Writing with Passion

Dalya F. Massachi in her presentation, Writing With Passion and Power discussed a number of great writing practices from her book Writing to Make a Difference: 25 Powerful Techniques to Boost Your Community Impact. One that resonated with me was the idea of two levels of “so what” Her illustration: your organization states that a donation of $100 will buy a new clinic massage table. You ask yourself “so what?” The answer—So our volunteer therapists can provide 50 additional revitalizing, healing massages per week to cancer patients in our community. Then you ask again--”so what?” The second level answer—So they will enjoy happier, healthier, more productive, and longer lives and YOU will be part of making that happen.

The answer to the second level “so what” results in getting to the heart of the impact your organization is making. We saw this illustrated at a recent seminar. Our opening question was “what would happen to your community if your organization did not exist?”

All of the organizations answered the question by describing the programs that the community would no longer have. While true, asking a second level of "so what" questions may reveal that graduation rates would decrease harming the future economy of the area; the quality and length of life for area seniors would be decreased; umemployment would increase harming the future economy of the area; and the culture and vibrancy that made the community an attractive place to live would be diminished.

Second level questioning can assist in directing boards and organizations to think with impact.