At KAT we firmly believe that whether information is delivered face to face, through media, or a combination thereof, the recipient must embrace the information as both beneficial and trustworthy.

One of the biggest predictors of trust is how familiar the audience is with the source by which the information came. What is the history of that source?

com•mu•ni•ty
a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.

Many populations carry deep wounds carved by behavior enacted upon them. It’s kind of like getting bitten by a stray dog. You don’t exactly feel like scratching the belly of the next stray dog you come across.

When conducting community outreach, consider the definition of the word community. KAT understands that the closer you can get to reflecting community values, the closer you are to having that community trust your information. Especially if you can show that the community endorses the information. Community outreach that is reflective of the people it’s delivered to translates into more effective communication. Do this long and often enough and pretty soon you’ve achieved trust.

Now, what does the research say? A visit to the National Institute of Health last May confirmed what experience has taught us. Repeat messaging. Change the wrapper now and then, but reinforce the information until new behaviors become normal behaviors and harmful behaviors taper off and cease. Maybe that’s a bit over simplified, but it gets us on the road to improved outcomes. If you need assistance with your community outreach, give KAT a call, we can help.

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