Becky Robinson's Blog, page 51

5 Ways to Show Gratitude Online

This week, I have a lot to be grateful for, specifically because it marks three very important birthdays in my life. One year ago, on November 23rd, 2015, my daughter was born in Jerusalem, Israel. On November 24th, 33 years ago, my husband was born in Kingston, Jamaica. And on November 25th, 28 years ago, I was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.

And to top it all off, this week is Thanksgiving (and yes, I am still celebrating over here in Israel!). This week is pretty special, if I do say so myself.

With gratitude on my mind, I am making an extra effort to express thankfulness to those in my life this week, which got me thinking: Most of my work is done online and on the phone—what am I doing to express gratitude in these relationships?

This week, I’m working on implementing these five tips for showing gratitude and appreciation—will you join me?

Be responsive. Responsiveness is one of the best ways to show your client, colleague, or friend that you are truly grateful for their communication. You don’t need to be available to respond the minute an email or call comes in, but you should do your best to respond within 24-48 hours. Responding in a timely manner shows to others that the relationship is valuable to you, and that you appreciate and recognize their efforts to establish and maintain the connection.
Share resources and information generously. Do you have an e-book, list of best practices, or other online resource that others could benefit from? Can you make an introduction that could help someone in the professional life? Share the love! It may seem counterproductive to give away your knowledge or time, but by sharing generously with others, you are telling them that they are worth it to you.
Thank people even when they are just doing their job. A friend was recently telling me how she always makes an effort to thank her mailman. Even though he is doing his job and getting paid, your mailman is still providing a service that is essential to you! Are there individuals that you work with or interact with online that are providing you with a service? How about the person who coordinates that Facebook group that you love so much (approving/moderating posts takes a long time!), or the editor of your favorite online publication? Taking time to think these individuals shows that you appreciate the work that they do, even though it’s part of their job!
Rejoice in others’ wins. The internet is brimming with information, updates, exciting news, and everything else you could imagine, so sometimes it’s easy to skim over someone else’s win without much notice. By taking the time to acknowledge and rejoice in other’s wins, we show them that their contributions are important to us. For example, when you log into LinkedIn, job updates and other news pops up on your feed. Show these connections that you are happy and excited for them by taking a moment to congratulate them on their new jobs or promotions.
Remember: people you know online are also people offline! I admit it, I am guilty of sometimes relegating online relationships to the category of “virtual” and calling it a day. I recently heard a story about how one of our clients appreciated a blogger in our Team Buzz Builder network so much for her support on his book launch that he sent her two dozen roses! That act surely made her feel cherished and appreciated, but it also inspired the rest of us to reflect about how we can be more authentic in our relationships and show more gratitude to our online communities.

I would like to send an extra special thank you to the Weaving Influence family—team members, clients, Lead Change Group members, Team Buzz Builder, Hometown Reads, and everyone else that contributes to our vibrant network. My relationships with and connection to all of you enriches my life as a stay-at-home mom in a dusty corner of Jerusalem in an indescribable way!

Tell me—how are you working on showing gratitude to your virtual connections?

 

Image credit: Waldo93

Featured On Friday {Fanfare}: New Website for @Melissa_Lamson1

The Weaving Influence team values our partnership with global leadership expert Melissa Lamson, and is thrilled to showcase the new website our team has designed and developed for her at lamsonconsulting.com.

Melissa Lamson works with businesses of all sizes, including small and medium companies, large multi-nationals, Fortune 500s, government, non-profits, universities, and hospitals. Her ultimate mission is to help global organizations collaborate and prosper across a diverse workforce and customer base.

Melissa Lamson

Melissa Lamson, Founder and President of Lamson Consulting, is an author, consultant, and speaker who accelerates the business expansion goals of today’s most successful companies by developing global mindset, refining leadership skills, and bridging cross cultural communication. She has 20+ years of experience growing leaders, bridging cultures, and empowering teams.

As a sought-after speaker, facilitator and executive coach, she uses her unique global expertise to help companies and leaders take charge, expand their international business, and achieve real results. She has offered companies like Ikea, LinkedIn, MTV, Porsche, and SAP the leadership tools and insights to build successful management and project teams in every corner of the world. Melissa develops and teaches leadership skills, including time management, effective feedback, situational leadership, and coaching. She also has a proven track record in Diversity and currently facilitates a popular workshop for women on Networking & Advancement Strategies. Melissa has also authored five books on various aspects of international business culture, writes regularly for Inc.com, and shares more of her insights on her own Global Leadership blog.

Lamson Consulting

Melissa offers executive coaching, training, and facilitation solutions for workplace challenges such as: Management Skills, Leading Virtual Teams, Intercultural Training, Gender Cooperation, Work-Life Balance, and Developing Global Mindset. She also offers various Management Development workshops for both individuals and small groups.

Perhaps one of Melissa’s greatest passions is her focus on #WomenAdvance. Many companies today reap the benefits of a diverse workforce, but there are a few challenges to creating more equality in the boardroom. Melissa has pioneered the way with a series of ground-breaking programs for women and men on how to cooperate and communicate more effectively in the workplace. She has several unique resources, a free video series, and multiple workshops that seek to break down barriers and promote more gender equity.

Strategies for Spectacular Leadership

Whether you’re new to management or a veteran leader, it can be difficult to lead others. We need the right balance between authority vs. autonomy, consensus vs. direct decision-making, and friendly vs. firm. Join the exclusive free webinar with Melissa on December 7 at 2pm EST to learn more about her simple formula for spectacular leadership. Register here.

Check out Melissa’s new site to learn more:

Women Advancement — this page includes free downloadable resources and information about Melissa’s unique approach to gender in the workplace!
Management Workshops
Leadership Books
Global Leadership Blog

Connect with Melissa on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Additionally, you can send her an email at melissa@lamsonconsulting.com.

Interested in our book design or web design/development services? Contact us to learn more!

Why Action is What Changes Things

This post is part of our 2016 Team Buzz Builder Guest Blogger series. Today we are pleased to introduce you to Chris Jordan, a John Maxwell certified coach and blogger at CNE Ministry.

I would like to touch on a topic that seems to be coming up more and more in every facet of my life recently.

It’s a topic that there is quite a bit a “talk” about, that garners many people’s attention in attracting them to conferences, to churches, or to meetings surrounding this topic. There is quite a bit of intention in this topic as well. But if you know the saying… even the best intentions lead down a road of destruction. But why?

Well, let me share the topic of this post: Action.

Action is something we hear talked about everywhere we go. Action is something that can be good, bad or completely ignored. I believe a lot of leaders would agree with a statement like this: “Without vision, the people will perish.” It probably has been used in some form of what I just said throughout history. It’s a true statement. A powerful statement. But unless you are willing to put action behind that vision, how will that vision happen?

People wish, hope and pray for dreams to come true, for a vision of what they would want their life to be to materialize. People want to wake up one day in paradise with all the freedoms of life, to basically wake up in a life of significance.

John Maxwell nails this in his book Intentional Living when he says, “No people have ever thought themselves into significance. They acted themselves into it.” The italics are my emphasis. It is the point to this post. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having thoughts, hopes, desires, dreams, goals… visions. But you will never just happen to achieve them! It takes intentional action on your part.

Our team has a saying we share quite a bit: “Are you making foot prints, or are you making butt prints?” This is exactly what I am talking about. Action is what changes things. Vision is what gives us direction, and I believe vision is vital. Just as a vision without action won’t be fulfilled, action without a vision is blind movement. Like a hamster on a wheel. There is a lot of action, but no movement.

While this is a topic that can clearly go much deeper, this post is just focused on the action part, assuming you have a vision, a dream, or a goal already in mind. Now is the time to put it into action.

What dream or goal have you been pondering? What can you do today to intentionally move toward it? What is distracting you? What are you allowing to influence your time and allocation of resources?

If you truly want to reach your goals, then you must commit to intentional acts in that direction every day. Are you ready to act?

 

Chris Jordan is married to Emily and they have two children. He is a USAF and Law Enforcement Veteran and holds a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Business Management from Johns Hopkins University. He also has obtained a graduate level Christian Ministry Certificate from Liberty University, and is very proud to be a certified John Maxwell leadership coach, speaker, and trainer.  Incorporating these few achievements, and also his many failures, has opened up an opportunity for Chris and Emily to lead a team that trains, equips, and mobilizes people to take intentional action in fulfilling their purpose, dreams or goals. They love people and finding ways of serving them however they can. 

 

Image credit: geralt

The Pitching Game: How PR Is Like Dating

Zoosk. Tinder. Match.

The internet has changed the world of dating as much as it has changed the world of media.

That said, when it comes to finding a media match—the process isn’t much different than what it was like three decades ago—research and relationship building are still key to finding the right mate.

Much of public relations work is behind the scenes. PR requires a lot of time, skill, luck, and effort to land coverage—and sometimes this all goes unseen.

In an effort to draw back the curtain of what it is we PR professionals do, I’d like to share some tidbits about our pitching game.

Finding your match.

Blind dates aren’t ever successful when it comes to trying to find the right media match. PR professionals must do their homework. So we search for outlets that are a good match for our client’s content and drill down further to find the right contact within that outlet. If a pitch isn’t relevant to what a journalist covers, it won’t get a second glance—and it may even burn a bridge.

We find matches through traditional keyword searches in Google, on media sites, and using our Cision database. We then read the journalist’s most recent work to get an idea of what they cover and the themes in their articles. Next, we look for ways our stories can supplement or expand on their subject matter. We also include why our stories are of interest or use to their audiences. (Thankfully, Weaving Influence has built many relationships over the years, so we’re already familiar with what might interest hundreds of reporters and editors and don’t have to start from scratch.)

Nailing the first impression.

Like with dating, both parties want to get something out of the relationship. Journalists don’t have any interest in giving free advertising. They want a good story. And they want to know it’s a good story right away. So, just like in a first date, a media pitch must put its best face forward.

So, we write pitches that are focused (getting through the 5 W’s immediately) and unique—showing what makes our client special and worth taking a second look at. We craft angles specific to the journalist’s interest where only our clients are experts, where our claims are often supported by stats and facts, and aim to tie content into popular themes and high-profile news events. At the heart of everything we write is the answer to “why you should care.”

Following up.

Just like after a first date, there’s a fine line to walk to show that you’re serious without being annoying. It pays to be persistent—but to a point. We typically like to do a personal, friendly follow-up once or twice after the initial pitch. After all, there are times when journalists missed the pitch. By the second follow-up, if there is no response, that’s typically because they aren’t interested. Phone calls and excessive follows-up don’t remind journalists of a pitch—they remind them to avoid that person at all costs.

If a reporter is nice enough to tell us they aren’t interested, we usually like to ask what they are working on or might be looking for so we may be able to help them in the future.

Establishing the relationship.

After we’ve landed a media opportunity for our clients, we’re sure to follow back up with the contact, letting them know that we appreciated the story and will share through our channels—which we do! We also keep track of these relationships in spreadsheets for use in future pitching.

It would be fantastic if there was a Match-like service for media pitching and personnel. Until then, we search for our media mates the old-fashioned way.

 

Image Credit: karenr / 123RF Stock Photo

Featured On Friday: Our Veterans, Our Leaders

Though I have been living abroad in Israel for over three years, I am reminded on an almost daily basis of my American roots and identity. I remember backpacking around southern Israel at eighteen years old and coming across a group of US soldiers in a local bar in a small, dusty town. I was shocked! What are you doing here? I asked. The soldiers told me that they were stationed at a local base, training and working with the Israeli army. I had never before really considered the reality of the US military presence abroad, and felt so proud and so comforted by the fact that I could meet a US soldier in such an unlikely place.

It is particularly fitting for us to be reminded of the sacrifices and bravery of our veterans, our country’s great leaders, as thoughts and questions about the election and the future of the United States as well as its relationship to foreign entities continue to surface. Additionally, in this time where our nation needs united leadership, we can learn from our veterans and active service men and women, a group that produces some of the most experienced and noble leaders we have.

Servant Leaders

“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” ~General Dwight D. Eisenhower

A good military leader is the epitome of the servant leader, always putting the needs of others before him or herself, constantly striving to help individuals reach their potential. Though many CEOs and business professionals strive to live as servant leaders, our military puts these principals into action on a daily basis—through caring for troops domestically or abroad, training others to take over positions of leadership, and courageously risking their own wellbeing for the greater good of the American people and nation.

Our veterans are our greatest leaders. This year, let’s strive to give them the respect and honor they deserve, and also to empower them to share their leadership with the country long after their service is over.

Selfless Leaders

 “Never let your ego get so close to your position, so that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.” ~General Colin Powell

General Colin Powell warns that leaders should never identify too much with their position, but rather with who they are what qualities they imbue. Each and every veteran has been faced with the reality of leaving the military and entering the civilian world, a place where their unique contributions and position often go unrecognized. Our veterans knew that the military would continue without them once they completed their service, yet still dedicated themselves 100% to their roles.  This attitude of committing oneself to a greater good purely to help make a difference takes tremendous humility, and is an attitude that every leader should strive to adopt.

Participant Leaders

“It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.”  ~ General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

A great leader not only gives orders, they join in and participate in the struggle and triumphs of their team. The military is the ultimate embodiment of this leadership principle—leaders and those being led work together, in the trenches, towards accomplishing greater goals and growth. Their hard work and dedication ripples out to benefit our entire nation.

The entire Weaving Influence team would like to extend a sincere THANK YOU to all of our veterans as well as our active-duty servicemen and servicewomen. In a world of instability and uncertainty, we appreciate everything that you do and strive to learn from your leadership.

What are you doing to honor veterans in your community and across the country? We’d love to hear!

3 Tips for Seasonal Social Marketing

If you’re like many of the authors we interact with at Weaving Influence and Hometown Reads, you may not have a huge publishing house team strategizing how and when to market your book. Instead, you may have a Facebook page, and maybe a Twitter account that your nephew set up for you two years ago.

Since some retailers make up to 30 percent of their annual sales around the holidays, and since some of us *cough* are already playing Christmas music in the car, let’s talk about how to leverage these free accounts—seasonally.

First of all, understand that the quick & easy nature of social media allows for many ‘quick hits’ instead of one big ad buy.

You don’t have to commit the big bucks to PR services, a book tour, or placements in book stores. Just set aside 15 minutes a day—or even three 5 minute increments—to think about your ideal customer and what you would say to them if they were standing in front of you at a book festival.

Secondly, don’t think of that customer as one customer. Think of them as 365 different customers with 365 different motivations in the course of a year.

Say I’m interested in your book on switching career paths. In May, that may be because I’m sick of my own job and want the information for myself. In November, it may catch my eye because it reminds me of my brother-in-law, whose birthday is coming up. On December 24, when I realize I never ordered it for him, I may be scrambling to find the Kindle version. And in January, slashing the price may be enough to interest me in buying it for myself again. In each case and at each time, your post might look a little different–and those are just the opportunities to hook me. I’m not glued to my Twitter feed all day long, so I’m going to miss many more of your posts than I see.

Also, think creatively about how you can bring value to your customer’s life—beyond your book. What do I mean by this? It’s especially easy if you’re an artist or live in a beautiful place–but look for things that are visually healing or enhance your message as an author, and start collecting them in an Instagram account. I follow several sellers there—a calligrapher, a potter, a Swedish maternity & nursing clothing manufacturer—that I rarely purchase from, but have such beautiful accounts I am happy to absorb the images they choose to show me daily or weekly. And when a friend gets pregnant, I know exactly where to find that perfect maternity sweater or specially lettered shower decorations.

An even better example is the Instagram account @onceuponanativity, operated by a young mom in Minnesota, named Ashleigh, who used a Kickstarter campaign to publish a children’s book about Advent. Even if I hadn’t done some brief PR work for the book last year, I would follow her anyway because she has three adorable little girls and is renovating an old farmhouse just outside Minneapolis. Totally outside of my daily life; totally fun to peek into her world. Plus, accompanying the book are little dolls (great replacements for the Elf on the Shelf) that have been produced ethically and sustainably by Hmong women, so watching those come together also makes for fun posts. Ashleigh’s accounts (the farmhouse has its own!) are fun throughout the year, and of course now the book is forefront in my mind with Christmas coming up, because I’ve been watching its progress all year.

Lastly, keep in mind that a majority of millennials—55 percent—research their purchases online. Forty percent do so on their smart phone. 

Sometimes they even use social media as a litmus test for a new product. If it’s worth checking out, they reason, this company/author/speaker must be on Twitter. Having absolutely no digital presence seems weird and suspicious these days.

A number of things go through my head when I’m ‘shopping’ around this way:

What is this seller saying on a daily basis?
What are they retweeting?
Is their content going to add to my life, or is it just annoying clutter?
Is this a brand I want to associate myself with, or is their profile picture still a Twitter egg?

This holiday season, assume your customers love your message and want more of it. Then ask yourself:

How can you involve your customers in your life and surroundings? How can you connect with them and continue to feed them content on a daily basis?

For more basics on practical steps you can take, check out this great post.

Image Credit: cienpies / 123RF Stock Photo

Featured On Friday: Corporate Champions

Have you heard of our Corporate Champions program? It’s like Team Buzz Builder, but geared for organizations rather than individuals!

Corporate Champions not only gives you early (and FREE) access to the newest releases in the business book world, but provides you with the opportunity to make a difference in your organization by bringing cutting-edge leadership strategies to the table.  In a nutshell, we offer corporate readers free early access to the latest top business/leadership books so you can read, review, and consider for use within your own organization.

If that sounds intriguing, read on!

How Does It Work?

We do the first step: carefully selecting cutting edge leadership/business books that we believe will have value for your particular organization. We review these books carefully to ensure we are bringing you the best of the books we’re promoting each year.

If you’re afraid that we’ll fill up your inbox — we won’t. We know that your time is valuable, so you’ll only hear from us a few times a year with select offers from our authors. Knowing that we won’t be spamming your inbox, I hope you’ll take a couple of minutes to fill out our form and join the league of Corporate Champions today.

You’re responsible for the next step: deciding whether the book has value for your organization. If you don’t love the book or see value in it for your organization, you are not obligated to do anything.

However, if you do think the book would benefit your company somehow — whether for training efforts, networking with other business leaders, or simply offering more avenues for professional development — we’ll send you a free copy of the book!

All we ask is that you personally share a review on Amazon during the launch week, and champion the author’s message throughout your company. We make it easy for you by providing all the resources! For instance:

Share the graphics and tweets we provide to promote the book across your company’s or personal social media channels.
Present exclusive content from the author (such as articles, interviews, or Q&A’s) in company newsletters.
Utilize free discussion guides within your company training and development programs.
Invite your colleagues to a free webinar with the author.

We also provide special discounts for purchasing bulk quantities of the book, for use within your organization. We love giving back and making our authors available to be of service to YOU as you tackle organizational obstacles!

Who’s Your Corporate Champion?

Think about your organization now: who could be a great corporate champion? Maybe it’s you!

Do you want to make a difference in your organization by sharing cutting-edge leadership/business strategies? Would you love to receive excellent business/leadership books in advance of their publication? Do you want access exclusive content from the author for use in company communications?

If so, we’d love to have you join our team of Corporate Champions!

Sign up here, or send us an email if you want more information.

We look forward to partnering with you to bring great ideas to your organization!

 

The Key to #Winning on Social Media

Have you ever interacted with an organization or a celebrity on social media? Not just by tweeting at them or liking their Instagram, but by receiving a response back from them?

When my husband, Taylor, was in college, he saw a Snap from Gary Vaynerchuk telling his audience to go buy his newest book. As a college student, Taylor had to be careful with how he spent his money so he could do things like, you know, eat. So he snapped Gary back and said, “What can you do for a poor college student who wants your book?” Almost instantly, Gary responded telling him to shoot an email to his assistant with his name and address, and Gary would send him a book. Taylor did so, and voila! The book appeared at his doorstep a week later.

I’m amazed by that story. Gary has 1.2 million followers on Facebook, 1.34 million on Twitter, and 605K on Instagram. Yet he took the time to respond to Taylor and send him a book because Taylor couldn’t afford to buy it on his own. Who does that? And the more important question… why don’t more companies do that?

I know that not every person or organization can afford to send books to college students on a whim, but you can afford to engage with your audience.

According to Sprout Social, “Engagement is not just a single interaction with one of your customers, but an open line of communication over a period of time. When we think about social media engagement, it’s about how you use networks like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to create a great customer experience. You want to be there there for your patrons through the thick and thin of it.”

I would argue that engaging with your audience is the most important part to success on social media, and it takes a lot less than sending someone a book to keep them engaged. Here are a few reasons engaging with your customers will help you to win on social media.  

It makes your audience feel valued and if they feel valued, they’ll trust you. If they trust you, they’re that much more likely to buy into your brand or product and recommend you to their friends. I follow an author named Josh Riebock on Twitter and we’ve actually formed a friendship through our short interactions. He makes me feel so valued by remembering the little things like where I went to college and where I live now. He’s even gone as far as to read blog posts of mine and re-post them. What power you, as a brand, have to influence your audience!


It makes you feel human. So often, we view celebrities as untouchable royalty, and organizations as faceless and willing to do anything for our money. When you, as the person or organization, interact with your audience, you all of a sudden become on their level. There’s a real human behind that social handle, and more likely than not, that real human wants to help.
You’ll learn and grow in your practice. By asking questions and just showing a genuine interest in the comments of your audience, you’ll quickly learn what they like and dislike about the product you’re selling. Suddenly your channel becomes a two-way street where both you and your customers are giving and receiving. Maybe friendship and social media aren’t that different after all.

Okay, so what does it look like to engage with your audience?

Obviously, reply reply reply. Need I say more? Try your hardest to reply to everything people say to you, even if that just means liking their comment. If you were in an in-person conversation with that person, would you ignore them and walk away after they say something to you? Or would you at least smile and nod, acknowledging that you heard them? Use the same social graces online as you do in person.


Ask questions. If you haven’t been engaging with your audience, it’s fair to assume that they aren’t engaging with you as much anymore, either. Start that up again by posting a question to everyone. It could be about your product, or something as simple and generic as, “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?” Build your rapport by showing them you want to get to know them.


Re-blog, retweet, re-post. An easy, nearly effortless way to show that you value the opinions of your audience is by re-posting what they say. Not only are you valuing what they say, you’re showing others you value it, and giving them a chance to be exposed to your audience.

When a customer interacts with you on social media, they’re trusting you with their problems, with their creativity, and with their questions. All you have to do is engage.

Can you be trusted?

 

Image Credit: rawpixel / 123RF Stock Photo

Featured On Friday: #OASISConversations by @AnnVanEron

Having lived in a desert climate for over three years now, I definitely require a visit to physical places with water and vegetation once in a while. More pressing, though, is my need for mental oases—refreshing conversations, thoughts, and states of mind. This need is something that I believe everyone can relate to, regardless of the physical environment they live in.

This week, Weaving Influence is proud to support the launch of a book that helps us to find oases in, of all places, our professional lives! Oasis Conversations: Leading with an Open Mindset to Maximize Potential by Ann Van Eron, teaches us how to be emotionally and socially intelligent while outlining a practical pathway to positive and productive relationships.

As a Ph.D., MCC, and founder and principal of Potentials, a global executive coaching and organization development consulting firm, Ann has worked coaching leaders, teams, and coaches all over the world for over twenty-five years. She is certified as a Master Coach and has a doctorate in Organization Psychology from Columbia University.

The Book

Are you an open-minded person? Of course you are! It’s other people who are the problem, right? Sometimes trying to communicate with them is frustrating, drains your energy, and feels nearly impossible. But guess what? Those people think they are open-minded too, and they probably think you’re the problem.

What if you could turn the desert of miscommunication that exists into an oasis where you can have refreshing conversations that will lead to empathy, insight, and reach mutually beneficial agreements? In OASIS Conversations, Ann Van Eron draws on scientific brain research and her years of coaching experience to teach readers a process to achieving mind-opening connections with others.

Why OASIS Conversations?

Team Buzz Builder member Lisa Kosak explains the premise of the book in her thorough Amazon review:

Why an “oasis” conversation? An oasis is obviously a gleaming lush area in a remote place. Ann is referencing “something that provides refuge, relief, or pleasant contrast” – Merriam-Webster Dictionary. I would love all of my conversations to be free of conflict or misunderstandings. An “oasis” conversation brings to mind an experience of calm, collaboration, and peacefulness. Dr. Van Eron offers a 5 step process for creating the perfect environment in which to bring collaboration, come to agreement, find solutions, and empower those involved. By inserting these principles into your next conversation at work or home, you will have more effective and productive conversations that leave everyone feeling empowered and involved.

O – OBSERVATION: Slow down at look at the data and don’t jump to conclusions. Reduce your defensiveness and try to blur your own background and influences to taint the conversation.

A – AWARENESS: Be mindful of your assumptions and manage your emotions and personal views. Remain open to interaction by suspending any judgment.

S – SHIFT: Step back from reacting and shift to being open to other possibilities. This may be very challenging to do. You may need to count to 10 or bite your lip. Start practicing positive intent and keep your calm. At all costs, keep your strategies to yourself until you can converse.

I – Importance: Examine what is important to all those involved and create a true “oasis” of understanding and agreement. Don’t just jump to conclusions and try to rely on these 4 skills – mirroring one another, empathy, ask empowering questions, and notice the type of interaction you are having (telling, selling, and getting).

S – Solution: If you guide your conversations including the elements above you will successfully identify options, strategies, and agree on solutions.

Tempted by the refreshing waters?

Visit the OASIS Conversations Web Page

Buy OASIS Conversations on Amazon

Connect with Ann Van Eron on Facebook and Twitter

Share this graphic on your social channels to spread the word! 

The Zombie of the Public Relations World

For the past few years, there’s been a myth swirling around the public relations world about a zombie being in our midst. This so-called zombie can be recognized by its headline, subhead, dateline, and lead.

It’s a press release.

With news like the Public Relations Society of America sayings the release is dead, companies like Twitter claiming to not ever needing to send one, and reports of journalists saying they get dozens of pitches daily but only write a story a day, it’s no wonder.

But I’m going on record as saying the press release is very much alive. Here are five reasons why I think press releases are still an essential tool for your publicity campaign.

1.  They give you credibility.

Press releases are written objectively and in a news style. There’s no question of slant or motive. They provide just the facts—answers to the who, what, when, where, and how—free from the hyperbole typically seen in paid ads or marketing. Thus, they help build trust.

2.  They build your brand.

A press release is not sent in a vacuum. Together, they are part of a conversation used to tell your story. Thus, it’s important not to think of press releases as isolated announcements, but as a steady stream of communication sharing who you are and what you are about.

3.  They get read.

Press releases sent through services like PR Web (which Weaving Influence uses) are distributed to thousands of outlets, hundreds of which pick up the story, leading to hundreds of thousands of headline impressions (places where the headline has appeared) and hundreds of reads, clicks, prints, and shares by users. Being distributed by these services can also help boost SEO.

4.  They keep things straight.

Because releases include just the nuts and bolts of information, there’s no room for confusion. As a former reporter, I never left for an interview without having a press release (or releases, if necessary to tell the complete story) in hand. Media personnel are moving so quickly these days, a release serves as the perfect tool to ensure correct information is shared.

5.  They’re versatile.

Press releases are, obviously, intended for the press. But they serve to give crucial information to all your target audiences. Because they’re free from slant and jargon, and complete with pertinent information, they serve as a very useful tool to fill anyone in on the background and get them up to speed on you and your brand.

Press releases are strongest when part of a full campaign. They are a tactic, not a strategy. So when paired with other tactics like media pitching, social sharing, and marketing, they’re very much alive and kicking.

And that’s my case for the life of the press release. Perhaps I should send out a statement to make this official?

 

 

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