One of the most valuable things I learned from my previous job was how to own a five and,  if Iwas lucky, ten minute interview.  I worked as a publicist for a book publicity firm and scheduled  Radio Tours.  For those of you who don’t know what that means, imagine having twenty back-to-back interviews with radio hosts all over the country for approximately six hours….starting at 7:00 a.m. EST.  Sounds exhausting and intimidating right?  In addition to scheduling these interviews, I also coordinated the radio tours.  I ensured that every interview ran smoothly, connected on time, and ended on time.  More importantly, I made sure to give feedback to my client as I listened to every interview.  This helped me coach my client throughout the day and I also learned what worked and didn’t work when it came to having a successful interview.

Here are some tips I’ve learned along the way:

Prepare. Inform your client about the outlet, host, market, and if you’re lucky the questions that will be asked (don’t count on it).  Note: no matter how much you prepare, prepare for the unexpected and plan for possible damage control.

Draft no more than three talking points. If there are more than three, clients feel rushed to make sure every point is discussed and it makes the interview seem less conversational.   Work with the client so that he can discuss the points comfortably with improvisation instead of memorizing them.  This will help create a more genuine interview.  If needed, index cards are beneficial but should only have key words instead of phrases in case your client forgets something.  And if he does,  it’s not the end of the world.  Stay positive, give feedback, and move on to the next one.

This is not an advertisement. Be careful how many times your client mentions his product.  If the audience wanted to watch informericals they would turn on the TV in the middle of the night.  No one wants that during prime time.  My rule of thumb, especially for short interviews, is to mention the product twice.  Once in the beginning and once at the end as a call to action to communicate where or how to purchase/experience said product.

Smile. It’s easy to sound monotone on interviews especially if they are over the phone.  By smiling clients can change the entire tone of their voice and people are more inclined to listen to a voice that is inviting.

Relax, breathe, and have fun. I’ve had clients sing on the radio, tell embarrassing stories, and some hosts have even professed their love for some clients.  Just have fun.  No one wants to listen to anyone that takes themselves too seriously, especially during drive time.

I’m sure this list will grow and grow as I gain more experience as a publicist, but these are just a few things I always remembered.  What are your tricks for short interviews?

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• 30 July 2010 : Friday’s 5 • 30 July 2010
• 29 July 2010 : Twitter is one big, fat inside joke between 100 million people
• 28 July 2010 : Your Copy Sucks: Punctuation Ruins Lives
• 27 July 2010 : Do You ‘Crunch Proud?’
• 26 July 2010 : What the Old Spice Guy Videos Lacked: Real Messaging

Last week during the #u30pro chat, hosted by Lauren Fernandez, David Spinks, and Scott Hale, the group discussed pros/cons to scheduled tweets and many users chimed in. Here are some reasons members dislike the feature:

• Lauren: Q3: I think scheduling tweets is defeating the purpose of social networks. #u30pro
• Silver Vasquez: If you are scheduling tweets, you’re probably missing opportunities for engagement. #u30pro
• Scott: Not very genuine. RT @CubanaLAF: Q3: I think scheduling tweets is defeating the purpose of social networks. #u30pro
• Jeff Esposito: Agreed, loses authenticity RT @cubanalaf: Q3: I think scheduling tweets is defeating the purpose of social networks. #u30pro

Like any great chat, members openly disagreed and did a stellar job at explaining the benefits of using scheduled tweets. Here are some other key points:

• David: @jeffespo @cubanalaf Disagree. Depends how you use social. If you want to be an effective content source, scheduling helps. #u30pro
• Ellen Nordahl: I like to schedule links to interesting articles. I want to share but don’t want to share all at once.
• Calvin Lee: @davidspinks: I share links 5 at a time and throw in some convo. #u30pro
• David: Social doesn’t always mean talking. It’s also sharing. Rather than sharing 30 links at once, I space them out. Better sharing. #u30pro

After thinking about what David, Ellen, and Calvin shared, I started to re-think my whole stance. However I was still wondering whether or not this engaged the community. But then I thought, does it really matter?

People use Twitter for a variety of reasons. If sharing content is a major strategy in building your community than scheduled tweets is a godsend. But in addition to receiving great information, communities want to actively engage in conversation regarding what you shared. Sure, you’ll recieve alerts when people respond, but your response will be delayed whether it’s by minutes or hours. If it’s not, than why even schedule tweets when you can simply do it in real time?

I use Twitter to learn, engage, and build relationships. I share links sparingly as do most of the people I follow. If you tweet too many links, how do I know what’s truly interesting or important? It’s been said that the more selective one is with what he shares, the more inclined people are read what was shared. At the end of the day, regardless of scheduled or non-scheduled tweets, when we share a link it’s to spark an idea or conversation and we should be there to engage/discuss.

What do you think? Is it cheating by using scheduled tweets? If you schedule tweets, I’m interested to hear the opportunities / challenges you’ve faced, so please comment below!

(Note: Big thanks to #u30pro a great conversation last week. If you’re not checking in to this chat you are truly missing out. You can find more information about it here: http://davidspinks.com/under-30-professionals/ or join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/u30pro.)

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• 30 July 2010 : Friday’s 5 • 30 July 2010
• 29 July 2010 : Twitter is one big, fat inside joke between 100 million people
• 28 July 2010 : Your Copy Sucks: Punctuation Ruins Lives
• 27 July 2010 : Do You ‘Crunch Proud?’
• 26 July 2010 : What the Old Spice Guy Videos Lacked: Real Messaging

Like your typical PR professional he’s a fan of caffeine and is very specific with how he needs it. If you’re going to ask him to coffee remember to get him one of the following: Tim Horton’ english coffee cappuccino, Dunkin Donuts coconut coffee light and sweet, and Coffee Beanery’s crème brulee. So sit tight because this is a long one but I promise the golden nuggets of information make it completely worth the procrastination at work .

As director of global social media for General Motors’s, I’m going to assume you receive resistance but would you say it’s changed?

The resistance today is definitely different than it used to be before the crash last summer. It was mostly people refusing to take it seriously and not believing that blogs, YouTube or Facebook were important. However that doesn’t happen anymore, to be honest. Now we see an opposite kind of resistance. So many people in every part of the company recognize the power of these platforms and want to participate without understanding the space. The resistance I see now is along the lines of “What do you mean you don’t want me putting our new commercial on YouTube or our Facebook page?” or “What do you mean, I’m doing it wrong? Aren’t you the one who’s always said that there’s no hard and fast playbook or template for social media?”

I’ve gone from wishing my phone calls inside the company would get answered more often, to not being able to answer all the phone calls we get from other GMers, to now wishing they’d call a little more often when planning things in the social web. You know, when I set the goal of getting everyone inside GM attuned to the social web and active within it, maybe someone should have told me ‘be careful what you wish for.’ (j/k)

Where does it still come from?

I don’t want this to be a blanket indictment of the entire function, because that would not be fair. But some of the bigger challenges come from people in marketing. I think they largely understand that the social web is a series of important channels with hundreds of millions of viewers/members. But many of them are still intimidated by the idea of actually interacting with an audience; they prefer to just put one-way messages up. We do hear the criticisms within the company that there’s no strategy in SM. It’s all tactics. I respond by telling them that there is in fact a strategy and it works. But they don’t recognize it as one because it doesn’t include many of the familiar or comfortable marketing tactics they’re used to seeing.

On the other hand, some of the most innovative people we have inside GM on social are in marketing. So it really just depends on the individual.

The legal department has been remarkably cooperative. They’ve evolved from being threatened by the nature of the social web, to their first thought being yes. If they ever say no, they always offer up alternatives to help us achieve what we’re setting out to do.

And how do you combat it?
I find brute force and the removal of limbs or appendages to be most effective. But seriously folks, you need a few things to combat the resistance you’ll run into.

First, it really helps to have an executive champion backing you. You’d be amazed how many people suddenly “get it” when the boss or someone with a “C” in their title think what you’re doing is smart and innovative. What personally helped me is having success to build upon. Successes don’t need to be Mashable-headline level wins; the little ones count too. It’s having a tangible example to show that it works. It’s a great arrow to have in your quiver.

If that doesn’t work, scare the bosses. Compare your company with competitors who are involved in SM and ask if they want to be behind the curve. Point out how many people use the social web regularly. Ask them if they can afford to ignore hundreds of millions of opportunities to engage the buying public?

The GM Facebook page has over 90,000 some odd fans and the Twitter account is also impressive. How big is the social media team?

We fluctuate. During summer of 2009 when we had our big crisis, we had five people plus me. That decreased from December through March of this year to just me. Currently, I work with three great people has a team maintaining our social media presence. Plus my boss is very active in the space as well.

Where we’ve really been able to make an impact is increasing the associates within General Motors to see social media as part of their job. Right now, most of the communications people and even some marketing folks are starting to see it as the direction to head regardless if social media is in their title. Buick reaches out to bloggers every time they have a new vehicle launch; Chevrolet invites bloggers and Facebook fans for major auto shows; Cadillac manages their own Facebook and Twitter presence with only occasional guidance from me. My team still counsels and comes up with ideas, but almost everyone’s begun getting involved.

That said, there are four of us with direct responsibility for maintaining the “General Motors” Facebook page, and six of us who, on occasion, tweet from the @GMBlogs Twitter account.

What’s the next platform that GM plans to use and why?

We’re exploring and learning about geo-location or geo-aware platforms. I think that sometimes in all the “what’s the next big thing” speculation, a more important point can get lost. We all do it but the fact is this space evolves too quickly for us to put all our eggs in a particular basket. When I started at GM in 2007, having a blog was still novel, inviting bloggers to auto shows or drive events was unheard of, and casual observers of social were all drooling over MySpace. By 2008, Facebook was the big thing. By 2009 it was Twitter, and this year everyone’s talking about FourSquare and Gowalla. By next year, it’ll be something else.

Instead of focusing on what’s the next big platform, companies need to know if their organization set up on the back end (or internally) to move nimbly to take advantage of whatever emerges. Do the PR and marketing teams work together efficiently enough to explore the new platforms as they emerge? Is our IT department prepared to support new technologies – both inside and outside the firewall – if we want to start experimenting with them? Does leadership accept that early adoption and leadership in a space means learning lessons – and sometimes making mistakes – in public where people can see us do it? That’s more important to me than which platform comes next.  If the answer to those questions is no, then it doesn’t really matter which platform’s emerging, does it?

Now with social media integrated into communication initiatives, is it possible to over communicate? Can we really hit every platform?

I’ve noticed there can be a tendency people to say, “We’ve already issued our statement on that (question or issue). Let’s just refer people to that statement/press release.” I think it’s a mistake to push a message out once and then let it stand. Issue the press release, make the statement but follow up by answering questions you will receive on Facebook, Twitter, or on your blog. Don’t think because you’ve issued a statement, addressed the issue or blunted potential criticism that people have seen or understand your viewpoint.  Statements and press releases are corporate or organizational behavior; ongoing dialogue is a more human behavior. In a crisis, people need to see your company in human terms.  If you sound and act all corporate, you have little hope of winning people over and getting them to listen to your perspective on the issue.

You have to accept going in that you can’t hit every platform or talk to everybody. But also recognize the scale of the social web. Every time you engage someone on Facebook, your fans see the interaction. Every time you answer a question on Twitter, not only do your followers see the conversation but the people who follow that person you’re talking as well.

The social web makes management more challenging and more effective at the same time. On one hand, it’s so much harder to measure everything, given how many different conversations happen in so many different places. And how much weight should we ascribe to the social web? If 400 people on your fan page “like” one of your posts, how does that compare with a traditional media hit in terms of how effective you are at conveying your message? On the other hand, things like Twitter allow you to more directly see whether you’re moving the needle. If you’ve asked me a question or raised a criticism on Twitter, and I respond, and your follow up Tweets reflect a greater understanding of our perspective, or if you’re even giving us credit where you’d previously been critical, I can point to that shift in your thinking as a direct result of our having interacted on Twitter. I can’t draw that same direct cause and effect from, say, an ad on the back of Time magazine or a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal.

Do you plan on competing with Ford, an automaker that is often cited for its SM strategy?

I don’t. That sounds like a flippant answer, but I’m a firm believer that being innovative and being a leader in the social web means not overly worrying about what your competition is doing. I recognize that because we’re in the same industry and based in the same city, people are going to naturally make the comparison between their efforts and ours.

But really, if I spend too much time worrying about what Ford is doing, then all I am doing is following Ford; I’m not leading or innovating. Look, the social web is a big enough place that more than one company in an industry can be successful in engaging it. One doesn’t usually ask “how do you plan on competing with (your main competitor) in the print media?” You just accept that they’re going to do their thing, and you’re going to do yours – and their landing a big article in the WSJ or BusinessWeek doesn’t mean that you’re not successful or that you can’t land similar articles. I’m not sure why we see social any differently.

So, you stay aware of what any competitor is doing, certainly. But you really ought to focus on your own strengths (in our case, our products are better than they’ve ever been, we have a game-changing electric vehicle coming out by the end of the year, and we have a strong team of people active in social), and build your strategies to leverage those strengths. If you’re creative enough, people will be citing your strategy and leadership as well.

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• 30 July 2010 : Friday’s 5 • 30 July 2010
• 29 July 2010 : Twitter is one big, fat inside joke between 100 million people
• 28 July 2010 : Your Copy Sucks: Punctuation Ruins Lives
• 27 July 2010 : Do You ‘Crunch Proud?’
• 26 July 2010 : What the Old Spice Guy Videos Lacked: Real Messaging

I approached Kasey with this post because we noticed a lot of “cheerleading” going on in the blogosphere. Blog posts are flooded with “great post” and “you are spot on” comments. While it’s great to give credit to good ideas and thoughts, these comments rarely add to the discussion. Now we’re not saying everyone should go out and leave rude and obnoxious comments, but dig a little deeper and challenge each other to thought-provoking discussions. Here are some rules that Kasey and I came up with that will help you open respectfully comment on something you don’t agree with and hopefully prevent you from getting black balled in the community.

Respect. Would you kiss your mother with that mouth? Yeah, we didn’t think so. Check the curses, insults and bad-mouthing at the door.

What value are you adding? Comments are meant to add value to the post. Bring new ideas and questions that the author didn’t answer. Create a discussion. When you leave a comment, ask yourself, “How will this add to the post? What will the readers get out of my comment?” If you feel the comment won’t add anything substantial, go straight to the source and hold the discussion off the blog. (Note: If its about spelling or grammar, don’t leave a comment. Go straight to the author.)

Keep in mind it isn’t your post. Remember who’s blog the article is appearing on. Don’t disagree simply to disagree or hear yourself talk. No one likes people who use comments to disagree and then leave linkbait back to a post you wrote or back to your blog.

Length. Short and simple. If you read a post over 600 words, do you think people want to read a comment that is 400 words? Nope. Keep it short to engage the author. Hopefully you’ll create a dialogue and if your questions aren’t answered you’ll use the next tip:

Follow up.Don’t be afraid to take the discussion off the post. E-mail, instant message, Skype. These are all communication platforms I use daily. My personal favorite is the instant message. This way you can track exactly what you’re saying and perhaps create a follow up post. You never know where the relationship may lead or what you may learn.

A great example of follow up is this co-authored post by Kasey and Rachel Kay. Rachel tweeted that every PR person needed to be active on Twitter and LinkedIn. Kasey didn’t completely agree and responded via Twitter. The topic received a lot of discussion and unfortunately, Twitter limits the conversation that a community can have. In efforts to continue the conversation, Kasey reached out to her and they decided to dedicate a thought-provoking post on the subject. Even though he was in the minority, as Rachel is 100x smarter than him, the post ended up being a great learning experience for him. He took a stance and went against the crowd. Even though they disagreed, they shared mutual respect for one another and went about the discussion in a professional manner.

So often we’re afraid to voice our opinion, whether it be fear of thinking we’re wrong or the fear of angering someone. Forget that. The community at large will benefit from taking conversations to the next level. Today we challenge everyone to voice their opinion and don’t be afraid or hesitant to disagree. We would love to hear about your experiences too.

Note: Special thanks to Kasey, for co-writing this post and brainstorming some important tips.

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• 30 July 2010 : Friday’s 5 • 30 July 2010
• 29 July 2010 : Twitter is one big, fat inside joke between 100 million people
• 28 July 2010 : Your Copy Sucks: Punctuation Ruins Lives
• 27 July 2010 : Do You ‘Crunch Proud?’
• 26 July 2010 : What the Old Spice Guy Videos Lacked: Real Messaging

Before I share the tips, I want to stress the important of targeting the company with whom you are interviewing. Look over their client roster and services they offer. Are they creative or conservative? Are they traditional or one step ahead? By using your portfolio to target the prospective employer, you’re being strategic. It also means you did you’re homework and took the time to learn about the company. Now onto the tips:

Writing samples. This is a no brainer. Employers want to see that you can write coherently and also keep the reader’s interest. Choose your *best* writing samples. Pick samples that are within the same areas of the company’s clients. If they work exclusively with finance clients, they may not be as interested in your pitch about the new “must-have” hair product for women. However, at the same time be diverse. Include collateral projects, clips and bylined articles. Danielle’s portfolio includes both for-profit and not-for-profit clients. She also trys to strike a blanace between business-to-business and business-to-consumer content.

Edit. Some of my best placements have come from pitches that I wouldn’t consider my “best” but they’re still included. But as you’ll see in my next tip, the reason they’re included in the portfolio. Go over every writing sample in your portfolio with a fine tooth comb. Don’t change the content, but double and triple check for grammatical errors or how you can make it stronger.

Show rationale. When I discussed these tips with PRBC, Danielle reminded us of the importance of organization. Employers want to see great placements but they also want to see the strategy and rationale behind it. Organize a portfolio so that its easy to understand the strategy/tactics behind the placements. For me, that means including all writing samples that helped secure my placements. If you can, Danielle suggests taking it a step further and include planning documents. If that isn’t possible, write up a couple of paragraphs summarizing the planning and executional phases of the project.

Don’t be afraid of color. This may sound trivial but on an interview it’s important to show your personality. When I graduated from college my portfolio was a stark white or a sleek black. The colors of “professionalism.” However after going on a handful of interviews I wanted to change it up a bit. My portfolio is now an orange like the color of sherbet. Did people notice? Actually yes, so I believe it made a difference. (Note: this plays into the “target” employer tip. If you’re interviewing with a conserative company that might not work as well.)

Include items outside of client work. I wasn’t so sure about this tip, since a lot of us loathe hearing about ‘personal branding’. But on an interview it’s important to show you are well-rounded and the one time you can talk about your skills without sounding full of yourself. In the back of my portfolio I have select blog posts that were linked to other industy leading blogs or that created a solid conversation through comments. It shows you’re not afraid to voice an educated opinion and showcases your professional perspectives. I learned that I’m not the only one who has recently updated their portfolio to reflect this. (H/T to Danielle)

Leave a copy behind. I’ve heard many people say it’s too pricey to leave it behind but so what? Not all clips need to be color copies or if it’s really that much of a burden create a digital version. This allows those you’ve interviewed with share it with their colleagues. (Via Cog)

I would love to hear from the community on how they put together a portfolio. What would you add and how does it change after many years of being in the industry?

*Many thanks to Danielle and Cog for adding some of their thoughtful tips.

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• 30 July 2010 : Friday’s 5 • 30 July 2010
• 29 July 2010 : Twitter is one big, fat inside joke between 100 million people
• 28 July 2010 : Your Copy Sucks: Punctuation Ruins Lives
• 27 July 2010 : Do You ‘Crunch Proud?’
• 26 July 2010 : What the Old Spice Guy Videos Lacked: Real Messaging

There are pros and cons to this “know-it-all” mentality. Shocking, I know. As I talk with professionals across a wide spectrum of careers, they always compliment our motivation to be the best. We soak up information like a sponge. We are confident in our opinions and give advice on all topics, even when they’re not so relevant. In this community we help each other by discussing our experiences. We compare those experiences with ours and decide what to do next.  I mentor several students/interns, which includes helping them in their job search.  I edit resumes, discuss what I did to get to where I am today, and what I would have done differently. I rely on knowledge I previously learned from my seasoned mentors to my current mentees. Yet at the same time, I encourage my mentees to be creative and do what they feel will work for them. I don’t have all the answers, I only have experiences.

Millennials need to take the same approach in the work place. My biggest pet peeve is witnessing an argument between a Millennial and a seasoned professional because the Millennial doesn’t understand why the seasoned professional is stuck in a traditional world. We’ve all been there. We just can’t get frustrated. Do I think young professionals can teach seasoned pros something new? Absolutely. But a major con to this “know-it-all” mentality is how stubborn we are. Yes, there is a need for reform, especially in PR, but it’s not going to happen over night. Do I get frustrated with industry professionals who are dead set on old traditions? Yes. But remember they’re successful because of their knowledge and have learned from many years of experience. That’s why when I want to discuss campaign strategies, I’d rather go to a veteran professional. By doing so we’ll combine new ideas with a solid business model.

As a generation, we are stubborn. We believe our way will be, or is, the right way. It’s not. So next time you start dishing advice to senior level executives and you’re getting frustrated because they won’t see why your way is better, stop. Listen to what they’re saying. Chances are you’ll learn something new. If not, aren’t we just the blind leading the blind?

(Note: Also check out “Dear Millenials: Your Parents Lied To You” byBill Sledzik, PR educator at Kent State University, and Open Letter to Millennials by Todd Defren, principal at SHIFT Communications.)

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• 30 July 2010 : Friday’s 5 • 30 July 2010
• 29 July 2010 : Twitter is one big, fat inside joke between 100 million people
• 28 July 2010 : Your Copy Sucks: Punctuation Ruins Lives
• 27 July 2010 : Do You ‘Crunch Proud?’
• 26 July 2010 : What the Old Spice Guy Videos Lacked: Real Messaging

You work for one of the top agencies in the world, Weber Shandwick as Group Manager at the Global Strategic Media Group. Tell me a little on how you got there.

I studied Psychology and Business in college because of my fascination with IO Psychology (Industrial Organizational). My senior year I had yet to find a way to use the interest and impending degrees. I then interned at a small PR agency, which led to me being hired right out of college. It was during that (incredibly hands-on) internship that I realized that PR was more than Lizzy Grubman, which was my impression in school. After a story I placed ran on the cover of a business section of the Las Vegas Review Journal during my internship, a passion was born. I dub it, all of the business with none of the math.

At my first job, I was doing top tier media relations with small, and at times, tiny clients. Reporters would turn me away not because of the angle or my creativity but because of the clients. I wanted the big brands and felt I needed that to play with the big boys of NYT, WSJ, Forbes, Fortune, et al. Someone said to me at the time: “Big agency life is not for everyone, but if you want to give it a try, try Weber Shandwick.” And the rest is history.

As group manager you work daily with the C-suite. What are some obstacles you face the most? How do you overcome them?

Biggest obstacle I’d say is access to, and sign on by, the right people internally, which we overcome with baby steps; breeding encouragingly positive experiences with both media and overall PR tactics. Have to start slow by dipping a toe, then the ankle, then the foot and so forth. It’s a hard obstacle but it’s not that hard to overcome if you have (somewhat) solid proof as leverage.

Another major obstacle that I’ve faced throughout my career is showing the “American Face” to our global clients. With a global ‘parent’ company it’s always tough to bring the media to the base level of grasping that the clients I represent are actually American, and their initiatives/technologies/solutions are key to US, and not just to Europe or Asia.

Tell me about Re-Invention Economy and perhaps give an example.

Simply put the Re-Invention Economy is the state of the consumer and business landscapes right now. It necessitates innovation and new approaches in order to recapture the attention of disillusioned consumer and investor audiences (in lieu of the global downturn). It’s a follow up to the Attention Economy trend which was exemplified by the rise of the “ME” generation and ‘You’ as TIME magazine’s Person of the year a few years back.

Some examples would be in the tactics brands and corporations are taking to recapture their audiences. Anything from empowerment and crowdsourcing efforts (think iPhone apps, etc.) to true CSR (think Pepsi Refresh) and of course social media and engagement tactics (think… just about everyone).

There doesn’t seem to be too much SM outreach within GSMG. Is there some resistance from the C-suite or is it because it does not target the audience well?

Some of it is by design and preference of clients, on the other hand traditional media placements are our bread and butter (we are a media group after all). But yes, resistance from C-suite is pretty real, and within reason since it’s hard to show value of SM to those ranks (and frankly to a lot of people). As I said, dip toe, if it works, dip ankle… rinse and repeat.

In a recent TweenPRChat you said to Nicole “I now find myself talking about many clients to 1 vs 10 like used to.” Can you explain that further?

Ah yes, Nicole and I used to work together, she’s amazing, and also inspiring. Speaking off, I gotta get back to that chat group (Monday’s at 9pm EST – if you haven’t checked it out, do it) , fun and smart folks. I’ve slacked a bit, sorry Nicole!

I meant that with the media contraction, the top tier folks I spoke to before were much more beat driven. What I see now are core responsibilities of reporters not so much shifting, but combining. Where before I had several reporters in the ‘green beat’ (i.e. Solar, Wind, energy efficiency, etc.), now I have one reporter that covers all of those parts as an umbrella beat. It’s frustrating but also helps you grasp the true importance of relationships with the media. There is less of them, less time for you/your clients, and more serious repercussions if you don’t play nice in the sandbox.

On to the fun stuff: Build a Beard (B-a-B). Even though I suspect you are going to answer me with “why not”, I must ask, why B-a-B?

Build-a-Beard was a godsend. I wanted to have a “raising the profile of beards” type of beard blog for a long time (probably as long as I’ve had my beard), but it took the amazingly hairy initiative of my good friend and WS colleague Kristina Weise to start her own blog and then get me hyped up, get on board, stop talking and start doing what we both love. SM/Snark/Hirsute. The reality is also, that because I can’t exercise much of my deep personal interests and ideas in terms of SM and engagement with clients -  my personal blog wasn’t as friendly to that either – so B-a-B became an ongoing learning experience, fun social experiment, and hairy observation of society all lumped into one. I absolutely love it, and can’t thank Kristina  enough for bringing me on board.

I am a big fan of this facial hair movement. How many people send in their pictures of their awesome facial hair?

A LOT, and I mean A LOT. Which is amazing, we are proud (even if horrified sometimes) to peruse and post. I’d say about 10 a week, sometimes in spurts, sometimes consistently, but always hairy. The Beardo community is very very tightly knit, and proud as can be of their facial DIY creations. We are merely a conduit for a bearded soapbox.

Are you planning another B-a-B event?

Beard Ball Brooklyn was a huge success! We raised money for an awesome local charity, Right Rides (apparently Cog used to volunteer for the organization), got to hang out with awesome people and listened to bearded bands while drinking donated FireFly and Prohibition vodkas. Our work was featured in NBC4ny, NYPost and NYDaily News, Gothamist, Brokelyn, etc. It was an amazing experience.

We are currently working on venues/charities/bands etc. for Beard Ball LA, which will be this summer. We are also working on a charity bearded comedy event for a local literacy nonprofit which we are calling Beardgasm, more details soon!

It was a lot of fun getting to pick Alex’s brain for a bit. I’d like to thank him for taking the time to be a Coffee Talk guest. As always, if you have any additional questions or comments for Alex please post them below and we’ll see if he can spare a few more minutes for answers.

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• 30 July 2010 : Friday’s 5 • 30 July 2010
• 29 July 2010 : Twitter is one big, fat inside joke between 100 million people
• 28 July 2010 : Your Copy Sucks: Punctuation Ruins Lives
• 27 July 2010 : Do You ‘Crunch Proud?’
• 26 July 2010 : What the Old Spice Guy Videos Lacked: Real Messaging

(Note: Marie and I know taking on the role as captain isn’t all rainbows and unicorns and we needed someone to play devil’s advocate. In true PRBC fashion, we turned to our resident devil, Cog, and asked if he would put together why, although our traits are important, it’s not that easy. You can see that post here)

A team captain needs to:

Be loyal. What is said amongst the team, stays amongst the team. Think of Robert De Niro in “Meet in the Parents” and the circle of trust. Players need to have confidence that in addition to their voice being heard, their captain will go up to bat for them when the time is needed.  If the team’s wrong wrong, there needs to be trust that the captain will explain why and how the situation can be handled differently to effectively move on.

Be patient and understand the players. Similar to sports teams, each employee takes on a certain role within the team. There will be extroverts/introverts, clowns/dictators etc. It is up to the team captain to understand what motivates each individual to nip problems in the butt. Leader needs to know each individual’s strengths and weaknesses in order to use them to their best ability. Pair up the employee that thinks outside the box but has bad grammar with an employee who’s straight laced and sleeps with the AP style book .

Know how to motivate, not deflate. Effective leadership is a tricky thing. Leaders have a job to do and that’s to lead, but one has to be careful to not deflate your entire staff’s motivation in the process. When some leaders get frustrated they take the doomsday approach – “the whole world is going to end if you don’t do this.” One might see this as an effective technique, but it also has the potential to backfire. Look, your staff probably knows when something is important, but emphasizing that there’s no hope can lead to hopelessness. If your employees are under the impression that you’ve given up, then what is their motivation?

Never point the finger. As a leader if you are angry about an issue, your first response might be blasting your staff as a whole, which sometimes can include finger-pointing of specific individuals to the masses. As much as you might be tempted to single out certain people, it’s better to deal with them on a one-on-one basis. As an employee, when your manager lets you know you’ve done something wrong – that can be a hard pill to swallow in the first place. If that same person is scolded in front of his/her other colleagues – that will cause unnecessary tension and embarrassment.

These are traits that we believe are vital for any captain to know. What would you add?

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• 30 July 2010 : Friday’s 5 • 30 July 2010
• 29 July 2010 : Twitter is one big, fat inside joke between 100 million people
• 28 July 2010 : Your Copy Sucks: Punctuation Ruins Lives
• 27 July 2010 : Do You ‘Crunch Proud?’
• 26 July 2010 : What the Old Spice Guy Videos Lacked: Real Messaging

Facebook Vs. Twitter. When I posted an update that I wouldn’t be around for forty days, friends insisted I give up Twitter instead. Of course these friends aren’t on Twitter. It’s easy folks. Facebook, IMO, ruins lives. The amount of drama that runs rampant through the walls (pun intended) of Facebook is ridiculous. I don’t need to see who’s marriage is now “complicated” or go through every photo of my current crush (you know you’ve done it). What about keeping in touch? The people who I want to keep in touch with know other means of doing so. My response forty days ago to my friends was: “FB is simply for creeping out people’s photos you haven’t seen in god knows how long. Twitter is for actually communicating with others. ”

Think about it. I realized I called people less because I didn’t need to ask them what was new in their lives. Facebook can tell me. However Twitter, on a daily basis, offers its community something that will benefit them. We read at least a dozen articles a day about our industry, news, or even something to make us laugh simply because our friend retweeted a link. Twitter allows our professional networks to grow ten fold. We’ve traveled the country to meet friends we never would have known if not for Twitter. In my opinion Twitter wins every time. Team Twitter.

Two reasons: A) In PR, it’s always “we.” In client updates, “the team” garnered these placements. There is no “I”. B) I am my worst critic. Aren’t we all? Unsure of how to prepare for my review, I turned to my trusted colleagues. They informed me that the review process echoes our corporate culture: business casual, and to not be worried. Still nervous, I searched Google  for tips and still felt lost. I’m writing this after my job performance review because I worked myself up for no reason. However I figured if I was so nervous others probably are too. Here are some tips on how to prepare for a job performance review:

Be honest when evaluating yourself. If you lie to yourself expect a rude awakening.

List strengths and weaknesses. For some its easier to lists strengths than it is weaknesses or vice versa. I actually turn to colleagues to see what they think are my strengths and weaknesses. This allows me to see how others rely on me and how I am perceived within the team. Also, by knowing ahead of time what others think leaves less room for surprises. Be prepared for the constructive criticisms from managers and appreciate what they have to say.

Evaluate finished campaigns. Lets be real. Not every campaign is a complete success. Some are better than others. Take your best campaign, where you exceeded expectations and compare it to a campaign where you *just* met expectations or fell short. For each campaign make side notes of where and why succeeded/fell short. Bring these campaigns and notes to your review, especially if it is with someone who doesn’t always work with you directly. In my case, my review was with the CMO and my manager. We worked together only a few times so they appreciated having my work in front of them and gave their opinions on how I could do things better even on my successful campaigns.

Don’t be afraid of the word I. One thing I love about my company is that we send around what I call a “kudos” e-mail. If someone gets a great placement, new booking, job promotion, or lands a big client, we’ll send around an congratulatory e-mail. This keeps morale up and helps employees know they’re appreciated. If an e-mail was sent around about me, I immediately placed it into my “personal” folder. If a client was extremely happy with a campaign or/and expressed their gratitude via e-mail, that too will go in my personal folder. These are important items to bring up in your review. This is when I’d say it’s okay to say “I.” If the client extended their campaign because of your work or you landed the biggest placement out of the campaign (that no one was expecting) these are, IMO, essential, particularly when negotiating a possible raise or promotion.

What new tasks/challenges do you want to take on within your company. Think about your next step within the company. What new responsibilities would you like to take on. What goals are you looking to accomplish before your next review. By setting goals you can keep yourself on track and better evaluate yourself for the next review.

These are just a few ideas on how I prepared but as this was just my first review, I would love to hear how our community prepares for job reviews. What are your tips you’ve learned over the years?

Sign up for the daily PRBC mailing here

• 30 July 2010 : Friday’s 5 • 30 July 2010
• 29 July 2010 : Twitter is one big, fat inside joke between 100 million people
• 28 July 2010 : Your Copy Sucks: Punctuation Ruins Lives
• 27 July 2010 : Do You ‘Crunch Proud?’
• 26 July 2010 : What the Old Spice Guy Videos Lacked: Real Messaging