In the latest edition of the Trafcom News Podcast, Barb Sawyers and I talk about storytelling within organizations. Barb is an IABC/Toronto member, writer, and author of Write Like You Talk – Only Better.
Do you ever hear leaders say: "We have no stories to tell in our company"? Or do you work with an organization that fears sharing the real story of a problem solved or a challenge overcome? Do your stories lack a compelling narrative? If you work in employee communications, perhaps you'll pick up some tips as Barb and I share some of the experiences we've had with organizational storytelling over the last 20+ years.
How often does this happen to you? I experience it several times daily.
You check your email and see something like this:
I’ve blanked the name to protect the guilty.
Do I recognize her name? No. Did she give me a clue? No.
Avoiding the work I should be doing, I click through and see this:
So, this Teresa person lives in Canada and has three connections. Why on earth would I connect with her on LinkedIn? Ain’t gonna happen.
If you’re new to LinkedIn, here are some tips for connecting with people:
Start by requesting connections with people you actually know in real life: colleagues, employers, clients, friends, classmates, fellow members of associations, and so on.
When you do send LinkedIn invitations, always always always personalize them. I suggest something like this:
Hello, Joe. I see that we’re not yet connected on LinkedIn, and I’d like to add you to my network. (This is short and sweet and ideal for someone who will recognize your name instantly.)
OR
Hi Varinder. Since we’re both members of the Society of Technical Widget Makers, I thought it would be great to connect on LinkedIn. Thanks. (You’ve jump-started the person’s memory, which is helpful.)
OR
Hi Diana. We both worked on the SAP project back in 2008 at XYZ Corporation. Hope all is well with you. I’d like to stay in touch on LinkedIn. (In this case, the person may not remember you, but you’ve provided a tangible clue.)
By personalizing each invitation, you're adding a human touch, and also jogging the memory of the recipient.
If you send the standard LinkedIn invitation, you’re likely to be ignored. And if your profile is almost blank, you’re wasting your time in general. Beef up that profile before inviting people to join your network.
Many of us chuckle at the grocer's apostrophe ("banana's for sale") or the poorly executed handwritten sign ("Closed Sundaes"), but probably insist on a higher standard for governments and would-be governments.
When this advertising piece from Ontario's Progressive Conservatives arrived in my mailbox today, I did a double-take. Did they really forget to turn on spell-check? Who spells bureaucracies like this? Eeek.
Gee, the Ontario election may be more interesting than I thought.
Every few weeks I get a call that goes something like this:
“Donna, we’re thinking of inviting Jane [or John] Doe to speak about social media at our executive leadership conference [or all-employee meeting or …]. Have you heard of him [or her]?”
In the best of all possible worlds, the caller has named someone I respect, and I can say: “Yes, I know her. She’s great. Excellent choice!”
Often, though, the name of the potential speaker is new to me, so I will say so, adding: “My not knowing Jane does not mean she’s not capable. It just means we haven’t crossed paths.” On a few occasions, I’ve later searched online for the person and found some excellent blog posts, articles and Twitter updates.
Sometimes, though, a Google or Bing search turns up a few dozen hits, with no blog, no Twitter stream and no Facebook or GooglePlus presence. Hmm. Hey, there she is on LinkedIn! Nice start!
If I turned up for a seminar on social media by someone who is just learning the ropes, I’d be pretty peeved. Actually, last year I attended an event where a speaker talked about social media as though we were frozen in 2008. His slides and statistics were woefully out of date, accompanied by screenshots of the old Facebook. Sitting there, I was waiting for him to exhort us to join MySpace. (Was he ill-informed or just lazy? I don’t know.)
So what kind of due diligence are these organizations conducting before hiring a speaker? Do they ask for references? Testimonials? Anything?
The next time someone asks me for advice, I’m going to offer up suggestions like these:
Be certain of the needs of your audience, and what you want the speaker to accomplish.
Sharpen the topic and find a speaker who can address it. “Social media in business” is too vague. “Using social media to market your book” or “Boosting restaurant sales with Twitter” are better. In fact, you probably don't want a "social media speaker" at all. You really want someone who can talk about marketing or communications or fundraising or whatever, and the social media tactics that work within well-crafted strategies in these areas.
Know whether you want someone to speak in theoretical or practical terms. A person who is an academic and not a practitioner cannot tell you about the genuine challenges and benefits of using social media in an organization. Does she have any business experience, or does she speak based only on research? This distinction may not rule the person out as a presenter, but I’d be cautious before hiring her because she may not be able to answer questions based on the real world. (That being said, I would expect a speaker to do a certain amount of research so that her presentation is up to date and tailored to the audience.)
If he purports to be an “expert” in social media (or, God forbid, a “guru”), look for his presence on various social media platforms. Is he active? Does he have a following? (If he calls himself a “ninja,” by the way, I think you should look elsewhere, but that’s just my opinion.) What is the person talking about in his blog, on Twitter, and so on? Is it all about him, or is he sharing valuable knowledge?
Ask for references from previous groups the person has spoken for. Does he have video or audio on his website, to give you an idea of what he’s like on stage?
Also ask what the person did before becoming involved in social media. Look for someone with experience in a relevant organization or industry.
Of course, all of this assumes that the person knows how to present, and doesn’t stand there droning on reading his slides.
I’m not the first person to bemoan the lack of copy editing in newspapers, magazines and books these days. As one who cringes over restaurant menus (Ceaser salad) and grocers’ apostrophes (Grape’s on sale), I do try to not get worked up over the mangling of spelling and punctuation that we witness daily, and yet...
Yes, of course I do realize that there are larger problems in the world than an erroneous it's, but I truly miss the days when editors edited and proofreaders proofed. Writers passed their copy through a higher authority, and we were all the better for it. Magazines even employed fact checkers. Imagine!
In fact, as I love to tell my kids – and oh do they love to hear it – we used to be able to rely on the big famous newspapers to produce top-quality copy. No more. Sure, strong journalism abounds, but it’s likely to be littered with errors, thereby decreasing reading enjoyment and even comprehension.
Here are a few things I spotted in the past few days:
Tasty on the palette. A palette is for colours. A palate is in your mouth.
It peaked my interest. Pique is for interest, peak is for mountains and peek is for glancing.
I had to reign in my enthusiasm. No, you reined it in. The queen reigns.
I asked him to be discrete. No, you asked him to be discreet. Discrete means separate or finite.
Finally, I saw a reference to without further adieu. It’s ado.
Of course there will be a typo in this post. I just know it.
For some people, with all the talk about GooglePlus and Twitter, blogging gets lost these days. But for those of us in the communications business – whether we’re consultants or employees – blogging matters. That’s why I’m delighted to have been invited by IABC/Toronto to discuss this topic on September 27 in an evening seminar. We’ll cover:
How blogging can help you (or your leadership) build relationships and establish expertise in a niche
How to begin blogging and then increase your readership
How to sustain your blogging efforts and make them part of your career strategy – whether you’re an employee or an independent
To add to the fun, we’re requesting that people submit questions in advance by tweeting with the hashtags #iabctoronto and #blogging. Of course you can ask your questions in person at the seminar.
This month, I’ll reach the milestone of 26 years as a self-employed communications consultant. When I made the leap into solo practice, I was not only leaving the safety of the corporate world for the uncertainty of consulting, but I was also switching careers, from systems analyst to communicator.
Looking back, I think I’ve learned a few things worth sharing.
The nuns in school were right: Poor grammar and spelling make you look less intelligent or just plain careless. (Gosh, I hope there are no typos in this piece.)
Be sure to establish goals, and strategies for attaining them, before setting your sights on tactics.
As technology advances, organizations need even more help to tell their stories – or “create content” in today’s parlance.
You never know when you’ll cross paths with a person again; always be gracious.
Keep learning. Especially during the last decade, the pace of change has been exploding, and you must keep up to remain relevant and helpful to your clients.
You need a sounding board. Seek out a mastermind group or advisory committee for advice.
Time off is essential. Step away from the keyboard and silence the smartphone.
You need to be accessible, but not 24/7. If a client wants you to be available evenings and weekends, be sure you’re comfortable with this arrangement before taking on the assignment.
You will make plenty of mistakes. As long as you learn from them, it’s OK.
Hire an accountant. Why spend time figuring out arcane tax laws?
Learn to say no. If you don’t, you’ll inevitably burn out.
There’s no need to put down your competition. Let your fans speak positively about you.
You will experience highs and lows; they’re part of the independent territory. On some days, you’ll question your own sanity.
Take the call when the headhunter phones; have lunch with the agency person who wants to recruit you. It’s always useful to find out what’s happening on the agency and corporate side.
Find a niche. Your area of specialization may change, but you must have one. Gone are the days when you could flourish as a generalist.
Encourage your clients to set up online payments via wire transfer or other means; don’t rely on snail mail if you don’t have to.
Try to bill according to value, not hours.
Remember to put aside money for income tax and other levies, such as our beloved Harmonized Sales Tax in Canada. And be sure to set up your own retirement account since you don’t have a company pension.
Take the time to talk to students and newcomers to your field.
Develop skills as a public speaker, to increase your visibility.
Network, network, network – with the right tribe. You may find a tribe online or in person or both.
Some of the trappings of business are still necessary for independents: business cards, a decent computer, and a phone line not answered by a three-year old. Fortunately, the noisy fax machine and expensive letterhead are obsolete. (I still have several rolls of fax paper and 500+ sheets of fancy stationery in my office closet.)
Donate your expertise to a charity. They’ll appreciate your efforts and you’ll feel great about contributing.
Sometimes it’s the little things that count. What do you think of these four simple tips?
When you’re in an email conversation with someone, and you change the subject, take a moment to revise the subject line too. The recipient will appreciate not seeing “Tuesday staff meeting agenda” as the subject when you really meant to say: “URGENT: Client X has cancelled its contract!”
Add a standard signature to your outbound emails, containing your full name, company name, phone number and email address. Don’t make people guess which “Bob” sent the message. And if they need to follow up quickly by phone, they won’t have to search for your number.
When you leave a voicemail from someone, say your name and number at least twice. I usually say: “This is Donna Papacosta…” Then I leave the message. At the end, I say: “Again, this is Donna Papacosta, and you can reach me at 905.844.7645. That’s 905.844.7645.” Say it slowly. It’s very annoying to have to play a message three times to catch the number, right? Don’t assume everyone has caller ID.
Check your writing. Whether it’s an email, article, blog post or whatever, take the time to edit. Look for typos, redundancies, excess verbiage and so on. Your first draft is meant for your eyes only. Your clients and colleagues deserve better.
Lately I’ve received calls and emails from existing clients and new prospects seeking ways to use social media tools. They want to find out how to set up a Twitter account, exploit the ins and outs of LinkedIn, create a Facebook business page, and maybe even learn about GooglePlus so they’re ready when Google admits brands to its new platform.
Some of these people are pretty smart about their requirements. In many cases, however, I discover that two things are missing:
A commitment to developing an overall marketing or communications strategy first, before diving into social media. If you don’t know what your goals are, or who your target market is, how can you even dream of reaching them? And how would you measure success?
The allocation of resources for content development, curation and publishing. Think about this: After you’ve set up your cool-looking Facebook page, put a snazzy avatar on Twitter, and added fancy plug-ins to your WordPress blog, what are you going to say? Do you have a plan for curating, creating and publishing content?
Spending a few days hashing out your communications strategy and then planning your content flow will make the whole process of “using” social media a lot more effective.
I’m assuming here, perhaps too optimistically, that the organization in question is already monitoring mentions of their brands and their key people on the Web.
Do you agree? Easier said than done? Do people argue with you when you say “There’s no such thing as a Twitter strategy”?
