Category Archives: Communications

Communications, Government Relations, Internal Communications

The Importance of Research in Business

Risk is a part of most business equations, but making assumptions without first doing your research is just bad planning. Several years ago as a consultant, I worked with the Executive Director (ED) of an association on a government relations campaign. He had attended many government meetings over the years but I had gotten him an important meeting an Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM).

Since the association had wanted to meet with the ADM for some time, they had lots of information to share. The ED was eager to communicate as much information as possible. He glanced at his notes again and again but he hardly needed them. He knew his issues inside and out. The trick would be to make sure that the message was being delivered with all the necessary information following a logical pattern. The ADM was relatively new to the portfolio and was an unknown to the organization. The Executive Director wanted to make sure that he captured all the nuances of the message and left a good impression. I had suggested starting the meeting with a brief description of the association, followed by an overview of the profession, but the Executive Director was concerned about inadvertently insulting the ADM by addressing things that he could easily have learned prior to the meeting.

The Executive Director was about 45 minutes into the hour-long meeting when the ADM asked a question that revealed he had absolutely no knowledge of the profession, never mind an understanding of the association. It was at this point that the Executive Director decided that he would have to do three things, 1) abandon his presentation 2) start the discussion over again with a description of the profession and 3) not make eye contact with me for the rest of the meeting.

Fortunately, we subsequently built a strong rapport with the ADM, but the story stays with me because it so beautifully illustrates what happens when you make assumptions about your audience in business.

Tips on engaging your audience:

Assume nothing about what people know
Do your research, learn as much as you can about the person you are meeting with before you meet. Look them up on LinkedIn, search the internet for their bio.
Send a briefing note in advance of the meeting if your time is limited.
Bring material that you can leave behind in case your audience has questions after you leave.
Complex messages require multiple meetings or messages.

Communications, Government Relations

Body Language – Managing You, So You Can Deliver Your Message

Debra Yearwood 35 Comments

Your body can give away secrets you’d never dream of sharing, so when going into a meeting or presentation, take the time to note your body language and the body language of those around you. Even if you are presenting to a large gathering, you can get a sense of the room based on the level of buzz that happens before you present. Are people laughing and standing close together? Whispering in groups of two and three? Are they standing as individuals and making little contact? If the mood of the room is solemn, then you may want to rethink starting with a dirty joke. Noting your own body language ensures you are not delivering conflicting messages. You could be saying one thing, while your body is saying something else. I’d trust the message your body was delivering since it is more likely, to be honest.

Your body tells when you lie

I once had a meeting with a client who was trying to gain the support of another organization for a government relations campaign. The gentleman from the other organization sat with his arms folded across his chest and as my client spoke the other gentleman continuously shook his head in the negative as he verbally indicated that we could count on his support. I knew before he left the room that he would be an obstruction to my client’s objectives. I also knew that he was willing to be dishonest about it. That said a lot about his character (I probably wasn’t the first professional contact he’d lied to) and it provided me with enough information to better equip my client. Our communications materials were altered to reflect this consideration and in subsequent meetings with government officials when my suspicions were proven true, we were prepared.

Your body tells when you’re bored

Body language also provides you with indicators about whether or not you should continue a meeting or end it. I have sat in meetings with clients where officials have gone from attentive to glazed, to outright bored. They began looking at their watch, folding and unfolding their arms, fidgeting in their seats and in one case; they even began to read the material provided by the client while the client was talking. If the person you are meeting with has had enough, then you’ve said enough. Believe me, no matter how long you keep talking after they stop listening, they are not getting the message. If you are going into a meeting as a team try to determine signals for bringing the meeting to an end or moving it along in advance. Then listen when you get the signal.

Your body can interpret other people’s secrets

Mimicry can also help you to understand the body language of the person you are meeting with. This is simply copying their body language in a non-offensive way. If they sit forward, you sit forward, if they lean back with their legs crossed, assume a similar pose. Not only does this help to build better rapport with the person you are meeting, but it also means that you are sending your brain quiet messages about how effective your communications are and whether you need to change tactics. If at some point you find yourself leaning back with your arms and legs folded, then you know that a message is being blocked or something about the message isn’t sitting well. Just remember not to over do it or you’ll weird them out.

A few more physical tips:

When shaking hands match the strength of your grip to theirs.
Face your audience head-on.
Avoid crossing your arms.
Don’t slouch in your seat or appear too passive.
Avoid putting your hands in your pockets.
Do not fidget with your hair, pens, coins …
Use gestures sparingly, keep them natural and spontaneous.
Don’t point a finger or raise a fist.
Don’t bang on the desk or the arm of your chair.
Keep facial expressions natural and friendly, don’t frown or raise a brow at a comment or question.
Keep your presentation fresh by altering your vocal pitch, volume and rate of delivery.
Speak clearly, enunciate, emphasize or punch certain words.
Use simple language, avoid jargon and acronyms.
Keep humour gentle.

Maintaining good eye contact is also an important component in face to face meetings. Eye contact is a tool that helps you appear sincere, demonstrates confidence, engages your audience and can help you confirm understanding or detect other signals. Don’t stare (that’s just creepy) but hold the connection for a few seconds or while you complete an idea.

Finally, be polite to everyone. Aside from being the kind of thing most civilized people learn in kindergarten, being impolite can have unanticipated consequences. How believable is your message that you are client centred or community focused, if you have just blown off the receptionist and blustered your way past the assistant? Remember the story of the airline executives (Every Contact Counts) and the impact their behaviour had on their government relations efforts. Based on inappropriate treatment of a staff member, I’ve seen rude visitors greeted by a Minister with a coldness that could chill wine. The way you behave when it doesn’t count says more about you than what you do when you’re in the spotlight.

Communications, Internal Communications, public relations

The beauty of plain

Debra Yearwood 18 Comments

Plain language isn’t about how smart your reader is. It’s about how smart you are. It’s about how important your message is. If it matters, it should be plain.

Plain language writing is not what you think. It is not for the slow. It is not for those who cannot read. It is not a tool for others. Well, it is all of those things and more. Plain language helps you to share the complex. It puts your audience first and makes sure you reach the busy. Think about that for a moment. Who has time to untangle complex language so that they can get to the meaning? How often do we simply skim ideas because they will take too much time to understand?

“Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge. Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words when short are best of all.” Winston Churchill

Did you know that the general public has low literacy levels? The exceptions are Japan and Finland. If most of your readers are in North America, this means you need to keep things plain. Plain does not mean creative stays home and boring takes flight. You’re probably using plain language techniques now. It’s about using words that are better known, more familiar and more clearly understood. Take a look below. To make language plain you would replace the words on the left with the words on the right.

Accomplish = Do
Ascertain = Find out
Disseminate = Distribute
Endeavor = Try
Optimum = Best
Strategize = Plan
With regards to = About

Plain language is about being approachable. Using a conversational tone instead of formal language. It’s about using logic when you present. That can be a challenge for me at times, but with a little patience, I generally get there. It’s really about using common sense and a little patience.

Plain language is also about the length of sentences and the space around them. White space is your friend. Do not bury words in complex patterns. Give words room to breath and be seen. Plain language is about the fonts you choose. Are they complex? Do you have to look twice to identify letters? It’s about the use of examples, charts and images to illustrate ideas. Images are popular on social media because people can understand them quickly. They make the text come alive. They go long ways towards making ideas clearer. The same goes for bullets and bold type to make ideas pop.

“Let thy speech be short, comprehending much in a few words.”

Apocrypha

When I work on an annual report, I work with the writer and designer to ensure that readers can easily see the most important ideas. Those ideas are repeated in the text. They become images, graphs, headlines and call-outs. We make sure that they have enough space around them to be seen. The objective is to make sure that if the reader just skims the report t still walk away with all of the right messages.

Here are some tips for planning your next document.

Use titles & subtitles that are informative and summarize text
Cut out non-essential information (cover only 3-5 points)
Prioritize information and put the most important at the beginning
Use a formal table of contents or introductory paragraph
Keep sentences under 35 words
Use the active voice where possible

It’s also useful to use verbs instead of nouns for your action. Sometimes this is as easy as removing “ion” from words. For example, which of the two sentences below sounds simpler?

Could you provide an explanation for suggesting I should make modifications to the way I present information?

Could you explain why I should change the way I share information?

Using plain language commitment and perhaps more than anything, it takes practice. It is worth doing. It allows you to move from good to great and the best part is, you’re probably already doing a lot of it.

Do you use plain language principles in your work? What kinds of everyday items do you think use plain language? Can you think of things that could benefit from the of plain language?

Embraced by Words (Photo credit: Robbert van der Steeg)

Communications

Mean What You Say, Know The Meaning of Sayings

Debra Yearwood 38 Comments

A few years a ago a friend of mine who teaches and does research through various universities was trying to rally some of her colleagues around an initiative and used the phrase, “Jump on the band wagon.” Shortly afterwards she was reprimanded by the administration for using politically incorrect language. Apparently the interpretation of the phrase she used was that it was racist. Confused? So was she.

To me the phrase means, go along with an idea or get on board with an idea, but apparently the interpretation was somehow associated with First Nations and Inuit bands and in a derogatory way. It was only recently that someone was explaining to me the origins of the expression. It started with PT Barnum and he was referencing the band’s wagon. That is the wagon the band performed on…no connection to First Nations or Inuit people whatsoever. It would seem the reprimand said more about the prejudice of the university administration than it did about my friend.

The bow of the ship (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The experience made me think about the origins of phrases that we commonly use, or as the case may be, expressions that we assume are commonly known, but are really regional in origin or known by specific people. A friend of mine once received a document from a client that was so full of local phrases she couldn’t make sense of it. She called me to see if I could help. The client who lived on Canada’s east coast had used such lively phrases as, “cut of his jib” and “shipshape and Bristol fashion” and my personal favorite, “A shot across the bow.”

My friend had no idea what her client was talking about but as it happens, I could explain it, not because I knew the east coast of Canada, but because my family comes from an island and there are more than a few fisherman in the family. The phrases that were stumping her were all nautical in their origins.

Using expressions and old sayings can add colour and interest to language and can even be instrumental to the adoption of ideas by making things sound more familiar to the recipients. They can also be distracting and disturbing if they are misinterpreted. Consider the expression, “cotton picking”, depending on context it can have a wealth of meaning. Does “Wait a cotton- picking minute” mean the same things as, “Don’t touch me with those cotton picking hands.”?

So before using them, know your audience and more importantly, say what you mean and know the meaning of your sayings.

Have you ever come across a phrase that left you stumped? Or used an expression that made your audience confused?

Some expressions and their origins from the “Phrasefinder”

Expression	Meaning	Origin
A shot across the bow.	A warning shot, either real or metaphorical.	The action taken by an approaching ship to warn off another.
Cut of his jib.	His general appearance and demeanor.	Some ships had more than one jib sail. Each country had its own style of sail and so the nationality of a sailing ship, and a sailor’s consequent opinion of it, could be determined from the jib.
Jump on the bandwagon	Join a growing movement in support of someone or something	The wagon the band performed on which would pick up followers as it made it’s way across a town on the way to the circus/performance.
Done a runner	Leaving in a hurry under questionable circumstances.	From running out of a restaurant before paying for a meal.
Quid pro quo.	Something given in return for an item of equivalent value – like tit for tat.	From Latin meaning, something for something.
Cotton picking minute	bothersome, difficult or challenging	Earliest reference from the UK and associated with the hard work of picking cotton.
Cotton picking hands	referring to someone n a derogatory way	Largely associated with the American south (though there are early references from the UK) and with the hands of the cotton picker, generally black person. Can be interpreted as racist.

Communications, Management

Wanted: Communications Goddess

Debra Yearwood 56 Comments

When job descriptions become a communications nightmare.

Chatting with old colleagues, fellow communicators and bloggers on LinkedIn is always good fun and every once in a while I come across something that makes me want to share more widely. In this instance, it started with a series of odd job descriptions that I came across a few months back. In one notable announcement the job description ran for more than three pages…that’s over three pages of required skills and responsibilities. One of my more discerning fellow communicators posted the ad to our LinkedIn group and posed the question, “Who could possibly qualify for this job?”

Wanted Communications Goddess

Many of us read the ad, there are about 163,212 in this particular group, and with some amazement we debated about who had written it. Who could be so clueless? Was there an internal candidate they were trying to protect or avoid? It couldn’t have been written by a human resources professional…we hoped. While we mused over who could have been so silly, more concerning was, who would apply for it? Surely anyone foolish enough, confident enough, delusional or desperate enough would quickly find herself overloaded and overwhelmed. No one thought the individual could exist who had all the skills. The responsibilities were simply too diverse, web master, product marketer, social media strategist and on and on it went. We decided that even if there was someone on the planet who could lay claim to most of the skills, when on earth were they ever going to find the time to put them into play? It made us all wonder about the firm who posted the ad. What on earth would their culture be like?

No Super Heroes Need Apply

The challenge with a bad job description is that it not only means you won’t find who you’re looking for but it also takes a toll on how your organization is perceived. Jobs with ridiculous descriptions or ones that have to be posted multiple times make people think twice about applying. They assume the role was filled and vacated and that begs the question, what happened? If you do manage to find some brave soul to apply then you have to manage their inevitable despondency and disengagement. To add insult to injury, it often takes a long time for the employer to know that it’s the description that has failed and not the employee. In worst-case scenarios employees are fired and replaced several times before someone figures out that they should rethink the job. Most of the time employees figure out pretty quickly that the job simply can’t be done, but coming to that realization and trying to explain it to a boss are two very different things. In some instances the employee throws themselves at the job with great abandon hoping that if they just apply a heroic effort they can make it happen. Burnout will eventually get them and then it’s back to the drawing board.

Noted human resources consultant, Lou Adler explores the job description challenge in various articles on LinkedIn and Inc., as well as, in his book, Hire With Your Head: Using Performance-Based Hiring to Build Great Teams. Adler suggests that instead of describing a job based on skills, hiring managers should consider what the right candidates would need to do in order to be successful in the job. He argues that when performance is the lens through which a job is viewed, flaws in the description become evident. He also suggests that managers interview departing employees to discover if the job has changed over time. Take a look at this short video.

What do you think? Would you would prefer, to be interviewed on performance or skills? Would you be more responsive to a job description based on skills or performance? Ever come across a job that would take a goddess to perform?

Image courtesy of Gameanna/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Communications, Internal Communications, public relations

Handling Hecklers

Debra Yearwood 28 Comments

Whether you’re standing in front of an audience of thousands or your colleagues in a meeting, handling a heckler is no fun, but it can be done with aplomb.

In various studies conducted over the years, public speaking has ranked number one as the most feared activity. In some studies, almost 30% of respondents have indicated that they feared public speaking more than death. Jerry Seinfeld may have put it best when he said, “Most people would rather be in the casket at a funeral, than giving the eulogy”.

Since public speaking can encompass delivering a lecture, standing up in class or a meeting to express an opinion, there are any number of communications opportunities that get missed due to fear. In fact, fear of public speaking can have a negative impact on your career and can undermine success in life if you do nothing about it. The good news is that you can do something about your fear.

There are tried and true methods explored in Trips, Sniffs and Nerves and in Body Language that can help you to overcome everything from your hesitation to sweaty palms. However, there are other things that can go wrong that have little to do with your preparation or nerves but can make you reluctant to speak. Although it doesn’t happen often, every once in a while you will come across someone who wants to challenge the authority of the speaker. They may have an agenda of their own and are looking for a forum, they may be holding a grudge. They may simply be cranky. Whatever it is that motivates this verbal bully, you can manage them just as you do other aspects of your presentation.

The first thing that you need to remember is that you are in charge of you and your presentation. There are tips out there for taking on a heckler and perhaps having a battle of wits, but that doesn’t seem like much fun for you if you’re nervous about public speaking and certainly, no fun for the audience unless you’re a professional comedian.

I enjoy public speaking. I happily abandon the stage and walk in and among the audience when presenting. Hecklers don’t phase me and I generally try to incorporate them into the presentation…to a point. If practice makes for a better presentation, then taking on an additional presenter in the middle of delivering is hardly going to improve your performance. Instead, avoid grandstanding and deal with a heckler by taking a deep breath and allowing the heckler to deliver their message. In most cases, the audience will be more annoyed than you are by the interruption and let the heckler know it, but that can only happen if you let them have their airtime and keep your cool. Once they have said their bit and you have responded (to the group, not just the heckler), they are generally prepared to be quiet.

If that’s not the case and they persist in disrupting you or being rude, consider the following tips:

Acknowledge what they are doing, consider saying, “You’ve made many points or asked many questions.”
If that isn’t sufficient, then let them know how they are making you feel. This is not an opportunity to be rude, accusatory or judgmental. Try saying, “I’m having a hard time completing my presentation.” or “I’m having a hard time finishing.”
If the heckler just really wants to keep going no matter what you do, solicit the aid of your audience by asking them through a show of hands what they would prefer, the rest of your presentation or an impromptu presentation by the heckler. If you have been patient and have allowed the heckler to say their piece and have responded, the audience will vote them off the island.
If you are in a meeting consider thanking them for their input and saying no more or ask them if they would like to continue the conversation privately later.

During the Question and Answer Period

Challenge a negative premise. The world isn’t always doom and gloom. Worst-case scenarios are interesting, but not the only eventuality. Addressing worst-case scenarios or “what if” questions will typically lead to you saying things better left unsaid.
Use reflective language to ensure you understand their point and to let them know you were listening, try saying, “So you are saying…” This approach also works if you get a heckler on your blog.
When you do respond, don’t repeat baiting words – use your own words or risk being quoted later with words you never intended to utter.
Remember to remain calm yet assertive.
Don’t speak on behalf of others.
Keep your own opinion to yourself if you are representing an organization. Any comment you make will be recalled as being organizational. Even if you state it as a “personal opinion”
If you can’t answer a question, give a reason why you can’t answer and move on. Don’t guess or speculate. Consider saying, “I would rather not speculate and I can’t answer your question.”
Break up multi-part questions in your answer.
More than anything, remember that you’re in charge of your reactions.

Have you ever run across a heckler online or in person? How did you manage the situation? Have you ever seen anyone do a great job of dealing with a heckler? What did they do?

Communications, Management

What’s Better, Ideation Or Creativity?

Debra Yearwood 11 Comments

My office went through the StrengthsFinder process earlier this year and “ideation” was one of my identified strengths. In the past when I’ve done similar things, in lieu of ideation I would draw the “creative” card. While my colleagues would nod in agreement, seeing it as a compliment, I’ve always been a bit suspicious of the description. What does creative mean and really, in practical terms, what is its value?

Before I go on I should point out that I love the idea of creativity in most aspects of my life. I like to paint, draw, write, garden, cook all things people generally think of as creative endeavours. Work in communications also requires creative components, and I believe in creativity’s role in enhancing everything from messages to services. My suspicion comes from the fact that I also know that if you are doing your job well, then it will be based in research and best practices. When those things are absent, the creative process can act as a blind or distraction rather than an enhancement. Making something that is poorly thought out or ill conceived look appealing or worst still, strategic, is a great way to build incompetency into your organization or project.

Doing a job well, any job, requires contemplation, research, planning and hard work. Talent can help, but without the other pieces it doesn’t go far. But when someone says, “your creative” I always get the impression that they think that is the whole process.

So is ideation any better as a descriptor? Perhaps. Without going into the full description, Gallop describes ideation this way, “People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.”

I have to admit, I love when small, seemingly inconsequential actions create big ripples. If you can figure out what small thing you need to do to make your big objectives line up, then you have a powerful tool. The Behavioural Insights Team from the UK, you may know them as the “Nudge Unit”, was created to explore just those things. Their research is focused on determining what little nudge is required to change behaviour. Some of their insights include.

Wrapping presents nicely increases the likelihood of the gift being well received.
A handwritten letter is more likely to get a response than a typed missive.
While people like choice, the more options you give them, the less likely they are to make a choice.

Facts like these intrigue me. They remind me that sometimes solving problems is not about coming up with the most original thought, the most elaborate plan, but better understanding how things work and what motivates people. Ideation doesn’t assume anything about the nature of ideas. It acknowledges that ideas can be creative, simplistic, time tested and any number of other things. That has real appeal to me.

Like creativity, ideation without due diligence in research and methodology will not produce good results. Consider that what we call brainstorming sessions are ideation sessions. Research shows that they produce poorer results than if people try to think of new ideas on their own. There are a number of reasons for this:

We tend towards consensus in group sessions and this means that most sessions develop variations on existing ideas rather than exploring new ones.
Introverted participants are generally less vocal in these sessions which means part of the group is never really heard and
We often go into sessions without research. Essentially we start from scratch.

Not all brainstorming sessions are created equal, but the general rules of engagement most people employ do not produce stellar results. So what works best, ideation or creativity? Or are they really just variations on a theme? Whatever your preferences, they both perform best when they are coupled with work, knowledge and strategic thinking.

What about you? What do you consider the pros and cons of creativity and ideation?

Image Courtesy of Leigh Righton through Flickr

Communications, public relations

Slow and Expensive

Debra Yearwood Leave a comment

When did I become an advocate for slow and expensive? It was a gradual thing. I don’t really think it was a question of choice, as much as, a rebellion against the alternative, fast and cheap.
For reasons that remain elusive to me, fast and cheap have become beacons for consumers. Fast and cheap food has been a staple for years. Forbes magazine rates McDonald’s as one of the top five brands in the world. But fast and cheap have begun to invade sectors that make no sense to me at all. What is the point of speed dating? Are you looking for a fast talker? What about dating sites that state, with pride, “We don’t waste your time with a lot of questions.”

Hmmm… even if I met a man who had been vetted through friends or family, I’d want him to answer a few questions, but then I think there is value to be had in that four-letter word, time. Yes, call me old fashioned, but I think you get what you pay for and you pay with time and or money for quality.

Which takes me back to fast and cheap. Let’s start with fast. So what’s the rush? When did speed become synonymous with good? Like any Luddite might, I blame technology, or more to the point, I blame our inability to separate what’s good for technology from what’s good for us. Do we think that the speed at which our computers boot up, we move through the Internet, we download movies can some how be extrapolated to apply to the real world?

What if job interviews were a minute long and applications asked only one question? What if we only aged our scotch for a year and all wine was new? Perhaps all steak should be served rare and visits to the doctor to should be marked in seconds not minutes. Slow growing plants like evergreens should be eradicated, while those persistent and pretty dandelions should be encouraged. Education need not take years… whoa! Some things simply take time. As a woman or as a man, do you want to be thought of as fast? Many things are better because they don’t happen quickly.

The appeal of cheap is a complete mystery to me. Cheap has never been a harbinger of value. Cheap is the car sales man in the loud jacket steering you towards a lemon. Cheap is the invasive and cloying scent of cologne purchased for a song. Cheap is the derogatory term we use on the boss that does not pay you you’re worth. Cheap is the umbrella that breaks the first time it rains. If someone called you cheap, would you take it as a compliment? What would you think if it was applied to your work?

Sale In A Sale Shop Selling Sale Signs (Photo credit: the justified sinner)

Therein lies the rub for me. Cheap and fast may be popular, but it’s not how I want my skills perceived. It’s not how I brand myself. I’ve never wanted to be considered by any of the other meanings attributed to cheap either. I am not shoddy, stingy or heaven forbid, inexpensive. My abilities to assess and respond were not acquired quickly. It has taken me decades of experience, years of research and more failures and successes than I care to count to build my body of professional knowledge. I save my employers and clients time and money because I take my time and apply my years of hard earned knowledge to the challenges they face. In short, what I offer is neither fast nor cheap.

You are no doubt thinking that happier times can be found in more modest approaches. Why not aim to be moderately fast and reasonably priced? Doesn’t that just roll off the tongue? The problem with moderate and reasonable is that they do not capture the imagination. They make me think of mediocre. Even when we purchase things in the mid range, we’re really hoping they are about as good as the higher priced item, but a better price. We all love getting a good deal and I’m no exception.

When promoting a brand you have a few ways to go, you are appealing to a unique niche, you are best in class or you are cheaper. If you are offering something unique, you are not competing on price. If the market is competitive you are left with quality or price. Unless you are willing to fight on price, a war no one wins, then you are left with quality.
Quality is rarely if ever associated with fast and cheap, but it has kept company with slow and expensive.

Which would you rather be, fast & cheap or slow & expensive?

Image: A yacht in Lorient, Bretagne, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Communications

Is There Value to Using Case Studies in Business?

Debra Yearwood Leave a comment

Harvard first developed case studies as a way to engage students in their executive training programs. Complex or difficult cases were presented to students and they were asked to familiarize themselves with the materials as well as gather additional information. They would then be tasked with suggesting reasons for the problem outlined in the case and possible solutions. The cases allowed students to take a very practical look at real world challenges. They were not geared to have one “right” outcome, but allowed for many different solutions.

The case study in the social sciences is more of an analysis of an individual, project or organization and is used to showcase exceptions or standard behaviour. A case study in this context is really a research approach, a real life examination.

The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) frequently shares case studies with its members. These studies are useful tools that work in a different way from either the business or social science approach. In this instance the purpose of the case study is to show how a problem or challenge can be successfully resolved. These documents are usually a few pages long and provide details around the challenge and resolution. They are a great way to explore possible solutions for your own challenges and the ideas showcased can often be modified for alternate use.

When I was in school case studies were interesting things. They brought life to the phenomenon that was described in my sociology textbooks. Where the text was often dry and uninteresting, the case studies made the subjects compelling. They brought the issues to life. As a communicator, case studies are often what I use to explain why I think a certain direction should be taken or why we should avoid another. Yet when I look around at business sites, the case studies there rarely resemble those illuminating stories I recall.

Although case studies are meant to illustrate how the firm works and supposedly thinks, too often those objectives are forgotten in the rush to showcase big name clients or big money projects. The challenges illustrated in the studies are not complex, unusual, difficult or in any way challenging. In fact, many of the case studies I’ve read recently made me think that the company involved would have to be staffed by idiots not to resolve the challenges with ease. More concerning, the way problems were resolved not only lacked imagination but did not seem particularly geared towards the client.

I was so disheartened by what I was seeing that I was tempted to tell my own clients to avoid these stories on their websites, but that was not the right answer. This takes me back to Harvard and my own recollections. The case studies there were compelling. They were written to intrigue, to provoke conversation and engage thought. Here is an example of a case study presented by Harvard:

It was five minutes before show time, and only 15 people had wandered into the conference room to hear Lancaster-Webb CEO Will Somerset introduce the company’s latest line of surgical gloves. More important, sales prospect Samuel Taylor, medical director of the Houston Clinic, had failed to show. Will walked out of the ballroom to steady his nerves and noticed a spillover crowd down the hall. He made a “What’s up?” gesture to Judy Chen, Lancaster-Webb’s communications chief. She came over to him. “It’s Glove Girl. You know, the blogger,” Judy said, as if this explained anything. “I think she may have stolen your crowd.” “Who is she?” Will asked. Glove Girl was a factory worker at Lancaster-Webb, whose always outspoken, often informative postings on her web log had developed quite a following. Will was new to the world of blogging, but he quickly learned about its power in a briefing with his staff. After Glove Girl had raved about Lancaster-Webb’s older SteriTouch disposable gloves, orders had surged. More recently, though, Glove Girl had questioned the Houston Clinic’s business practices, posting damaging information at her site about its rate of cesarean deliveries–to Sam Taylor’s consternation. This fictional case study considers the question of whether a highly credible, but sometimes inaccurate and often indiscreet, online diarist is more of a liability than an asset to her employer. What, if anything, should Will do about Glove Girl?

Although the story was not about life and death, it does capture your interest. It also doesn’t go on for pages. A solution should be equally short and be as interesting as the problem. Case studies are a great way to engage current and future clients. They showcase how you think as effectively as a blog, but they show the practical side of your skills. There are a few considerations to keep in mind if you use case studies.

Tips For Case Studies

Write as though you are telling a story. Provide a setting and context for your characters and choose your hero (here’s a hint: the client is the hero).
Keep the story short, 250 words is plenty to set the scene. The next 250 should resolve the issue.
If you prefer shorter stories, then state the problem in a couple of short descriptive sentences and the solution should be equally briefly. This approach works well for people who are looking around your site and just want a taste of what you are about. For an example of doing this well, check out writespeaksell.com, Jeanette Paladino does an excellent job of briefly profiling the challenge and how she resolved it.
No matter your approach, make sure you get the client’s permission to tell their story.

Have you ever used a case study to make your point or sell a skill? Has a story of someone else’s experience ever helped you to decide on using a service or maybe avoiding one? Do you look at case studies or testimonials when you go to a site? If so, what do you think? If not, how come?

Communications

Valuable Repetition

Debra Yearwood Leave a comment

If you were lost at sea, would you send your distress signal once?

I watched a man move two chairs off a truck. He maneuvered his way through the glass doors of a cafe, around the sign welcoming patrons, down the hall and out of sight. He came back empty handed and headed out to the truck where he used the same patient, methodical movements to take two more chairs into the cafe. He did this 12 times and I watched him the entire time from my viewpoint inside the cafe by the window. He never ran, he never hurried and his movements completely captured my attention.

My husband has watched me prepare filo pastry treats with the same concentration. My own movements have been repetitive and one would think, uninspiring and yet we watch. When someone knows their job well, the sureness of their actions captures our attention. The music of their movements speaks to their ability and although you can’t hear the music they are moving to, you can appreciate the rhythm.

I thought perhaps the attraction that comes from watching someone perform such repetitive tasks was because we enjoyed watching expertise at play. Malcolm Gladwell explained in his book, Outliers, that 10,000 hours of practice is required to become an expert at just about anything. Even if you haven’t performed a task for that long, if you have done it repeatedly, you get better at it. Except for one thing, the cognitive scientists (including the one who Malcolm references) have said that the theory is wrong or at least it does not tell the whole story of how someone becomes an expert. So why do we watch? What is it about simple repetitive acts that capture our attention?

In advocacy and in marketing, we use repetition to assure that messages are heard. It helps our audiences to process the concepts and ideas being promoted. We all process information at an automatic and unconscious level, so while we may hear the words, or see the visuals we are not necessarily taking it all in.

Think about what happens when you are driving. You move in and out of traffic, you note road signs and lights, pedestrians and cyclists, the state of the road and the temperature in the car. You are taking in a vast quantity of information. This activity is called pre-attentive processing. We see and hear but it does not interfere with the song we are singing or the story we are listening to on the radio unless we get a pre-attentive cue. A pre-attentive cue is something out of the norm or unanticipated, something that we are predisposed to respond to, like a threat. A visual pre-attentive cue is the bright red flag in a field of yellow flags.

Higher level thinking, the digesting of information happens when our brain sifts through all the content being fed to it and digests the relevant bits. Our brain will pick some things over others based on our biases. To ensure that the messages we want to be heard are heard, we can use repetition or surprise. In fact, you could say that the repetition becomes a surprise because it captures our attention, it stands out.When we repeat an idea often enough, we force others to hear it and interpret it. They can then break it down and contemplate it. Repetition allows us to understand how something works in the moment, while it is happening.

As I watched the man move the chairs I chatted with my daughter and sipped my coffee. I also wondered about why he moved so slowly, why despite the mundane nature of the job he did not hurry. I realized that by moving the chairs in a slow methodical fashion he avoided all the obstacles and made sure that he did not damage the chairs or injure himself. Repetition allowed me to compare, consider and comprehend in real time not just what he was doing but why he was doing it.

Do you find yourself watching when someone is performing a repetitive task? Have you ever used repetition to get your point across to someone?

CommStorm

Category Archives: Communications

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Is There Value to Using Case Studies in Business?

Valuable Repetition

Developing Better Professional and Private Communications