ut an issue that makes people uncomfortable. Many audiences don't want to hear it and respond with the "it has nothing to do with me, so I don't want to know about it" mind-set. So how do you communicate in a way that ensures your audI recently received a request for help a staff member of SAFE, Inc., a small domestic violence service agency in rural Pennsylvania. This staffer asked me how she could most effectively frame the agency’s communications being that the issue area in which it works is always perceived as bad news.

SAFE, Inc. has very relevant marketing goals -- to build awareness of this important and life-threatening issue, and of the help that is available. The marketing challenge is how to do so without "turning audiences off." And the challenge is even greater than with some other issues, since the general public often holds erroneous beliefs about the cause, prevalence, etc. of domestic violence. It goes beyond education to changing current perceptions.

Here’s my advice to SAFE and other nonprofit communicators dealing with difficult issues:

You're facing a classic communications dilemma – talking about an issue that makes people uncomfortable. Many audiences don't want to hear it and respond with the "it has nothing to do with me, so I don't want to know about it" mind-set. So how do you communicate in a way that ensures your aud

e issue area in which it works is always perceived as bad news.

SAFE, Inc. has very relevant marketing goals -- to build awareness of this important and life-threatening issue, and of the help that is available. The marketing challenge is how to do so without "turning audiences off." And the challenge is even greater than with some other issues, since the general public often holds erroneous beliefs about the cause, prevalence, etc. of domestic violence. It goes beyond education to changing current perceptions.

Here’s my advice to SAFE and other nonprofit communicators dealing with difficult issues:

You're facing a classic communications dilemma – talking about an issue that makes people uncomfortable. Many audiences don't want to hear it and respond with the "it has nothing to do with me, so I don't want to know about it" mind-set. So how do you communicate in a way that ensures your aud

allenge is how to do so without "turning audiences off." And the challenge is even greater than with some other issues, since the general public often holds erroneous beliefs about the cause, prevalence, etc. of domestic violence. It goes beyond education to changing current perceptions.

Here’s my advice to SAFE and other nonprofit communicators dealing with difficult issues:

You're facing a classic communications dilemma – talking about an issue that makes people uncomfortable. Many audiences don't want to hear it and respond with the "it has nothing to do with me, so I don't want to know about it" mind-set. So how do you communicate in a way that ensures your aud

goes beyond education to changing current perceptions.

Here’s my advice to SAFE and other nonprofit communicators dealing with difficult issues:

You're facing a classic communications dilemma – talking about an issue that makes people uncomfortable. Many audiences don't want to hear it and respond with the "it has nothing to do with me, so I don't want to know about it" mind-set. So how do you communicate in a way that ensures your aud

ut an issue that makes people uncomfortable. Many audiences don't want to hear it and respond with the "it has nothing to do with me, so I don't want to know about it" mind-set. So how do you communicate in a way that ensures your audiences really listen to what you're saying, and respond in the way you wish?

Keep in mind that, in most cases, the underlying foundation of difficult issues is the soft, or the human, issues – attitudes, opinions, self-image, values, beliefs, and feelings about how the world is organized and people's place in it. This context is difficult enough to tackle in a one-to-one, face-to-face conversation, much less through broader communications strategies.

Identifying the challenge is an important first step, and there are definitely some concrete steps you can take to build public awareness of the issue and ensure that county residents know that SAFE is there to help.

Clearly Define Your Communications Goals

The first step is to precisely define your communications goals so that you focus your communications work in the right direction. Here's what I think your goals are likely to be: