Trafcom News

Start networking before you HAVE to

Many years ago, I was working on contract doing technical writing in downtown Toronto. When the woman who hired me invited me to a meeting of her professional association, I went. To be polite. The next day she asked me what I thought of it. Being young, green and rather foolish, I answered: “Well, the speaker was pretty good, but I would rather stay home than go out for potato salad and cold cuts.”

Ever so wise, she looked me in the eye and countered: “Donna, you don’t go to these meetings for the bologna, you go for the networking.”

Her sage advice was lost on me at the time, although for some strange reason I can remember this conversation verbatim years later.

Up until that point, I had been hired for full-time jobs and contracts based mostly on luck. As well, I had benefited from networking, even though I would have referred to it as “who you know,” as in “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” I actually viewed this as a little shady!

More than 20 years later, I have become an inveterate networker; it has been the single most important factor in the growth of my business.

Lately, I’ve met a few people who have been let go from long-running corporate jobs, and have to start from scratch to build a network that will lead them to a new opportunity. Truth be told, I feel sorry for anyone today who has no online presence and no in-person network. They’ll be banging their heads against the wall searching through job ads.

The message is clear: Start building your in-person network right now. Join a professional association; go to meetings and get involved. Create a profile on LinkedIn. Consider blogging or Twittering about a topic you’re passionate about. Not only will you learn immeasurably from the people you meet; you’ll also be building a powerful group of friends and colleagues who want to help you succeed.

25 things I’ve learned after 25 years in business

This month, I’ll reach the milestone of 25 years as a self-employed communications consultant. When I began, I was actually a freelance writer, but awarded myself a promotion after taking on corporate clients.

I haven’t quite decided how to celebrate this longevity, but thought I’d jot down a few thoughts that have occurred to me during these 25 years.

1. 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.)
2. As technology advances, organizations need even more help to tell their stories – or “create content” in today’s parlance.
3. You never know when you’ll cross paths with a person again; always be gracious.
4. 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.
5. You need a sounding board. Seek out a mastermind group or advisory committee for advice.
6. Time off is absolutely essential. Step away from the keyboard and silence the smartphone.
7. 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.
8. You will make plenty of mistakes. As long as you learn from them, it’s OK.
9. Hire an accountant. Why spend time figuring out arcane tax laws?
10. Learn to say no. If you don’t, you’ll inevitably burn out.
11. There’s no need to put down your competition. Let your fans speak for you instead.
12. You will experience highs and lows; they’re part of the independent territory. On some days, you’ll question your own sanity.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. Encourage your clients to set up online payments via wire transfer or other means; don’t rely on cheques and snail mail if you don’t have to.
16. Try to bill according to value, not hours.
17. 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.
18. Take the time to talk to students and newcomers to your field.
19. Develop skills as a public speaker, to increase your visibility.
20. Network, network, network – with the right tribe. You may find a tribe online or in person or both.
21. 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.)
22. Donate your expertise to a charity. They’ll appreciate your efforts and you’ll feel great about contributing.
23. Join a professional association and attend their meetings and conferences. I’m grateful for my membership in the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the Halton-Peel Communications Association (HPCA).
24. Seek out the positive in everything; it’s there.
25. Keep looking ahead for your next adventure.

Everything I know about podcasting I learned in kindergarten

Sure, podcasting did not exist when I wielded cracked crayons and blunt scissors in kindergarten at P.S. 166 in Queens, New York. But please allow me my metaphor, OK? ;-)

Don’t grab all the toys at once
If you’re just beginning to podcast, you don’t need to stuff your toybox with every available audio gadget. Start off with an inexpensive microphone and a free copy of Audacity.

Play nice with others
Before you start podcasting, listen to others’ shows. Take the time to comment constructively on their efforts and encourage them to submit comments to you in return.

Remember what you learned in preschool (Comms 101)
Just because you’re using a nifty new tool, don’t abandon everything else you know about communications. You still need to concern yourself with your goal, your audience and your key messages, being ever mindful of structure and tone.

Use your indoor voice
If you’re not accustomed to speaking professionally, try to get someone to evaluate your style. Most newbies err in talking too fast. Pace yourself, and remember to pause – to give your listeners time to take in what you’ve just said. Experiment with microphone placement, which is crucial for a good recording. If your accent is thicker than peanut butter, get some coaching.

Learn your ABCs
Podcasting is about more than talking. Try creating show notes that link to the things you’ve discussed in your show; listeners will appreciate your efforts to be helpful. These text-based notes will also allow search engines to find your podcast and its keywords.

Be yourself
Most importantly, be yourself, let your personality shine through, and have fun. You’ll make friends and learn a lot about yourself while you gain new skills.

To learn more about podcasting, you can attend my Webinar on August 25. More info here.

(Updated from a post written originally in January 2006.)

Leaving your comfort zone

I often joke with my partner and friends that I can’t leave my comfort zone because I don’t have one. In other words, as Charlie Brown once said: “My anxieties have anxieties.” All kidding aside, I do believe that it’s important for our development as human beings to break out of the boundaries of our typical lives, and try something new and exciting, and perhaps scary. (Maybe this is my Halloween post after all.)

Recently I was invited to deliver the closing keynote speech at a conference. I’m accustomed to conducting seminars, Webinars, workshops and various presentations, but a “keynote” was not in my repertoire until now. I guess you could say it was out of my comfort zone. Because I didn’t consider myself keynote material, my first instinct was to decline. In fact, I had a conflict on the date in question. But then, as if by magic, the conflict disappeared, and I had no good reason to say no. And there was a strong reason to say yes: A person I respect – and consider a star in the communications firmament – had recommended me for this speaking engagement. So saying no would have disappointed both him and the conference organizers. At the same time, my partner, bless his generous and brilliant soul, was encouraging me to “go for it” so that I could stretch myself.

Now that the speaking assignment is behind me, I’m glad I did it, for many reasons. But the main one is that I feel gratified to have pushed myself beyond my usual self-imposed limits.

It’s funny. In my personal life, I’ve indeed done an “exit, stage left” from my comfort zone. Those occasions were a little too personal for this forum, so you’ll have to imagine what I mean. Professionally, I stretched my wings when I broke into podcasting, social media and then conference podcasting. You know what? It feels good. These challenges energize me.

What about you? Have you left your comfort zone recently?

You can’t undo hearing loss

Over the last week, I’ve taken the GO train (our commuter rail system) into and out of Toronto several times. On each occasion, I saw scores of people listening to MP3 players. Sometimes I even “enjoyed” their music, six seats away. Climbing the stairs from the subway to the packed streets of downtown T.O. at rush hour last night, I looked around and noticed that people were not turning off their MP3 players. The telltale white iPod cords were still snaking up to their ears. How loud do you have to turn up your player to drown out the sounds of the streetscape? VERY LOUD.

Maybe I’m becoming a little old lady, but I refuse to stick my earbuds in if I have to turn up the volume past the halfway point on my iPod nano. At the gym, I click the device off if the ambient noise of runners and weightlifters drowns out the podcast I’m listening to. While on the subway, I read. Walking on Yonge Street, I feel that I need to hear the traffic sounds to be safe. I’d hate to damage my hearing and get run down by an errant taxi at the same time.

I’m really concerned, especially for the 20-somethings who have 50+ years of ear-destroying listening ahead of them. Prediction: The hearing aid biz is going to get really big.

For some tips on saving your hearing, here’s a recent article from Wired. The money quote:

Like boiled lobsters, damaged ears cannot be returned to their previous state.

MD skewers KFC’s site

I love the way Yoni Freedhoff, a physician specializing in weight loss, skewers KFC’s new Web site, “Bring Back Dinner.”

Family dinners are a good thing; who could argue with that? But what’s on the plate matters as much as the conversation taking place around the table.

Last week, after we heard about the big fat rats frolicking around a fast-food joint in Manhattan, my daughter said to me, “Mom, I’m so glad you didn’t feed me that kind of stuff when I was growing up.” So am I.

Why I won’t give you my cell-phone number

Steve Crescenzo’s side-splittingly funny post about people with Bluetooth headsets glued to their ears reminds me of the huge divide between those who cannot function without mobile phones, and those who treat the little buggers as a necessary evil. I fall into the second camp. The first group craves constant contact. The rest of us like to control our schedules as much as we possibly can. I’m really busy, and if I had to respond to everyone all the time, without a break, I think I’d lose my mind.

Last Friday someone requested a meeting with me at four o’clock. When I told him I wasn’t unavailable at four, he asked for my cell number. HUH? When I say I’m unavailable, what makes him think that I would like to accept his call – when I’m not even in my office?

The only people who have my cell number are my kids, my kids’ schools, and my partner. That’s it. I don’t give it to clients, I don’t include it in my email sig, and it ain’t on my business card.

Here’s why I don’t give out my number:
1. I don’t want to talk to you when I’m driving my car. (As a pedestrian, I’ve almost been run over by cell-phone users at least half a dozen times.)
2. I don’t want to talk to you while I’m inhaling my lunch.
3. If you call me while I’m walking down the street, how do you expect me to answer your questions? I don’t have my calendar, my files or my computer with me. Can’t you wait a few minutes until I return to the office?

Where is it written that we have to be accessible 24/7? After all, I’m not carrying the president’s nuclear launch codes, and I am not waiting for a kidney transplant. I am grateful for both of these facts.

If you ask my clients and colleagues, they’d tell you that I am a responsive person who returns phone calls and emails promptly. What I never want to become is a person who has to have her phone in her ear while she shops for groceries, enjoys a walk on the lakeshore or eats dinner with her kids. No thanks.

What’s YOUR cell-phone policy?

Where the rubber meets the road for a win-win situation – or a lead balloon

The headline above was cobbled together from phrases featured in the Business Jargon Dictionary, a collection of particularly ugly and lame phrases used in business.

You’ll also find such gems as dehire (for fire) and hard stop (I can’t stand this one! Why can’t people say they have to leave at 5, instead of “I have a hard stop at 5”?)

The site is overflowing with ads, but it’s a fun read. And you might actually find it useful for decoding the utterances of certain colleagues or clients.

Can rituals prevent burnout?

Leesa Barnes is feeling exhausted and I can identify with that. We take on too much work and then we don’t allow ourselves time to rejuvenate. Clients, family and friends all want a piece of us. If I may, I’d like to share two things that allow me to maintain a packed schedule and still preserve my sanity (most of the time):

Every Friday night my partner and I sit down to dinner. Just the two of us. No kids. No phone. We don’t answer the door. In fact, we wouldn’t leave the table unless it burst into flames. It’s just us, the food, some soft candles and a nice bottle of Wolf Blass. Even though we’ve spoken a zillion times during the week, we share our feelings about what was great, what was frustrating, and what was the overall emotion associated with the past seven days – both personal and professional. This Friday-evening ritual puts us in a positive frame of mind as we head into the weekend, even if each of us has to work in our offices several hours on Saturday and Sunday, which is often the case. I feel fortunate that my partner is a very smart, insightful guy, and a good listener too. Plus he does the dishes.

Every Monday morning, I meet with four business colleagues in a quasi-Mastermind session. For 90 minutes, we talk about our successes of the past week and our goals for the upcoming one. Each of us has a different kind of business, but we’re all independent, entrepreneurial and networked to the gills. We’ve all found that investing the time in this gathering each Monday helps us to focus our priorities. Sometimes it’s nice to have someone who’ll listen while you kvetch too.

So there you have it: my two calming rituals (not including my other favourite: a hot bath). What are yours?

Shel and Neville are pretty popular at the Y

Scene: YMCA of Oakville, 7:00 a.m. today
Characters: My friend Peter West and I, standing at the kiosks, checking out of the Y Wellness Centre. We are both sporting earbuds.
Peter: Hi. I’m just listening to FIR show 200.
Donna: Hey, I’m listening to the new episode, 204.

One minute later:
Peter: This is definitely worth an email to them.
Donna: I’m writing it in my head right now.

[So, if you’re in the communications business and you’re not listening to For Immediate Release: The Hobson and Holtz Report, I ask you: Why not?]