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Archive for the ‘Communications’ Category

The Cost of Being Green

Posted in Communications, tagged , , on September 17, 2012| 1 Comment »

Working from home has its advantages – I’m able to meet/wait on the repair guys. Today was like the third time over four years we’ve had to have someone from GE out to fix/repair our dishwasher. You see, it has this automatic dishwasher detergent dispenser thingy that really has never worked.  The first repairman said we weren’t using the right detergent, we needed to use the new advanced formula expensive stuff. I thought, figures, we bought this nice new dishwasher in a kitchen renovation (that went bad, another story) and it is going to cost me more on a regular basis. So I bought the expensive detergent and guess what, it clogged again.

Okay… I’ll show this dishwasher, I’ll quit using the auto-dispensing function. Take that fancy schmancy machine, I can outsmart you! Wrong. Still not washing the dishes. So we call again, they come out and it’s clogged again. He fixes it and gives me the detergent lecture. He doesn’t seem to believe that I am actually using the “good stuff.” Husband resigns himself that this dishwasher is going to be a menace so he buys an extended warranty on it and the other appliances, $750.  That is supposed to be good until 2014.

So we have the warranty and its not cleaning right again. We call, they come out… again. And, he unclogs it… again. But this time he tells me something I didn’t know. Apparently to make detergents more environmentally friendly they had to take the chemical out that reduces the calcium and lime build up. So, no wonder the thing was getting clogged up over time. He advised me to get this stuff called Dishwasher Magic to first clean out all of my filters, etc. Then he said use Lemi Shine with my detergent. If you want to know what’s in Lemi Shine good luck but I did find this chemist blog that did some pretty interesting testing to get to the bottom of it.

Maybe I’m out of touch with my housewife duties, but before today I did know all of this. The total cost of these products is about $11, more if I order them online and have them shipped. So that is the cost of being green. Not bad I guess, but I wish someone would have given me a heads up a few years ago. Before the $750 extended warranty.

Note: I have not tried these products, but I will be and will let you know if they  work.

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I Blinked And The Summer Was Gone

Posted in Communications on August 30, 2012| 1 Comment »

It’s pretty much how I felt this morning.  As some of you know I’m in a masters program at UAB, Information Engineering and Management in the school of Engineering. I knew going into this summer I would have class at least once a month. Add on top of that, I left my corporate job and decided to start a consulting business and focus on kayak instruction. I’ve been going pretty much seven days a week since June. Am I tired? Yep. Is this the happiest I’ve been in quite a while – you bet.

It has been an interesting journey, one I have learned tremendously from and am so very thankful for. I have been blessed to spend more time with my family and friends. My parents are in their 80’s and I’m blessed that I could help them when they needed me. Before, they were admittedly afraid to call me because I was always busy. I’ve also spent more time with my sister. Still not as much as I would like, but she recently retired from teaching. She is amazing, and has skills in working with young women that I never knew existed. Then there are my friends. I’ve had great talks on the way to the river and around the campfire. Before I would usually ride by myself, because I couldn’t take off work to go. And, there is my running partner, who I’m sure has seen a little transformation in me, but carefully chosen her words and guidance. These conversations are all gifts of great joy.

It was August a year ago I started the UAB IEM masters program. The program director, Dale Callahan, Ph.D., talked a lot about finding your passion in our first semester of class. I read his book “Resumes are Worthless,” and thought to myself at the time that I spent my whole life searching for my next job, not looking at what I truly wanted to do. Dale challenged each of us to find what we are passionate about. I was lucky in this area because I know what I’m passionate about. I love teaching kayaking. Is it a full-time job – maybe, maybe not. I’m also passionate about helping people tell their story. Since I started the IEM program I’ve met a lot of entrepreneurs, some tech focused, others not as much. One thing they all have in common is they have an interesting story of how they got where they are today. I happen to have the knowledge of how to convey those stories to the media.

I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my life. I can’t really say I’m slowing down, because it is quite the opposite. But, I can say that I’m living more. I’m looking forward to sharing the journey here.

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Remember that thing — the phone?

Posted in Communications on August 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »

We’ve all gotten them, and probably sent them. The email that says exactly what you wanted it to say, but on the other end the receiver is turning their head to the side like my dog when I tell her it’s time to go outside. What? Outside? What does that mean?

I’ve observed from my many years in different jobs and recently in my masters program that people will often write things in an email that they would never say face to face. And, sometimes receivers infer a tone to an email that is not there (mea culpa on that one). That is when I pick up the phone. I usually have a three email back and forth limit before I just pick up the phone and call someone. It may sound terribly old fashioned not to text or email, but at least I use an iPhone when doing it. That way, when I call, the person on the other end can hear my voice, and know that I’m not frustrated. I can also ask questions instead of having 10 emails fly back and forth. Seriously, who enjoys that?

I think emails and social media have become something that we hide behind. For me personally, being rejected by email is a whole lot easier to take than a phone call. Or, is it? If the person rejecting me called, I could at least ask them questions like, “What did you not like about the media pitch? Or, “Would you consider having them speak at a later date.” Having an actual conversation let’s you participate actively in the discussion and get details, which are important.

This summer I had a kayak student who kept calling me and asking for details on a class. I kept looking back at the emails I had sent to all participants. The details were there, so I was perplexed as to why he kept calling me and asking me questions that were clearly outlined in the email. During the class we talked and it turns out he only checks his email every two weeks, if that. He doesn’t do Facebook or Twitter, and rarely uses the internet. So how does he communicate? Via phone. It’s quite simple actually, he talks to one person, gets one issue handled and moves on to the next one. He is on his time and his agenda.

As I thought more about this, what works about a phone call is it is two-way communication. The sender and receiver get to ask questions. On a larger scale, I think this is also the downfall at many major companies when it comes to internal communication. Many companies think that sending an email or newsletter to employees is communicating. But, if you are not giving employees a way to respond and ask questions, you are only pushing out messages with no real way to measure engagement.

That is my rant for today, make sure you are not only sending messages, but really delivering them and having a dialog in the process.

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Five Shades of Pink

Posted in Communications, tagged , , , on August 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Yes, I’m playing off the popular book title, “50 Shades of Gray,” – cheap marketing ploy indeed. However, I’m sure you have been there too. When you step out on your own, and are doing the most routine tasks for a client and oops, there is a typo. Or maybe you cut and pasted from someone else’s email assuming the information was correct, only to stand corrected. That is when I turn five shades of pink.

Personally I think my brain gets ahead of my fingers – a doctor may diagnose that as adult ADD or “old-timers” disease as I call it, but I think it really is from trying to get things done too quickly. So here are some of the tips I’ve implemented to help me not turn five shades of pink the next time a client sends something back.

  1. Take a deep breath and re-read. If I were in the receiver’s shoes would I understand what I’m talking about? If it is a new client am I using too much jargon? Also, why am I responding, do I have an answer? Or, am I just responding to get this email off my plate.
  2. Sleep on it. When I’m working on a story or web content for a client, my first drafts are never my best work. And, if I try to proof immediately I often read over skipped words or phrases. I have found if I sleep on it, and look at it with fresh eyes the next day I will catch things and often make the story better.
  3. Read out loud. I used to do this when I worked in an office and I’m pretty sure my co-workers thought I was insane. Now that I work from home the only people I’m disturbing are my dogs. And, to be quite honest they need to wake up every once and a while and move.

    Trinity

    Sleeping dog that needs to be disturbed.

  4. Read it backwards. Sometimes this is my first approach, and the way I read most magazines and newspapers. Again, it helps uncover missed words.
  5. Fact check. If you are a former reporter this may seem natural, but if you are not, you may assume that what someone sent you is correct. Not that anyone would intentionally try and mislead you, but it’s easy to misinterpret facts and statistics. Fact checking is an important step to protect yourself and your client.

All of the above result in practicing excellence. In a day and age of 140 character tweets, texts and social posts, it’s easy to get away from it. This is my new pledge to help me remember to slow down and take the time. Just don’t call me on it if I’m working off my phone, lol.

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My First Post

Posted in Communications, tagged , on January 8, 2012| 8 Comments »

Starting this blog is something new for me. As a profession, I’m a full-time communicator, but personally I’ve been involved in boating for about 15 years. I got started back before I was married. A few guy friends of mine convinced me to go with them one weekend. They had just taken a whitewater canoe class and they were like, “come on — you can do this.” Growing up my family always camped, and I loved that, but had no paddling experience. Regardless, I went — and they were right — I was hooked. It was a time in my life when I was consumed with work, where was I going, what was I doing. I was personally frustrated and had no outlet for my emotions. I found that after a weekend on the river I had in fact detached from work, disconnected from the blackberry,  and simply had fun. I was a much better person on Monday for it.

In my first few years I paddled an open-boat or whitewater canoe. It was large, and I struggled to manage it at the put in and takeout of rivers. After a while someone suggested I try a kayak. My open boater friends called it “going to the dark side” but the reality was I could load a kayak (or stick it inside my Mazda Mx3) and get to the river without struggling. I could also carry my boat at the put in and takeouts without any assistance. (Did I mention I’m fiercely independent?) Anyway, I liked this kayaking thing.

That is how my story begins. From time to time I hope to tell a story from a trip or class in the past or present. There have also been lessons learned. I will also post when I have classes on the calendar in case you interested in learning. I do work full-time (some 50-plus hours a week) and I’m in graduate school at UAB, so that doesn’t leave a whole lot of time, but I love teaching.

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