I was recently interviewed by Vancouver-based social media and organizational strategy expert Rob Cottingham. Rob’s Social Signal blog is a rich source of information on social media and public speaking and speechwriting. He’s added a podcast series and you can click through and hear our conversation on the ways speechwriters can take advantage of social media.
I help edit SPEAKER Magazine for the National Speakers Association (NSA). Each month I curate the Relevant Resources column – a list of time-saving tools and technologies.
Having trouble finding your funny bone? Go Ahead and Laugh takes a unique approach to understanding how to add humor to any speech and enhance your message. Hopkins provides a step-by-step breakdown of 11 different speeches, along with a few bonuses, to get your audiences laughing. If you want to be funnier, implement techniques to make your speeches more effective, or just see great examples of humor in action, this book is perfect.
People spend a phenomenal amount of time listening to stories, and we respond strongly to well-told stories. This monumental 720-page book reveals the seven basic plots latent in the minds of any audience. Knowing these archetypes and how they operate, allows speakers to craft presentations that spur action.
Jam-packed with brilliant insights and practical ways to propel a brand world-wide. Check out this book if you’re looking for the latest approaches to help clients or audiences powerfully position or expand their branding presence in the marketplace. Scott shows you how to use new media/social media to build a “rave” following by applying his six dynamic “Rules of the Rave.”
Want to uncover the strategies successful people use to position themselves as experts? Burchard’s advice is especially important to professional speakers, as he covers how to package your message, deliver value to your audience, and build a profitable business as an industry expert. His story resonates with new and veteran speakers, and he provides invaluable suggestions to help you get ahead in today’s competitive marketplace.
Can drawing on a humble napkin be just as powerful as or more powerful than using PowerPoint slides to communicate your ideas? This visual thinking is a great tool for working though complex business ideas and brainstorming to help you think outside the box. In his book, Roam demonstrates that everyone is born with a talent for visual thinking, even those who swear they can’t draw.
Nancy Duarte wrote Slide:ology and became the Queen of PowerPoint. In her latest book, Resonate, she explains how to understand audiences, create persuasive content and structure a talk before firing up PowerPoint. By leveraging techniques typically reserved for cinema and literature, you’ll learn how to transform an ordinary presentation into an engaging journey. Check out her unique analysis of presentations using ‘Sparklines’ and see how you measure up.
Popes, politicians, powerful executives, professional speakers–we all need to be fluent in the most graceful and profound of all human exchanges; a genuine apology. Lazare analyzes apologies—both effective and ineffective—and explores how a sincere apology can heal and serve “not an end but a new beginning.” On Apology includes insightful stories from people around the world, current events, literature and history.
This book will change how people think about the role of the Internet in business and how to make a profit online. Ostrofsky introduces readers to the reality of online business and offers tools to succeed. Some action items are easy as double-checking how your website is structured; others involve big-picture strategy. Get Rich Click! covers everything from saving money to making money with your social media efforts, AdWords, SEO, affiliate marketing, mobile apps and Internet video.
20 members of the Northern California Chapter of the National Speakers Association met on Saturday to debrief on the #nsa11 National Convention held July 30 – August 2 in Anaheim and share their key take-aways. We have held these meetings for a number of years, with the understanding that since only 12% of people act on what they learn conferences, the more key take-aways we can capture, the more likely we are to implement what we heard. Here’s my notes on the discussion.
Ken Dychtwald began his presentation by peppering us with key questions to draw us in on a personal level. These rapid-fire questions were a brilliant way to open a speech.
Dychtwald’s break-out session on the last day shared valuable rules to grow your speaking business:
1. Use world-class promotional materials.
2. Know the value of adding products like books, DVDs and seminar systems to your offerings.
3. Understand the value of good PR and media coverage. Being featured in a magazine is priceless. Testimonials from a high-level person are worth their weight in gold.
Dychtwald also shared his fees (he’s not an NSA member so I guess he could do this):
1. $50k for a talk on the West Coast.
2. $62K elsewhere in the USA.
3. $90K out of the country.
Want to know what you should charge? Talk to bureaus and meeting planners about other speakers in your area with the same level of expertise.
The conference gave me a chance to stop comparing myself to people with 25 years experience in the industry. I let myself off the hook and realized I am now beginning to build my career to a point where I can be as spectacular as they are.
Terry Sjodin listed the reasons why people buy: time, money, security, fun and ease-of-use. Build your presentation around those and they’ll buy from you.
Sjodin explained the importance of having a courtroom style presentation. Start with an opening argument that lists the 10 most persuasive arguments or reasons they should work with you. Then give proof as evidence for that in the form of statistics and stories. Close with a compelling argument that meets the needs of your client. Then use the same arguments to create your brochures and website that are part of your brand.
Julie Morgenstern encouraged us to own our niche by researching the books and articles others are writing on your topic, see what’s missing and then address that. Speak to what’s not being said, then develop a unique point of view. Become the expert.
Morgenstern recommended we go to physical watering holes to meet CEOs to drum up business.
Glenna Salsbury said “No one can get ahead of you, only you can be you. So let go of who you should be, to be who you are.”
After 27 years in NSA, this conference made me realize that the world has changed. So I went to the conference to embrace and learn and have a great time, which I did. The best part was seeing all my old friends grandchildren’s pictures on the iPhone! I learned from Glenna that “if someone else can give your presentation, then you are not telling your story.” On the other hand, to be a little contrarian, there are people who tell our stories … and we must sue them!
I learned that I need to go deep in my area and own it.
This was my first conference and it was a learning and discovery process. I have just realized that people get paid for public speaking, now I realize they also get paid for coaching and consulting. One valuable tip I heard from somebody in the corridor was to ask potential clients “what’s keeping you up at night?”. Listen for things that are in your area of expertise then tell them “I just happen to have the program that can solve those problems.”
Concepts from speeches I heard that encouraged me:
1. Content is overrated.
2. Give the audience an experience.
3. What do I have to offer that they can’t get from everybody else?
4. Think big, start small.
5. Delivery doesn’t have to be perfect to work.
Lessons learned:
1. Be brief, clear and concise when messaging in today’s market.
2. Be persuasive, creative and authentic.
3. Be there to help people navigate the path to successful and healthy longevity.
Suggestions I plan to implement:
1. Use humor in my stories.
2. Use social media especially YouTube.
Kyle Maynard taught me that it’s important to get people to feel and then hone your story so the message is heard on different levels.
When I saw the keynote speaker lose her way in the speech on the main stage it reminded me of the importance of being able to just keep talking. This speaker ran into trouble because she memorized the speech and her actions. It was an unfortunate example of somebody who might be able to coach, but she can’t speak. Even professional speakers can benefit from attending Toastmasters regularly which trains against this very thing.
Ford Saeks encouraged us to break down what we do into speaking, coaching, products and know what percentage of revenue is generated from each.
Ford Saeks: “Common sense is a superpower.”
Larry Winget encouraged us to take a stand to establish credibility and show our expertise and share our opinion and frame of reference. It seems that some speakers at NSA are jealous of Larry. Certainly working with a Speakers Bureau was one of the secrets to him moving from $7,500 speeches up to the $30,000 level.
The biggest take away was that I should own my position on the web and especially make use of YouTube videos for viral marketing. It’s the second largest search engine that is now owned by Google.
This was by far the best NSA meeting I attended. I am encouraged to make my keynote more personal for the audience and use the term “we” more often. This is a shift from me just telling a story to thinking of things from the audience’s point of view. It was reinforced by Larry Winget who said we should give audiences an experience.
This was my first NSA conference in 15 years, and people asked me what it changed. Back then during the breaks, instead of reaching for their smart phones, people used to rush for the payphones!
Authenticity from the platform was key. This was my first conference and I found people were for the most part authentic and welcoming.
Speakers need to be in tune with the younger generation and not live on speeches they’ve been giving for the last 10 years. If you do that, you’re finished. We have to give the younger generation context that shows we know what’s going on.
Follow Patricia Fripp on Twitter (@PFripp) for excellent tips. Example: “Public speaking: Your stories will be more memorable when you tell them using more dialogue.”
It resonated for me when Kyle spoke about how he experienced hate and that Larry Winget gets death threats. I wonder how many others are afraid of speaking on minds and do what is politically correct out of fear? It’s so easy to be influenced by a lone audience member who takes pride in “being offended”. I don’t think we should let that intimidate us. The conference gave me the strength to be myself.
When I saw those excellent speakers on the main stage I thought that “One day I wanna be like them.” Just like young musicians listen to top bands to fuel their dreams, listening to top speakers at the conference fueled my dream.
People’s perception of your presentation style, business cards, social media presence and website should all be congruent. Just because a certain perception works for one group doesn’t mean you can adopt it.
A million-dollar speakers’ secret: Get into large corporations; leverage yourself; never leave.
Jeffrey Gitomer said don’t just lead by example, set the standard. Go an inch wide and a mile deep. Push the envelope and set the standard and you are no longer derivative. That’s where the gold is. It doesn’t happen overnight, but now I’ve got something to shoot for.
Jeffrey Gitomer told us to write every day. He said writing is wealth. If you’re not a writer, you’re not a speaker.
Brian Tracy said we cannot achieve unless we “resolve to pay the price”. That resonated with me. It takes a lot of work and a lot of practice. So beware of NSA members who glom onto and prey on the new speaker. Anyone who promises to shorten the route to success should be treated with the utmost suspicion. I really would like national to do something to alert us to these people.
I enjoyed the fact that Randy Gage who was so controversial in his own keynote a few years ago was the chair of this conference. He put on a confrontational conference and it was the better for it.
The chapter leadership session was great with a good depth of knowledge being shared. People should know about http://nsachapterone.org which is a great resource. Likewise if you Google ‘softconference nsa’ you will find a link to the recordings of past conferences.
Speaking can be a lonely business and the value for the conference for me was the interesting conversations I held throughout. It’s the people you meet at the bar, in the lobby and at the health club who make these conferences worthwhile.
NSA members should not be dismissive of people who are newbies and might not have the initials CSP after their name. You never know who a new person at the conference is and what their background is.
The buddy program for VIPs was a real winner. I’ve never been embraced by an organization and the individuals in it to the extent I have at this NSA conference.
The humor session with Mark Mayfield helped me understand that adults remember very little of our talks and humor makes them more memorable.
Seeing Fripp’s computer die at the Cavett Institute was a valuable lesson in how to handle equipment failure. She’s a real pro and did not let the lack of PowerPoint phase her.
My blog was clogged before the conference but now I understand I can be a curator and an interpreter of information.
Simon Mainwaring from Australia spoke about social media and storytelling. He had three lessons:
1. Get the right mindset.
2. Be a chief celebrant and don’t try to be a celebrity. The former has enthusiasm and engagement around the topic.
3. Get Fan Action versus fan acquisition.
4. Always have “How-manship” vs. “Show-manship”. Always show how.
I loved the Monday night music jam session in the lobby. Sitting in and playing with strangers was great. Who knew that Max Dixon played such a great keyboard?
Karpowitz said “The audience pays you for what you’ve survived, all your experiences in life .”
Lisa Sasevich shared valuable information on how to go from a free-speech to monetizing it. She showed us how to sell from the platform without appearing to. Give a free speech but structure it in such a way that they buy into the transformation offered by your system. Give them a whole piece of your program and then reference the rest of it. She is a classic information marketer. Like Ford Saeks who also has a price point for everyone in the audience. She also handled a power outage with her projector very well.
Les Brown: “courage is the willingness to act in spite of fear”.
Lou Heckler: “always ask who is speaking before you.” In fact it’s best practice to arrive a day earlier to conference so that you can listen to presentations preceding yours and do callbacks to them. Meeting planners respect speakers who arrive early.
Lois Creamer spoke at the Consultants PEG and recommended setting up committees of people who can review and comment on your blog.
Brendan Burchard stimulated me to think differently about social media. I have already written 52 tweets to send out on a weekly basis for the next year.
The Ragan Communications Social Media Best Practices for Communicators Conference, hosted by Cisco Systems, wrapped up on Friday. The 3-day event promised to share ways to “engage employees, build strong customer relationships and create brand buzz online” using social media. Workshop and presentation topics included:
How video is reshaping employee communications
Social media tools for PR
Social Media Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools
Crisis communications in the world of social media
How social feedback can result in product innovation and cost savings
The case for collaboration: mass adoption in corporations
Empowering social media intrapreneurs
A hallmark of the event was the very active Twitter stream resulting in over 6,000 tweets during the event, compared to 2,700 at the 2010 Ragan Social Media Conference held at Cisco. If you want the details on what the audience found relevant, and have the patience to wade through the re-tweets, check out tweet-stream. Incidentally, the Cisco team did a great job monitoring the Twitter back-channel – including a visibletweets posting of tweets on screens at the side of the conference room – Cliff Atkinson would have been proud!
Given that the raw data is available to all, rather than trying to summarize the event, I will offer some opinions (full disclosure, I work as an executive communications manager at Cisco on a contract basis).
Be a squeaky wheel
Marilyn Mersereau, an SVP of Corporate Marketing at Cisco, kicked off the event by drawing attention to the “Cisco Sucks” video posted on YouTube by dissatisfied customer Mike Soltis:
She gave a blow-by-blow account of how, as a senior executive in the organization being targeted by the video, she stepped in and contacted the “cute Canadian” who made the video and offered to resolve the issue for him by buying him a replacement Linksys router.
This became a case study on Guy Winch’s Squeaky Wheel blog. Guy wrote the book on the benefits of being a squeaky wheel. Winch compliments Cisco’s response:
And my hat is off to Cisco, whose executives (if not call-center employees) clearly do know how to go about doing service recoveries the right way! Let’s hope they implement the changes necessary to avoid/minimize such situations in the future.
This case study raised some interesting questions, which were addressed later in the conference:
Will it scale? Marilyn was able to resolve one customers problem by opening her checkbook. But why was the support organization out of the loop when it came to monitoring social media so they, not marketing, were the ones to respond? How can social media engagement extend to every corner of the organization? What are the necessary changes that need to be implemented?
What kind of social media listening programs and social CRM solutions can large enterprises employ to monitor the huge variety of social media conversations where issues like this might arise?
For consumers, social media clearly empowers the squeaky wheel. Companies are starting to listen. Hint: if you want a freebie, speak up online!
What keeps us up at night
The Ragan audience represented the savvy social media staff of corporate America. They are on the cutting edge of Twitter, Facebook, blogging, video and more. They struggle with questions such as:
What needs to happen for more investment to be made in social media by my company?
How can I control which departments engage in social media?
What’s the long-term maintenance strategy for social media – how can we avoid the “launch it & leave it” mentality?
How can I get my senior executive to buy-in to social media?
How can we understand the ways in which users interact with what we post?
How can we turn negative product reviews around?
How can we balance social media policy and discipline and avoid throwing the baby out with the bath water?
Hint: If you are a social media consultant, this is low hanging fruit for solutions to go peddle to corporate America.
Democracy meets autocracy
It seemed to me that the core conversation at the event (the elephant in the room?) was about the inevitable conflict between the radically democratizing impact of social media on essentially autocratic corporations. While individuals can easily and quickly embrace social media, corporations are often hamstrung. Why is this?
Despite the “warm fuzzy” veneer of corporate life (dressing down on casual Friday’s; managers matey use of first names) most corporations are essentially autocracies: the CEO and senior staff control the destiny of employees. This both inhibits the open conversations that occur in the social media environment and undermines the norms of social interaction in the hierarchy. In other words: people are running too scared to be fully engaged in social media.
Hardrinder Kang quoted Thomas Malone in The Future of Work who claims corporations evolve in the same way as societies: from hunter-gatherer “bands” to absolute monarchy (command and control) to democracy.
So how do yesterday’s organizational structures deal with the democratizing forces of tomorrow’s social media?
Answer: not well.
The genii is out of the bottle and the leveling forces of social media mean that you can no longer judge a person’s influence by their grade level. Yet, in the historical transition to democracy, how many monarchs willingly relinquish their crown? How many administrators whose tweets are followed by industry analysts (we heard of one at the conference) are given the financial reward their influence warrants?
I predict that the companies who still ban social media for employees; who think Twitter is a waste of time; who ignore consumer complaint videos on YouTube (or fail to monitor them in real time) – these companies will be superseded by more nimble, social media savvy, organizations. That’s how the Darwinian world works.
So is implementing social media in many corporations like teaching elephants to dance? What do you think? Let me know.
Conference Attendees Speak Out
This was a well organized and worthwhile conference. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s some impressions of the event from conference attendees:
At the end of the second day of the Ragan Social Media Conference I met Susan Gluss who is the Media Relations Director and spokeswoman for the UC Berkeley School of Law.
She is investigating the use of social media, specifically blogging, as as way of promoting both the activities of the Law School and her own OpEd’s in the San Francisco Chronicle.
If you have any suggestions for the ways Susan can specifically tailor social media to meet her needs, email her or send a tweet to @BerkeleyLawNews.
To hear her questions on the topic of social media, click on the podcast icon below.
The event kicks off on Wednesday when I plan to attend the Pre-Conference Workshop on Corporate Video given by Deanna Govoni and Alex Romano. This workshop will discuss how to think differently about marketing content and sharing information. We’ll learn:
How video is transforming communications
How to reach a wider audience through the power of social media and video
Web cams are a low-cost medium to train remote employees
How the Flip camera encourages employee creativity and engagement
How to effectively share and promote your video online
How to gather necessary production equipment on both limited and large budgets
The content was obviously planned well in advance of Cisco’s decision to end-of-life Flip cameras … Sic transit gloria mundi.
In the afternoon, Shel Holtz, who I’ve interviewed on this blog at previous Ragan events, will talk on The Smartphone Revolution, discussing:
The depth and breadth of the shift away from computers to mobile devices
The challenges of building and deploying an effective app
The questions you should ask yourself before starting down the mobile path
What the B2B early adopters are already doing
The advantages of going mobile
The following two days of the conference are an impressive list of Social Media experts from around Silicon Valley. The good news is that the conference already has the Twitter hashtag #ragancisco and I am sure live tweeting will be the order of the day.
I enjoyed presenting this morning to the breakfast meeting of the Tri-Valley Consultants Forum. There was a sold-out audience of 30 East Bay consultants in the room.
I discussed how new multimedia web-based technologies add exciting options to a consultant’s toolkit. From researching professional interests to developing content for clients, tools such as blogs, YouTube, podcasts, and Twitter can make you more effective—if you know how to use them. Consultants can now leverage multimedia to greatly improve the value of their services in the planning, preparation and delivery of their services.
I focused my talk on:
How to choose which tools to engage with and how much time and effort will be involved for an effective return on investment.
How to use advanced technologies to grow your professional reputation and connect with leading professionals in your field.
How to generate referral business, repeat business and third-party testimonials by using web technologies more effectively for better marketing, client engagement, and effective follow up.
Around half the room already had a blog and many more indicated they used blogs, podcasts on iTunes and YouTube as a source for researching clients and their area of specialization.
I was intrigued to hear what the PR professionals at the conference thought of the impact of social media on public relations, so I asked a random collection of people I met in the halls what the thought.
Take a listen to what they told me by clicking on the podcast icon below.
At the resent PRSA Conference in Washington DC I attended a presentation by James Walker on Diversity and Social Media. He’s a Gen-Y Communications professional interested in Public Relations, Diversity, Marketing and Social Media. In 2010, James combined two major interests to launch Socially Diverse , a six month online journey seeking out diverse conversations, discussion leaders and ways to connect through social media channels.
Socially Diverse: Engaging With Diverse Communities Online
Embark on a journey through social media — both the blogosphere and social networks. Explore the findings of the presenter’s six-month journey through social media, during which he engaged with active members from several online communities. Gain understanding of how to identify, analyze and engage with active participants of diverse communities and social interactions, and also learn how to create a social media home base from which all online activities can operate. Find out how to create a sustained online presence, and continue to develop relationships. The knowledge and insight gained from this session will prove invaluable as you move through the process of brainstorming, pitching and execution.
3,129 PR professionals met for the four days and attended a series of main stage keynotes, break out sessions and informal workshops.
Over 1,000 attendees generated over 6,000 tweets under the hashtag #prsa_ic. (An additional 134 mobile phone users, frustrated with the difficulties in using a hashtag with an underscore, created 300+ tweets under the hashtag #prsa10. Read some of the debate this caused below.)
Twitter is ephemeral. It only maintains 10-14 days of content, so this information will soon disappear. However, here’s a useful permanent archive all of the tweets. It’s with deep gratitude to all the attendees who posted their messages that this content has been made available worldwide on Twitter. Thanks!
Building on an idea of listing of “top tweets” I’ve experimented with at other conferences, I’ve curated a list of 227 tweets I found most content-rich and interesting; adding links where appropriate for easy reference; consolidating others; editorializing as indicated by [ … ]. Removing the re-tweets (RT’s) alone reduced the number of total tweets by 33%. The list below is in alphabetical order – no judgment is implied by being #1, #10 or #110.
I feel that this summary listing demonstrates the power of social media to magnify elements of an event that would otherwise have been lost.
Please share your own experiences of the event in the blog comments (or on Twitter!). I apologize in advance if I omitted your favorite tweet – feel free to search the archive and add it to the comments below.
Enjoy!
@chriskemper “Being out of control” is similar to the old PR fundamental: honesty and openness are powerful persuaders – @CharleneLi
@NikL1212 “By a show of hands, how many of you visit porn sites?” – @BillTancer Ha! Not a single hand raised.
@LJohnsonPR “Prepare for failure.” Know how to be comfortable not controlling the message to build social media relationships – @CharleneLi
@BUPRSSA “$5 a month can feed a kid everyday on the WFP.” For the price of a cappuccino, we can feed a child for one month.
@HeyRatty@Newseum might be the best museum I’ve ever been to. Did 2.5 hours; could have done another 2 if camera didn’t die/feet didn’t hurt.
@ericschwartzman @sallyfalkow & @lieblink SEO is PR podcast
@NeekBarnes 19 products drive 80% of total revenue, 60% of businesses sell to other businesses…we deleted the consumer.
@derekdevries 2 B effective in new world, orgs need to make social media part of reg org structure/process – not treat as novelty – @CharleneLi
@davispr 3 changes in media per Jim VandeHei, Politico: exponentially more diffuse, age of niche and people are exceedingly fickle.
@ElizHoltan 8 seconds (average attention span) to hook, 110 seconds (average elevator ride) to sell: the new elevator pitch is 118 sec – @JeffreyHayzlett
@bobdittmer 80% of major sports teams house social media in marketing.
@BLassiter 93% of journalists get their next story idea from Google or Twitter searches, not e-mail.
@Carriejs A lot of info gathering w/college aged is happening on social networks. Communication is many to many instead of 1 to 1 (ie. email).
@JustinSHubbard A lot of measurement tools/companies on exhibit that don’t seem to get. To be useful, be more than just a news aggregator.
@stephskordas A lot of people who are influential aren’t digital, especially in DC, says @cheeky_geeky
@mattkellyprA reminder for myself and PR friends who scoff at the credibility of advertising — from IPR.
@jonathan_rhudy AARP’s audience is the fastest growing group on Facebook.
@epope According to compete.com, Facebook now drives more web traffic than Google.
@derekdevries Agree w/ @charleneli – we need to worry less about what could go wrong w/ social media & focus on what can go RIGHT.
@HeyRatty Agreed. They should be listed in printed Program! RT @dfriez @prsa can we get Twitter handles for speakers at #prsa_ic?
@cheshirelad Beyond just providing twitter handle, how about a Social Media Homepage for each presentation?
@PRSAtactics @BillTancer demonstrating the data he loves. This slide: Prom Dress Obssession.
@bonnieupright Build strategies not around technology, but around relationships – @CharleneLi
@bonnieupright C-level needs to know this RT @DavidSpinks: Just because something is important doesn’t make it newsworthy-@michaelsmartpr
@richardbagnall ‘Campaigns come to an end, movements live on forever’. How can you inspire a movement with social media?
@derekdevries Can the nation’s largest healthcare insurer have a grassroots campaign that isn’t astroturf? [Will anything to do with American healthcare ever make sense?]
@ElizHoltan Can’t predict elections from Internet searches; crossover traffic comes from researching opposite viewpoint, says @BillTancer
@40deuce Case study @shonali is using now shows a company dropped it’s ad spend from $500k to $50k, but using SM brought revenue up 30%.
@epope Case study on recall search terms: pet food searched 10x more than recall info on children/infants – @BillTancer [Our values on display]
@dcaplick CEOs understanding what is really newsworthy could save PRPs a LOT of headaches. – @bonnieupright [Is that their job?]
@derekdevries Charlene Li cites @twelpforce as ex of empowering employees to take ownership of communicating for company via tech support.
@jaclyngrossfiel Charlene Li on social med measurement: organizations will not find value in social media unless they value relationships.
@PRSA Check what bloggers & reporters are writing about #prsa_ic.
@JessLeeds Cognitive Dissonance is often a problem in research-people answer based on what they perceive the researcher wants to hear – @BillTancer
@adscriptskathy College students and 55+ demographic relying less on e-mail, more on social media to gather info
@NSyzdek Coming to PRSA conf. is like going to church. You’ve heard the sermon 1 mil x, but you prob need to hear it again. [And everyone bows their head, praying to the iPod Gods]
@ghidotti Create sandbox covenants – balance between being open and closed in your leadership – @CharleneLi
@crwilcox Creative people should never have to compromise to carry out their vision – @JeffreyHayzlett
@stephskordas Crowdsourcing is MOST difficult job we do in PR. When you overmanage crowd, you kill it. Example: Digg.
@dskaletsky Currently 1mm traditional journalists in world, but 35mm online influencers (per Kevin McFall from Cision).
@ElizHoltan Data is truly the basis for good PR practices; without listening, it’s impossible to understand an audience.
@dianeschwartz Did you know 75% of tweets are ignored? Are you gonna ignore this one or re-tweet? [It was not ignored…]
@derekdevries Did you know Hilton Washington where #prsa_ic is called the Hinckley Hilton b/c it’s where John Hinckley attempted to assassinate Reagan?
@TedNguyen Do PR pros get Twitter engagement? Official hastags of #prsa_ic and #pr_leaders with underscores underscore confusion.
@stephnewton What is the impact on society if we can so specifically choose the news we want that we are not exposed to new ideas?
@prsa_ic What Was the Best Lesson You Learned from Your Professor?
@jody_donohue When communications aren’t integrated it’s because of ego or a turf war-both of which are stupid.
@tammyRhoman When looking at data, open your eyes. Don’t let your notions overshadow the actual data – @BillTancer
@AshleyTravels When responding to negative criticism online 1) accept blame 2) show response & solution 3) take the discussion someplace else.
@derekdevries Why do conferences have speakers to announce the speakers who are announcing the *real* speaker? That’s 5 mins of Q&A were missing.
@heatherread Wishing all the speakers from #prsa_ic would publish a combined list of all the books and twitter feeds that they’ve recommended.[Like this?]
@sandraburrowes With 200 million mobile phones worldwide, PR pros need to ask How does my site look?; and How can it be found by mobile devices?