This Tuesday, the 4th of August 2009, I'll be giving a talk to the NCVO Parliamentary Workers Group. The NCVO is an organisation that offers support and training to the third sector, whilst lobbying for, and representing the interests of, voluntary organisations.
The NCVO have kindly invited me to talk on how Emotional Intelligence can be used to make lobbying more effective. I've called the talk "Why politician's don't listen (and how to make them)" in a rather tongue in cheek way – of course politicians do listen, but an awful lot of people are talking to them all at once. So perhaps it might more properly be called "Why politicians may not always listen to you, what with their work load and the number of people trying to get their attention" but it seemed less catchy.
I'll be discussing how the concepts of Emotional Intelligence, particularly when applied to communications, can help us spot the flaws in some of the more traditional approaches to lobbying. I'll be looking in more detail at how some campaigns rely too much on facts and figures to do their work for them, or at the other extreme how overly emotive campaigns can be counterproductive. I'll also discuss 'building a better lobbyist' – what personal qualities are required to be a really effective lobbyist.
As part of my work with The Campaign Company (a communication consultancy that specialises in helping organisations build relationships with hard to reach groups) I was asked to create a series of short mini-lectures that explained the basics of Emotional Intelligence and how it applied to campaigning and social marketing. This is the first of them – I'll post the other videos over the course of the next couple of weeks.
These talks were done off the top of my head over the course of the afternoon, so perhaps aren't as perfectly structured as they could be… but I think they get across some useful ideas in a short amount of time.
I'll be using this blog to discuss the concept of Emotional Intelligence, particularly it's application to the third sector, business organisations and individuals.
I hope you'll find much of interest here – I'm particularly interested in critiquing the way organisations currently go about campaigning and their communication strategies. In my opinion most organisations have a great deal to learn from considering the emotional component of their communication, and seeing what they do through the lend of emotional intelligence. We live in an age where we think a great deal about getting our facts right, about ensuring we are communicating clearly, about being concise and 'catchy' in what we say… but oddly we often forget to consider the emotional context in which we are communicating – how is the person we are speaking to feeling, and how would we like them to feel? Are you wasting your time preaching to the converted, or coming on too strong to reach the uncertain? I'll be considering these issues over the next few months.
However, you'll also be seeing me posting about the more personal approach to Emotional Intelligence. The great thing about your emotional intelligence is that it is constantly increasing – as we live and learn we mature, or 'gain character', which are other ways of saying we get more emotionally intelligent. I've been very committed to personal development for many years, and during that time I've picked up a few techniques and insights which I think more people would benefit from knowing. So I'll be doing my best to share bits and pieces you may find interesting now and again. So do drop by again soon, and always feel free to leave comments.