1.8 billion people in the world do not have a safe or secure place to live. World Habitat is an international non-profit looking for solutions to this problem. It shares groundbreaking ideas, awards, publications and runs various programmes designed to bring better housing to more people.
What was the our challenge?
World Habitat’s vision is to make an adequate, safe and secure home not a dream or an investment, but a basic human right. Its work focuses on the technical, political, and moral aspects of housing and homelessness—issues that are often complex and emotionally charged.
Their small team comprises people from different parts of the world, with diverse backgrounds from within academia and international development. English is the second language of several members of the team and the organisation produces materials in multiple languages.
They recognised that their communications materials tended to be lengthy, overly complicated and lacked consistency and structure, and as a result were not always having the desired impact.
They wanted training to enhance their written work. The requirements were that the workshop was accessible for different levels of communications expertise, combined practical writing skills and comms theory, and was delivered by an experienced trainer with a deep knowledge of the international charity sector.
How did we approach the problem?
The World Habitat team are experts in their field and passionate about their work. We wanted to give them the skills to convey the importance and impact of their housing projects while at the same time instilling audiences with the same enthusiasm as they felt. It was important that their communications materials influenced key stakeholders to make the right policy and funding decisions.
Our trainer, Becky Slack, drew on her 30 years’ experience working in journalism and charity communications, to create a bespoke session that would meet the needs of all the attendees.
The training took place online over two sessions. It was designed to increase knowledge and build confidence, provide a balance of theory and practice, and show how to use the power of words to create results. It also gave attendees ample time to practice their new writing skills and reflect on their learning.
Among the themes covered within the workshop were:
Writing for your audiences - How to tailor writing to meet the needs of different audiences across a variety of communications platforms.
What is "good writing"? - This covered the importance of Plain English, readability and shareability, and the difference between good writing for print versus online.
Storytelling - Here, we covered the different content archetypes and how to use them to share technical information in engaging ways.
Writing styles - This included themes such as the role of metaphor, how to create energy, and how to bring stories to life so that audiences remember them.
Practical exercises - There were practical exercises designed to embed the learning throughout the entire programme to ensure everyone got maximum value from the training.
What was the Outcome?
From the outset, the whole team was highly engaged and open to new ways of working. They recognised that their communications often incorporated sector jargon and that they often assumed their audience had both specialist knowledge and the time to read and engage with lengthy content.
Helpful conversations were had about the organisation’s writing style and what would work best for their audiences. As a result of the training, the team have created their own comprehensive writing guide and framework for the staff to follow – their communications are now clear, more consistent and appealing. The feedback from the training was very positive and they have already started to see higher levels of engagement with their audiences.
“We were given two options for the training: a standard training package or a tailored version. We chose the tailored one and I’m pleased we did. Becky was also able to accommodate and respond to different issues that came up during the training too. This helped participants to engage with the content and made the training relatable to our work and audiences and therefore more valuable.”
“All participants rated the training very highly. They thought it was engaging and interesting and provided enough space to respond to issues and queries. They were able to relate it to their work in a practical sense. They also now understand the value and importance of good writing.”