ByFrank OBrien

Recently I’ve gotten to know Richard Gordon, a really talented Irish writer. His self-narrated audio memoir is, in his words, “a true story of family, grief, and redemption.” Richard turned to writing after losing his brother, mother and father by age 25.

Richard didn’t really find his writing voice until a wise editor, Robert Roy Britt, offered some crucial advice. He told him that a writer must answer three questions: Why me? Why this? Why now? 

As you know, I’m a big advocate for nonprofit messengers learning from communicators beyond our realm. And I believe these three questions are equally compelling advice for those of us creating nonprofit messages. (Because we do most of our writing for groups, I’ve amended the first question to “Why us?”)

Why us? Why this? Why now?

Write these six words on post it notes and stick them right where you create your drafts. Why? Because answering these three questions can open the path to powerful, persuasive messaging. In today’s post, some guidelines for answering each one in a direct, unflinching manner.

Guidelines for Answering “Why Us?”

This is what I call the vehicle question. A person can believe the project you’re describing and the action you’re seeking are totally worthwhile. But that won’t get you very far if they don’t also believe you’re the right group to partner with on the project.

  • Rely on your track record. The best answer to why your group is the right fit is “Because we do things like this all the time and we do them well.”

  • Connect the dots. From inside your organization, you may instinctively understand the link between your track record and the current challenge. Don’t assume your audience does. Be explicit in helping people see the “this is right up our alley” connection.

  • Deal with “Why not them?” “Why us?” is harder to answer if there’s a “Why not them?” group in the picture. If another organization has first-one-that-comes-to-mind standing, make clear what’s unique about your strategy, particular focus, or angle of vision.

  • Combine “why us?” with “why me?” A strong answer to the “why us?” question speaks to the match between your group’s identity and the problem at hand. But people don’t engage to help you affirm your identity. They act because doing so helps them affirm their own sense of themselves as a person with strong beliefs and a commitment to acting on them. Lean into that.

Guidelines for Answering Why This? 

Next comes “why this?” How do you make the topic you’ve chosen to write about engaging for your audience? Here are a few ways to tackle that challenge:

  • Don’t issue a report, tell a story. Too many nonprofit messages read like a report on organizational activities with the audience asked to support them. Reports don’t capture peoples’ attention and energy. Stories do – especially if it’s a story you’re asking your reader to write the next chapter in.

  • Choose topics where the stakes are both high and easy to understand. Confusion is the enemy of action. If the “Why this?” topic you’ve chosen to center on is overly complex or requires too much stage setting, regroup. Find another topic or find a more approachable way to present the original one. The harder you make it to find the actionable core of your message; the less likely people are to engage.   

  • Get to the emotional heart of the topic. It’s not just about leading with emotion and backing it up with facts. You have to choose the right emotions – the ones that match the moment, your group’s personality, and that of your narrator.

Guidelines for Answering Why Now?

It didn’t used to be this hard. People used to lean into long-term relationships with groups. And they were open to making “body of work” donations – gifts grounded on a broad appreciation for the group, not necessarily driven by an immediate task at hand.

But these days, fewer people are making gifts of obligation based on a long-term group affiliation. Those have been replaced by gifts of excitement directed to groups selected for their ability to meet an immediate challenge or opportunity.

Two simple rules can help you persuasively answer the “why now?” question:

  • Communicate at a point of decision. Your message should ask your audience to intervene and shape the next chapter on a critical undertaking. So, make sure you tee up a key point of decision that is front and center at this very moment. Don’t miss the boat by sending what feels like an overall update on an ongoing project. 
  • Do the six months ago/six months from now test. Look at your message and ask yourself this: With minor edits, could it just as easily have been sent six month ago or six months from now? Messages that are timeless or deferrable have way less power.

An engaging message that only you could send and that would only make sense arriving right now. That’s the formula for a really powerful communication. And the three why questions can help you get there.

Address all three and your message will really hit home. Miss any one of them and the magic disappears.

What I like about the three whys is that it’s an easy test to apply even in the rush of getting an important message out the door. Easy to apply doesn’t suggest easy to execute. Chances are there will be one why question your first draft doesn’t nail. That’s where your challenge comes.

You can either let it slide or keep pressing until you reach the trifecta. I urge you to do the latter because, despite what Meatloaf told us, it isn’t true that “two out of three ain’t bad.”

PS: I opened this memo by drawing on the work of Richard Gordon and Robert Roy Britt.  Here’s a link to Richard’s Substack and his moving audio book Memoryland. I urge you to check it out.

https://substack.com/@richardgordonwrites?utm_source=global-search

And this is a link to Robert Roy Britt’s Substack. His newsletter routinely offers great insights on the art and craft of writing. https://substack.com/@robertroybritt?utm_source=global-search

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