Increasing capacity to drive change Your issues are our issues. We re invested in improving health and safety, conserving our natural environment, increasing access to education and championing equality. And fighting these good fights for 30+ years has made it clear that we need more of us actively standing up for what s right and creating measurable change in the world. Fenton training makes that possible. Our training team members have worked at foundations, nonprofits and socially conscious companies and combine that experience with communications insights that they would share with your staff members, partners and grantees. From one-on-one coaching to full-group capacity-building sessions, Fenton trainers can help your team members use communications more effectively to drive positive social change. Training topics include the following: Training costs vary based on group size. Please contact Meredith Fenton for more information on group training sessions, individual coaching needs or related work. Fenton is a social change communications agency. We use the power of stories, media and technology to make the world a better place. Meredith Fenton VICE PRESIDENT/ FENTON mfenton@fenton.com 415 / 901.0111
brand matters A brand, or clear identity for an organization or campaign, is a shorthand for communicating with your most important audiences. A well-crafted brand is clear, concise and connects with your audience, and it does so through language and images. Fenton s training on brand development and management demonstrates how to achieve the three Cs with solid framing and quality messaging and design that bring it to life. This session runs for four to six hours for groups up to 20 people, including communications directors, other senior leaders and board members. 2
communications plan, action plan With an effective communications plan, your brand comes to life and you achieve the change that you want to see when you put your ideas into action. Communications is an effective driver for social change when you ve accurately identified who your messengers are, what they re going to say and do, where and when they ll take action and what will reach your audience and how you ll measure your results. Fenton s communications plan training will focus on establishing the basics that you need into a plan that includes a timeline/schedule and ways to evaluate your impact. This session runs for three to six hours for groups up to 16 people, including communications team members and senior leaders. 3
mastering the narrative Do you describe your organization and work the same way that your colleagues do? While your talking points, speeches and writing shouldn t be identical, they should all stem from the same foundation: your master narrative. Fenton can train your team on how to create a customized master narrative that will serve as a language foundation for all of your communications. The training covers the storytelling approach that connects with your audience and creates a better understanding of your work and that fosters consistency while allowing for the addition of individual stories and specific data that you have to share. This session runs for two to four hours for groups up to 16 people, including communications team members, program staff and senior leaders. 4
storytelling secrets using smarts and hearts Fenton offers this session on successful storytelling to help organizations engage their audiences in the most effective way possible: by connecting to them intellectually and emotionally. This powerful combination helps organizations demonstrate their credibility by grounding messages in fact while helping audiences to internalize the information and act on it by connecting at an emotional level. Participants will learn how audiences consume and remember information and what constructs are most effective for telling stories. This session runs for two to four hours for groups up to 16 people, including communications team members, program staff and senior leaders. 5
social media starter Many organizations find the work of staying up to date with social media platforms to be daunting. They recognize that they want to be online, but they struggle to find the time to learn and manage the platforms. This session will highlight the most commonly used tools, identify which ones are the right fit for your goals and demonstrate how to integrate social media into your current communications activities. (Hint: the answer isn t to hire a college intern to handle it.) This session runs for two to four hours for groups up to 16 people, including communications team members, program staff and senior leaders. 6
on in 5 media training News organizations appetite for stories has increased as a result of the 24-hour news cycle, online news platforms and ever-changing apps. You and your colleagues can be prepared to respond to interview requests and proactively reach out to news outlets with the tips that Fenton shares during this session. The overview session will offer best practices for working with news-media organizations, and the longer, practice sessions will focus on developing individual team members skills. Fenton offers a two-hour, overview session for less experienced staff in a group of 12 or more people. Longer, small-group sessions are designed for developing message-delivery, on-camera and Q-&-A skills and are appropriate for communications team members, program staff and senior leaders. 7
public speaking rules of the road Prepare, practice, practice. Public speaking, whether it s across a table, via online video or at the front of a large room, offers a great opportunity to connect with your most important audiences. Let Fenton trainers help you conquer your fear of public speaking by outlining effective ways to prepare before you practice and tactics that can make your practice sessions and actual talk more comfortable and effective. Fenton offers a two-hour, overview session for groups of 12 or more people. Longer, small-group sessions are designed for presentation skill building for communications team members, program staff and senior leaders. 8