Networking is most definitely a skill. Skills, to a certain point, can be taught, honed, and put to productive use. But I think you also have to have a little something extra to acquire said-skill to put it to proper use. I’m not sure I have that certain something when it comes to networking. Don’t get me wrong- I WANT to have it. I watch some people move effortlessly through a crowd of strangers and start meaningful conversations with people they’ve never laid eyes on. And I want to be that person. I just not sure I ever will be.

When people first meet me, they usually think I’m shy. They also usually take that back after they get to know me. And I’m far, far less shy than I once was. Leaving home and coming to school in Toronto was probably the most shocking thing I ever did and probably also the smartest. If I wanted to make friends and have a semblance of a life, I was going to have to be less shy, walk up to people and start talking. And start talking I did. I’m much better in social situations, with friends, at talking to people and getting to know them.

But business settings, even social ones, aren’t the same thing. For one, you want to come off well. A different kind of “well” than you do with friends. You want to come off professional, intelligent, charming and even witty. That’s a lot of pressure! You’re not just representing yourself, but the company you work for. You don’t want to walk away from a conversation you think went okay only to have the other person wonder how you ever got hired. It’s all very stressful.

I’m bringing this up because, as many of you know, tomorrow is Third Tuesday. And it’s a big one. The Girlz have been planning to attend and at least three of us will be there. On one hand, this means if all else fails; I’ll have them to chat with. But it also makes it easy to NOT network. Not that I want to attend alone! It will just be important for all of us to remember that Third Tuesday is a great opportunity to meet new people in the industry and forge new relationships.

So, I will be making a concerted effort to network tomorrow. And I welcome any tips you can give me.

On second thought, I don’t so much welcome tips as I am begging for them! Help a Girl out!

And if you’re there tomorrow, come say hi:)

Miss Jos is upset with me….

On Friday she issued a decree to the girlz, to get back blogging or else. Her schedule dictates that I post on Tuesdays. So less than one week into the new schedule, it is off the rails because of me and a RFP.

If any of our readers out there have ever had to respond to a new business RFP (request for proposal) you know how much work it involves. Reviewing the document criteria, composing the response, hounding your colleagues for case studies and work samples, all while ensuring your billable targets are met.

This time around, things are not so bad. My colleague is leading the charge and I am acting as her loyal formatting lieutenant. Our other team members have been most helpful and supportive of the process, supplying materials in quick order. I have assisted with other RFPs that were so labour intensive, when they were submitted for consideration; the document was the same size as a City of Toronto phone book!

As I sit here, nibbling on the stash of TFC treats kept for those who are working late in the evening, I wonder is there anything that can be done to make this process easier? I have observed that sharing the work and having supportive colleagues seems to be key.

Any other tips to make RFP-ing a little less arduous?

Getting fingers to keyboard for PRGirlz has been elusive in the past couple of weeks. One idea I’ve been thinking through has been change, change in organizations, governments, you name it. I’ve been trying to think about what it means to communications and PR professionals, other than the obvious that we have work to do when it all happens.

I was chatting with several colleagues I met at a recent Joe Williams Dialogue in the Desert. Almost every one of them had experienced a change in roles, responsibilities, company or personal lives since we saw each other in early March. And many of these changes were significant. A couple had received promotions. One had seen a physical downsizing of the office space allotted to all staff. A few had experienced a change or consolidation in leadership of their teams or of the company.

When it came to the corporate changes we realized we had all faced situations – some very recently – where the leaders in the middle of this change had trouble making decisions. Sure they could juggle the org charts, fill the boxes with names, make sure the offices had the right nameplates, cross other names off the corporate list but they just weren’t able to decide how and when they wanted to talk about it! Lots of sound, strategic communication advice was shared, much of this advice gratefully received but inaction was the outcome.

Our role as communication coach at this time is an important one that requires we listen to our leaders to better understand their issues at times when things are stalled. Is it the actual content or is it how the decision makes them appear? Too hard and cold, not bold enough?

As communications professionals it’s easy to whip up the plan, develop the speaking points, set out the timing but when a message – good or bad – has to be delivered it’s the leader in the organization who makes it happen. We were surmising how even the best leader defaults to indecision at the worst of times, meaning that we are often left as communications professionals running around at the last minute patching holes and adjusting messages. We feel like we are not giving our best because so much ends up being done at the last minute, on the fly.

But this is really when we ARE giving our best. As professionals we CAN make things happen and happen well at the last minute if we pay attention and plan well at the beginning – even if that planning seems all for naught when changes roll around in the final lap.

So my take-away is: plan for the best case, assume things might fall apart somewhere along the route, keep our ears and eyes open for clues that will help us be ready for anything but keep moving. Hmm. Guess that’s about how everything in life works. I’m feeling better already. And I’m hoping some others will be too.

PS A couple of weeks ago I griped on about the big spat around the approach of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp in dealing with the issue of potential fraud by their ticket sellers. Well, lo and behold, they’re talkin’ now. In fact the CEO is actually out there AND they’ve introduced some new, simple policies. If only they realized they could – should – have said and done this same stuff four years ago.

Well, dear readers (all four of you, at TFC domains), I admit I’ve become a bit bored with this blogging malarkey. I haven’t been reading the digital tomes of public relations and I have become woefully immersed in nonsense, such as my own life. It’s guilt which chides me to check out the ’sphere in order to read beyond my usual online destinations - Go Fug Yourself and The Superficial - and actually look at something work-related.

Sooooo, here’s one… While I’m late to the party (as per usual), seems there’s been a ripple of disagreement between some bloggies about whether or not some sort of PR accreditation is worthwhile. It kicked off, I think, between Todd Defren, who says nope, and Kami Huyse, who’s in the pro-accreditation camp (and has an APR to prove it, obviously). Kami thinks that the accreditation process creates better PR pros and this might help improve our lousy image.

While I’m in no position to dump on people chasing some letters to add to their name - I’ve got a bloody M.A. in PR, for crying out loud - I don’t see how it would make you a better, more ethical, or even a more employable PR type. If accreditation was able to weed out the baddies and the dim, there would be no sleazy or incompetent lawyers, doctors or engineers. Granted, PR is naturally going to attract more people who are a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Call it the Sex in the City effect. (The glamour! The clothes! The cosmopolitans at Nobu! The opportunity to stand on the door with a clipboard and a headset!)

In my own humble opinion, if someone in PR wants to go far, to do serious work and be taken seriously by serious business people, they’d be better off spending some time outside PR to see how business really works. Practitioners who have never been outside the PR department or the agency sometimes seem to think that the business world does, and should, revolve on a PR axis. They can get annoyed, testy or confused when their client - be it someone higher up at their company or a client in the true sense of the word - rejects their idea because it doesn’t fit the business realities. For all our bellyaching about the “C suite” and their lack of understanding about PR, I’ve been in meetings where PR people have demonstrated a shocking lack of knowledge about business fundamentals.

Maybe we’re getting the credibility we deserve? We can’t be credible if we aren’t credible, know what I mean?

Recently, I was having drinks with a colleague and the discussion shifted to examining personality characteristics that benefited those working in the industry.  I must say, I am a big fan of practitioners who Tell It Like It Is (T.I.L.I.S).

Clients hire us to provide frank counsel, and not to be “yes” people. Now, the T.I.L.I.S. practitioner must definitely possess tact but not to the point of sugar-coating information. If I were a client, I would not want to pay agency staff $100+ per hour to insulate me from reality.  He/she is your client, not your friend in a clothing store change room asking “Does this outfit make me look fat?”

Anyone have a classic T.I.L.I.S. moment that you care to share?

I was speaking to a friend this week who was about to start a new PR job and her first comment to me was "what if they find out I don't know what I am doing.." which she does! She has been in PR for ten years and is one of the best PR people I know….she has nothing to worry about! But I know what she is feeling because I have felt the same way every time I start a new job and many of my friends have felt this way too. Believe it or not "it" actually has a name Imposter Syndrome and it is VERY common among women (not so common with men!). I am leaving you short today…as I am going to do some more research on Imposter Syndrome this evening. My mother is a  psychoanalyst and has promised to fill me in as to why women predominately suffer from this and what we can do about it. I want to look at Imposter Syndrome on a more personal level, how it impacts our lives, why we think we suffer from it and tell our own stories (I do not want to focus on clinical information, corporate "stuff" or self help courses). In order to make this post more interesting and helpful I would love to hear any experiences or thoughts on Imposter Syndrome.  

During the summer it is usually a bit quieter here and I find it is a good time to pursue new business; set-up lunch meetings with contacts or make the dreaded cold call. As I have moved up in my PR career new business has become part of my job. I have gone to conferences and meetings that have been all about searching out and securing new business - - and of course part of these programs are how to make a cold call. Now I may be one of the few in PR that does not mind making media calls; I have developed an approach over the years that is casual and to the point. I no longer script my pitches and yammer on and on to the automated voicemail, but I have never gotten comfortable with the cold call. The internet is filled with suggestions and more programs that you can buy into, but I am starting to think it must be psychological with me…I feel like a car sales man or a telemarketer when I call these people who I have never met before or had a conversation with. I have tried all the techniques that I have learned at these meetings, but I cannot get passed the image of the person I am calling with their head in their hands wondering how to get off the phone quickly and painlessly - how I must look when telemarketers call my house! How do you make a cold call, any tips you want to share - or even better success/unsuccessful stories you want to share?

Not too long ago I was teaching media relations at Seneca College. As part of the program I coordinated with the producer at Breakfast Television, to bring my students down for the morning show, to see how things are run and what happens behind the scenes, what makes news etc. Let me pause here and say, everyone at Breakfast Television was fabulous and answered all of the questions the students asked - such eager young minds!

The most impotant question was one that many of us struggle with on a daily bases…”How do I get my client on the news or is what I am pitching news worthy?” Of course with years of PR pracitise, you do learn what will work and can often predict how the media will react to a story idea…although sometimes you do get thrown for a loop! Well this morning while I was surfing the City TV website (checking out the photos of Liza’s new son Sam and reading about her decision to leave BT) I noticed that the news directors at City TV have blogged on the very topic…students listen-up it is not often that the media take the time to spell it out for us (a topic I plan to cover in the future - the PR/Media relationship).

The answer was simple ”…make a difference or find an extrodinary attention getting plan!” Now I know I have been part of some very interesting attention getting plans; some have worked and some have not…but I would love to hear what others have done - “crazy PR stunts” stuff that gives PR the bad reputation that we cannot seem to shake.