Welcome to the October newsletter!
This month our focus is on engaging stakeholders. Effective stakeholder and community engagement facilitates understanding between the decision maker and those affected by the decision, issue or opportunity.
Read on for some insights on how to engage stakeholders and community.
Warmly,
Engaging Stakeholders and Communities
Effective stakeholder and community engagement facilitates understanding between the decision maker and those affected by the decision, issue or opportunity. At Collective Possibilities, we use highly developed facilitation skills to assess and understand barriers to effective engagement. We then work with individuals or groups to embed core engagement techniques.
Multiple perspectives can contribute to a deeper understanding of issues and result in better decisions, more sustainable solutions. Sustainable solutions are those that are:
* Publicly acceptable
* Economically viable
* Technically feasible
* Environmentally compatible
Positive engagement strategies can also assist your organisation by helping you to identify critical issues early and harness public and stakeholder support for your project. This leads to smoother implementation and wider acceptance.
For many organisations however, the challenge to make these connections seems daunting. This is where we can help by delivering innovative engagement strategies that foster:
* Integrity
* Inclusion
* Deliberation
Click here to read more about engaging stakeholders & communities.
6 steps to communicating with more compassion
When you use compassionate communication in your conversations, something quite surprising occurs: both your brain and the brain of the person you’re talking to begin to align themselves with each other. This special bond is a phenomenon referred to as ‘neural resonance’, and in this enhanced state of mutual attunement, two people can accomplish remarkable things together. Why? Because it eliminates the natural defensiveness that normally exists when people casually converse.
Here are 6 areas to work on to become a more compassionate communicator.
1. Stay Present
2. Cultivate Mindfulness
3. Access a Pleasant Memory
4. Observe Nonverbal Cues
5. Speak Briefly
6. Listen Deeply
You can read more about the 6 steps here.
“When trust is high, the dividend you receive is like a performance multiplier, elevating and improving every dimension of your organisation and your life…. In a company, high trust materially improves communication, collaboration, execution, innovation, strategy, engagement, partnering, and relationships with all stakeholders.”
– Stephen Covey
“The Shire of Yarra Ranges engaged Collective Possibilities for a community consultation. Your facilitator was engaging, personable and professional, who works very well with community members. The facilitator successfully navigated a clear path through often difficult conversations and provided creative input to the development of ideas and input, making sure community members felt valued and included.”
– Dion Teasdale, Cultural Planning and Marketing Co-ordinator, Shire of Yarra Ranges