Share Your Voice, Share Your Vision

It’s a soapbox Monday, so get ready

If you’ve read this blog for any period of time you may be aware that I often refer to myself as the shyest PR person you’ll ever meet. It takes a lot for me to stand up and speak in front of groups and to think about being involved in situations where I am interviewed or quoted.

But this past month has been full of me putting myself out there. And while it was uncomfortable at first (and I had to overcome the ego feeling), I’ve come to an acceptance of why it is important.

As professional communicators – writers, journalists, marketers, public relations practitioners – our jobs are often to put our clients and story subjects at the forefront. I’ve always relished in being the ‘woman behind the woman’ or the ‘woman behind the man’ – crafting messaging that would emanate from someone else and refining thoughts that someone else would present to a larger audience. Mind you, I’m not saying ‘be the puppeteer.’ At the core of what we do is help people find their voice, communicate what is in their mind but can have trouble coming out. We all have thoughts, visions, ideas, opinions that need refinement and help reaching the broader world.

Which brings me to my soapbox.

This past month has brought home the belief that we all need to share our voice, and share our vision.

I had the good fortune to be among 15 presenters for the inaugural IgniteBoise event. The gist? 5 minutes, 20 slides that change every 15 seconds – what would you tell the world? The answer to the question was an impressive collection of passions, ideas, visions, soapboxes, humor and inspiration. Mine was my personal rant, titled ‘Leave My Ring Finger & Uterus Alone’

Admittedly, a big title. (Note to self, keep expectations lower by picking a more subtle title!) For years this rant had been percolating in my head, shared with close friends over brunch. But the thought of presenting it to an audience, in this case 600+people, was a foreign idea. One that sparked heart palpitations, sweats and nausea. But I did it. And besides having absolutely no regrets – I’ve been bowled over by the reaction and feedback from the community and individuals I would have never gotten the chance to share my opinions and vision with otherwise. So what would you say in 5 minutes? You know you have something to share. Get your idea ready for IB02!

In another case, I met a fellow Texas Longhorn who is blogging for the business site Hoovers. Yes, we connected through the ubiquitous Twitter, but developed a rapport through our shared alum, love for croquetas, and back-story of journalism. When Tim Walker asked my thoughts on social media and PR – I didn’t defer to a colleague or peer but took the questions myself.

And thanks to PR Pro/Blogger Mike Boss, I also was able to contribute to a round table discussion of the future of PR in our region along with peers Jeanette Duwe, Patti Murphy and Joanne Taylor.

Could people disagree with me, call out my ideas, offer differing thoughts on strategy and tactics? Of course. But they could also agree with my thinking, share their own methods, and contribute to a broader conversation. While I cringe from the term expert, I believe we all bring specialties to the table. We’re all evolving with the new communication environment and have battle scars and strategies to share.

And in many ways, this blog has been my toe in the water foray into giving the swirling words in my head a public forum. It’s changed my thinking on how we should all let those words free.

I truly feel that in order to change this world, evolve our thinking, grow our community and economy we must not be selfish with our ideas. It is on all of us to give a voice to our thoughts, spark debate, encourage dissension, and foster new ideas.

So get out there – share your thoughts, your genius, your wacky opinions, your deep introspection. No matter what the medium – old school, new school, or a school yet to be discovered – share your voice. We’ll all be the better for it.

- Jess