Author: WWPR

On March 17, WWPR presents The Art of Story-Telling: Selling Your Company, Your Product, and Yourself through Stories featuring Cindy Atlee. This guest post was originally published on February 8, 2011.

I love a good story. You probably do, too. Stories influence, inspire and capture our imaginations like nothing else. We tell them all the time. And they scare the heck out of many of my clients.

I don’t mean my clients are literally afraid of stories. I mean they sometimes get intimidated at the thought of using story to communicate about an organization, product or service. Some don’t know where to begin. Others don’t know what kind of story to tell. Some don’t think they’ll be taken seriously unless they have lots of facts and information share.

So here’s the good news: You don’t have to tell a story at all to make your communications a lot more interesting–or to dramatically increase the chance that your messages will be heard–or to make the kind of human connection with an audience that starts to build a real relationship. But you do have to use story-based communications principles. Here are four core principles to remember:

1. Begin at the end. If you don’t know where to begin, remember this: when it comes to quickly engaging other people in what you have to say, it’s the outcomes they care about (the “happy endings,” so to speak). In formal marketing speak, that means shifting your communications strategy to an outcome-base orientation. In plain speak, it means telling people what’s going to happen for them if they get involved with you (e.g., buy something, donate, advocate for your position, etc.). Tell them less about what you do and more about how it’s going to turn out.
2. Typecast yourself. If you don’t know what kind of story to tell, mentally cast your organization in the role of a character it’s most like–and talk about the things that character would talk about. Maybe you’re organization is most like a Creator that helps people innovate or express something. Maybe you’re like a Hero that helps others overcome challenges. Maybe you most resemble a Jester that helps people have fun. Each of those characters would say very different things if asked to make a presentation about you, probably in a lively and interesting way. Knowing who you are and what role you play in the world can bring your communications to life, too. For help with this, you can find a free story typing survey on my website that will tell you which one of 12 great characters you or your organization is most like.
3. Get serious about sharing your values. The characters in great stories rely on a combination of strengths (what they’re good at) and values (what they care about) to accomplish their missions. Strengths are critical, but they’re not as memorable as values. Most organizational communications focus a lot on strengths and a lot less on values. At the end of the day, though, you’ll be defined by the value system that others associate with you. They’re the most critical part of your identity infrastructure because they make you seem real and alive to others.
4. Tell the truth. Okay, so some of the great stories we love to hear aren’t exactly true. But when it comes to organizational communications, nothing is more important than authenticity. Telling the truth about who you are and what you or your products/services really mean attracts the people who will be your best customers or employees or advocates. And if creating an attraction field for your work isn’t what you’ve set out to do, why tell a story at all?

Cindy is the founding Partner at The Storybranding Group, where she helps clients use the power of who they really are to create compelling brands, develop inspired leaders and deeply engage their workforces.

It’s all about good story telling. This was the top advice from media trainer Keith Blackman, principal of Blackman Media Solutions (BMS) at the March 3 lunch discussion for Young MC’s and Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) members at the National Press Club (NPC). Blackman says he asks those he trains to go home and write a fairy tale about their company, expressing the key advantages in the tale. He also shows them how reporters structure their stories, so they understand the process.
For training and live interviews, Blackman says to focus on:

1. Authenticity
2. Control-get in front of the story
3. Flexibility-be nimble and allow your answers to change as the story changes.

To prepare clients for a real interview, Blackman actually starts a mock interview from the moment they walk in the door for training—almost like an ambush. He will ask them questions as they are being set-up with the microphone and then play back their reactions and answers. Spokespeople need to remember they are being interviewed even when they think the camera is off. Preparing the client for a variety of interview formats is very important to make them feel ready for any scenario.

For a typical media session, Blackman discusses setting the scene with the client. The pre-interview time is usually under three minutes, so spokespeople need to set the landscape for the interview quickly. Interviewees should also front-load all answers and go into perpetual elevator pitch mode. In other words, the question-answer mode should be question then answer and then a key message. He also reminds them to use bridging and flagging to help guide the interview.
Blackman stresses the notion of threes. People tend to recall things in threes, so you should have three key messages to convey.
Key dos and don’ts to remember:

• Don’t speculate.
• Don’t guess, but offer to follow-up later with the correct answer.
• Have every interview staffed.
• Don’t use “no comment.”
• Be transparent.
• Stick to a basic color palate, when it comes to clothes.
• Makeup is important for HD TV.
• Avoid using uhms.

Have you done a media training with your spokesperson lately? What other tips do you have to share?

Over fifty people gathered at the modern, sleek Haworth showroom in downtown Washington, D.C. on February 17th to gain insight on how to successfully launch and manage a new business. Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) hosted a lunchtime discussion entitled “Starting, Growing, and Optimizing Your Business in 2011”. A panel of five women shared best practices, tips, resources, interesting, and times comical business stories.

The panel included a diverse group of business owners led by moderator, Kate Perrin of PRofessional Solutions. The audience attentively listened, took notes, and eagerly asked questions of the expert panel that included Holly Herman, Total Coaching and Consulting; Carrie Fox, C. Fox Communications and 2010 WWPR Emerging Leader; Gladys W. Kamau, DC Department of Small and Local Business Development; and Gale Curcio, Curcio Communications. In addition to sharing encouraging statistics about the increase of women and minority entrepreneurs; panelists also provided the following tips about jump starting a new business.

25 Tips:

1. Network, Network, Network!
2. Distinguish yourself; and include what you do on your business card.
3. Learn and grow with your business.
4. Don’t wait! A recession can be a great time to start a business. During staff reductions companies often turn to consultants and freelancers.
5. Never burn a bridge.
6. Trust people around you.
7. Remember 90% is who you are; 10% is what you do.
8. Know if you’re really ready to start a business. One way to test yourself, says Holly Herman, is a willingness to send a resignation letter to your boss by a predetermined date.
9. Learn from what others have already done.
10. Protect yourself with business insurance.
11. Plan for your new business by setting aside 3-6 months of living expenses. This reduces desperation and allows you to choose the “right” clients.
12. Always be aware of your cash flow, advises Kate.
13. Develop a business plan but don’t get caught up in the minutia. Use free business planning resources when possible.
14. Do as much as possible in-house and only outsource when absolutely necessary.
15. Think of a business plan as a point of focus.
16. Record your ideas in an “idea folder “advises Holly. This way you regularly review and develop good ideas.
17. Plan ahead for future business goals.
18. Prove yourself to potential customers by showcasing your work with testimonials, a professional portfolio, case studies, and support from an advisory board.
19. Surround yourself with supporters and winners. Oftentimes, co-workers are not supporters, cautions Holly.
20. Avoid naysayers.
21. Establish mutually beneficial partnerships.
22. Don’t let age stop you. Young business owners have some key advantages including little to no responsibilities; and the ability to quickly change course if needed, says Gale.
23. Remember, your business should solve a problem. Tell prospective customer what problem your business will solve. Sell yourself, advises Gladys. And , don’t’ let lack of experience hold you back.
24. Do what you love and find someone else to do everything else, says Holly.
25. Work with others but don’t relinquish control of your business to anyone, cautions Carrie. Stay involved.

Final thoughts

• Gladys: Take classes in business planning, invest in marketing software, go to the business resources section of dc.gov. Network, join an association/professional group, and keep learning.
• Gale: Try Constant Contact database management, develop an online newsletter, try Logo Tournament for about $300, and barter services/products.
• Kate: Read everything, go for solo contracts, and reach out directly to prospects.
• Carrie: Establish a separate credit and checking account.
• Read “The New Marketing & PR Rule” by David Meerman Scott.

In the past few weeks, I’ve come across a handful of blog posts and articles perpetuating what appears to be a heated PR 2.0 debate: is the press release dead or not? Since WWPR members are very active in the PR arena, I am certain that you, too, continue to see these “press release life-or-death” kinds of a headlines in your email subject lines as well.

The Wax Blog claims it found 48 million search results on Google for the term “the press release is dead.” When I did my own Google search for “is the press release dead,” some of the links to web sites, blog posts and articles for this subject went as far back as early 2006.

Now, five years later, this burning-bush question about the press release’s purpose, impact and usefulness in today’s PR 2.0 world continues to surge forward.  As I dug deeper into this seemingly heated subject, I came across many great pros and cons for the press releases’ fate and mortality.

The compilation of comments below, which were randomly collected from a variety of sites and blogs, reveal the many colorful opinions folks far and wide have about the life or death of the press release:

Arguments to keep the press release alive and well

Arguments to kill the press release now and forever

The above sentiments are hardly all-inclusive. I found many solid and wonderful arguments both for and against the press release. And the intensity of this debate was clearly evident in many of the spirited comments and strong opinions found throughout the web.Some individuals were quite vocal in their disdain for this “debate” stating that to debate the value of a press release is, for all intents and purposes, is a completely ridiculous waste of time. Rather, this group of passionate PR folk would like the “debate” to shift more to format or medium or approach rather than the worthiness or power of a single document. In the end, based on my findings and recent readings on this topic, what has become crystal clear is that both sides of this live-or-die press release fence have valid points worthy of consideration.

The bottom line is this: the way news is reported, disseminated, monitored and shared today in comparison to yesteryear has surely evolved. Does this mean social media has killed the press release?? While a specific segment of the PR population may vehemently argue “yes” in response to that question, my findings on this subject lean strongly to a resounding “no.”

So what do you think? Your thoughts and comments on this subject are welcome!