Chris Brogan authored the phrase “Grow Bigger Ears” when he posted about the ability social media has to help organizations listen better. Sandy Rees reminds us in, “Can you hear what’s not being said?” that:

Listening also will help you get along better with Board members, volunteers, and co-workers.  We all just want to be heard, and when you give someone your full attention, it is powerful.

As organizations, we tend to focus heavily on crafting compelling messages and multiplying them out over different platforms to ensure it reaches every single constituent that’s listening to us. If the relationship we have with our donors is healthy, there is “give” and “take” from both sides. That means if we expect our donors to listen to us, then we should, in turn, listen to them.

So here is the question: Are you actively (not passively) listening to the people who sit in your pews?