{"id":4148,"date":"2015-05-27T04:58:56","date_gmt":"2015-05-27T08:58:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=4148"},"modified":"2015-05-27T04:58:56","modified_gmt":"2015-05-27T08:58:56","slug":"speak-be-heard-have-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/05\/speak-be-heard-have-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Speak, Be Heard, Have Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tcg.org\/img\/fifty\/revolution.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I know I\u2019ve already posted a couple of times on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tcg.org\/events\/ar\/2015\/info.cfm\" target=\"_blank\">TCG\u2019s Arts (R)Evolution Convening<\/a>, but I\u2019ve got to circle back and mention one more takeaway for me from the event. The speaker at the closing plenary was Ethan Zuckerman, author of the book <em>Rewired<\/em> and an expert in all things technological (at least from my perspective), particularly as they relate to the basics of citizen participation in a democracy. He provided a fascinating analysis of how access to political leaders and the political process has changed over the course of U.S. history. He commented that, unlike at the birth of our country, it is now very easy for people to \u201cspeak.\u201d (If it weren\u2019t for blogs, I\u2019d likely be doing something very different with my life today.) But the ease of speaking creates a cacophony that makes being \u201cheard\u201d far more difficult than ever before. And if it\u2019s hard to be heard, having an impact is even more unlikely.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I\u2019m a bit of a social history geek, especially when it comes to identifying large, long-term trends. But what convinced me that Mr. Zukerman\u2019s speech should find its way into Engaging Matters was his final exhortation to the conference attendees. He holds that there are three principal elements that those supporting a functioning democracy must foster:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Help people speak<\/li>\n<li>Help people be heard<\/li>\n<li>Help people have an impact<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">While intended as advice on securing good government and delivered as admonishment about arts marketing, these three elements also have much to offer effective community engagement, at least with communities whose voices have been proscribed by society or unheard by the arts establishment. In developing relationships with new communities, it\u2019s important to ensure that they are encouraged to voice their interests and concerns. Often their previous experience with the arts inhibits their voice. It\u2019s then even more critical that we listen and learn from what they say. We must recognize that we may need help understanding what they are trying to tell us because we speak and think with a somewhat rarefied vocabulary. There may be need for translators. But most of all, it\u2019s vital that we act on what we hear. Asking for \u201cinput\u201d without ever responding to the result will quickly kill any possibility of trust. That does not mean that we implement every idea suggested or respond to every issue raised. We must, though, be willing to alter some of what we do based on what we learn in developing these relationships. If we\u2019re not willing to do so, our efforts will be seen as hypocritical.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Engage!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Doug<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Engage by helping others speak, be heard, have impact. Asking for \u201cinput\u201d without ever responding to the result will quickly kill any possibility of trust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Help others Speak, Be Heard, Have Impact. H\/t @EthanZ http:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-14U","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,10],"tags":[12,13,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-4148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-principles","7":"category-the-practice-of-engagement","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-community-engagement","10":"tag-relationships","11":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-14U","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5553,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2019\/03\/global-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":4148,"position":0},"title":"Global Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"March 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The need for community engagement appears to be universal for reasons that parallel the ones that make it vital in the U.S.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Overview&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Earth-BlueMarble.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3023,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/07\/inside-out-in-illinois\/","url_meta":{"origin":4148,"position":1},"title":"Inside Out in Illinois","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"July 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Inside Out: Arts and Community, was the biennial One State Together in the Arts conference presented by Arts Alliance Illinois and the Illinois Arts Council Agency. Held June 24-25 in Moline, I was privileged to have been invited to speak and present a mini-workshop. OK. Imagine me at a statewide\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;The Practice of Engagement&quot;","block_context":{"text":"The Practice of Engagement","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/the-practice-of-engagement\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Illinois","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Illinois-300x201.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2328,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/01\/an-engagement-continuum\/","url_meta":{"origin":4148,"position":2},"title":"An Engagement Continuum","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"January 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"[Note to new readers: This is a very old and widely read post. In the interest of providing up-to-date information about thinking on this topic, you can find updated definitions of terminology related to community engagement and related arts management tools on the ArtsEngaged website here.] I'm on a roll\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Overview&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/TownHallMeeting-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1350,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/03\/civic-engagement-by-stealth\/","url_meta":{"origin":4148,"position":3},"title":"Civic Engagement by Stealth","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"March 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I have been waiting to catch my breath in order to comment on Clayton Lord's New Beans post from last October, Directing the Impact Echo. I haven't really caught it, but this is good a time as any. It is possible that some out there may be hesitant to dive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Overview&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/CliffDiver.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6651,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2022\/09\/cutting-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":4148,"position":4},"title":"Cutting Back","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A new perspective and approach from the author of Engaging Matters.","rel":"","context":"In \"arts\"","block_context":{"text":"arts","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/tag\/arts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/HedgeTrimming.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4374,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/01\/public-policy-and-community-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":4148,"position":5},"title":"Public Policy and Community Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"January 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Fundraising, marketing, community engagement, and advocacy are all about relationship building.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BallotBox2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/BallotBox2-e1448900072562.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4148"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4151,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4148\/revisions\/4151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}