Nonprofit Communications

Using Rhetoric to produce effective, persuasive content

Gabrielle G. LaFavre

Why Employ Rhetorical Communication Strategies? So, what is rhetoric?

We all know that nonprofits need to convey their mission, ex-
plain their needs, and iterate their successes, but why should we
take time to learn and apply rhetorical principles? By using the
principles of rhetoric, we can use best practices to connect with
our target audiences, and persuade people to support, volunteer,
and advocate on our behalf. Knowing rhetoric allows us to know
who we should direct our communications to, how to best get
our message across, and where and when to begin our dialogue.
Rhetoric is a manner of intentionally structuring and con-
veying our dialogue to achieve best results within our field of
interest. Rhetoric first began in ancient Greece, with prom-
inent thinkers like Aristotle. Politicians, educators, leaders,
and civilians have successfully used rhetoric to improve their
speech and text for thousands of years since. The principles of
rhetoric remain as important as ever in todays digital world.

To create a rhetorical dialogue for a nonprofit, one must consider a few things:
1. First, dialogues require a problem, or exigence in rhetorical terms. A problem must first exist for us to address or respond
to itotherwise there would be no need to create a discourse.
2. To create rhetoric, we must also have an audience. Without a defined set of listeners, readers, or viewers, what good is
conveying a nonprofits message? With that in mind, we must research and understand who it is that we want to reach with our
message.
3. Lastly, we must consider our constraints or obstacles. All rhetoric must consider your nonprofits constraints, and factor
them into the resulting communication.

How can we, as nonprofits, improve our rhetorical dialogue?

We must respond to our nonprofits problem and make the most of our constraints by knowing and understanding our audience.
Who are they, and how can they help us? After we have answered these questions, we must establish our credibility and create an
emotional connection with our audience.
w
The best audiences will consider your
message and have the possibility of
enacting change. It is a waste of time
and resources to appeal to those who
will never and can never be persuaded.
Listing successes, partnerships, and
quantitative statistics are all methods
to establish credibility. Back up claims
The A.S.P.C.A created a successful ad-
vertising campaign by utilizing sing-
er Sarah McLachlans In the Arms
of an Angel song. No doubt you re-
member these commercials in viv-
id detailthis is because they creat-
ed a compelling emotional appeal.
A domestic abuse organization in
South Africa made use of a viral in-
ternet phenomena known as The
Dress during 2014 to call atten-
tion to violence against women.
Establish Credibility Rhetorical Principle: Ethos
Even when you identify your audience, you will not be able to make them lis-
ten unless they believe that your nonprofit is credible. In rhetoric, credibility is
called ethos. It is important to establish your nonprofit as respectable and pro-
fessional, and there are many ways to accomplish this.
Create an Emotional Connection Rhetorical Principle: Pathos
In rhetorical terms, the ability to create an emotional connection with your au-
dience is called pathos. After your audience believes you are credible, and thus
decides to listen to your nonprofits message, it is necessary to construct an emo-
tional appealor create a certain feeling within your audience. As you know,
people are more likely to become involved, volunteer, or donate when they feel
a personal, emotional connection to your mission and cause. How can you do
this? Remember who your audience is and what they want. Why should they
choose to engage with your nonprofit, and what can you provide them in re-
turn? These questions will allow you to realize what kind of emotion your non-
profit should impart upon the audience.
Seize the Right Moment Rhetorical Principle: Kairos
As you know, nonprofits can and should use current events to shed light on
their cause and garner support. General Assembly meetings of the United Na-
tions always attract numerous nonprofits that use the event to access the media
and spread their message. Another type of kairos, or moment to seize, includes
major events. People often respond to a calamitous event or natural disaster, as
was the case with Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, which raised more money than the
Syrian Refugee crisis had in two years. Without being opportunistic, it is im-
portant for nonprofits to seize the moment, and use the rhetorical principle of
kairos to ensure that their mission is heard.
Takeaways:
With lack of resources and minimal funds to hire a communications specialist, and with a saturated mar-
ket of nonprofits competing for public attention, it is more important than ever for organizations to im-
prove their communications and better convey key information like company mission, history, and suc-
cesses. Without strategic principles, such as those listed below, nonprofits will fail to garner attention and
support.

Keep your audience in mind as you share your organizations discourse: remember who you are
writing to and why, and note that people remember stories and narratives more easily than straight
facts.
Establish your nonprofit as credible and trustworthy. Include outside studies, quantitative statistics,
and call attention to community and business partnerships. Another way to create a feeling of trust
is to include managerial and employee bios and photographs, so that your audience will understand
the faces behind the organization.
Create an emotional connection with your viewers, readers, listeners, and supporters. Connect with
your audience in a personal way, and establish a specific emotional appeal. If you are looking to
make a big splash, including emotionally arresting videos, testimony, or statistics will leave a strong
impression upon your audience.
Make the most of propitious moments by using current events to call attention to your organization
and its needs.
Create content that is concise, supported by facts, and visually appealing. Stylistically speaking
large headings, bold fonts, relevant keywords, and appealing visuals all improve an audiences
experience with your document or dialogue.

In the nonprofit world, we can apply these strategies to any content that we create: from social media
posts, internal and external newsletters, op-ed pieces, strategic emails, and beyond.