Schaeffer PR Buzz

Gone Fishin'

I won't be posting to this blog over the next two weeks, because I'm going to be playing and relaxing in Michigan. Go to www.michigan.org to hear the hauntingly seductive music and words of the Michigan tourism ads. It's all true and I'll be steeping myself in it.

The state of the technology we'll enjoy includes an 18-inch television with three stations, a 10-year-old boom box and a cell phone which will get spotty reception where we'll be. Heaven.

Choose Your Word Order Carefully

"State Police Enforcing Reckless Motorcycle Driving." That is the headline flashing on the lighted sign above the lanes of the Kennedy Expressway heading into downtown Chicago.

Does the headline writer really mean that police will be making sure that motorcyclists drive recklessly in the 55+ mph traffic? Or, is this Jay Leno Tonight Show-worthy headline yet another in a series of comical word order choices by people who are proof reading-challenged?
One of the most entertaining aspects of loving words and paying attention to their use is that scarcely a week goes by when I don't see a public relations issue arise because of careless word order or words that might have been better left unsaid. My job as a public relations consultant specializing in public affairs in Chicago gives me the opportunity to help clients avoid such mishaps.
The state police motorcycle headline reminds me of the infamous quote by the legendary Richard J. Daley, Mayor of Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Convention. He is widely quoted as having said, "The police are not here to create disorder. The police are here to preserve disorder." brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/richard_j_daley.html
When I was a newspaper reporter for The Daily Herald, dailyherald.com  covering the Cook County Board of Commissioners in the late 1980s, a commissioner made a similar gaffe. Railing at what he saw as a lack of emergency preparedness for the county (this is 15 years BEFORE 9-11, so maybe he was prescient), Commissioner Carl Hansen of Mount Prospect said that when American Airlines Flight 191 had crashed near O'Hare International Airport a few years earlier, emergency response teams were woefully inadequate. "Fortunately, everyone died," he said of the plane crash.
How many times do we chuckle each day as someone speaks words in an order that is unintentionally humorous? How many silly signs and goofy headlines will we see this week? Which elected officials will think they are saying what they mean, but not mean to say what they really do? While all of this is funny, I prefer that people laugh with my clients, not at them.

Boomers and Millennials: A Lot in Common

A video made by a cultural anthropology class at Kansas State University is making the rounds in the global dialogue about the differences and needs of the generations in the workplace.This video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o  represents a recent installment shared among those who participate in Vistage, the world’s largest organization of CEOs.vistage.com 

Today’s employers of all generations need to be aware of the experiences and expectations of employees of all generations, including those of the Millennial generation, who are the stars of the Kansas State video. While the world and workplace today certainly are different than they were in any other decade, the Millennials are not so exotic that they don’t share characteristics with other generations that have gone before them.

I’ve noted many times the many similarities between the Millennials www.millennialgeneration.org/ and Baby Boomers, www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/006105.html  the generation to which I belong. Members of both generations love to learn, grew up multi-tasking (although it wasn’t called that yet in the 1960s and 1970s), saw huge changes in technology (albeit faster now than for the Boomers), and for a variety of reasons have been considered and have considered themselves “special.”

Most striking, however has been the shared commitment to cause. Boomers followed John F. Kennedy and “asked what they could do for their country” when the Peace Corps started. Today’s Millennials are looking for ways to make a difference and are marching in droves in Sen. Barack Obama’s Hope campaign.

In the Kansas State video, the students flash hand-made signs and computer screen messages before the camera, expressing the facts, experiences and expectations of their generation.

Interspersed are quotes from scholars and leaders of past decades and centuries, which still are true. On the most basic level, I don’t see all that much new here. There is a reason the antique quotes in the video are still relevant today. The old cliché is correct: The more things change, the more things stay the same.

You can click on the video to see what the Kansas State students think and want to share about their generation. I’ll share here some similarities to those of my Baby Boomer generation:

• The world was as scary and uncertain to Boomers as it is to Millennials. When I was in junior high, older friends were out protesting the Vietnam War and every night on TV we watched the body bags of dead soldiers return. My first boyfriend in high school had a draft lottery number and we worried about whether he’d get sent to war and die. When I was in college, a recession loomed, there were daily protests about the Shah of Iran and against Apartheid, and the year I graduated the Three Mile Island nuclear power disaster happened.
• Technology changed rapidly for Boomers, too, although since then the definition of “rapid” has changed. In the first two years of my first job, my main tool at work changed from a manual typewriter to an IBM Selectric typewriter to a DEC computer.
• Millennials aren’t the only over-stimulated generation to have turned away from what it considered irrelevant, too slow or too “old school.” While the Millennials spend time on Facebook and using e-mail or text messaging, we diverted our attention in our preferred ways. We skipped class, watched TV for many hours, went to movies, goofed around, talked to people in bars, in coffee shops, on the phone and on the Quad, slept through class, passed notes to friends, and multi-tasked when we should have perhaps been reading books in school. Were we more or less engaged in education than the current students? Hard to say.
• Young Boomers shared the hard-wired need to learn, learn, learn. We were brought up in the post-Sputnik education run-up and the global race to the moon. 
• Both generations think they’re “special.” Much has been made of Millennials who have grown up in a world where everyone on the little league team gets a trophy and “helicopter parents” hover. As a generation, we Boomers were “special,” too, mostly because there were so darn many of us. We were “special” because we were a marketer’s gold mine. Businesses at all stages of our life have worked to figure out how to make money off of us. We were the generation that the Barbie doll first enticed, after all.

Maybe some Millennials and Boomers don’t want to believe it, but I believe our two generations have a lot in common and can do great things together. Bring it on.

Is "the nod" Public Relations?

I’ve long been intrigued by “the nod,” the slight downward or upward bob of the head exchanged by two persons passing one another. It’s a versatile form of non-verbal communication that can convey respect, admiration, thanks, simple greeting or a shared understanding of a separate, third-party action both have witnessed.

Maybe it’s an urban thing. It regularly happens between pedestrians who don’t know one another on busy Chicago streets.

Often, the nod occurs between strangers. Sometimes, friends across a large crowded room acknowledge one another’s presence with the nod, even if they don’t exchange words at an event.

My unscientific research and observations over 20 years working in downtown Chicago reveals the following characteristics of the nod:

• The nod requires focused eye contact, as a prelude to and during the motion. So, if you are walking down the street and don’t look anyone in the eye, you probably haven’t experienced the nod with a stranger.
• The nod is reminiscent of the almost-extinct tipping of a hat by a man. Real cowboys still do this and it’s delightful.
• The nod almost never happens between two women. Two women passing on a busy Chicago street are more likely to say "hello" to one another or smile as they pass one another.
• Men in their 20s and 30s who know one another are the most likely to acknowledge one another’s presence with an up nod, in which they establish eye contact and bob their heads up and slightly angled to one side. Often, the eyebrows raise as the head nods up.
• Women and men of a certain age can safely share a nod with a stranger of the other gender, because the nod requires no speaking, no touching, and no stopping as they pass on the street. Of course, I imagine the nod has also been the initial lob in a volley of flirting, but that’s a different kind of nod, requiring much more intense eye contact.

What does this have to do with public relations or communications? Well, organizational leaders and spokespersons can enhance their reputations by mastering the art of the nod. How?

• Using the nod means you are paying attention to others, and they notice.
• When you initiate a nod, you are perceived as friendly, and if you exchange a nod with someone who looks up to you, they feel respected.
• If you attend a venue with a large crowd, the nod allows you to establish a connection (albeit momentary) with individuals you may not have a chance to engage in conversation, because you are unable to move across the room. You get more mileage out of your public appearance.
• When a well-known, recognizable person – such as a business leader or elected official – invests a moment to share a nod with a stranger on the street, the other person is likely to characterize the recognizable person positively to others.

Chicago Public Relations: Playing to Win

My PR firm and I play to win in the court of public opinion.

There are few silver medals when it comes to changing public policy, educating the public or managing a reputation. In public affairs matters, you win or you forge a win-win compromise. Other options don’t count.

In the difficult-to-measure PR profession, it is imperative to produce results. The enduring words of Yoda thinkexist.com/quotation/do_or_do_not-there_is_no_try/250565.html  tell the story: “Do or do not . . . there is no try.”

When we wage a publicity or community outreach campaign for a client, the classic words of our parents and coaches echo in our minds:

“Look harder.” (If one news reporter says no, try another.)

“Now add a twist to that.” (Dig for that stand-out information nugget so the speech sings.)

“Faster.” (Create those crisis talking points before the top of the hour.)

“Think.” (Be a step ahead of both the competition and the client’s nemesis.)

And, accomplish all of that with integrity, because HOW one wins absolutely matters in the long run in the court of public opinion.

When I was on the park district swim team as a kid, my mother would urge me to swim in the lane with teammates who swam faster than I did, even if my side hurt. “That’s how you get better,” she’d say. It taught me to push myself beyond self-imposed limits.

Today, as a public relations consultant in Chicago www.ksapr.com, I try to do the same. I want to work with clients and colleagues who swim faster than I do. That’s how we’ll all achieve more, I think.

Recently, an attorney with whom we share a client noted, “You really go to the mat for your clients, don’t you?” Yes. We like to win.

First Impressions

The young man, probably 18, stepped into the downtown Chicago office building elevator at 7:59 a.m. on a Tuesday morning this July. Shined shoes. Dress slacks. Winter-weight, wool tweed sport coat two sizes too big (Dad’s? older brother’s?), carefully buttoned. Black portfolio in one hand. Paper towel mashed in the sweaty palm of his other hand. Good posture. Determined demeanor. Smiling. 

The elevator doors opened on the floor occupied by Chicago's Jobs for Youth www.jfychicago.org , a nonprofit that matches young men and women from low-income families with jobs in good Chicago companies. The Jobs for Youth office was dark, it wasn't yet open for the day. The young man's face fell and he immediately looked at his watch. "I guess I'm early. I have an interview at 9:00," he said to me, now smiling. 

Too bad I don’t have a job opening right now at Kathy Schaeffer and Associates, Inc. www.ksapr.com,  I thought, imagining I’d consider hiring the young man on the spot.

I do believe in the adage, “You get only one chance to make a first impression.”

Good communications – written, verbal and non-verbal – can be the passport to a good first impression. Lasting good communications help establish one’s reputation. Some examples that barely scratch the surface include:

Written communications: Just as a good résumé clearly and quickly conveys a job applicant’s strengths, a concise and appealing company brochure, informative annual report or a concise, relevant fact sheet establishes you and your organization as reputable. A well-written, easy-to-navigate Web site makes a good first impression, too. Letters, e-mails and other “routine” daily correspondence are the true reflection of expertise, skill and professionalism and shape lasting impressions. How’s the grammar? How many typos? Were the responses timely? Did the correspondence make it easy for the recipient to find relevant information? 

Verbal communications: Knowing one’s stuff is a prerequisite. Knowing how best to convey it to specific persons or audiences is just as imperative. Start with the audience in mind. What does the audience want or need to know? This is different than starting with what I want to tell them. What is the simplest, most engaging way to convey that information? Is there a way to foster dialogue, rather than monologue? Does the spokesperson use good spoken grammar? Can voice modulation or intentionally changing the speed or tone of voice make communications more successful?

Non-verbal communications: The first non-verbal communication is outward appearance. What is my spokesperson or representative wearing? Does his or her clothing match the level of formality demanded by the occasion or audience? Is the look professional? Has the spokesperson considered how to style his or her hair appropriately for the occasion? What jewelry to wear or not wear? What about exposure of cleavage, tattoos, midriff, bare legs or toes? Beyond that, one’s posture, eye contact, body language, attitude and actions speak volumes – and many volumes have been written about non-verbal communications.

What do you think?

Networking can change lives

My sister Peggy owns and operates a Florida real estate company today in part because our grandfather made the most of networking opportunities some 60 years ago.

After World War II, our paternal grandfather was a mail carrier in Chicago.His route included a high-rise building on Chicago's famed lake shore. For years, Grandpa delivered mail on that route and talked with those who lived and worked in the buildings he served. One man owned a large real estate development company and was developing residential communities in central Florida. He and Grandpa would chat regularly, and over time they came to know and trust one another. The man frequently said to Grandpa, “If you ever want to come to Florida and learn about real estate, I’ll have a job for you.”

In about 1955, after retiring from the U.S. Postal Service, Grandpa took the man up on his offer and started his second career, selling real estate at one of the man’s new housing developments.

A couple of years later, Grandpa got the bug to start his own company. He earned his broker’s license and opened a real estate agency in tiny, but growing, Belleview, Florida. The business grew, and about 15 years later my dad joined him. Today, my sister and her husband are the owners of that company, now a ReMax franchise in Ocala, Florida www.OcalaAllStarsRealty.com.   

As in any story that unfolds over 60 years, untold numbers of events and circumstances worked together to lead my family members to where they are today. Yet the story beautifully illustrates the sometimes surprising and often fortuitous benefits that can result from networking – meeting new people and continuing a dialogue.

As a public relations consultant in Chicago, I often encourage clients to add focused, pro-active networking activities to their communications repertoire. My company, Kathy Schaeffer and Associates, Inc. www.ksapr.com, offers networking training to clients, helping them learn to work a room, build relationships, and shape an “elevator speech.” This training has helped attorneys cultivate business leads, nonprofit leaders broaden their circles of influence and mid-level executives build strategic alliances to achieve their objectives.

Those who, as my grandfather did, understand the value of networking, know that the rewards of making a connection are rarely instantaneous, but can sometimes change generations of lives.

Patriotism: What's the message?

Friday is Independence Day, the Fourth of July. Today is Canada Day. Both presidential candidates, Barack Obama www.barackobama.com and John McCain www.johnmccain.com, are emphasizing messages of patriotism this week.

Nearly every day since September 2001, my husband and I have flown an American flag www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html in front of our home. (A recent exception: a

Chicago spring wind storm www.chicagotribune.com/news/weather/ irreparably cracked the flag support. We’ve replaced it.)

 

I’d guess that some of our neighbors have made assumptions about our political leanings based on our 24/7/365 flag posting. Sad to say, posting an American flag can be seen negatively or positively, depending upon the eyes of the beholder. Just as people make value judgments about personal outward appearances and possessions – clothing, cars, jewelry – they draw conclusions about the persons who display Old Glory year ‘round.

Sometimes our assumptions are accurate, sometimes not. Yet the those doing the displaying, more often than not, are intentionally choosing to send a message. What message is sent and what is received is up to great interpretation. For example:

• Huge American flags fly over car dealerships and highway-side pancake houses. (Do they care about  America or are they just trying to catch my attention?)

• Chicago cab drivers attach American flags to their taxi antennas and rear windows. (Is the driver a new citizen, perhaps trying to tell me he’s not a terrorist, or simply one of my neighbors who likes to fly the flag?)

• U.S. Sen. Barack Obama didn’t wear a flag lapel pin to a presidential primary debate. (Not patriotic enough to be President, or doesn’t need to wear his patriotism on his lapel because   he’s a U.S. Senator, therefore beyond question a patriot?)

If patriotism is something one feels in one’s heart, can’t that emotion manifest itself in an infinite number of interpretations? If patriotism is evidenced in a person’s attitude, isn’t there ample room for misjudgment on the part of the observer?

Symbols – particularly those that are emotionally charged – are powerful communicators. Creative use of symbols can hasten communications or alienate people. Symbols can build bridges or destroy alliances. We need to use them wisely.

On July 4^th, I’ll pause to sit on my front step, next to my American flag, wearing my new peace sign necklace.

In my heart, my messages are clear. Do you understand what I’m trying to convey?