Summer is here - but before heading outside to enjoy the sun, check out Spitfire's quick tips for being smart, efficient and highly skilled in using communications to reach your social change goals. Read on to find out which free online tools can help tap the power of the Internet and learn how 60 seconds can put your organization another step closer to success. We also share highlights of winning words nonprofits can use from this year's Executive Training Program and suggest some fun beach reads so that while you are working on your tan you can also be brushing up on critical communications skills.

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by Kim Johnson - Senior Account Manager 

Imagine you find yourself in an elevator with the funder of your dreams. You have less than a minute to make a connection. What do you say to grab her attention and secure a longer conversation? 

While this scenario may seem unlikely, it happens every day in all types of situations. If you don't know how to talk about your organization in a quick and simple way, you risk wasting opportunities to engage new supporters. That's why every organization must have an elevator speech - a consistent, concise and comfortable way to provide information about yourself or your organization. Crafting a successful elevator speech is not as hard as it may seem (really!). Here are the four components of an elevator speech, as well as some tips to ensure a smooth, confident delivery.

• Start strong. You have seconds to capture your audience's interest. Your opening should consist of an attention-grabbing tagline, factoid or statistic about your issue or organization that will make your audience want to keep listening to what you have to say.
• Tell them the need or the problem. What issue are you facing? What is the problem you are trying to solve? Give your listener the context for your work so he or she can understand why you do what you do.
• Give your unique response. How is your organization solving this need or problem? There may be many others working on the same problem, so make sure you emphasize what sets your solution apart and how your response is distinctive from the rest.
• Engage them. A successful elevator speech is a conversation, not a monologue. Done well, your speech will elicit a response from your listener - questions, a request for more information, etc. As with all types of communications, always have an "ask." In an elevator, the best ask is for a business card but you could also make it an invitation to visit your website or to "like" you on your Facebook page. Keep requests reasonable - it's very unlikely that this is the time or place to ask for monetary support.

Remember, brevity is the soul of wit. Keep the length between 30 and 60 seconds. The goal is to leave your audience wanting to know more about you, not to try to pack in everything there is to know about your organization. Use clear, simple language. No confusing jargon or incomprehensible acronyms. Be passionate. If you are not passionate about what you do, how can you expect anyone else to be? And last but not least, practice, practice, practice. Rehearsing will make you sound better and feel more confident. Follow these steps and the next time you run into the person who can help you achieve your goal, you'll be ready take advantage of a golden opportunity before you reach the ground floor.

Feeling stuck? Check out our upcoming webinar for more help writing a top-notch elevator speech.

Spitfire Recommends

Addressing participants of the 2011 Spitfire Strategies Executive Training Program, bestselling author and leading pollster Dr. Frank Luntz shared thoughts from his latest book, Win: The Key Principles to Take Your Business from Ordinary to Extraordinary. Luntz stressed the importance of using strategic words and phrases as an indispensable way to connect with and motivate target audiences and decision makers to take action.

During the session, Luntz emphasized his observation, "It's not what you say, it's what they hear." Luntz's point is that the specific words, images and tone we use to communicate matter more than we think. The way people respond to specific words and language styles change along with the times.

Using his findings from nonstop focus groups and research, Luntz discussed the words and phrases that nonprofit leaders can use to move their work forward. Key lessons included:

• Get personal. Get personal. This is about focusing on the listener, not sharing details about dinner last night. Connect with the listener's aspirations and needs. Appeal to the heart as well as the intellect. If your organization is out to improve water quality, share how this will impact the audience. Cleaner lakes and rivers mean safer drinking water in homes, plus clean and enjoyable resources for community swimming and boating.
• Prioritize language. Phrases such as "if you only remember one thing" and "the bottom line" help your audience to zero in on the key point of interest. An organization might have eight separate initiatives, but talking about all of them will cause the audience's attention to wander. For example when discussing education, if the audience is students' parents, stating that "the bottom line" is student outcomes or benefits to students will keep their attention.
• Demonstrate credibility. Credibility is a fact, not an assertion. Use a statistic (an actual number) to demonstrate why your organization or your solution is effective. For example, instead of saying "Over 10 years ago we created a public/private partnership that has had great success in addressing the issue of homelessness," say "In the last 11 years we have helped 625 families find permanent housing." Focusing on the results of your work will help your audience believe that yours is the right organization to support.

Now entering its 10th year, Spitfire's Executive Training Program has helped nonprofit leaders harness the power of communications to support their organizations' social change goals. Participants are often sponsored by one of their current funders. For foundations, the investment not only strengthens the outreach capacity of individual grantees, but also helps build the skills and resources of the overall field. Spitfire is currently accepting nominations for the class of 2012. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

Smart Strategies - Summer Edition

SMART Beach Reads 

by Mark Shields - Director

It's time to step away from the Blackberry and grab a beach towel and a good read. This summer, it is possible to leave work behind and still pick up on some SMART lessons while idling away under the protective sheen of your SPF. 

Spitfire Strategies is pleased to present its first-ever summer reading recommendations.

To Kill a Mocking Bird - Harper Lee. A single father, standing up for civil rights and social justice while also targeting his audience with messages that matter to them. Atticus wasn't speaking to the "general public" when he was in that courtroom, he was speaking to his jury. Good communications planning does the same thing. Be as specific as you possibly can when identifying audience targets, and you too may one day be a classic.

The Millennium Trilogy (The Girl who Tattooed, Burned and Kicked things) - Stieg Larsson. Ok, fine. This one is a little bit last summer. We're a smidge behind in our beach reading. Meeting client deadlines sometimes means putting reading off a bit. But you know what's brilliant about "The Girl Who..." series? Lisbeth Salander, the tattooed, fire playing, hornet kicker always has very measurable objectives in mind when she sets out on a mission. For example, there is no question by the end of the first novel that she will be able to hack into an impossibly complicated computer system to uncover a decades-old murder mystery in fewer than 500 pages. Your objectives should be similarly well defined (dragon tattoo optional).

Bossypants - Tina Fey. Kristen Grimm, Spitfire's founder and president, is only mildly annoyed that Tina Fey beat her to the punch with this memoir title. Putting that aside, The New York Times reports that Ms. Fey's new publishing success was two years in the making as she had to balance writing with her remarkably busy schedule. The lesson here? Your goals have to be attainable in order for you to be successful. That means being honest about the amount of time it will take you to get the job done.

The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger. The movie was only so-so, but if this novel doesn't make you ugly-cry at the end, it's a sure sign that you're dead inside. Or a robot. Or a dead robot on the inside. This fascinating love story takes a very realistic look at the challenges of marrying a time traveler. To be successful, your plans have to realistically account for your organization's available resources and capacity. Henry and Clare had to figure out how to live on a budget when one of them was always time traveling (which makes holding down a job somewhat tricky). Your plans should also be realistic when it comes to the resources and budget you're working with.

Harry Potter (any of them) - J. K. Rowling. Harry will light up the silver screen one last time this summer. Do you know what made Rowling such a magically SMART muggle? Her series of Hogwarts books - all of which are great for the beach - had a specific timeline. Seven years at Hogwarts to become a wizard - everybody knows that. Make sure your communications strategy is timebound to ensure magical results will follow.