Hitting it Out of the Park: Lessons from the 3CMA Conference

From listening to leadership: A highlight reel of this year’s most impactful sessions

This year’s 3CMA Annual Conference was a grand slam for government communicators, packed with insights that touched all the bases. With its Texas-sized theme of “Bigger, Better, Bolder,” the event lived up to its promise, delivering strategies and stories that encouraged us to elevate our game.

Expect plenty of baseball metaphors in today’s newsletter — I started my career as a sportswriter — as we recap highlights from an amazing conference, which included a trip to watch the Texas Rangers host the New York Yankees. The keynotes and breakout sessions emphasized that success in public sector communication isn’t just about stepping up to the plate; it’s about being prepared to swing for the fences. (You were warned!)

Credit: 3CMA Facebook page

Here’s my highlight reel from the conference.

Transforming Conversations for Impactful Connections

Count me among those who had never heard of Jefferson Fisher, the Texas attorney with 8 million followers on social media seeking his counsel on effective communication. Now, count me as a member of his growing legion of raving fans.

While his focus is on interpersonal communication, I believe his teachings can be applied to how public communicators should approach citizen engagement. Here’s a breakdown:

• Welcome conflict, don’t shy away from it. “Arguments are not something to win, they’re something to unravel,” he said. “You do that by having something to learn, not something to prove.” Here are a few of the tools he shared that I think can help generate effective engagement on controversial issues.

  • Stay composed. If you're being shouted at by angry constituents, whether online or in person, don’t respond in kind. Instead of saying, “You can’t talk to me like that!” try, “I don’t respond well to that tone.”

  • Be confident but not rude. You can defend your organization’s actions assertively without coming across as impolite. “Don’t apologize when you don’t need to,” Jefferson advised, and I couldn’t agree more. (Pro tip: If you can’t defend your organization’s actions, it might be time to find a new job.)

  • Communicate to connect. The deeper the relationship you want with your audience, the tougher the conversations you’ll need to tolerate. Be upfront about challenging topics. “Tell people it’s going to be a hard conversation,” he advises. In my experience managing citizen engagement processes, those words ring true. It’s about respecting your audience.

Listening as a Keystone Practice: How Cities and Counties Can Bake Listening into Communication and Engagement Strategies

TCU communication professors Ashley English and Jacque Lambiase delivered what I found to be the most impactful message of the entire conference: listen more.

Government communicators spend so much time improving outbound messaging through websites, social media, newsletters, and videos that it’s easy to overlook the importance of systematically receiving inbound messages.

Here’s why they chose to describe listening as a “keystone” practice: “The National Geographic definition for Biology 101 (says a keystone) species is an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem,” Jacque said. “Without it … the whole ecosystem will be different or might not even exist. Keystone species have ‘low functional redundancy.’ What the heck does that mean? (A keystone) species is so spectacular, so specific, nothing else can take its place. For example, if a lion isn’t there, the ecosystem changes, and nothing can take its place … This is how important and specialized listening is. Listening will eat your problems.”

Whoa. That’s a bold statement, but in my experience, it’s true.