One of the most common requests we get from the Reframing Network is for examples of how peers in the human service sector are using the Building Well-Being Narrative. Over the next few newsletters, we’ll feature some of our favorite reframed communications from the past year.
This issue focuses on the communications pieces that lay the foundation for how organizations talk about themselves: Mission Statements; “About Us” language; and program or service descriptions. These are the pieces that we generally recommend organizations start with when they begin applying the Building Well-Being Narrative to their communications. Some key lessons to keep in mind:- Before telling people what your organization does, use the Value of Human Potential to tell them why.
- Be clear on the societal benefits of human services. Avoid terms like “vulnerable” and “needy” that can alienate the public by exacerbating beliefs that the sector is for other people, rather than something that we all benefit from.
- Avoid jargon. Instead, use the Construction Metaphor to explain what people need to do well and what systems can get in the way.
- Use Life Cycle Examples to normalize and expand on the public’s understanding of who may need to access services.
Here’s how three organizations applied these recommendations to their foundational communications. We hope the examples will inspire you and spark your own reframing creativity.
Mission Statements
When the Human Services Council in New York reframed their Mission Statement, they shifted from a Mission Statement that relied on invoking compassion for those in need, to one that uses the more powerful value of Human Potential to define human services as something that we all benefit from across our life span.