The Art of Listening and Connecting, and being Thankful

I’ve been thinking a lot about networking lately. About making new friends, building respect among peers, and forming new relationships. How those true relationships are at the core of networking – and that it seems people tend to forget that.

I’ll always remember the best lesson I learned in my Interviewing 101 class was this… It is not about the questions you ask, it is about how you listen. In silence, you often learn more than if you fill it up with your own words.

With all the focus on connecting and talking and sharing your thoughts with the world – I think we are forgetting to listen.

Networking should be about expanding our minds, listening to and debating new thoughts, meeting new people – and expecting nothing in return at that moment except an open ear and a meaningful conversation.

The expectation of a referral, a job lead, or work should not be the priority. If you are networking purely for those immediate goals I think you are missing the point. Like the salons of France back in the day, we should engage to raise the level of conversation and understanding. If you aren’t genuine in that initial engagement – then how can you expect a genuine relationship?

Off the soapbox and back to the theme of listening – I wanted to share StoryCorps National Day of Listening on Friday, November 28. The gist – This holiday season, ask the people around you about their lives — it could be your grandmother, a teacher, or someone from the neighborhood. By listening to their stories, you will be telling them that they matter and they won’t ever be forgotten. It may be the most meaningful time you spend this year.

I’m thankful for my friends who are supportive, my peers who are inspiring, and my clients who are true partners. Here is hoping everyone has a wonderful time with friends and family – giving thanks and listening.

- Jess

Make the Jump: MotrinMoms Backlash, Top 10 List du jour, Don’t be a Jerk

Just finishing up listening to a great teleseminar from the minds of @PRSarahEvans, @PitchEngine (Love the PitchEngine platform and if you are a PR pro and haven’t checked it out go do it now!), and @skydiver (Another one – HARO – free national media queries. Good for karma and for your clients!)

Motrin Moms Are Mad The hot topic of the night – and the weekend for that matter – has been the backlash around the MotrinMoms campaign. I’m not a mom – so admittedly I didn’t really understand the anger over the campaign. But what I did get immediately was that the campaign was built and targeted at those ubiquitous Mommy Bloggers – who didn’t like the campaign at all. So they twittered about it and blogged about it and this weekend it blew up. As of an hour ago – the MotrinMoms campaign was taken off the web. We’re still waiting to hear the corporate response. But as Peter Shankman of HARP noted, ‘‘Social media is just offering the ability to screw up much quicker to a much wider audience.” The good communicators realize that and use those same tools to respond – not sit back and watch the hurricane come ashore.

10 Best Tools Do you know how much I love Top 3, 5 or 10 lists!? As our opportunities to connect globally in a split-second increases exponentially  – the stress of figuring out what to ‘listen’ to and just how to engage gets increasingly difficult. I rely on my friends – both the Boise early adopters from the Twitter and TechBoise crowd – and my virtual friends I follow nationally on Twitter and LinkedIn – to guide me.

Sarah Evans is one of those peers whom I admire (and follow on Twitter and subscribe to her blog) and her post on  10 of the Best Social Media Tools for PR Pros and Journalists is a keeper that you should check out.  On behalf of clients – ranging from a Fortune 50 to a local start-up non-profit – I use the first two religiously.

How Not to be a Jerk on Facebook - Another guru whose thoughts I admire? Chris Brogan. You should love him too based on this headline. It’s a great article – and I would love to send it personally to some of the people spamming me this week on FB. New toys are fun. We all get excited when we finally grasp them. And as we try out the toys in this grand new toy box we’ll make mistakes along the way. But remember when you think about using the toys – just because you can – doesn’t mean you should

My favorite takeaway comment from tonight’s teleseminar (via Peter Shankman) ‘The three words you need to remember with the convergence of social media & PR – transparency – relevance – brevity.’

Looking forward to Monday’s PRSAIdaho meeting with CEO Jeff Julin. Hope to see you there!

- Jess

MeetUps of Note: Little Black Dresses, Kickstand & Press Club

With the caveat that I’ll have an original blog post tomorrow (not just meeting notes!) – three events that you may want to Save the Date on:

First up -a plug for a non-profit event hosted at the home of Red Sky PR (518 South 9th St, Suite 300). Boise’s Little Black Dress Club is a women’s social giving circle that believes philanthropy is fun and fabulous, and wants every woman to have the opportunity to enjoy being a philanthropist. The collective strength of the 50+ members of the Club gives this new giving circle a powerful and positive force.

This Thursday, November 13 is the LBDC’s Holiday Boutique and Open House from 5:30-8:00pm at Red Sky. There will be jewelry, purses and other unique crafts for sale from women artisans – and ten percent of sales will be donated back to the Little Black Dress Club Fund to add to the 2009 grants.

Vendors include Argyle Soup, Couture Handbags, Designs by K. Palmer, Feist, Indulgence Chocolates, Lily and Scentsy. Cash bar will also be available.

So come shop for a cause!
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Competing on the calendar that night is the monthly meetup for Kickstand – Idaho’s home for innovators

Dealing with the Big D’s – Lessons Learned from working with the Feds
What does it take to land big government contracts – and better yet, keep them? Learn how to grow your business outside Idaho’s borders by pursuing and winning federal work. Join Kickstand and featured speaker Josh Evarts from Trancite Logic Systems to absorb the lessons learned by an Idaho Independent Software Vendor when doing business with the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and the State Department. Learn the three keys to Federal Business Development and how they relate to Idaho IT companies looking to bring their products and services to this market.
When: Thursday, November 13 5:30 – 7pm
Where: The Watercooler Idea Studio at 14th & Idaho
RSVP at www.kickstand.org

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And looking ahead to December, another stellar lineup of communication minds for the Idaho Press Club meeting. Here’s the rundown courtesy of Sydney Sallabanks

Hacks & Flacks in Transition
An Idaho Press Club Forum
As newsrooms are shrinking, journalists are busier than ever. And as mainstream media migrates online, a reporter’s day-to-day work is transformed.  Gain insight from our news experts on how to work with the media and pitch stories in this new era of news. Hear first-hand about the changing dynamics of the news industry and their potential impacts on the affiliation between  journalists and PR practitioners.
Panelists:
Todd Dvorak, lead correspondent, Associated Press
Brad Talbutt, reporter, Idaho Statesman
Rachael Daigle, editor, Boise Weekly
Lisa Chavez, managing editor, KTVB News Group
George Prentice, morning show host, NPR
Moderator:
Marc Johnson, president, Gallatin Public Affairs
When: 6:00 p.m. Thursday, December 4, 2008
Where: WaterCooler Idea Studio at 1401 W. Idaho
RSVP (208) 389-2879 or email@idahopressclub.org
$8.00 members and students, $12.00 non-members

See you at one of the events!
(and if you have any to share that might interest the Idaho communications industry – send them my way)

-Jess