South Africa prides itself on the diversity and richness of its landscape – from lush tropical coastlines to arid semi-desert; from dramatic craggy mountains to endless flat plains; and from densely populated urban mayhem to uninhabited spaces of nothingness.
What was brought to mind last week, while delivering a course in design and layout at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ), was just how much South Africa’s communications landscape matches that diversity.
For a few years now, Flow has collaborated with the IAJ in offering basic courses in design and layout to lay people who want to develop their visual and communication skills. Candidates come from all levels, backgrounds and geographical regions to get a crash course in what they need to be considering when putting together communications such as internal newsletters.
Many of the group are in government or semi-government industries, and have degrees or diplomas in communications or media studies, and because these words appear on their certificates, have been lumped with the task of handling corporate communications.
What becomes immediately apparent in these workshops is how very different the challenges are facing communicators in the fast-tracked, sophisticated and savvy urban landscape, to those facing communicators in the rural environments of South Africa.
Joburg is recognised for its pace and energy, and as communicators in this space, we constantly have to be aware of the need to get through the clutter, to get to the point, to not waste people’s time.
The targets for our communications are usually glued to screens all day (computer, tablet, phone) and expect instant, accessible information that suits their needs. These realities tend to be my introduction to the workshop – explaining why considered layouts and creative thinking are important in even getting a communication noticed in the first place.
This resulted in some rather bewildered-looking faces at last week's course, and it was only through some further discussions during the workshop sessions that I became aware of how different the reality is of creating communications for mines and government departments in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
Firstly, it appears that internal, corporate-type communications are actually well received, instead of the deluge of newsletters that inundate our inboxes – theirs are few and far between, and are of real interest.
And while we glibly do all of our communications in English (even though we are well aware that there are 11 official languages in South Africa, we rarely have to deal with them), these communicators on the mines and in government have to be very aware of (and conversant in) a range of languages, depending on who they are talking to.
We simply expect a 100% literacy rate among our audience; what they are faced with is the challenging task of occasionally having to put together a safety or awareness campaign for only semi-literate miners.
The pace of life is much slower, the exposure to media much thinner, and the critical eye much less apparent. So it was a case of really rethinking the skills that these students would need, as opposed to what we find we need on a daily basis.
What was noticeably different with these students from far afield was the approach that they had to the challenges facing them. Instead of the "Well, this is just impossible" shrug that I have experienced with students in the past when a task appears too difficult, they were brimming with enthusiasm about the skills they could pick up and what they could learn in a short, three-day course.
Instead of being overwhelmed by the amount that they realised they didn’t know, they were energised by the challenges facing them.
My favourite thing about being a teacher is the feeling that maybe you have made a small difference in someone’s life, contributed to their development in some way. I have taught classes of students for a year and occasionally felt frustration at how many you simply can’t get through to.
These small workshops at the IAJ are incredibly rewarding for the fact that you can actually add value to those who are receptive to what you have to say, in a very short space of time.
Flow design studio head Lorraine Gumede, who joined me with the group for some digital training, had her first taste of being a teacher and I suspect she found it as rewarding as I did. There is little that is more satisfying than being able to feed a hunger for knowledge.
All attendees at this year’s workshop are keen for some follow-up sessions next year, and I know that Lorraine and I would be very pleased to see how far they have come pushing their newly acquired skills in their workplace – and to hone those skills further.