Time for a fresh coat? When to update your social media profiles
April 4, 2012 by Rita Marshall
image by matt hutchinson
You probably update your Facebook or Twitter account on a daily basis, but when’s the last time you looked at your profile description on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or other social media networks?
As I prepare to take a year-long assignment, I’m also preparing to change my Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn information to reflect my temporary new employment. While I’m there, I’ll also see what else I’d like to change in the “about me” section.
The “about me” section in your social media networks is usually ignored by you and the connections you’ve already made, but it’s still the first impression for people “meeting” you digitally. (In the case of LinkedIn, changes to your profile usually trigger a note to all of your current connections as well).
When should you change your social media profiles?
It’s also a good idea to review your “about me” section, on both your social media networks and your website, every few months to make sure it’s accurately reflecting what your business is currently focused on.
Should I change my photo?
It depends. Are you the face of your business? Is it important that everyone recognize you? Or do you prefer keeping things fresh with the risk that people might lose you in the shuffle because they don’t recognize the new photo?
I’m a believer in the “your photo is part of creating a recognizable brand” school of thought. I rarely change my photo. I used my headshot from the local newspaper across all of my social media profiles so that I was easily recognizable. Print might be dying, but that newspaper headshot made me very recognizable to local people when it appeared on social media. I kept it for almost two years. I obsessed over my current photo, mostly because I knew it would be sticking around for a long time.
What about SEO?
For advanced SEO tinkering, read this post by blogger Kristi Hines.
What do you think?
What you need for a speech or presentation
March 7, 2012 by Rita Marshall
image by Kheel Center, Cornell University
So you’ve just been asked to give a presentation or make a speech. You don’t expect to get the reaction a presidential candidate does, but you certainly don’t want to end up sounding like Every Presentation Ever. Start preparing for your moment on stage by gathering these resources for yourself.
1. Your own research
Answer these questions:
When you are speaking? (are you the first speaker in a panel of five or — ugh — the fifth?)
Who will be in the audience? Professionals, general public? If you can get information on likely gender mix and ages, even better.
What do they want you to speak about? Believe it or not, this doesn’t always get explained properly! The more narrow the subject matter, the easier it will be to create your speech or presentation.
2. Good speeches and presentations
Sit through too many snoozy presentations and you’re more likely to imitate one. Instead, watch a TED speech at http://www.ted.com/talks They’re long, but they’re spell-binding.
For something much more compressed, check out the five minute presentations from the Ignite speakers’ series at http://igniteshow.com. Their slogan is “Enlighten Us, But Make It Quick” — a great motto when preparing a speech.
3. Go Old School and buy some books
When I searched for a witty line to include in one of my email sigs, I naturally turned to the Internet. What a treasure trove there would be of obscure, hilarious lines millions of people had been compiling over the last 20 years!
But for some reason, there are maybe 75 tired one-liners and short jokes everyone publishes over and over. Do not waste one second Googling them, because every presentation ever has already done that.
Find an old joke book, at a bookstore, library sale, whatever. While you’re there, look for short books on business anecdotes and/or history anecdotes. If you’re very sure of the gender mix, ages and background of your audience, a book of military anecdotes or marriage and love anecdotes may also come in handy, but I would use them wisely.
Give yourself however much time you can to work through your own research and watch a few good presentations. Keep your books handy for when you actually write your presentation. Your next step is an outline, which we’ll discuss in a future post.
And if you’re a comfortable, veteran presenter, what speech resources have you found absolutely necessary?
What do you think?
Where technology meets etiquette: Siri edition
March 2, 2012 by Rita Marshall
image by Planetc1
From the New York Times comes a look at this dilemma: texting saved us from obnoxious cell phone conversations (of course texting has its own etiquette limitations, as you’ll know if you’ve ever seen someone text their way throughout a meeting or presentation).*
But now that technology is saving us from typing text and gives the ability to speak text, we’re back to people having obnoxious conversations — this time not even with a human being….
“Happy birthday smiley face,” was what Dani Klein heard a man say to his phone on the Long Island Rail Road, using the command to insert a grinning emoticon into a message.
“It sounded ridiculous,” said Mr. Klein, 28, who works in social media marketing.
Click to read “virtual assistants raise new issues of etiquette“.
*or been that person. Shame!
What do you think?
Is it time to get rid of internal email?
February 19, 2012 by Rita Marshall
image by Ian Lamont
The decision by French IT company ATOS to get rid of internal email by 2014 has made some workplaces look at their own overflowing inboxes and think, “maybe there IS a more efficient way.”
An article on Fresh Business Thinking talks about the most likely successor to office email, Instant Messaging:
“More than half (55%) of those who use IM at work say it cuts down on email traffic and 50 percent find it more efficient than email.”
Read more at “Are businesses missing out for overlooking instant messaging?”
But if you can’t beat ‘em, maybe manage ‘em more effectively. This article from the Sydney Morning Herald tells you how to get through that pile quickly and includes some blunt stats:
“Microsoft has estimated 50 per cent of emails received by office workers could be deleted or filed, 30 per cent could be delegated or completed in less than two minutes, and 20 per cent could be deferred to a task list or calendar to complete later.”
To see what’s started this whole frenzy over internal email in the first place, go straight to the source and read ATOS CEO Thierry Breton’s interview with the BBC on the issue.
What do you think?
Funniest video ever: “Every Presentation Ever”
February 11, 2012 by Rita Marshall
I love this merciless re-enactment of yes, every presentation ever. (The video is a brilliant viral promotion for the book “Habitudes for Communicators” a project of non-profit organization Growing Leaders)
Go ahead and watch the video and you’ll have many of your own memories to share. (In my experience, the only thing missing is a musical intro to the slideshow and a table of snoozing reporters).
The tough question is, “have you ever given one of these presentations and will you admit it?”
What do you think?