“You cannot not communicate. Every behaviour is a kind of communication. Because communication does not have a counterpart (there is no anti-behaviour), it is not possible not to communicate.”

Paul Watzalwick’s First Axiom of Communications.

Everything you do to a donor communicates something:

  • If you ask but never give.
  • If you only talk about what your charity has done and not what the donor’s gift has achieved.
  • if you tell but never listen.
  • If you send donors what you choose rather than what they want.
  • If you make donors follow your rules rather than adapting to their preferences.
  • If you are offline when they are online.
  • If you are boring.
  • If you use jargon.
  • If you aren’t relevant.
  • If you don’t do anything at all.

Every action (or non-action) tells the donor something about how you view and value them.

Think carefully next time you choose to do something, even if you decide to do nothing.

Thanks to @rydesign for the link to 52 weeks of UX.