The Zen of Public Speaking

I just read a short and sweet book called A Zen monk had sweaty palms: Pointers on the path to better public speaking, that in haiku-like one-page nuggets convincingly tells us how to speak like a river; to control the audience’s eyes; to help our listeners see anew.   It's both fun and informative.

You can flip through A Zen Monk and land on a “pointer” that will help you hone your best skills, or pause to read how to improve a real weakness.  For example, a perennial weakness for most of us is stage fright.  Zen says that stage fright arises from fixating on a possible problem during a presentation, not on the goal.  A tennis player focuses on the ball not the net; a golfer does not focus on the sand trap.  We should focus on the outcome we want or the process we’re using to get to it.  

Each speaking point (there are over 50) is amplified and enlivened with an anecdote or a Shakespearean quote, a Bob Dylan song or an event about a celebrity. 

The author is Sims Wyeth, a consultant for international business who practices the “art and science of high stakes presentations.”   For a pleasantly different book on public speaking visit www.simswyeth.com.

 

11 Ways Publicity Has Punch in a World of Social Media

Trustworthy content is still at the core of effectively reaching influential target audiences.  Content from publicity (getting a story about you or your services published in print or produced in video or audio) has multiple, steady benefits in the age of Facebook and Twitter.  Here are 11 of them:

• Repeated publicity, no matter what platform, reaffirms all targeted publics that your organization is a “go to” expert in your field.

• It keeps your name  “top of mind” among audiences who are making decisions at that moment.  Publicity can be the tipping point in using your services.

• Repetition builds reputations.  A continual string of stories about your practice or institution is powerful in image building.

• Publicity establishes and strengthens your unique “brand” among targeted groups – it can define you and your strengths vs. your competition. 

• Publicity instills pride in your staff.  It is third party public recognition of your professionalism.

• It improves recruitment – young professionals who are looking for a job want to work for the best, and the best-known.

• Publicity can be used to produce marketing communications material for proposals, direct marketing, advertising and presentations.

• All print and electronic publicity can be repurposed for use in social media – on blog posts, on Facebook pages, on Twitter and Linked-in. 

• Credibility.  Stories on TV, on radio or in magazines and newspapers have third party credibility.  The content has been vetted and written by professional journalists.

• Publicity can trigger direct inquiries about your services.

• Publicity can help you change your image and open doors to new markets.

Social Media: Physician Friend or Foe?

One candid and enlightening discussion about the rewards and risks of physicians using social media can be found in a recent round table chat sponsored by Orthopedics Today at http://bit.ly/IAG01u.  Half a dozen orthopedic surgeons explain how and why they are using some social media platforms, but not others, to reach specific audiences for specific reasons.  The discussion offers thoughtful and responsible “best practice” nuggets for the use of social media by professionals.

Orthopedic physicians seeking to exchange clinical and business practice ideas that can be openly challenged by peers are turning to restricted-access forums (“collaborative practice communities” with firewalls) such as www.orthomind.com and www.beckerorthopedicsandspine.com and www.Doximity.com .

Physicians seeking more to “educate patients and improve their online reputation”  are creating websites or blogs that allow deep Web 2 integration with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, according to Howard J. Luks, MD., who has developed a social media presence that is a model for others.  Another way for physicians to educate the public and gain an online presence is through consumer Q&A websites such as HealthTap, ShareCare and Avvo.

The forum addresses sensitive issues of patient confidentiality, legal ‘phishing’ and who in a medical office should be responsible for participating and monitoring blog, Facebook and Twitter posts.   This discussion is worth more than a cursory read and shows how social media can compliment traditional marketing and public relations.

12 Tips for Powerful Architectural Proposals

Kudos to SMPS Boston for its helpful blog posts and peppy reminders of practical information when it comes to marketing and business development for architects and engineers.  One recent post was titled 12 Tips for Powerful Proposals.  An excellent check list to keep in mind every time you write a proposal.   

I liked the second tip best...."Remember that the selection team is often not looking to choose a winner -- instead, they are looking to eliminate weaker proposals.  Don't give them a reason to eliminate yours!  Be sure to address all of the requirements in the RFQ/P."  

So, while you have to aim high and be creative in your proposal to get attention,  beware of not anchoring your planning and design innovations with detailed answers to the more prosaic questions.

Architect's Innovative New York School Designs

 
 The New York City school system is the largest in the nation with 1.1 million students packed into 1,700 schools.  Here, land is rare and real estate is the coin of the realm.  Architectural firms are challenged to create exciting designs on space-tight lots.  But, one firm I worked with parlayed this challenge into becoming a thought leader in urban school design.

How did we do this?  Through innovative public relations.  With the senior K-12 school architect, I reviewed dozens of schools the firm had designed in the past few years, and we identified themes about planning compact schools.  One was to combine separate small schools in one building; another was to share library and science lab spaces in these combined schools; another was to use the basements of city schools for gymnasiums (and first floor windows as clerestories).  The list went on.  For k-8 schools, architects can design auditoriums with lower ceilings (the children are smaller) which can make room for extra classrooms on the floor above.

We then identified one $60-million K-8 school facility that seemed to embody all these challenges in planning, designing and building urban schools, and I sent a pitch letter and spoke on the phone with the editors of several national design and construction magazines that focused on education.  One editor got back and said she wanted to do a Q&A on urban school design, which resulted in a several page interview on the challenges and solutions of urban design -- with photos of the one school.  

Lessons learned?  If we had focused only on one project and had not approached the editor with the more universal themes, the opportunity for positioning the firm as a thought leader and pioneer in urban design would have been missed.