Today's trust tip: Defend yourself without sounding defensive (part five)
Hi there. Joy here. Today's edition wraps up a five-part series on how engagement builds trust. We summarized all five parts in this Medium post.
Picture yourself out around town, representing your newsroom. Someone you’ve never talked to recognizes your badge, comes up to you and says, “I have a complaint about you guys.”
What’s going through your head? And how do you respond?
You might be wondering if “you guys” means you specifically. Or if he’s confusing you with a competitor. Or if he really just wants to complain about “the media.” You probably hope it's an accusation or complaint you can address quickly, so you can get back to work.
Regardless, when you’re out in person, you show politeness, right? You listen, provided you can take a few minutes. Whether you’re engaging with your community in person, through email or in comments, think about showing both diplomacy and humility. And focus on what you most want people to know about your work.
When journalists respond to their communities (the people they aim to serve), we like to assess both the content and the tone of their remarks.
5 tips for the content of your engagement
What do you want to say?
- Identify what you want the person to know about your work. Make sure you can state clearly what facts, links or counternarrative you want to share. And with a multi-part comment or email, consider letting the little things go so the main message gets communicated.
- Use links. If you’re mentioning previous coverage, referencing your ethics policy or talking about an upcoming event, don’t make people hunt for related information.
- Actually answer the question or address the issue that was raised. Don’t dismiss it or talk around it.
- Acknowledge where the user is coming from. If they express frustration or confusion, see if you can show that you hear that and validate it. (New research confirms the importance of this.)
- Think about what you could learn and ask follow-up questions. Invite the person to get more specific, or to provide an example.
5 tips for the tone of your engagement
How do you want to say it?
- Be humble, authentic and human. Try not to sound like something written by a robot, or like most corporate brand managers. Think about how *you* feel when you express frustration with a company and get a generic “we value your feedback” message in reply.
- Be amiable. Once you’ve written out the facts you want to communicate, consider adding in some friendliness, if it’s appropriate for the situation. Simple comments like “that’s a great question” or “thanks for asking” can go a long way in how a remark is received.
- Leave people feeling glad they reached out. If they missed some previous coverage or don’t understand something about your work, don’t chastise or scold them. Don’t make them regret getting in touch.
- Be generous and assume good intentions. Even if you doubt that this particular commenter was acting in good faith, other people reading might be. And in a different mood, this person might be as well. Respond to the best interpretation of their comment, not the worst one.
- Put people who actually *like people* in charge of your engagement. Some of your colleagues might have a more naturally brusque demeanor and won't send the right message. Also, any of us might just be ready for a break! Moderating comments can be a real grind and can take a toll on your mental health or your perspective on humanity. Set some boundaries if you need to, and ask for support.
Before you hit send ...
If you’re concerned that you might sound contentious or defensive, do three things:
- Take a deep breath and read it again.
- Read it out loud to see how it sounds and feels.
- Have a colleague read behind you. (Buddy systems for tough comments can be really effective.)
How about some examples?
In workshops and classes we teach, we sometimes use an exercise that has participants practice responding to comments. (A plug: You can find that exercise in the engagement lesson of our new Poynter class!) For example, if your newsroom is being accused of having a liberal bias or being "fake news," and it's a situation that you think merits a response, what do you say in return? Here's a great participant response:
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