A decade ago, the tools of communications belonged to a chosen few. Editorial control over newspapers, television and radio was in the hands of those professionals tasked with selecting content deemed worthy of the front page, the headline, the news bulletin. National newspapers and mass media channels were scarce resources. The stories they carried were linear and sequential. The 10 o’clock news was broadcast for an hour each evening at the same time. Important news was on the front page, above the fold.

That was then, this is now.

Immersive storytelling

Today’s world is nonlinear, filled with always-on devices giving anywhere, any time access to media generated by those of us with a WordPress blog and a point of view. Storytelling has come full circle from the logical inevitability of the printed page to the random, emotionally binding, infinitely looping immersive stories of this fragmented age where anyone can create and re-purpose content, as did the bards of pre-literate eras.

The implications of the transition from top-down to user-generated content is explored in detail by Frank Rose in his book The Art of Immersion.

Rose identifies the roots of non-linear storytelling in the popular serials Charles Dickens published in the 1830’s. But it was the creation of the hyper-links of the World Wide Web that blew the lid off linear narrative:

Links change our relationship to information. They empower individuals and destroy hierarchies.

Cinema directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Jean-Luc Goddard and David Lynch create immersive, non-linear forms of film.

The unexpected juxtapositions, the startling elisions, the scenes out of sequence–asleep or awake, this is how we think, in a fast-dissipating vapor.

The implication is that we live in a multiverse, where events occur simultaneously. As the Western-born Spiritual Adept Adi Da Samraj has written about photography:

The human individual in the midst of Reality is like a camera in a room—perceiving everything from a fixed “point of view”. But what does the room Really look like? The room can be viewed from every possible “point of view” in space-time—not merely from any particular “point of view”, or even a finite collection of “points of view”. Therefore, no “point of view” can reveal the room, or Reality Itself, because every “point of view” is limited and essentially self-referring.

Frank Rose explores the art of immersive storytelling and the emerging transmedia methods that the best practitioners are developing in video games, advertising, movies, social media, television and more.

Frank Rose Interview

In August 2012 I met Frank at a Churchill Club event in Silicon Valley and took the opportunity to ask him about the implications of immersive storytelling for professional speakers and corporate communications professionals. To hear what he told me, click on the podcast icon below.

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Marianne Gobeil is the CEO and founder of Leading Communicators. A recognized expert in the area of strategic leadership communications, Marianne is a trusted adviser to executive leaders — so devoted to helping them advance their leadership goals and objectives that she formed a company around it.

I was watching the film “The King’s Speech” again the other day, and it struck me that executive leaders today have a lot in common with King George VI. Not because they both stutter – although some certainly do, at least strategically. But because each faced a cosmic shift when it comes to communication. And in both cases, the disruptor was technology.

For King George, it was the “wireless” that fundamentally changed how he engaged with the British people. Have a listen to the counsel his father gives him:

Suddenly, centuries of tradition were disrupted. The old ways of ruling – from a distance, seen and heard by few – had been supplanted by a device that forged an immediate, close connection between the King and his people. The radio meant he was now present in their homes, and created the perception that he was speaking to them personally. What he said, and how he said it, now mattered, as there was a direct and immediate connection to them.

And now the same is true of executive leaders. We’ve all been customized for many decades at having people speak to us in our homes through radio and television. It had already started to surface in a different level of expectation outside the home as well; people wanted to feel that same sense of connectedness whenever someone spoke to them, even across a podium.

But now it’s different. People not only expect a speaker to connect with them; they expect to be able to connect right back. Social media is the great disruptor of our age. It’s opened the channels, and made one-way communication insufficient and perhaps ultimately obsolete.

The impact on executive leaders is huge. The two-way nature of social media has changed the rules of engagement. Like old kings ruling from a far, executive leaders can no longer lead from on high; they need to engage. They must be seen and heard by their employees and other stakeholders. What they say, when they say it, and how they say it matters because it carries far and fast.

So here’s the new reality for executive leaders: Speak up. Engage well and often. And when you speak, whether at a podium or across a meeting room, be sure you speak to the actual people in the room. Show them that you are aware of their specific interests and concerns, use the language and level of detail that they understand, and give them an opportunity to respond. The old days of one-way communication are gone, and clinging to them will reflect badly on your leadership.

This post originally appeared in Marianne’s blog. It is re-posted here with her express permission.

A report in today’s Financial Times notes that the newly appointed governor of the Bank of England, Canadian Mark Carney, was chosen for his communication skills:

As Jennifer Jeffs, president of the Canadian International Council, a think-tank, puts it: “He doesn’t speak like an economist; he speaks like a human being.”

Evan Solomon, the Canadian writer and broadcaster, suggests those communication skills may be the greatest asset that George Osborne, the chancellor, saw in him, to restore confidence not just in monetary policy, which will be Mr Carney’s direct responsibility, but in the UK economic strategy as a whole. “The administration needs someone who can speak to the people,” Mr Solomon says. “People will not just trust him, but feel he’s a human being.”

Given the turgid prose employed by many central bankers, the bar is not set too high for a plain-spoken Canadian to win the hearts and minds of the British. Of course, when you’ve got them by their mortgage rates, their hearts and minds will follow.

Transmedia storytelling is a hot topic. It’s a form of storytelling where multiple platforms tie together to tell a common story. It has been heralded as “a new storytelling form that is native to networked digital content and communication channels.”

UCS professor Henry Jenkins coined the term transmedia storytelling, and defines it as representing:

“…a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience…”

There’s many examples of transmedia, with projects around novels, TV shows, videogames, music and movies as well as a few examples in the corporate and executive communications space.

The more elaborate of these can involve the expense of year-long “teaser” campaigns for movies, or mass-participation alternate reality games.

However, transmedia storytelling can be a low-cost re-purposing existing video and audio digital content for multiple distribution channels. This might put your video used at trade show presentation on a massive screen into a format suitable for a laptop or smart phone. But it’s not just changing the aspect ratio and being done. It’s thinking of savvy ways to fracture a coherent story into pieces while keeping a core theme alive in different media. It’s weaving the storytellers magic in the digital age.

I’m just starting to learn about transmedia storytelling, but the impression I’ve got is that it is evolving rapidly and, if it delivers on even a part of the promise, will be a VERY BIG DEAL.

Paul M. Wood: Transmedia Storyteller

I recently met with one of the more savvy transmedia storytellers in Silicon Valley. Paul M. Wood is a principal in the boutique communications firm AE35 Media.

Paul is a commercial and independent film director who grew up in a creative family. His father was an artist and his mother a musician. He studied at NYU Film School and has knocked around the tech industry.

After a decade making niche-busting films for Fortune 500 companies such as Cisco Systems, Paul is now calling upon his diverse background as both visual artist and technologist to bring storytelling into the twenty-first century by producing tales which cross not only genres but platforms and delivery systems as well.

AE35 Media believe that the days of executive communications managers creating a message and pushing out to the world as a scripted speech for a corporate big-wig to deliver once with the hope that it was clever or engaging enough to be noticed are over.

Things have changed.

We’ve gone from being a world where information is pushed out to the masses, to become one where the information is now pulled in by individuals. The tech industry knows this applies to their products, not too many yet realize it might equally apply to their corporate spokespeople. While information itself is shared, the act of acquiring it is now solitary and intimate.

Appealing to ONE large mass of people is one thing. It’s an auditorium filled will people listening to your CEO deliver a keynote. It’s an event, managed by the event production team. However, appealing to MILLIONS of individuals and having them own your brand or message as much as you do? Well that’s no longer a mere event. That’s a universe and within it the possibilities are limitless — this is the promise of transmedia storytelling.

To hear Paul discuss the potential of transmedia storytelling and how he sees it as a natural extension of his video production skills, click on the podcast icon below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:16 — 1.4MB)

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Professional speakers, freelance speechwriters and entrepreneurs must learn the sales strategies and techniques that will secure appointments in today’s volatile economy.

That means getting past gatekeepers and getting to decision makers.

Armies of executive assistants and the sub-second attention span of crazy-busy executives are barriers to overcome.

Attendees at Saturdays’ meeting of the Northern California Chapter of the National Speakers Association were given insights on how to crack new accounts, speed up sales and win more business.

The Secrets of Silicon Valley Admins

Four crack EA’s took time off from their busy schedules to spend time on a panel and share the secrets of the C-Suite:

• Cindy Beauchamp, SAP
• Dyan Dalton, HP
• Viviana Gray, Phoenix Technologies
• Elisabeth Hamon, SAP

This self-described “she-wolf pack of Silicon Valley” are fierce guardians of their executives time and the “gatekeepers” who can approve or deny your access. They emphasized that they are not the enemy. But if you treat them in an unfriendly or arrogant way, not only will you never get past them to their executive, but they’ll share information around the company and you will be persona non grata on all future calls.

The secret to success is really quite simple:

“Be friendly, be likable, be real. Use the word please. Be honest. Don’t pretend you know someone when you don’t. We’ll check you out on LinkedIn in a heartbeat.”

These women (and 99% of all EA’s are women) are open to being wooed. Starbucks and candy, handwritten thank you notes and other small acts of kindness work wonders. Just don’t be “creepy” or overly persistent. The best time to call is mid-afternoon.

Take the time to research the company and if you can give a legit name as a reference you will probably be put through.

Cement the phone call with an email. Following-up once a week is OK.

Don’t be too obsessed with reaching the senior executive. Calling high is not always the best strategy. You might get more face-time and a better result talking to someone lower down the organization the EA refers you to. It is even worthwhile to ask if the top guy’s EA can refer you to a more appropriate administrator. Ask “Could some of your colleagues help?” Another proven technique is to hire your own virtual assistant and have them make a “sister admin” call into the large company.

Whoever does the calling, be sure to make it real. Avoid sounding scripted. Get to the point. Don’t sound like a recruiter (who have THE WORST reputation of all). EA’s love to help so use the magic words “I need your help…”.

A professional website and LinkedIn profile enables the busy EA to check your bona fides. Consider if the web content looks good when it is printed and handed to the executive to read while they are in a meeting or on a flight. If not, add a PDF print option.

The killer suggestion of the morning was to leverage LinkedIn and review the membership roster of The Executive Assistants of Silicon Valley group. There are 2,967 members. Of course, to join you really should (ahem) be an EA, or maybe hire a virtual assistant who is (hint! hint!). These are the real decision makers of the Valley, executives just work for them.

Jill Konrath: Fresh Sales Strategies

The afternoon session kicked off with Minnesota native Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies and SNAP Selling. She faults the typical salesperson, or speaker selling their services, for combining a mind-numbing depth of expertise about their service with a ridiculously limited understand of the prospect’s world. Rather than spend more time exhaustively detailing product features, we need to focus our attention on customers and develop an in-depth understanding of their business environment, objectives, issues, challenges and, yes, their administrators’ preferences!

Jill reviewed key stages of a sales call:

Who Do I Contact?

Realize that big companies have business units and divisions. Break it down into component parts that you can get your arms around. Use LinkedIn for targeted searches. Other resources are Hoovers, Zoominfo, Data.com and Netprospex. It’s worth paying for the right prospect list vs. wasting valuable time being bounced between assistants.

What Do I Say?

Look for ways to jolt the prospect out of their complacency. Find out what they care about. Your goal is not to close the sale on the first call, but to have them say “Ooh, that’s interesting. I want to know more.”

Start by establishing your credibility as an expert. Use a referral name. Mention any homework you’ve done “In last week’s press release I noticed your company…” or “I’ve seen your senior executives presentations on YouTube…”

Then pique their curiosity by sharing relevant ideas and information: “I have some ideas…” “I thought you might be interested…”

The final step is a gracious close with an invitation to connect.

Kurt Shaver: The LinkedIn King

Chapter member and Pro-Track class of 2011 graduate Kurt Shaver showcased his social networking chops when he shook the audience out of their mid-afternoon lethargy with a dynamic review of the many ways to use LinkedIn to supercharge sales and prospecting campaigns. His material came straight from his well-respected SalesFoundary classes which offers LinkedIn training to sales teams and individuals.

LinkedIn Profile Tips

Success on LinkedIn starts with a professional Profile.

Kurt’s tips include:

• Make sure you profile has a full face and white background. Lose the photo of you with your spouse, kids and pets. Save those for Facebook.
• Write a headline that is keyword rich, not just a boring job title. NSA/NC Past-President Jim Carrillo nails it:

Stop banging your head with the mouse; I can help with business technology. Customized video training for your needs.

• Use each of the three website links allocated and make their titles something other than the default “My Website”.
• Load up on applications such as Slideshare and a link to your blog posting. Professional speakers should take the time to display a video, even though it means jumping through these hoops.

LinkedIn Prospecting Tips

Once you have your Profile in order the next step is to add connections. The mother-lode in your network are the all-important “friends of friends” — the rather weird Scientologically-named “Level 2’s” in LinkedIn terminology. If you have, say, 1,000 immediate connections you can expect over 300,000 “Level 2” connections – the people your immediate contacts can introduce you to, or whose names you can drop when you are calling their EA!

Here’s an example from my own network. I know 126 people with the job title “CEO”. But there are 35,475 CEO’s known to my network as a whole. Far too many to call on, no matter how cooperative their administrators might be. However, within a 50 mile radius of my home there are 5,461 CEO’s in the technology industry who are “friends of my friends”. If I closed 1% of them that would be 54 keynote speeches a year to write – one speech a week would keep me busy…

Run customer reports in the “Advanced Search” under Contacts to find your own prospecting list.

Kurt’s killer suggestion was to then click on the green “+Saved Search” in the upper right of the screen and ask LinkedIn to email you a list of everyone who has met your criteria in the past week. This is the ultimate “Bluebird list” for your sales calls. A surefire prospecting tip. It’s a natural to call and congratulate them on their promotion and ask “How may I help…?:

Publish or Perish

Why create when you can curate?

Share thoughts, articles and nuggets of wisdom from content-rich websites with your LinkedIn network to boost your reputation as expert. Use the Share on LinkedIn bookmark widget to quickly and easily publish relevant content to your Profile, Groups you belong to, or specific individuals. Take the time to customize a comment for each posting and seed your remarks with a question or three to start the debate. There could be tens of thousands of eyeballs with an opportunity to see what you send out, so use this technique with care, and be sure you are adding value.

Next up: January 2013 NSA meeting

As good a meeting as this was, NSA/NC has an even better one scheduled for January 12 when National President and humor-meister Ron Culberson will help us add humor to our talks and the former CEO of Southwest Airlines Howard Putnam will fly in to share his tips on thriving in turbulent times. See you there!

Toastmaster Time is a long-running San Francisco Bay Area monthly television program, produced by members of Toastmasters International clubs in District 57.

Shows are broadcast on local television community access channels and a complete archive of the past eight years are available for viewing on the Toastmaster Time website. The show presents talks by Toastmasters, from Icebreakers to Advanced talks and features evaluations and interviews with speakers.

The purpose behind the show is to give Toastmaster members the opportunity to learn new skills and present educational and entertaining stories and speeches. For Toastmasters, it offers a unique opportunity to give a speech in front of cameras in a professional television studio. For most of us, this is a challenge quite different from speaking in front of a room of friendly faces at the local club meetings.

Toastmaster Time shows are recorded at the Media Center in Palo Alto.

Hosting a TV Show

Back in October 2011, I had the opportunity to present a talk on my youthful adventures in London and Paris. Earlier this year I evaluated other speakers. Then, just last month, I spent an evening in the studio as the host of an entire TV show.

It was a humbling experience to understand first-hand what sales leaders and company executives must accomplish these days when they host virtual meetings in the workplace. These are an increasingly common alternative to expensive in-person meetings. Toastmaster Time, and shows like it elsewhere, give anyone who aspires to a leadership role in a Fortune 500 company a great sandbox to hone your on-camera presentation skills.

Click photo to watch entire show

Authenticity is one the hallmarks of a successful presentation. Audiences can sense when a presenter is not delivering a message that is congruent with their beliefs. This is an emotional as much as an intellectual challenge, and one that many CEO’s are destined to fail. The reason, according to Anthony Goodman, writing in Monday’s Financial Times, is that many chief executives are prisoners of their environment. Quoting Professor Roger Martin who writes in Fixing The Game:

“Institutional investors, equity analysts, investment bankers, hedge funds and the financial press have emerged as central figures in the CEO’s community … a community rife with transactional relationships, exploitation and distrust.”

Martin believes that executives pander to these constituencies, leading them to make decisions that often do not deliver long-term value to the organizations they lead and deliver communications that lack authenticity.

When you hear a CEO present at a conference, you see one person. What you don’t see is the phalanx of communications staff, from the heads of Public Relations to the speechwriter, PowerPoint design team and event staff who had a hand in creating and revising the content that they deliver.

It’s a rare chief executive who has the time and attention on the speech to ensure that, as well as being an accurate communication about the institutional programs and objectives, it is also something that sounds totally authentic when they deliver it.

Audience’s remember those CEO’s who do take the time to embody their speeches as authentic communications of who they are. The rest, they forget.

Gina Smith writes freelance articles for magazines, online outlets and publications on behalf of a number of companies, including Spanning.com. Smith covers the latest topics in the business, golf, tourism, technology and entertainment industries.

Online Presence is the New “Storefront”

The majority of people and businesses now go online first when they want to search for a product or service. Your website is now your “storefront”. As a professional service provider, how can you ensure your online presence is not only appealing, but sells both you and what you do? Here are a few easy tips to help boost your online charisma.

Make your website appealing

Hire a professional to develop copy and design a website which stands out. Often, your website will be the first impression people have of you and your service. Is your website organized, designed well and easy to navigate? Or, is it cluttered, unappealing and just “there” so you have a presence. Think about your own consumer behavior. When you shop, do you choose stores, which are clean, well stocked and orderly, or ones which are disorganized and disheveled? Remember, your website is also your storefront.

Ask customers to connect with you through Social Media

Social Media is an excellent online PR booster. Peer impressions make an incredible impact. Connect with your customers and interact with them. If you are a freelance speaker, encourage your audience to connect with you as well. Perhaps even break the ice by jokingly saying something like, “OK, I’m going to strike a pose right now so anyone who wants to post a Facebook update about being here can take my picture…” Social Media is also a great avenue to ask questions and gather feedback about your services.

Continually check and monitor reviews

It doesn’t hurt to search your name or company every so often to see what is being posted online. If it is positive, help spread it! Link the positive comments to your website and interact with those posting them. If you discover negative content, address it immediately. Try to find the source and make every effort to reach out and explore opportunities to facilitate a positive experience.

Gather testimonials

Don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials. They can be simple, short (1-3 lines) statements from your customers about the quality of your work, their experience with you and recommending others to utilize your service. Obtain written permission to post these on your website, and across all of your Social Media platforms.

Technology has fostered an online culture which makes it imperative to implement Internet strategies that complement your traditional marketing and public relations efforts. While it can be overwhelming and time consuming, effective implementation of an overall online PR plan can prove very profitable in the long run!

In a recent blog posting I pointed out that an organization’s Annual Report is an important competitive differentiator.

When I’m hired to help write Annual Reports I follow a number of steps to ensure success. Since these reports are, of course, an annual event, it’s a good idea to put systems in place that will serve the purpose year after year.

Tracking Report Components

The first step is to break the report down into component parts. Use a spreadsheet to keep track of the content and owners of each section. Define the overall message and list how each chapter in the report supports this. Use the spreadsheet as a guide for all the team members: graphic designers, content creators, subject experts, proofreaders and review staff. Make the spreadsheet as detailed as necessary, you might list:

• Page numbers: As the project progresses keep track of each section by page number.
• Themes: If you have multiple themes for the report, color code the spreadsheet to show which theme each section falls into.
• Deadlines: for draft copy, design work, interviews, research, and more.
• Roles and Responsibilities: for both freelance and staff members.
• Estimated time to complete: useful to measure the overall cost of the project.

Make one person responsible for the spreadsheet and route all status updates through them.

The Discovery Phase

Gather preliminary information to enable the writers to draft the content. Use a 3-ring binder to store source material, with tab dividers for each section of the report. Sources might include:

• Previous year’s report
• Competitors reports
• Executive speech transcripts
• Interviews with subject experts
• Website content
• Product brochures
• Press Releases
• PowerPoint presentations
• Analyst reports
• News articles

These days, most of the content will be online, but a printout in a binder will help as you start to review and collate what you need as background for each section of the report.

You should also create a hierarchy of bookmarks in your browser, corresponding to tabs in the binder, to store relevant website information.

First Drafts

As early as possible, the writers will need to create outlines of each section which can be expanded into first drafts. A good working relationship between the in-house staff and the freelance writer is crucial at this point. It’s worth taking the time to spend a day meeting in person at the start of the project, or at least scheduling a videoconference on Skype or TelePresence so that everyone is operating from a position of trust. There will inevitably be challenges in communicating what the organization needs the report to say and how the writer interprets this. One major advantage of working with a freelance writer is that they bring a fresh pair of eyes to content that people inside the organization might be too close to.

Rewriting

I’m amazed at the similarities between writing speeches and writing Annual Reports. Both projects:

• are highly visible and represent the overall company vision and strategy;
• involve upper management in the approval cycle;
• also involve a large team of support staff, from marketing and PR to legal and financial teams;
• must find a balance between an overall message and supporting data, avoiding fluff while not boring everyone with facts alone;
• inevitably involve many rewrites before the content meets corporate standards.

Again, an experienced freelance writer will be able to craft the 150-, 500- and 750-word versions of the text you’ll need on each topic. Indeed, like keynote speeches, a good Annual Report will contain material that can easily be re-purposed and used in sales and marketing presentations by staff throughout the year.

Online Versions

While the printed Report might be distributed at the annual general meeting and mailed to shareholders, there’s a great opportunity to post content online. The least effective way is to have a downloadable PDF of the printed report. Consider hiring a savvy web designer and have them create a dedicated corner of your website where the content can come alive. Wolters Kluwer did just this for the online version of their Award Winning 2011 Annual report. You can also read the report in a dedicated iPad app.

Annual Reports are required of all public companies. While some elect to publish the minimum information required by law, others see their Annual Report as an opportunity to showcase the achievements of the past year to current and potential investors; press and analysts; customers and partners. Indeed, a well-written and attractive Annual Report can be a competitive differentiator, helping brand a company by listing past accomplishments and strategic direction.

In order for an Annual Report to have maximum impact, it’s important that not only are the financial statements accurate, but that the whole report, from the Chairman’s letter to product and program information, is compelling and coherent.

Design

Creative graphic design is a feature of many Annual Reports. Awards for creative design acknowledge those that have invested in a unique look and feel. Some of these Reports rival the trendiest of European fashion magazines in eye-catching color, layout and style.

Content

However, it’s content that matters. Awards that judge Reports based on narrative as well as design are more accurate reflections of the publications use to investors. Very few investors are likely to be swayed by design alone. But a well-written Annual Report, like the Award Winning 2011 Wolters Kluwer Annual Report that I worked on, can focus attention on the best aspects of a companies competitive advantages, product offerings and benefits.

Writing your Annual Report

Producing a well-written Annual Report takes time. Staff in Marketing and PR are the people most likely to be tasked with gathering information from across the organization. In order to create content, they will need to contact subject experts in sales, engineering, support and administration. A well-written Report should contain a mix of data and human interest stories to attract and keep the readers attention. While there’s no way to dress up the Financial Statements, nor would regulators permit this, the rest of the Report can tell stories that showcase the best aspects of the company.

Hiring a freelance writer

In-house staff face the challenge of finding time to research, collate and write the Report on top of their existing duties. Hiring an experienced freelance writer not only relieves this time crunch, but also offers a new perspective. Especially for organizations with multiple divisions, an outside writer can bring coherence to a report which might otherwise seem as if it has been patched together from different sources.

In future blog postings I’ll be sharing my own experience as a freelance writer working on Annual Reports and, in addition to listing tips and tricks, suggesting ways to make the collaboration between freelancer and in-house staff as effective as possible.

If you have any specific questions you’d like me to address, please leave a comment.