and the Disadvantaged, Social Service Charity Organisations, Teachers’ Organisations, Treatment Centres or Support, Victims’ Support Groups, Volunteer Fire and EMS Services and Youth Sports Organisations.