Share Your Vision

You may be incredibly passionate about your event, but a school community event can’t be planned and implemented by one passionate person. You can certainly be the spark, but you will need to request help and gather feedback throughout the process. That will require a strong communication strategy; or at least a communication strategy that grows as your event grows.

State Your Purpose

Access the State Your Purpose workbook here.

Refine your plans and reflections to this point. You need a pitch. It is going to need to be concise. It has to be specific, but allow for adaptation and development. It has to be clear with defined objectives and be malleable to initiatives and expectations you may not yet be aware of. It needs to practiced and intentional.

10-Word Summary

The ten word summary, whether it is a complete sentence or a grouping of key words and ideas, focuses your enthusiasm. Access the STATE YOUR PURPOSE workbook at the link above to begin developing your purpose statements.

Elevator Pitch

In many ways an elevator pitch is easier than a 10 word summary. You have more words to work with. You can be more expressive and descriptive. You are often speaking to someone, so you can read their response and adjust your pitch for greatest impact.

In some ways the elevator pitch is much more difficult than a 10 word summary. You have more words that can veer from your main goal. You have a limited amount of time, and you may tend to rush through the explanation to ‘beat the buzzer.’ You are speaking to someone, who may interrupt with questions or explanations that you need to redirect. It can’t be scripted. It needs to be natural and have a flow, but it is also a high stakes conversation that needs to happen in the time it would take to ride an elevator from the first floor to a high rise office.

Short. Sweet. To the point.

End with an ask. This is not a public service announcement. You are trying to get support for your idea. Plan your elevator pitch in stages so that you have a clear, direct explanation of the purpose and plan for the event, but can modify your ask to directly relate to the conversation at hand.

Step 1: Direct Explanation

Start with your 10-word summary. Turn it into a sentence if it isn’t already a complete thought. State the goals in a way that reflects your original education initiative. If you need to build credibility for the initiative do it here, but do it in concise, succinct statements. Briefly reference the data-related outcome if that meets school system goals.

Step 2: Objections

Write down your clear direct explanation. Now break it down into key terms or ideas. What are the big ideas within your big idea? List each key term or idea, and then troubleshoot it. Identify the objections that may be tossed back at you. Write them down … and then address each objection individually. Regardless of whether or not anyone voices these objections to you, honestly identifying potential objections and preparing a response helps you think through the issues and better prepares you to engage in a follow up conversation.

Step 3: The Ask

You will need different things from different people to make this happen. Refer back to the Resources and Partners sections of table 1 when crafting your ask statement.

Start with the power and authority people. Who needs to give permission or whose buy-in is crucial to success? This can be people with assigned authority - your administrators, building principal, curriculum directors, team leads, etc. Identify who they are, what power they hold and their circle of influence.

Find tables and reflection prompts in the State Your Purpose workbook accessible at the top of this section.

Information Hub

Sample Information Hub: Lynx Expo '22

Communication Strategies

Seeking Feedback

There will be times throughout the event planning, execution and review process when you will want, or be encouraged to seek, feedback. Feedback is the formative assessment of event planning and as such will come in a variety of forms. Being open to feedback, and not blinded by your energy or enthusiasm for the idea, can be challenging. It is generally best to consider all feedback as intended to be constructive and holding some lesson or development opportunity.

Remember that feedback is the data you receive about your event, and data comes in many forms. In a very real way, data is in every interaction you have around your event. Consider with your planning team the type of information that will be most helpful to receive about your event and then determine how you want to receive that information.

Sample Information Requests & Feedback Forms

Considering All Perspectives

One of the most challenging type of communications to manage is opposing perspectives. How you respond to push back and objections is as important as the content of the message you respond with. Approaching an event plan with an open mind and a deep understanding of your ultimate goals will help you welcome all perspectives, include ideas that may challenge your original plans, and maintain the integrity of your original purpose.

A school community event ultimately has a simple purpose: to support learners. Whatever else you seek to accomplish with your event, adjustments and perspectives that best serve the learners in your school community should always be welcome. Reconciling what best serves the learners, that is the challenge. Keep your eye on the ball and welcome all perspectives and ideas to make this a school community event.

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