LOVE YOUR AUDIENCE WITH CHARM
“Charm is often despised but I can never see why. No one has it who isn't capable of genuinely liking others, at least at the actual moment of meeting and speaking. Charm is always genuine; it may be superficial but it isn't false.”
― P.D. James, The Children of Men
I've long loved P.D. James' remarkable novel The Children of Men, and this quote is, by far, my favorite excerpt from it.
In yesterday's post, I reflected on David Taylor's wonderful challenge to only market, promote and fundraise to people in ways that recognize and honor them as individuals, wonderfully made by God.
To that end, I believe that employing "authentic charm" serves us well.
Like humor and sympathy, charm - in its true, authentic form - is a #generous act. We are giving the other a dose of pleasantness, of kindness, of lovely interaction with us, rather than the to-the-point transactional utility we might (and too often do) employ.
As with so much in life, it comes to the question of: What is our intent?
Some use charm to manipulate.
Others use charm to bless.
If we are of the latter sort, we will be better marketers and #fundraisers in the long run. "Better" as in more effective. And "better" as in more righteous.
So here's to increasing our use of authentic charm in our practice of holy #marketing.
PS - As always, SUBLIMITY stands ready to help you know your audiences as people, imagine and co-create awesome new experiences that they will love, and launch and scale those for achieving your long term goals. (Helping clients with sustainer program design and development seems especially popular right now!)
Photo by Jed Villejo on Unsplash
