Be Thankful for the Wickedly Smart

I went to an event last night that made me give thanks that the world is full of people that are much, much smarter than I am.

The law firm Fulbright & Jaworski invited me to its Clean Energy Technology Forum, where three of the country’s brightest minds (all of them from UT, by the way…Go Horns) shared their thoughts about breakthroughs in the energy technology world.

Dr. Raymond Orbach leads UT’s Energy Institute and is a former U.S. Under Secretary of Science. Dr. Sanjay Banerjee is the Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering and is a national leader in solar technology. And Dr. John Goodenough (pictured) is the Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering and is the guy that invented the solution to Sony’s “exploding laptop battery” problem a couple of years ago. So if your laptop didn’t catch fire yesterday, thank Dr. Goodenough.

I spend a lot of time helping wickedly smart people connect with “the rest of us.” With the scientific and policy groups I work with, it’s among their greatest challenges.

When it comes to presentation techniques, I often use these geniuses as “don’t” examples. And yesterday was clearly NOT a case study on the best PowerPoint techniques. To be honest, I didn’t know what the hell they were talking about half the time.

But their messages came through loud and clear, at least to me.

1. the promise of clean renewable energy is real and within our grasp,
2. the country’s best minds are hell bent on beating other countries to the punch, and
3. perhaps most important to you and me, our communication jobs are secure.

So in this week of gratitude, we in the communication field should be thankful that we’re not running the world. First of all, jobs would be much harder to come by. And second, we’d certainly be able to explain how beautiful the moon is or how important it is that we study it. But we would never have gotten there. I wouldn’t even have a laptop.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Dec 10. 1 Day. 8 Steps to Better Communication Campaigns

The most rewarding part of my work with non-profits has been conducting workshops across the country on various topics that help organizations market themselves more effectively. They’ve been remarkably well received. And there’s nothing better (for me or the audience) than making progress in one short session.

But not every group can invest a whole morning on only one topic.

So over the last year, I’ve been pulling the best of these sessions into one day long agenda that will give executive directors, communication and development staff and even board members an intensive crash course in better communication skills.

This December, I’ll be launching NPACT (Non-Profit Advocate Communication Training), a one-day training curriculum designed to equip non-profit professionals and volunteer advocates with core communication skills and techniques. It is designed for anyone that leads their organization’s communication efforts or is responsible for telling the organization’s story.

Scroll down for details about the session.

NPACT is a communication boot camp. But it is not a predictable list of “Do’s and Don’ts” of the communication field. It is not a “press release training seminar” (anyone can find that on Google).

Instead, NPACT includes in-depth training about strategic communication – not just how to do things, but why we do them, how to align them with an organization’s goals and how to use communication to further an organization’s mission.

The session agenda and other details are below. If you’re responsible for telling your organization’s story (or you know someone who is) and will be in Austin on December 10, this might be just what you need to start 2010 off on the right foot.

I’m starting small and intimate, so please email me if you’re interested.

Session Agenda
The training is a combination of instruction and workshop that will address the following areas of focus:

1. Goal, Audience and Message Mapping: Identifying what your organization is trying to accomplish, the audiences who will determine your success or failure, and the messages that hit a responsive chord

2. Messenger Identification and Training: Identifying and nurturing your most effective spokespeople

3. Storytelling as a Communication Strategy: Injecting the most effective communication tactic in human history into your communication efforts

4. Perfecting Your Pitch: Crafting the 30 minute presentation that 90% of your audiences will use to judge your business or cause (Also known as “Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes”)

5. Money, Money, Money: Marrying development and communication strategy

6. Mastering The Media: The tools and techniques every PR effort can’t do without

7. Comm.com: Embarking on social and online media

8. Communication Toolbox: Identifying and designing the communication tools that your organization needs (and can afford)

Event Details

When: Thursday, December 10, 8:30 am to 5 pm

Where: LifeWorks, 3700 South 1st, Austin, 78704

Cost: $250 per person. Lunch, snacks and materials included. Attendees will receive materials from the day’s agenda, custom planning materials, recommended reading and resource lists and a book (“Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes”).

Reservations: Reservations are required. Click here to reserve a space. I’ll reply with payment details.

Thanks. I hope to see you there.

They're Just as Bad

Non-profits are used to being told they don’t communicate as well as businesses.

So days like yesterday make the do-gooder in me smile.

I attended the Clean Energy Venture Summit in Austin, where 400 people came to watch a dozen or so clean energy start-ups make their pitches to would-be investors. It was like speed dating for money.

The good news is that there are lots of interesting companies out there who might not just save the planet, but could very well make a ton of money in the process. The bad news is that bad communication hurts businesses as much as non-profits.

The ideas were great. The pitches were dreadful. The slides were (mostly) unattractive and bullet-laden. The speed-clicks caused whiplash. Many presenters seemed unaware that humility is an attractive quality. In a couple of cases, I simply couldn’t believe that “this guy” was the best pitchman the company could have sent to Austin.

In my training sessions on communication, I talk about the “Connecting Points” presenters have with an audience. Message, Material and Messenger are among the most important. Yesterday, none of the presentations I saw scored well on all of them. The best messengers didn’t have the best messages. The best messages were carried weak spokespeople. And don’t get me started on the death-by-PowerPoint curse that so painfully permeates corporate America.

Surely, these companies carry a lot of pressure when they present to investors. But it’s no different than the pressure non-profits carry when pitching their cause to major donors.

So – non-profiters of America – don't let your corporate friends mock you. We’re not any worse than the business world at pitching our cause to an audience. Of course, that doesn’t mean we’re any better.

Get Ready. I'm Coming Back.

It's been a while. A long enough while that I'm sure you thought I was one of the 96% of blogs that go away and never come back.

Well, I went away -- to a PR firm and a political campaign -- but I'm back at Rowan Communication come October 1.

So be on the lookout for new posts. The focus will still be on non-profit communication, but I've been knee-deep in the clean energy industry for the last 18 months. So don't be surprised to see a merging of the two. While I'm ginning them up, I invite you to review some of the older posts.

About Colin Rowan

Colin Rowan has managed communication campaigns for politicians, businesses and the non-profit sector. He led national and regional communication efforts for Environmental Defense Fund, a national environmental advocacy group, where he promoted causes including endangered species preservation, air quality, ocean restoration and global warming. In the private sector, he led the technology practice at TateAustin Public Relations as a vice president and served as a partner at I&O Communications. And he’s managed the communication strategy for mayoral and congressional campaigns.

He has been quoted or has placed stories and OpEds in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, on PBS, NPR, NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight, as well as most major and mid-market Texas media outlets. He has helped position businesses and non-profits as leaders in their field and has overseen communication campaigns ranging from small, community-focused efforts to million-dollar national launches.


In 2006, he led Environmental Defense Fund’s communication campaign against TXU’s proposed coal plants in Texas, which culminated in early 2007 in a landmark environmental agreement between the organization and TXU’s prospective buyers.


Colin’s greatest strengths are designing strategic communication campaigns, crafting messages and preparing organizations and their experts for communication opportunities. He has conducted seminars on media training, presentation coaching, message development, marketing for non-profits, storytelling and branding for businesses and non-profits, including Environmental Defense Fund, the League of Conservation Voters (National), The World Resources Institute, the American Association of Public Health Laboratories, the California Housing Association, the Catholic Diocese of America, the American Dental Association and others.


In 2006 he was selected by The Climate Project to train 1,000 citizen activists to present Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" global warming slideshow in their communities. In addition to conducting the training, he has presented the slideshow in venues across Central Texas.

Words that Work -- The Book

I’m not as voracious a reader as I should be, so I’m usually reluctant to recommend books to people (“Thanks, I read that three years ago.”)

But if you’re in the communication business, you should read Frank Luntz’s Words that Work.

Yes, it pains me to agree with the man who helped Congress mislead America about global warming for the last 10 years (an anecdote that’s suspiciously absent from this book).

Yes, it hurts to admit that the inventor of “the death tax” (as opposed to “the estate tax”) understands words and communication better than almost anyone in America.

But he’s the best there is.

As with most books that claim to teach you everything you need to know, about 2/3 of the book is Luntz explaining how the first 1/3 is true by dropping famous names and bashing the morons on the left who “just don’t get it.” But the first 1/3 is worth the price. And to be honest, he’s got a point about most lefties.

Since most of you won’t give this guy your money (I understand), here’s the Cliff’s Notes version of the most instructive section: what he calls the Ten Rules of Successful Communication.

The basic theme of the book, and one that’s hammered home over and over, is “It doesn’t matter what you say, it matters what they hear.” These 10 rules, he says, will get you there.

1. Simplicity - Use small words. You’re trying to connect with your audiences, not impress them with your vocabulary. If you use a word they don’t understand, they will stop listening AND think that you’re pretentious.

2. Brevity - Use short sentences. If you can’t say it in a breath, folks won’t understand it. You may be willing to re-read your sentences to make sure you get the point, but your audience won’t.

3. Credibility Matters – as much as if not more than philosophy. I call this believability. Stephen Colbert calls it “truthiness.” It doesn’t matter if your message is true. If it sounds “unbelievable,” it won’t be believed.

4. Repetition – Consistency Matters. You will have to hammer home your message over and over before it sticks. So it better roll off your tongue (see #1 and #2).

5. Novelty – Offer something new. In product marketing, we call this “differentiation.” In politics, it’s the reason to NOT vote for the other guy. Within the non-profit world, it’s the reason someone should bother listening to you.

6. Sound – Good words sound good. I often tell clients to read their messages aloud. If they sound boring, they are. Luntz cites a lot of tag lines and product ad copy to prove his point (M&Ms melt in your mouth, quicker picker upper, etc.) But I think this makes sense for all messages. Use alliteration. Create an appealing cadence for your messages. Treat your OpEds like they are speeches.

7. Speak Aspirationally. (For the record, "Aspirationally" is his word, not mine, and seems to break rule #1, no?) No one likes a downer. (Read that again.) Aspiration is more attractive and memorable. It inspires. Focus on the promise of what could be, not how bad things are. In fact, check out a few Obama speeches. He clearly rips the current state of things, but he offers hope, promise, etc.

8. Visualize – Make them see it. Use language that conjures up mental images. One of Luntz’s favorite words is “imagine.” Tell a person to imagine something, and he will – using his favorite images and his favorite memories.

9. Ask a question. Sounds corny, but it works. It immediately engages people in a conversation whether they want to be included or not. State a fact and they look at you with a blank stare. Ask a question and people answer it.

10. Provide Context and Explain Relevance. Finally, a point I can argue with Luntz. “Relevance” is one of my Top 5 message rules, and I think that if you have to explain it, you’ve already lost the audience. The best messages are INSTANTLY relevant to audiences. If you have to explain a punch line, the joke isn’t funny. If you have to explain a message, it’s not as strong as it needs to be.

If you don’t want to give the guy any of your money (I understand), check it out at the library. Or buy a used copy here at Amazon. It really is one of those books (like Strunk & White) that should be on your office bookshelf.


For the record, progressives have a similar sage in our corner – George Lakoff, author of Don’t Think of an Elephant. Good book, but, ironically, too wordy and long.

Rowan Report Goes Back to School

I’m sure you don’t read my postings to hear about my kids, but a colleague suggested that a recent story about my daughter’s science fair project was proof that the advice I push on this blog doesn’t just apply at the workplace.

First, some background. PowerPoint is so ubiquitous that it’s permeating our education system. Now, I’m a huge fan of technology, but this scares the hell out of me. You may remember this post about business schools now asking applicants to use PowerPoint instead of admission essays. And I recently read a story about PowerPoint in high schools. A teacher implied it is useful in teaching kids how to “walk an audience through” an argument. I imagined students staring at a list of bullets and reading them one-by-one to the class or admission board.

Back to my second grader’s science fair. At this age, the project is all about getting the kids interested in research and science. Lots of web surfing, lots of pictures, lots of facts. You get the idea.

Back when I was in school, each kid had to supply his/her own display board. But these days, the school supplies the cardboard displays; all the students have to do is pick blue, red, white, yellow or black.

Guess which color I recommended. (hint)

The science fair is the elementary school equivalent of the workplace PowerPoint presentation. And just like us adults who pick bright, distracting templates for our presentations, her schoolmates picked yellow and red and blue. Hers was the only black display.

Now, I can’t say that color had any impact on the judges’ marks. We weren’t too concerned about winning anyway. I won’t tell you it was the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen. And I won’t tell you it was the most brilliant project (one genius kid simulated a complicated “prime number generator” and mocked me when I asked him about it). But I can say that it stood out from every other project. I even heard a kid say it looked “looked cool.”

If I were a scientist, my daughter’s project might have been more scientifically impressive (and she’d have a better shot at Ivy League colleges). But I’m not a scientist.

Neither are most of you. You work with important issues, but your facts and figures are not enough to compete with all the other facts and figures out there. If you want to stand out, delivery matters. And “looking cool” doesn’t hurt, whether you’re displaying a school project or your organization’s materials.