Do
Generation Based Grassroots Communication Tactics Matter?
One of the questions that I invariably hear at each and every
gathering of government relations professionals is, "How
do I reach Generation X? How about Generation Y? How about the
Millenials? How about the Boomers?" And on it goes.
Dr.
Rhoads and I have always responded that while each generation
likes to think that the evolutionary process has made their
brains different than those 20 years older than them, evolutionary
psychology shows that human psychology has not changed since
it's been scientifically examined. While the vehicles for the
outreach may be different based on age, isn't good outreach
good outreach regardless of one's age?
Our
belief is that good communication and good persuasion are effective
no matter how old someone is - after all, everybody wants recognition,
they want credit for their ideas, they want input into how they
do their work (paid or volunteer) they want autonomy, they want
to know how their work (paid or volunteer) makes a difference,
and they want to make their own decisions. Finally some common
sense on this obsession from blogger Jessica Stillman. She took
on common management advice on how to talk to Traditionalists,
Gen Y, Boomers, etc. Stillman took a list of specific communication
tips for those audiences and switched those tips into different
categories by sticking some of the "Boomer" tips into
the "Gen X"list. Here is a selection of some of those
tips:
1.
Empower them to make their own decisions.
2.
Allow them to experiment with their jobs.
3.
Have an open door policy in which you are available for team
members to ask questions and receive guidance.
4.
Give recognition whenever possible.
5.
Do not block their path to decision makers.
6.
In the event of a crisis, do not shut them out.
7.
Use technology to make team meetings easier.
8.
Talk to them about their long term plans.
All
those tips sound pretty reasonable, right? You probably would
not be shocked if that list was promoted as tips on good workplace
communications with a title something like "Eight Ways
to Communicate Better."
Stillman
reveals that answers #1 and #8 are for Traditionalists, #2 and
#4 for Boomers, #5 and #7 for Gen X, #3 and #6 for Gen Y.
Isn't
good communication just good communication no matter how old
you are?
The
bottom line: rather than looking for the silver bullet to
reach certain age groups, how about consistently practicing
solid, time tested communication tactics? Give volunteers some
autonomy and recognition and you should be just fine.
Read
it and reap: "Are Age Based Communication Strategies Bunk?"
http://www.bnet.com/blog/entry-level/are-age-based-communication-strategies-bunk/2660
