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According to Adam Fisher, content editor for Media First, “Authenticity has become something of a buzzword in recent times. It is a term which seems to be increasingly applied to just about everything, from leaders and marketing to furniture and clothing.”

In his article about authenticity, Mr. Fisher presents six ways that a corporate spokesperson can appear authentic. I contend that it’s important for us all to be authentic in daily life. After all, we are our own spokespeople.

According to Mr. Fisher, effective communicators follow these guidelines:

They self-edit

That is, they don’t blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Mr. Fisher says that authentic spokespeople “are attuned to their audience, are aware of boundaries, and know what will motivate people to take positive action and what will cause them to look away.”

They put their messages in their own words

Yes, they prepare when they need to make a public statement but not to the  point that they sound overly rehearsed. Within corporate guidelines, they use their own words. As Mr. Fisher puts it, “Not only does this approach help bring messages to life and give them authenticity, but it will also increase the spokesperson’s confidence and make them more comfortable with what they are saying.”

They are human

They express their feelings—and that can include talking about what keeps them up at night or what makes them nervous—and they avoid clichés. In crisis communications, they show that they care about those who have been affected. Have you heard any recent or even not-so-recent communications that have done a good job of this?

They bring their own personal experience to the fore

Speaking about their own experiences helps spokespeople connect with their audiences. Mr. Fisher says, “Personal stories and anecdotes help make the brand relevant, provide a human side to the organization and help spokespeople grow in confidence.” Think about the times you may have shared a personal experience with someone. Your authenticity may have helped you develop a closer relationship with that person or overcome existing tension in your communications.

They are implicitly honest

But, as Mr. Fisher points out, they are subtle about their honesty. No virtue signaling here. They don’t use expressions like “I’m going to be honest with you,” because that implies that they haven’t been honest before. Their audience trusts them.

They use simple language

They don’t fancy things up so they’ll sound smart, and they don’t use industry jargon. Both practices can be alienating. They sound natural, as if they’re speaking to friends. Mark Twain probably said it best: “Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.”

Years ago, I worked briefly in PR. Probably the best part of the job was observing a master trainer teach  executives at young companies how to communicate clearly and effectively. He did a great job, and because of his  expertise and the discipline he taught, these fledgling communicators did a pretty good job too.

Thanee Hengpattanapong – 123rf.com

 

All content creators, whether B2C or B2B,  should think about the “why” in marketing. Marcia Yudkin recently reminded us that one hundred years ago, legendary advertising genius Claude Hopkins emphasized the importance of the “why” of a product over its “what.”

She illustrates this point by citing two articles: one about the success of a College Board campaign and the other about restaurant menu descriptions.

The College Board campaign promoted an Advanced Placement program in computer science by pointing out how cool it would be to create art, science, music, and business apps—rather than focusing on learning Java. Over a 10-year period (2007–2017), the number of high school girls taking this program increased 500 percent. And restaurants have discovered that meatless dishes sell better when given sensory or ethic-tinged names rather than simply being categorized as “vegan” or “vegetarian” or described with their ingredients.

One of my favorite “why” promotions is Clairol’s life-as-a-blonde ads, masterminded by Shirley Polykoff. They don’t feature a lot of talk about chemicals, formulas, or  ingredients. Instead, they showcase smiles, male admiration, and rhapsodizing about what fun it is to be a “silky, shining blonde.” As the YouTube video shows, that’s a lot of “why” packed into less than a minute. And as I, who doesn’t have a blonde’s skin tone can testify, the “why” socked it to me during my impressionable teenage years.

 

Ivelin Radkov — 123rf.com

 

If you are considering garnishing your emails with emojis, you will want to consider when that’s appropriate and when it isn’t. Elizabeth Duffey of the professional services team at Emma has some helpful suggestions—and a great short video—for you ponder.

When to use emojis

1. Make promotional emails stand out. Duffey notes that 56% of brands who placed an emoji in their subject lines had a higher unique open rate. Half the battle, I think.
2. Increase engagement with timely emails. Those Valentine and turkey emojis really do attract attention and boost open rates.
3. Maximize mobile device subject lines. Real estate on mobile devices is limited, and an emoji can help you make the most of it, because it takes up less space than text.

When not to use emojis

1. Don’t use an emoji if it doesn’t reflect your brand’s tone. You probably don’t want to use an emoji if your email is promoting the benefits of a cremation plan.
2. Leave them out of transactional emails. There’s really no need to decorate a purchase receipt or a back-order notice with an emoji. Emojis have their purpose and place, and it’s not there.
3. Don’t overuse emojis. If you tend to send multi-emoji emails fairly frequently, you probably want to back off. Even lovers of emojis probably get a bit jaded.

Curmudgeonly soul that I am, I don’t really care for emojis. And I tend to associate them with text messages I get from friends where they are completely appropriate, rather than with business communications. Still, I recognize that for some products, services, and audiences, they are effective. And that is, after all, what you want.

rawpixel — 123rf.com

 

How many readers have heard the cautions against using filler words or have even been called out for using them in their speech? Chances are almost everyone can cite an example.

But in a recent HBR article, Allison Shapira of the Harvard Kennedy School explains why filler word such as “um” and “ah”—or “so” to start sentences and “right?” to end them—can actually be useful.

She comments, “Used sparingly, there’s nothing wrong with filler words.” Used excessively, however, they make you look unconfident and they reduce your credibility. One scholarly study says that the average listener thinks they make you seem anxious or unprepared.

If you’re going to use filler words, says Ms. Shapira, here are three strategic reasons for their use:

You want/need to be diplomatic

The example Ms. Shapira provides is of doing a training at a global company where management was so sensitive to feedback that employees were at pains to avoid offering offense.

Remedy: Cushion how your message comes across by using a hedge word like “just” or a phrase like “we may want to consider.”

You want to hold the floor

In some organizations, if you don’t use a filler word, everyone assumes you have finished and jumps right in

Remedy: Use fillers as strategic placeholders but be clear and concise or you’ll be interrupted any way. In my opinion, this remedy speaks for working hard to improve how you present your ideas, whether formal or not.

You want to jump into a conversation

If you wait for a pause or to be invited, you’ll wait forever.

Remedy: Dive in with a “so,” a “well,” or an “actually. Just don’t cut someone off.

While you’re at it, says Ms. Shapira, stop using these hedging phrases:

“I think.”

Remedy: Instead, say something like, “In my experience,” which validates your knowledge or “our view is,” which validates your organization.

“I may be way off base.”

Remedy: Show creative thinking with stronger language, such as “Let’s look at this from a different perspective. What if…?” In my opinion, this language also positions you as taking responsibility for what’s coming out of your mouth.

“Sorry.”

Remedy: Instead, say “thank you,” so it doesn’t appear that you’re apologizing for interrupting or speaking up. If “thank you” doesn’t work for you—as it doesn’t for me—think of something  that feels more powerful or graceful.

What I found most useful about this article is that it liberated me from guilt over the occasional use of filler words and made me aware of the ways in which they can be used effectively. The article also helped me understand how important it is to polish your speaking in public venues so you sound as though you have something worthwhile to say.

Lisa Arjo Sukamto — 123rf.com

As our society becomes increasingly less civil, it’s no surprise that academic researchers are turning their attention toward workplace incivility.

Given our experiences of incivility at work, this is a topic we should want to know more about. In their Harvard Business Review article, professors Taylor, Kluemper, Bowler, and Halbesleben enlighten us with the results of research they did on “Why People Get Away with Being Rude at Work.”

Before delving into their results, they note that those on the receiving end of rudeness are less engaged in their jobs, experience mental and physical health problems, and are more likely than others to burn out and quit. And, horrifyingly, an estimated 98% of employees experience rudeness, interrupting, exclusion, and other bad behavior during a year’s time.

Victims and instigators

The researchers set out to look at how people in positions of power see victims and instigators of misbehavior. They started their investigations with a chain of casual dining establishments, asking employees to list coworkers who had been rude to them—as well as those they had been rude to. They also asked managers to evaluate employee behavior.

Interestingly, employees who reported that they were victims of rudeness were seen by their managers as rude. Just as interestingly, employees seen as rude by their peers were not seen that way by their managers—perhaps because they performed well or had a tight manager-subordinate relationship. In “real life,” I’ve seen the concerns of the victim brushed aside, because of the organization’s perceived need for the skills of the rudenik and the victim’s backing off for fear of being viewed as a troublemaker.

Further research

The professors recruited working adults from their undergraduate students’ pool of friends and family. These folks reported in an online survey how often they experienced rudeness at work and how often they dealt it out. Their managers then rated their behavior. Across industries and job descriptions, behavior was essentially the same. An interesting point: victims of rudeness may be rude themselves, so managers who blame the victim may actually be evaluating their behavior correctly.

To rule out bias, the researchers separated employees experiences of rudeness from their acts of rudeness by asking participants to imagine that they were managers who had been asked to evaluate their subordinates’ on-the-job performance. Given fictitious employee profiles that described performance and demeanor, these pretend-managers typically evaluated victims as misbehaving. Even when their profiles presented them as doing nothing wrong, they were still blamed for their mistreatment.

And, the researchers note, it gets worse. Victims of rudeness were seen as performing worse that those who had not been mistreated, regardless of their actual performance. (I think I can explain this one: The “noise” around victimization creates negative attention and energy, which inclines others to make negative evaluations.)

Negative evaluations based on bias are a significant problem. The researchers note, “As performance ratings often have a substantial impact on compensation and promotion decisions, our results show that victims of workplace mistreatment can be adversely impacted in several other important ways, adding insult to injury.”

So, what to do? Professors Taylor, Kluemper, Bowler, and Halbesleben recommend that managers receive training similar to that of judges and arbitrators, where these professionals learn to tell the difference between relevant and irrelevant information. Managers should also be trained to be aware of the forces that influence their decisions—a tendency to regard people of certain ethnicities as exhibiting certain negative traits, for example.

So many people in management positions are bright and hardworking but lack the training they need to evaluate their subordinates fairly and accurately. As our workplaces become increasingly diverse, it has become increasingly important that managers get the help they need to do their jobs right.

Giulio Fornasar — 123rf.com

 

If you’re a woman in business, you’ve probably experienced idea theft.

Idea theft? Well, that’s when you’ve brought up an idea in a meeting only to be ignored and then, later on, hear someone else present the same idea and get credit for it. Annoying, isn’t it? And really, more than annoying, because good ideas and, in my opinion, the ability to present them, are career-impacting.

Patty Azzarello (@pattyazzarello) of the Azzarello Group proposes steps you can take in her blog post “When someone steals your ideas,” and they revolve around this simple rule: Don’t hesitate. Don’t lose your momentum by worrying about whether or not you should speak, focusing on your fears, or being concerned that you won’t be listened to.

Ms. Azzarello says, “If you hesitate you give the crowd a chance to react to the other person stating the same idea — and then you have lost it. The idea will now be associated with them.” So you immediately thank that person for articulating the idea you presented earlier.

Interrupt

Ms. Azzarello notes that you need to learn to interrupt. She says, “Observe people in meetings. See how much of the talking that gets done actually comes in the form of interrupting. It’s a lot.” Just as important, if you present your idea and everyone just moves on, it’s likely that they interrupted you to do that. You need to respond by interrupting the person who interrupted you. This sounds dire, and yet it doesn’t have to be. Ms. Azzarello’s example is to say, “Hang on, before we move on, we really need to consider this idea.” That’s mild-mannered and non-belligerent, which is likely what you need to aim for in this situation.

Swim against the current

You also need to become accustomed to “swimming upstream.” As a woman technology, Ms. Azzarello became adept at this. She comments that you will persist because you want to be heard and that ultimately interrupting and not hesitating will become more comfortable. She also points out that idea theft isn’t solely the province of women; it happen to men who are not naturally assertive and to both men and women whose first language is not English working in global companies.

Be prepared

If you want to present an idea in a meeting, prepare yourself. Ms. Azzarello suggests data, benchmarks, or a customer story. That way, you come across not only as the owner of the idea but also the person who has done the work.

Follow up

If you can’t reclaim your idea during the meeting, follow up with the thief afterward. Ms. Azzarello’s dialogue is so gentle and effective that I quote it in its entirety. You can say something like, “I’m pleased that you were able to get this idea over the finish line. It’s clear that I really support this idea, since I brought it up earlier in the meeting. Now I’m excited to help put it into action. How can I help?” This is a very kind way of letting your colleague know that what he did is not ok with you. (Yes, I say “he,” but I’ve run into adept female idea thieves.)

Ms. Azarello ends her post by commenting that getting your ideas recognized and credited properly takes behavioral change but “if you are willing to work through the initial discomfort, you can absolutely change the dynamic.”

Dolgchov — 123rf.com

 

 

What is a value proposition? Well, according to sales guru Jill Konrath, it is a “clear statement of the tangible results a customer gets from using your products or services. It speaks to the critical issues a  targeted buyer faces as well as the outcomes they’ll realize if they switch from the status quo.”

And who should know better about value propositions than a salesperson? At least, that’s what you’d think. But Ms. Konrath knows that too many sales people spend time talking about their product or service’s features and benefits, when customers actually don’t care about them. In fact, she goes on to say, “ … your product or service is simply a tool. Buyers only care about the results it delivers …Strong value propositions are built around tangible, measurable business outcomes.”

At this end of this post, I’ll provide links to a series of three short articles she has recently written about value propositions and how to make them stronger. (You can tell, by the way, that your value proposition is weak if very few people respond to your voicemails or emails or brush you off quickly.)

In the meantime, here are the takeaways I found most important from this series:

• You will need multiple, customized value propositions, depending on who you meet with, the organization you’re targeting, and what you’re selling
• The biggest benefit you get from understanding your value proposition is that you strengthen your own belief in what you’re offering
• Your biggest competitor is the status quo, because change is hard, and many just don’t want to go there
• A strong value proposition includes three elements—business drivers, movement-oriented words, and metrics—and uses them consistently in all communications
• To craft a better value proposition, ask your customers about the value delivered by your product or service, listen to what they have to say, and don’t use this occasion as a sales opportunity.

Here are the links to Ms. Konrath’s articles, and check out the YouTube video:

“Is Your Value Proposition Strong Enough?”

“Three Key Components of Value Propositions”

“How to Make Your Value Proposition Stronger”

 

Alexlmx — 123rf.com

 

What is your business story?

Canada-based marketing strategist and conversion copywriter Nkiru Asika asks, “What separates you from the pack? Your story – the who (your personality and brand or your target audience), the why (your mission and motivation) and the how (your method, process, business model or service niche).”

It’s important to know your story as well as you know your customers, because, as she points out, very few businesses are truly special. And your job—especially if you sell intangibles—is to do everything you can to differentiate yourself from the pack. Because if you don’t, potential clients will likely choose another provider based on price.

In fact, potential clients generally assume you have the skills required to do the job they want to hire you to do. Your skills are table stakes, which means that your website should tell your unique business story rather than simply acting as a venue for presenting your credentials.

Here are Ms. Asika’s suggestions for telling a better business story.

Listen

Hit the social media and online chat rooms. Read email. Connect with your audience the good, old-fashioned way—in person. Then reflect back to them what you hear, both in your stories and your services.

Be selective

Ms. Asika suggests that you consider the audiences you engage with and tailor your message to suit how they consume content and where they hang out. A “one-size-fits-all approach” is likely to be “one size fits none.”

Create the right story

Make sure your business story (or stories) are strategy-based. She says, “What is the driving force behind the stories you want to tell? What is the intended takeaway for the audience.” Focus on offering a new perspective, teaching a new concept, or solving a problem.

Engage their emotions

Articles have been written about how even businesses in some of the driest sectors on the planet have grabbed attention with well-written stories and well-produced videos. It’s important to remember that businesses sell to human beings, and human beings have emotions, so it makes sense to develop stories that appeal to their concerns and soothe their fears. Ms. Asika references Paul Zak of Claremont Graduate University, his research on oxytocin, and its role in storytelling.

The whole idea of emotional engagement resonates with me. And using it to speak to audiences about seemingly unromantic topics is amazingly effective marketing. Just check out the video GE posted on YouTube, and you’ll see.

 

Storytelling is a big deal in business these days. But suppose you don’t consider yourself a natural storyteller. Let’s say you get tongue-tied behind the podium or feel that you are less than impressive when you attempt to present an idea during an important meeting. Do you just give up and shut up, letting others do the talking or, worse, getting the credit for an idea you came up with?

Harrison Monarth, executive coach and leadership consultant, knows what to do. His recent article, “Four Storytelling Techniques to Convey Complex Ideas Simply and Persuasively” lists four ways to make sure that you tell the right story the right way. This is a great article, and I recommend you read it if only for Mr. Monarth’s retelling of a jury trial summation by the legendary trial lawyer Moe Levine.

But first, the three principles of storytelling

Not surprisingly, you must engage people’s emotions when you tell a story. Your story must be “easy to follow and stripped of unnecessary detail.” You also need to get to the point quickly. As Mr. Monarth notes, “ … focus is a scarce resource in the brain and attention spans are dwindling … “

Now, the techniques

1. Make it personal. Talk about the things that people know but no one has thought about or (in my opinion) wants to acknowledge. “ … let the audience’s imagination deliver the biggest punch.”
2. Keep it short. Take a lesson from TED Talks. Why are they so popular? Probably because they present interesting ideas but don’t go on and on. Mr. Monarth recommends writing versions of different lengths. See how long the longest one takes and then begin removing detail. Of course, you’ll want to do this with an audience of friends or peers, because they can tell you if your story still makes sense and has impact. Keep refining and cutting. “You’ll be surprised how often even very short versions still accomplish the job.”
3. Pick a theme. “A clever theme frames a story in just the way you want it perceived.” Mr. Monarth cites “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas” as the perfect example. I myself like “With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good.” A great theme crystallizes the point you want your audience to take away.
4. Use drama to make it stick. Here, Mr. Monarth talks about the value of focusing on mistakes and bad decisions as a way to make a story more effective. In his example, he mentions firefighters who learned more and developed better judgment from “mistake-ridden training scenarios” than those who received conventional “how-to” training.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I initially thought of storytelling as yet another business fad. But when I thought about it, I realized that there is nothing really new under the sun and that storytelling has been around a long time, helping capture an audience’s attention and influencing its behavior.

Artur Szczybylo — 123rf.com

 

 

I just finished reading a great article by Jeff Rosenblum, “Why Brand Stories Succeed or Fail.” In it, he reviews recent neuroscience around why people gravitate toward stories rather than bulleted data points.

The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, he says, is a perfect example of communication failure. NASA had time to address the problem that caused the explosion but presented its information in 28 bullet-pointed slides that were dense and hard to follow, even for experts. A recommendation  emerging from the investigation of this disaster was that NASA should never again depend on PowerPoint alone to convey such important information.

Unfortunately, says Mr. Rosenblum, in business, “… we do nothing all day but present gobs of data with PowerPoint.” And we seem “addicted to overwhelming graphs and tables and somnolent presentations.” The solution, he says, is stories, which humans are hardwired to process. “Research demonstrates that stories affect us at a deep neurological level. Using fMRI technology, we’ve learned that when people tell a good story, the teller and the listener synchronize so that key areas of their brains are activated at the same time.” In fact, an engaged listener’s brain may “sometimes fire before the same region in the storyteller’s. This happens because the listener is anticipating what will happen in the story.

Wow. That’s engagement.

Where does threat enter the picture?

According to Mr. Rosenblum, storytelling is all about managing threat. With worldwide digital communications capable of spreading ideas fast, we see that “bad ideas are a threat to our careers.” A threat that the brain must assess. Unfortunately, many people presenting their ideas try rational appeals, which typically do not work.

Why rational appeals don’t work and stories do

Routing an appeal to our rational, prefrontal cortex is not straightforward. We humans make thousands of decisions a day. Our brains consume an astonishing 20% of our energy and need help to lighten the load. That’s the role of the limbic system, which includes the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the thalamus. Working together, they filter info and help our brains prioritize it.

When you get new information, your limbic system quickly determines whether or not it’s a threat. If the information is nonthreatening, the limbic system passes it on, but only if it’s emotionally engaging.

So what do we need to do?

Ditch the massive slide decks. They’re not emotionally engaging, and they force the brain to use its energy in inefficiently processing information.

Consider this scenario: You’re giving a presentation full of unassailable logic and tons of bullet points. Your audience, heads down, has begun checking its phones. They’re bored, but they’re also feeling threatened—subconsciously—by this new information. “They don’t want to spend their rapidly waning levels of glucose in their brain listening to you; they look for more important threats in their mobile device.” They’ve disengaged, and your chance of re-engaging them is slim. Ouch.

Yes, says Mr. Rosenblum, research and data are important to developing new ideas, but they are not enough. Cloak them in stories that make an emotional connection, and you’ve got a better chance of creating a compelling brand.

Micha Klootwijk — 123rf.com