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Communications, public relations

8 Tips On What To Do In A Communications Crisis And 9 Tips On What Not To Do

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Last updated August 2017

17 tips for managing crisis communications

Every year I watch in amazement as a few organizations and a few celebrities stumble into a communications crisis in the media.  My amazement isn’t over the incidents that triggered the crisis’, though many of them would certainly give you pause, but rather over the way the crisis’ is managed.

The reaction from the train company, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Canada Co. (MMA) after their runaway train caused a massive explosion that devastated the town of Lac-Megantic in 2013 was shocking in its ineptitude. As everyone from the Canadian Prime Minister to Quebec’s Premier rushed to the scene to express their condolences, the CEO from MMA was notably absent. Almost off the bat, the company started to point fingers of blame, particularly at the local fire department and although they softened their tone in subsequent communications, perceptions were set.  They followed through by being slow in providing financial support and to cap their self-destructive public relations campaign, the CEO suggested that he too was a victim of the disaster.

Right around the same time MMA was self-destructing, Paula Deen, a popular television chef, was accused of racism. She did an amazing job of illustrating why saying you’re sorry is easier and smarter than saying, “I am what I am.”

In a similar vein,  Anthony Weiner demonstrated how not to engage the press. At the risk of stating the obvious, if you’re in politics and your name is Weiner, don’t tweet pictures of your wiener. It’s like gold to the late night hosts and catnip to the press. If you do share your pictures of your wiener and you are later asked to identify it, be prepared to identify it or don’t, but be prepared to be asked.

These are just three stories, but the airlines, politicians and celebrities supply us with more on a regular basis. Given the number of stories that play out every year, it might be useful to share what to do, as well as, what not to do in a communications crisis. True crises have several elements in common, any one of which, if handled poorly, can disrupt or even destroy your best attempts at managing the situation effectively, not to mention the lasting damage that can be done to your reputation.

What to do

  1. Be Honest: If you are at fault, there needs to be an outward acknowledgement of the error. Excuses and self-serving messages will only further undermine public confidence.
  2. Be Coordinated: You need to be well organized during a crisis.  This means planning and identifying whom you want on your crisis team in advance. The bigger the crisis, the more senior the spokesperson.
  3. Provide Explanation: Explain what happened and why it happened, even if what happened is embarrassing. If you’re not sure, share what you can.
  4. Give Support: Everything said should be spoken from the perspective of those injured.  Language should be plain and easily understood.
  5. Be Apologetic: Don’t stop being apologetic for what happened.  This is the last place ego needs to show up. If you are not personally involved in the incident, act as though you are or that someone you know has been affected. This is not the time to introduce “but” to your language.
  6. Consult: Engage experts, victims and relevant stakeholders to help you resolve the problem.  Make sure there is no possibility of bias in the choices you have made. Make sure that victims are given a voice.
  7. Promise: Promise not to have the same or similar incidents happen in the future. Make sure that the public understands that you have set a zero tolerance policy internally.
  8. Restitution:  This is probably the most difficult to commit to because of economic restraints, nevertheless the cost of not putting victim’s needs first and foremost will be by far more costly.

What not to do

  1. Show condescension or arrogance.
  2. Demonstrate a lack of concern or consideration.
  3. Ignore or minimize the impact on victims or their needs.
  4. Blame others or not take responsibility.
  5. Use inconsiderate or thoughtless language.
  6. Be inconsistent.
  7. Be unprepared.
  8. Miss opportunities to communicate with victims or other stakeholders.
  9. Create victim confusion.

Have you ever had to manage through a crisis?  Do you think you would be good in one?

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Communications, Internal Communications

Finding Common Ground

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Finding Common GroundSometimes the hardest part of facilitating communications is people recognizing that that they need the facilitation. Communications is such an all-encompassing term.  We all communicate, in fact, we’re engineered for it.  Everything about us is geared towards getting our message out.  The way we use our hands, the shape of our vocal chords, even our eyes. We gave up a useful protective camouflage by having so much of our eyes be white and we did it for the sole purpose of better communication.

With so much focussed on enhancing our capacity to communicate, it’s not surprising that we would struggle with the concept of a professional communicator, after all, isn’t it an inherent human trait? Yes and no. Yes, we are geared to express ourselves, but we are geared to express ourselves best inside our own tribe.

Finding Common Ground in Communications - Schramm's ModelThink of a group of chemists having a wonderful conversation on the molecular structure of various substances. They could have a heated debate or energetic agreement, but it’s unlikely that the average person could join in  or even follow the exchange. The language would be specific to their field of interest and particular knowledge. Seems obvious enough, but often when it comes to organizational communications, or even person to person communications the deliverer of the message takes for granted that all listeners will understand what is being said. Wilbur Shramm put it simply and said that for understanding to take place between the source (sender) of the message and the destination (recipient), they must have something in common. Communicators work to identify and develop that common ground.

In my work as a liaison between organizations it became very clear how easy it was to misinterpret messages.  Let me give you an example, a national organization set out to build closer ties with its provincial counterparts. In an effort to express their desire to enhance relations, they decided to give a gift or peace offering to several provincial organizations. Nova Scotia said thanks, Ontario didn’t respond and Alberta got angry. What happened?

Traditionally the organization I represented would speculate on the reasons for the various responses, determine what they thought the problem might be and then decide not to offer a similar gift again. However as I was tasked with building the relationships, I opted to visit Alberta. Why speculate about the answer when I could just ask them what was going on? By meeting them in person I would be able to not just hear them but see what their body’s had to say.

I flew to Edmonton and met with the CEO and second in command to ask them, why the gift had upset them. Imagine my surprise when they explained that they would not tolerate attempts to restrict or in any other way control them. Since the peace offering came in the form of a free publication that could be altered to reflect the needs of the user, I was flabbergasted and asked them to explain further. Through discussion it was eventually revealed that the sample we had sent had images that were inconsistent with local activities…I said we could change the images to whatever they thought would suite. They said the literary content was out of date with the local practices.   I said they could change the content to reflect local objectives. “But, that would cost a lot of money if you did that for all of us!” exclaimed the disbelieving executive.

“That’s why it’s a gift.” I said. After an awkward silence we started laughing. I asked why they thought we would not change the content or images when we had offered to do so from the start.  It turns out that historically there had been a somewhat patriarchal relationship between the two organizations and although the people had changed, the nature of the relationship had not. Over time, the provincial organization had grown to resent the national body and felt they didn’t understand their needs. There was also an expectation of disagreement on both sides. The national organization expected the provincial organization to reject anything they said or suggested, so didn’t spend much time investigating the reasons.  The dance pattern had been set and the dance partners chosen.  No one veered from the pattern or suggested a change in music. Since there was a tacit understanding on what to expect, at every encounter the assumptions would grow until the estrangement was so loaded that even a peace offering could be interpreted as a threat.

What communicators do is work to understand the perceptions of the source and the destination and make sure that the signal or message is delivered in an environment of mutual understanding.  In order to do that effectively we have to be able to step into everyone’s shoes, even if just for a moment and see the world from their perspective. This is why market research and environmental scans are such an essential part of developing how messages are delivered.

Have you ever had to put yourself in someone else’s place? Did you learn from the process? Have you ever had your message completely misinterpreted?

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Communications

Saturday Morning Chit Chat, Taboos and other Psychological Blocks or 9 Tips for Breaking Them.

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9 Tips for breaking writers blockI’ve been struggling the last few weeks with writers block…well more like writers distraction.  If my Saturday posts were called Saturday Night chit chat I would have been fine. I just completed a ranty little post on sex and politics, but even I have to refrain from that kind of discussion first thing in the morning. I could have also shared my concerns over poor voter turnout, public disengagement, the unseemly relationship that sometimes exists between reporters and politicians and no I’m not skipping back to sex and politics, but you can see a certain theme emerging here. I have very definite political opinions, but I don’t see them as necessarily appropriate for public consumption or appetite. I have a taboo against writing too deeply on politics.

Taboos are interesting things.  I know that some taboos find their origins in religion or culture and they can be good and bad. Clearly having a cultural taboo against randomly killing people is a good thing, but having a cultural taboo against girls being educated, not so much. What about personal taboos? Those taboos whose origins are more individual in nature?  My own taboos around writing about politics is a good example.  I have strong opinions in this area and while I would freely give advice on how to engage and even that you should engage, I hesitate to go beyond that because it’s part of my job to work with governments.  Political people have a tendency towards paranoia (except people really are out to get them) and it’s easy to see yourself or your opponent in critical discussions, so I try to avoid misinterpretations by simply skipping those kinds of public exchanges. I also think that politics is one of the best dividers out there. Want to start a fight?  Strike up a conversation about politics and sooner or later you’ll find something to fight over.

So what do you do when you can’t seem to write about anything but the very subject you’re trying to ignore? Back to writers block. So what I’ve been doing is writing the issue out of my system posting them on a private blog.  I’ve also been exploring.  Looking at interesting blogs, articles and books in hopes that something  catches my attention. Right, everything has captured my attention.  There isn’t rabbit hole I haven’t jumped through. A point of inquiry I haven’t followed and still no useful posts.

So I finally ended up treating myself like a client.  I want my best advice on what to do to get past writers block. Here’s what I had to say.

1) Take a break. Step away from the project and do something else.  Give your mind an opportunity to rest or shift gears. Sometimes the harder you push for a solution, the further you get from finding an answer.

2) Create an Editorial calendar. Now would be a good time to create an editorial calendar if you don’t have one and to refresh your existing one if you do. With the fall coming people will be attending conferences and getting back into the swing of things.  What can you contribute that might help?

3) Turn off social media.  The internet can be an amazing distraction.  It may seem like a handy resource but it’s easy to get lost in all of the options it has to offer. Disconnect and see if that will help you to focus.

4) Get some alone time:  People are wonderful, but if you are having a hard time staying on task then they are like moving, noisy shiny distractions.

5) Find another creative outlet.  It’s obvious your mind is racing, so paint, garden, do something that gets the creative juices flowing but is unrelated to writing.

6) Do some physical exercise. The body and mind are connected.  If you have been solely focused on writing, whether it’s writing your blog or other pieces, then you haven’t been exercising. The movement will help you to think better.

7) Research some outstanding questions. Get the answers to questions that have been plaguing you.  What areas of communications, public relations or management would you like to learn more about?  Do the research and share your findings.

8)  Have a pretend conversation. Start writing as if you were having a chat with someone and see if the stream of consciousness that follows gets you going.

9) Ask others what they do to get their focus back.  The issue may be writing for you, but it’s really a focus challenge.  Find out how others have solved similar challenges and see if you can extrapolate from there to address your own challenge.

So, it’s Saturday morning and this blog post has been automatically posted because I am away at a cottage with no internet connections…I’m probably painting, but maybe I’ve gone for a walk with my husband to get a little exercise. I’ll write Tuesday’s blog in the car ride on my way back.  🙂

What do you do to get past writers block or other psychological hurdles?  I’d like to know…really!

[polldaddy poll=7310841]

Our results from last weeks poll reveal that voters were not so keen on the idea of a glowing plant. Almost 37% called it a Franken-flower and more than 52% weren’t sure what to call it. A mere 5% thought it was a power plant and another 5% had other ideas all together.

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Communications

Tips For Planning a Media Event – Part One, Getting Ready

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Planning A Media Event Part One

Whether it’s your small business’ big event, your book launch or your community party, sometimes getting a little media coverage can make all the difference to your success. So what can you do if you don’t have the  resources to bring in a professional firm or you’re simply not comfortable doing that?  The best bet is to focus on your local media, they have a vested interest in hearing and telling local stories. Planning a media event, like planning a meeting takes work, but it can be done.  The PR work can be broken down into three distinct phases, before, during and after the event…yup, that easy.

This week we’ll look at before the event, this part quite naturally takes the most time and effort on your part, but is critical to your success. Next week, we’ll explore during and after an event.

BEFORE:

1.   What’s Makes Your Event/Product Special?

  • If you’re planning an event, consider what makes it appealing or think about ways to have fun with a traditional activity. On the night my organization’s CEO was to appear in an episode of Undercover Boss we hosted movie nights in various locations around the country.  We treated it as an opportunity to reach out to our communities and have a little fun. The Ottawa activities started on Parliament Hill with a private viewing with senators and MPs and then moved to a local restaurant where we watched it with staff and friends on a big outdoor screen. The story got covered in various local newspapers and yet all that was really happening was an episode of Undercover Boss Canada.

2. Identify the media outlets you want to reach.

  • In order to reach the media, you need to identify the local newspapers, radio and television stations and create a contact grid of people at each of those organizations by calling them and asking them who manages the local news beat or if your news might more effectively fit into a local column or radio show, ask for the producer or their assistant.  You can often find a media directory at your local library and that will save you a good deal of time.  There are a number of providers who will sell media list, Cision’s global media database (formerly Bacon’s Directories) provides the full name of publications and contacts and of course there is always the local yellow pages.
  • Newspapers: Look for issue specific editors or journalists, community and calendar listings that  you can then add your event to.
  • Radio: morning show producers and news assignment editors are good starting points. Many stations have community programs that announce calendar listings.
  • Television: Look for the assignment editor, weekend assignment editor and community event producers as  good starting points.
  • Social Media:  From creating Facebook Event page to tweeting throughout your event there are number of ways to not only promote your event in advance, but also generate chatter during and afterwards.

Tips For planning A media Event

3.    Choosing and preparing the right spokesperson for your event.

  • Choose your spokesperson based on their level of engagement on your issue and their role within your organization. They must be familiar with your issue and goals or they can end by making recommendations or comments that you can’t support and once its in the public domain it’s very hard to get it back.  It is also best if they are articulate and poised. Too much passion on an issue can come across as shrill through a microphone.
  • Make sure that the spokesperson is well briefed on the potential issues that may surface.  Practice possible questions with them and make sure that they have a written copy of  succinct short sentences that he/she can learn to be sure they have an effective interview.
  • Practice, practice, practice.
  • Avoid putting spokespeople in situations where they will be easily distracted or may display behavior that will detract from your message. For example, a swivel chair for a sit down TV interview can turn into a joy ride and the spokesperson may end by swinging back and forth as they get excited by the topic.  Waving hands can be equally distracting. Speaking with your hands is a natural human behavior, but gesturing too wildly will result in your hands being the star attraction of your interview.
  • A crisp white shirt can look great for a photo, providing the background isn’t also white, but it can create glare on camera.  A shiny forehead will make you look like your sweating and that can be a seen as a physical response to lying. A small application of face powder can reduce shine (yes for you men too).

4.    Prepare your press materials

  • Press materials are generally made up of a notice or media alert, the press release and background documents.  The Media alert does exactly what is sounds like.  It alerts the media that you will be telling them something of interest on a given day at a set time. The press release itself is the “news” item or the information you want to share and is given at the indicated time. The background documents are to provide reporters with additional information should they want to expand on your story or to allow them to learn more completely why your story is news.  If you were a scientist and you broke the news that you had found fossilized people poop in America that dated back 10,000, 000 years ago, you would probably earn yourself some odd looks, but no coverage.  If you explained that the earliest humanoids weren’t supposed to be around for another 4,000,000 years at the earliest and that the poop provided insight into the diets and habits of these unusual people, you might actually get a news story.

5.    Distribute your press materials including a media alert, a calendar listing and a press release at least a month before your event.

  • The media alert should be used if you would like the media to attend your event and to conduct interviews with your spokesperson or others.
  • A calendar listing can come in different forms, local radio stations often offer a calendar listing of events, as do newspapers and local “what’s happening” online services. The listing should be used if your event is open to the public and you want to attract attendees.
  • The press release includes similar information as the media alert, but with more details, such as participating program objectives and quotes from spokespeople.

Tips For planning A media Event 2

6.    Distribute press materials in a timely fashion.

  • Send out the calendar listing  about a month before your event (many local newspapers have a one month deadline for submissions).
  • Media advisories or alerts should be distributed about two weeks prior to the event to allow for ample time to secure interviews.
  • Press Releases are for the day of the event.

7.    Conduct media follow-up.

  • Make sure the media outlets received your press material and make yourself or your spokesperson available to answer questions about the event and offer interviews.
  • Be persistent, but polite.
  • Be sure to call the TV stations the day before and the day of to be sure your event is on their schedule.  If a story falls through, they can look to the schedule and maybe decide to cover your event.

If you plan on filming or photographing participants, ensure that everyone you have selected for filming or interviewing has signed a release form. The form does not have to be complicated.

Have you ever been at a local community event that had great coverage? What made it appealing?  Have you ever attended an event because of local news coverage? Have you hosted one that you thought was amazing?

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Communications, Government Relations, Internal Communications, public relations

Have We Run Out Of Stories?

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Have we run out of stories
Have we run out of new stories?

Vulture recently posted an article about the demise of the blockbuster. In it, Gilbert Cruz itemizes all that’s wrong with Hollywood’s blockbuster system from a lack of imagination to the high cost of production.  It seems our preoccupation with rehashing old stories in a spectacularly expensive way is beginning to wear thin. The article prompted me to ask the question, have we run out of stories? I wondered because I regularly watch movies and television with half an eye and yet follow the story line with no challenge. It may be because I’m an avid reader but it’s more likely that the same stories are often retold. It makes you wonder if Christopher Booker didn’t have it right when he proposed there were only seven stories in the world and they were continuously being retold.

Cover of "Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell ...
Cover of Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories

If you are not familiar with his perspective, in his book, “The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories” he suggests that there are only seven stories and they are:

  • overcoming the monster;
  • rags to riches;
  • the quest;
  • voyage and return;
  • comedy;
  • tragedy and
  • rebirth.

He falls into some interesting traps based on his own paradigm and at times seems to counter his own argument, but that aside, if his basic theory is correct, it poses a conundrum for communicators. The business of communications is the telling of stories.  We capture the attention of our audiences by telling them well. Whether we take them by surprise, intrigue or mystify them, we need to be clever and original. That becomes increasingly challenging if we believe we have to choose from a limited number of options. While Booker’s ideas are interesting and Hollywood’s challenges perplexing, I don’t think there are a limited number of stories. That would be the same as saying there are limits on our imagination.

I am reinforced in my belief through my work. As I go about the business of my job, I encounter an endless array of stories. In fact, I have encountered so many good stories during my career that my biggest challenge is finding the time to tell them.  When I worked with pharmacists, I was constantly amazed at the stories that would emerge when they were relaxed and reflective. They told amazing stores, funny, sad, bizarre and poignant ones. The one about the pharmacist who leaves her shop in the middle of the day because one of her clients needs to get home from the hospital and she’s the only one who can pick her up.  Then there was the pharmacist who made house calls out to the country and regularly got chased by an unfriendly turkey. In my current job, it’s the Meals on Wheels volunteer who doesn’t just leave the food at the door when no one answers, but investigates and saves the life of a client in the midst of a medical emergency.

Imagine how the conversation went the next time the meals on wheels program coordinator had to explain that the program was an important security check for seniors and shut-ins, not just a necessary food service.  Imagine what that story did to increase the number of volunteers the program receives. What do you think I might have said when an interest group leader suggested that pharmacists just counted pills? Stories provide us with powerful ammunition. They allow us to illustrate the complex in accessible ways and they allow us to inspire others to action.

The stories I hear are endless and I don’t think that it’s a reflection of the health sector, I think all sectors have great stories to tell, but someone has to choose to tell them. We haven’t run out of good tales, we just stopped looking in the right places for them and listening when we do find them. One of the best parts of my job is to hear those stories. I sometimes joke that it’s a good week if I cry once, a great week if I cry more than once.  That’s the power of a good story. It moves you and makes you think about the world in a different way.

As communicators, we all need to look for the story that illustrates our objectives, our brand and our aspirations. Clever tag lines, corporate colors and advertising dollars are worthless without the stories.

Have you ever used a story to make a point?  Has a story moved you when you thought you were resolved?

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Communications

Saturday Morning Chit Chat – When Did We Catch Up With The Future?

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When Did We Catch Up With The Future?
When Did We Catch Up With The Future?

I am so stupidly excited about Google Glass I can barely believe it’s a real thing. If you had told me twenty years ago that it would exist now, I would have thought you’d spent too much time in the sun …or reading sci-fi.  In fairness, twenty years ago, faxes were cutting edge technology.

Initially I thought I was the world’s biggest geek about Google Glass (and maybe I am) but come on, even the techiest (I’m sure that’s a word …somewhere) tech person would have to admit it’s pretty cool. It also dawned on me that one of the reasons I was feeling geeky was because no one around me was really talking about it. Turns out, not everyone knew about it. I was chatting with my sister-in-law about Google Glass, essentially telling her what I’m telling you, that I am a total goof on this topic,when I realized she was looking at me as though she thought maybe I had spent too much time in the sun.  What I was saying didn’t make sense to her.  How could that exist? I have to admit, I hesitated. I wondered for a brief moment if perhaps I’d gotten it wrong.

112 of 365 - Google's Project Glasses
112 of 365 – Google’s Project Glasses (Photo credit: Yogesh Mhatre)

What if I had mistaken the enthusiastic reports on Google Glass I’d read months ago?  What if the more recent articles were about what it might be able to do in some future perfect world.  BUT no, the future perfect world is now and I love it.

I’ve always been a glutton about information.  I remember feeling sad that I didn’t have the internet when I was in high school or that it had not emerged fully when I was finishing off university.  The fact that I had full access to the Library of Parliament when I was completing my degree should make it clear I was not hurting for information or resources, I’m just greedy about all that wonderful data. Google glass means that not only is all that amazing information on hand when I want it, it’s interactive.  I can generate data while I’m experiencing it. Wow!

My husband, (always the voice of reason) asked me how I thought I’d be able to process all that stimuli. I suffer from, “Oh look shiny” so not an unreasonable question, but besides the point. Who needs to process yet?  Right now all I want to do is soak in it.

Now I know there will be naysayers, there always are when something new comes along. There will be chat about the potential for an invasion of privacy (not an unreasonable concern),  and I’m sure a long list of stupid or bad things people will do with the glass, but that’s not the point.  People will do stupid or dumb things with just about anything. Should we stop using photocopiers because there’s always someone in the office that wants to photocopy their bum? What about the amazing things people can do? What about educational opportunities or information sharing. What does the surgeon see when they operate? Where does the mountain climber look? A “day in the life” takes on a whole new meaning when you’re looking through each others eyes in real time. So, where do I get my Google Glasses and does anyone have an extra $1500 I can borrow?

If you haven’t completely geeked out about this yet, take a look at this video and say hello to the future.Google Glass

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Last weeks poll results: 1oo% thought buddy glasses were a bad idea. Note: You could not find a less scientific poll. 🙂

[polldaddy poll=7263120]

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Communications, public relations

The Tool For Making The Perfect Elevator Pitch

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I’ve been looking for an automated pitch generator ever since Harvard removed their automatic pitch maker. I’ve finally found one at Buzzuka. OK, it’s not perfect, you actually need a human being and some passion for that, but what it does nicely is put you into the right frame of mind and get you to a starting point. Pitcherific also provides a useful framework to get you started on (and practising) your pitch.

Both of these tools help with the structure of a pitch but they won’t make the pitch for you.  You still need to do some homework.

Know Your Audience: There is little value in creating a pitch that delivers perfectly what you want but has no resonance with your audience. You’re not pitching yourself. You’re also not going to want to deliver the same message regardless of who you’re speaking to.

Be brief and clear: It seems like an obvious statement, but being succinct does not mean become cryptic. You need to be brief and clear. Your great-aunt Petunia and your eight-year-old nephew should be able to understand it.

Answer Essential Questions:  If the response to your pitch is, huh? You haven’t been clear enough. Make sure that your audience knows exactly what you want from them and that you answer that age-old question, “What’s in it for me?”

No Pick-Up Lines: If you use a line like, “Heaven must be missing an investor angel because you’re here with me right now.” Not only will you come off as cheesy, but also cliched. Get their attention, but do it with grace. Go left if they expect you to go right.  Use humour, gently.

When I talk about my experience, people typically assume that I learned about government relations during my years on Parliament Hill. I always respond the same way. “GR on parliament hill? No, I didn’t learn anything about government relations while I was there, I learned all about public relations because that’s who our audience was.”

My answer is unexpected, so it becomes memorable.  It’s not rocket science, it just shows a little-unexpected logic.

Renew It: Don’t take your pitch for granted. Always consider new ways of delivering it.  Refine and refresh it over time.

One size does not fit all: if you have different target audiences, then you should have different pitches. Context should also change the nature of the pitch.  For example, there’s the pitch to have a meeting that happens in an elevator and then there’s the pitch to sell your idea that might happen while sitting next to someone on a plane.

Have you ever delivered a great pitch in a pinch? Have you ever been sold something because the pitch was too good to refuse? I’d love to hear your views.

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The Truth About Elevator Pitches

The Truth About Elevator Pitches

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Communications, public relations

Personal Paradigms, The Good, The Bad & The Impact

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Paradigms, Good, Bad
Imagine operating with no point of reference.

They say that goldfish have a memory that’s about 10 seconds long, no doubt a gross exaggeration but for argument’s sake, let’s say that’s true. With a memory that short, they would be forever rediscovering the world around them. They would have no operating principle to help them navigate. Without personal paradigms we’d be very much like that goldfish.  Though his bowl of water is small he is forever shouting, “Hey, there’s a castle! Hey, there’s a castle!”

How Personal Paradigms Serve Us: Paradigms help us to interpret, define and engage in the world around us. Without our paradigms we would constantly be struggling to determine and define what we see, what we hear and what we should do about it. Our paradigms help us to move through our lives seamlessly.

When I was in college, I made a friend who often shared stories about her family and their activities. She spoke of the antiques her mother collected and the beautiful old apartment they lived in. She shared stories of their travels and generally painted an amazing picture of her life.  As I got to know her better it became clear her stories didn’t quite reflect reality. There were no antiques, no beautiful apartment and certainly no travels.

Young or old?
Young or old?

Flash forward a few years and I’m on Parliament Hill and the office across the hall has brought in a summer student. One day the student tells us about her adventures. She has met Sting, spent a few weeks on the streets for a research project, her grandmother has left all her money to her cats and she has written for a popular soap opera. As you can imagine, because of my history, my paradigm would not allow me to believe the stories she told unless I had evidence. It was simple, when people start telling fantastical stories about their lives you need to look more carefully.

Later, I quietly mentioned to my colleague that I had some suspicions about the truth of the stories shared. Well my colleague’s paradigm was different from mine, so she got more than a little annoyed at my suspicions and few uncomfortable days followed. After a short period, the summer student… disappeared from the office across the way. It eventually came out that she had made up all of her stories, including her skills. People were shocked and angry, but not me. My paradigm had stepped in and said, this is bull. Once that happened, all I could see were flaws and inconsistencies. Our paradigms save us a lot of grief and can generally help us to interpret the world.

How Personal Paradigms Make Us Blind to the World: So your thinking, so what? You’ve heard all this stuff before. But what if despite knowing this, the most experienced and in some cases the most powerful people in our respective worlds persisted in behaving as if their paradigm was the only paradigm?

Is the black diamond the top or bottom of the square?
Is the black diamond the top or bottom of the square?

People get used to power and after a while they can start to think that no matter what they do or say, they are somehow removed from consequences. They can build a personal paradigm around themselves that is so airtight that they become incapable of seeing pitfalls. They lose the ability to judge good from bad. They can divorce themselves from seeing the errors in  their own behavior.

Over the last several weeks I have watched a series of stories emerge in the news that simply begged the question, what were they thinking? Did Canadian Senator Mike Duffy really think it’d would be OK to claim $90,000 in illegitimate expenses?  Did he and the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Nigel S. Wright, get so used to managing big sums that it simply seemed… irrelevant?

Why didn’t Paula Deen just apologize and disappear for a while? Had she gotten so used to popularity that being accused of using racists language seemed like the kinda thing that would be a headline grabber one day but just go away the next? Did Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, stay silent after being accused of getting caught on video doing drugs with known dealers because he thought the public would just get bored with the story?

When our paradigms blind us, they don’t just make us blind to opportunity, they make us blind to threats, blind to ethical considerations, blind to the harm we are doing.

Whatever Your Perspective, Understand That You Have One: Although you may have heard it countless times, don’t forget that your truth is not necessarily THE  truth.  Your version of reality may not even be based in reality. If  this was an easy thing to remember, then the examples above would be a lot harder to find.

Has your paradigm ever helped or hindered you? Have you ever seen someone else struggle because they just couldn’t see the “truth” of a situation?

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Communications

8 Tips For Networking In the Real World

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Everyone knows the benefits of networking, but knowing something and doing it aren’t always the same thing.  I’ve had to drag colleagues, friends and my husband to networking events and I’ve been dragged to a few myself. The time before the event is generally the worst part.  That’s the period when you come up with a bunch of terrific excuses for not going. The anticipation of doing something that may not feel natural can take on huge proportions. You can reduce some of that stress by setting a few simple goals for yourself.  Decide that you will meet two or three new people. You can promise to hand out at least one business card. Once you get going you’ll probably find it’s not as hard as you thought.  Keep in mind that there is a good possibility that the other people at the event are either anticipating meeting someone new or as anxious about the process as you are.

The following tips are intended to help you ease your way into working a room and having good conversations. Remember, this is not all about you and don’t forget your business cards.

1)      Find the loners.

So you show up at an event alone and you’ve promised yourself you’re going to work the room…where to start? Look for someone who’s also on their own. Chances are they want someone to talk to as well.  It’s way easier to chat with someone on their own than trying to elbow your way into a group deep in discussion.

 2)      Talk to the big shots.

Talk to the big wigs in the room. No, I’m not suggesting you’re a snob, but powerful or popular people are used to people wanting to talk them and many know how to make that small talk that opens up larger conversations.  Chances are, most people will be too intimidated to approach them. If there is a guest speaker, talk to them before they speak or speak to the host or moderator.  Afterwards, they will most likely be swamped.

3)      Ask a simple question to get started.

Starting a conversation is as easy as asking a simple question or paying a compliment.  The idea here is not to demonstrate the depths of your knowledge.  This is also not an elevator pitch where you have a timer on engagement. This is simply about getting a conversation going and not freaking yourself out in the process. Consider the following:

  • “What brings you to this event?”
  • “Have you attended one of these events before?”
  • “What are you looking forward to?”
  • “Have you tried the meatballs?”
  • “That’s a beautiful tie.”
  • “What a lovely dress.”
  • “It’s hot in here isn’t it?”

4)      Ask about what they do.

Once you are warmed up, now’s the time to ask intelligent questions so you can get a good conversation started, but don’t be shy about starting with the basics. What do they do? What projects are they working on? What do they like about what they do? Let them know you are really interested in what they are saying. In order to ask intelligent questions specific to them, you actually have to be paying attention.

5)       Ask about them.

Take the time required to learn a little about the person.  What are their hobbies?  Who are their family members? Do they have kids? Get to know the human being you are speaking to not just their name and job.

6)       Do be quiet and stop talking.

No really, the fastest way to a good conversation is letting the other person talk, preferably about themselves. Letting them talk is about more than staying silent and staring into space. It’s about actively listening to them. Periodically confirm that you have heard by nodding or in some other subtle way letting them know that you are following along.

Mimic the movements of the person you are speaking to. Sit forward when they do and step back when they step back.  By following their physical behaviour you will pick up clues about what they are thinking or feeling about the conversation. Take a look at the tips found in “Rather Have A Conversation Or A Meeting?”  for additional ideas.

7)       Don’t drone.

The sound of boredom is distinct, unmistakable actually, so be careful to monitor your tone. When it’s your turn to speak make sure you sound interested, engaged and positive. If you sound bored or irritated, the conversation will quickly come to an end. Also don’t go on and on about you. Don’t hesitate to show your passion, but allow the other person to show theirs too.

The secret to a good conversation is showing respect for the people you are engaging. Looking over their shoulder for the next person you are going to talk to or looking repeatedly at your watch is not showing respect. If you find yourself with a cling-on, that person who has chosen you as their companion for the evening, even if you have other plans, make an excuse and walk away.  You can try saying you have to use the facilities or that you promised “your husband, babysitter, boss…insert plausible person here” that you would call.

8) Don’t let the event be your first and last point of contact.

After going to the trouble of making the most of the event, follow up with the connections you make.  Connect on LinkedIn, send an article related to the conversation you were having.  Invite your new contact out for coffee or lunch.

Do you have any good tips for networking? What do you do to prepare for a networking event?

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Communications

10 tips for working with a graphic designer

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The TED video above provides some interesting and relevant insight into the strength and focus incorporating relevant graphic design can bring to your project. I encourage you to take a look.

Whether you’re a small business owner or a communications guru it’s often difficult to determine how to work with a graphic designer to produce the results you want.The following are some tips to help you navigate.

  • Graphic Designers of all Kinds: Like any profession, not all graphic designers work the same way or at the same calibre. Some have a particular brand or style that they sell while others may specialize in certain kinds of products like magazines or books. Other designers or their shops are more diverse and can offer a wide range of services.  Think about what you are trying to accomplish with your design and then look for the fit that works best for you. Sometimes local graphic design associations can lend you hand or at least you can see who the local award winners are.
  • Checking the Fit: Look at the graphic designer’s website to see what they have done with other clients. Do they provide bios of their designers? Do they share their design philosophy? Do they have a blog that gives you insight into their professional approach or personality? What does their LinkedIn profile offer? All of these will help you to determine fit.
  • Meet Them: Arrange to speak with them and make sure that if you are working with a firm, you get to meet the designer you will work with. There is no point hitting it off with the owner, only to find that you will be working with their summer student.  Ask them about their project management style, how will they keep you informed of progress? How will they create a schedule?
  • Tell the designer what you want to achieve:  Once you’ve made your choice, clearly state your objectives. By discussing what you want to achieve with the project, you are more likely to have a product that delivers when it’s completed. This doesn’t mean being highly prescriptive about what the design should look like, after all, if you could design it yourself, then you wouldn’t be hiring a graphic designer. Websites differ in size, look, feel and contents, so simply saying you would like a website isn’t going to help. Explain what the site has to deliver, did you have a great product and want to make sure clients appreciate the value? It’s really about giving the designer a clear understanding of what you want to communicate.
  • Be clear about your style and brand: Make sure that your initial planning meeting provides a clear understanding of your organization’s brand and style. If the focus is an event, make sure the designer understands who attends the event and what they get from it.  If the objective is sales, make sure they know who the potential customers are. This is really about making sure that the audience for your product is clearly understood.
  • Ask for two to three initial concepts: Even with the best description in the world, how you imagine a design will look and what the designer is thinking can vary greatly.  By requesting three different concepts (not variations on a single theme and not a full mock up), not only are you charging the designer to use their imagination, but you are giving yourself an opportunity to see the project in a different way from how you might have imagined it. I have often found that the concept that came closest to what I was thinking at the start of a project is not the one that delivers the message best.  Stay open.
  • Timing Matters: At the onset of a project the time frame for final delivery should be clearly established.  It is then up to the designer to work backwards from that date and let you know if they can deliver what you need in that time.  Keep in mind that multiple changes in content and direction will affect timelines.
  • Make Sure You Do Your Part: The best graphic designer in the world will fail if the client is inconsistent or unclear about objectives.  Just as you wanted to meet the designer you would be working with, the designer needs to know who the buck will stop with for the project. Remember, if you have a revelation or change of heart half way through a project because your boss just figured out what you’re doing, you have to let the designer know and expect that you will also have to pay for that change of heart. Their time is valuable and while they want to make you and your project shine, they can only do that by working with you. Don’t be vague and distant and then surprised and angry if the project doesn’t work the way you expected.
  • Pitfalls:  I’ll know what I like when I see it.This sentence comes right before failure. Generally, if you say this, its because you don’t really know what you like. Graphic designers are very talented, but they have not mastered the art of mind reading. Also consider that what you like may not be what your clients need.
  • Graphic designers design: They are not writers or editors, so make sure that the content you send them has been reviewed and edited.  Make sure that you do a final review of the product before it gets to the printer.

Do you have a favorite poster, book, brochure etc that captured your attention because of great design? Have you ever worked with a graphic designer?  Would you like to work with one?

If you like this article, checkout Are You Creating Misinformation?

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