If you've often feel like you aren't making your point when speaking with others, Edith Yeung of Dream Think Act has some clues for checking their reactions and how they may be hearing you.

Borrow a page from the retail industry. If you really want to view your organization from a donor's eyes, be one. I call with a general inquiry, join or donate to an organization and sign up on the mailing list when I do a communications audit for an organization. There's no more basic and telling way to check out the donor experience and see how close or far you are from living up to your mission and values statement in your day-to-day operations. You may also find some missed opportunities and mixed messages in your materials and interactions along the way.

This statistic was so interesting I can't resist repeating it. If you’re a fan of using myths vs. facts to tell your story about a cause or issue, you might want to think again. A recent study from the University of Michigan showed that more often than not, readers confused the information upon recall and the facts in the message were lost. Once this happens, it’s even more difficult to turn it around. In the study, volunteers read a brochure that listed myths and facts about a health issue. After 30 minutes, they misremembered 28 percent of the false statements as true. Three days later, this increased to 40 per cent. To make it worse repeating misinformation to clarify actually tended to backfire. This has implications particularly if you are using these kinds of messages as part of a long-term campaign.

The event schedule is starting up again. Are you ready? Events are a great way to raise your organization's profile and the energy and interest of your donors and associates. They are also labour intensive and a drain on precious staff and volunteer resources. By the time the event comes, you may be tempted to turn on your auto pilot, hide in the corner looking busy, or sip a few glasses of wine before you get the courage to try your Elaine from Seinfeld dance impression.

Please don't. Here are some tips on how to make the most of your event:

View the event as an opportunity to forge connections. Assign a team of people who will be responsible for this.

Review the attendance list beforehand and get to know as much as you can about the people attending, particularly your prospects and special guests. For example, profession, involvement with your and other organizations, interests.

Assign a host for each of your important prospects. The host's role is to greet the guest at the door, ensure they are comfortable, and make introductions. Look comfortable doing this: standing in a long line at the door is intimidating for guests as they arrive.

During the event, your goal is not to probe and pester, it is to make them feel welcome, and to introduce them to other donors, board members and staff who share their interests. Do not shadow them, introduce them and move on. Check in again later.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. No matter how wonderful the buffet looks, remember you are there to work and this is not the time for you and your coworkers to catch up over dinner and drinks. You can do that later.

Look the part. You want to represent your organization in as positive and professional a light as possible. Avoid the bar, eat sparingly, mind your manners and carry dental floss and a Tide to Go stain pen.

After the event, ideally the same day, regroup and make note of any new information gathered and any new contacts gained. Ensure this is added to your database. It surprises me how much of this information can be forgotten and lost.

Take the time to celebrate your success - after it's over. Some of the best team-building occurs on a high from an event well done. Have a special lunch the next day.

Follow up soon after the event if anyone expressed interest in volunteering or getting involved with something specific. Strike while the iron is hot!

Ensure your contact list is up to date and the past attendees are the first invited next time around.

A popular article in many magazines and newspapers is a peek inside a celebrity's purse. It's always fun to see what people carry around in the name of being prepared. I've often thought it would be equally revealing to look inside the filing cabinets and desks of top professionals.

I have a tried and true list of staple items I've used when I start a new job or project. I follow this list faithfully and it has not let me down. It works equally well in government, private and non-profit sectors. Spend some time developing these items before you need them, and your life will become easier. You or someone else in your organization needs to have this information available to be able to respond quickly when you get a media call, need to whip together a promotional package for an event or project, develop a proposal or speak at a conference. Here's my list of must-haves:

A key messages document - short 1-3 sentence statements on topics like mission, operations, key projects or services, history, recognition or honours, support in the community

Biographies - one-page biographies of the executive members, senior personnel, board members

Head shots - professional quality headshots of key personnel and well as board chairperson

Organization profiles - short (less than 200 words) and full-page profile on the organization, program and services and geographic area served

Fact sheet - a bulleted list of relevant statistics and historical information about the organization and key projects

Logos - organization logos, in black and white and colour, in a variety of formats, e.g. lower resolution .jpg for web use or online, higher resolution like .eps or .tif for print

Photos - a selection of good quality photos that illustrate the mission in action, with a corresponding caption and identification of people, if applicable

Lists -  gather and update periodically lists of media, political representatives in your area, public service announcements and free community billboards

Testimonials - maintain a file of compliments and thanks

Allies and competitors - have a basic understanding of your partners and allied organizations, as well as your competitors

Contact lists - email, telephone, addresses for staff and board members. Print it out for the days your server goes down! This is guaranteed to happen when you need to get into your database in a hurry.

If you ensure you have these items you'll never be caught unprepared. The next time an unexpected opportunity comes up, you can spend your time making the most of it instead of doing the eleventh hour dash.