commbasics

We see rumors and conspiracy theories popping up every day and some people believe them because they fit in a particular world view. Just because it sounds true doesn't mean it is true. There is a phrase that pops up in a lot of blogs, social media posts and general conversation that really annoys me. "The media is not covering this." It doesn't matter what the socio-religio-political position of the person making the statement because it is a universal belief among all stripes that something they consider crucial is being ignored by the news media. This article is to describe why your crucial information is being ignored. You don't actually read general news media so you have no idea if it is being covered or how it is being covered if it is.   Few people actually read legitimate news sources anymore.  More people get their news from click-bait sites or gossip shows like TMZ ; partisan blogs and news commentaries; and social media posts than they do actual...

...,if you see competitors using social platforms and technology making money while you are not; If you want to sell your business to someone for a good price in the next 10 years. READ THIS BOOK! I was given the honor of reviewing Lethal Generosity , the latest book on communication and technology from Shel Israel, before it is released next week. I spent the time to read it through twice (and it is quite readable so that took little effort). I’ve come to the opinion that it might be the most important book a business person or professional communicator could read this year. But before I explain why, let’s weed the field a bit. If you have no plans to sell your products of services to people under 30, ever, don’t read this book.  If you plan to retire or shut your business down in 10 years, don’t read this book. But if you are struggling to understand how to grow your business; if you see competitors using social platforms and technology making money while you are not; If you wa...

Unless you are already mind-bindingly successful and in demand as a speaker, don’t count on being able to get people to pay you to show up and speak… or even speak for free. Every client I have ever had makes one request that can never be satisfied: Obtaining speaking engagements. It’s not that it cannot be done, but that the client either lacks the patience or resources to make fulfilling that request possible. So I thought it might be a good time to actually put down how those engagements actually happen. First, one needs to understand that speaking engagements are generally offered 6 months before the event actually happens because events just don’t start spontaneously. Most of the planning stages begin the day after the event last occurred, subject matter is decided upon and the search for participants in the program begins. Who is chosen to participate generally comes down to the following: 1. Sheer luck.   This occurs when a person originally selected to speak has to b...

This final post of the series looks at how to become a valuable source of information and attract important connections. But first, let’s address whether you should even try. In my previous posts about Linkedin I talked about the value of the platform, the frustrations users are having, changes that Linkedin might consider to reverse those frustrations and how you can screen contacts more effectively to minimize spam. This final post of the series looks at how to become a valuable source of information and attract important connections. But first, let’s address whether you should even try.  A communicator is a person who can bring disparate and anonymous people and groups together through the distribution of information those people and groups find valuable. If you don’t care if they find that information valuable, or you don’t really like bringing people together, you might consider avoiding social media altogether. That is a valid option. There are people that have plenty of bus...