My Favorite Question to Ask

“What do you want your community to know?”

That’s one of my favorite questions to ask clients (and their audiences) when I’m trying to learn more and get some good feedback. 

Compared to asking for a “quote” or a “review,” this question always results in the best stories for a few reasons:

→ It makes sure the participant is ready to share. 

If the participant can answer the question when it’s asked of them, that’s great! You’ve got a story to share. If they can’t, then they may need more time to think or a different submission method. Both are okay — offer accommodations and check back in another time. 

→ It focuses on the experience versus the “why.” 

Since many nonprofit services and programs are circumstance-specific, you always want to protect the privacy and autonomy of your participants. This question allows people to talk about their experience and its impact in a way that’s completely separate from their “why” for being there. 

→ It’s open-ended enough to allow personalization. 

The fact that there is no “right” answer to this question is one of the best things about it! Because of how open-ended the question is, participants can answer it however they want, using whatever experience or motivation they want to guide their answer.