Try something different and make it work

Last weekend this writer attended the inaugural International Association of Business Communicators’ (IABC) Global Communication Conference, Asia-Pacific edition, which was held in the JW Marriott Hotel in Hong Kong. The pulsating, lovely, and cosmopolitan metropolis played host to a big group of communication and public relations professionals, directors and consultants from many continents to discuss the critical issues driving the CEO’s business agenda, and the communication strategies that will positively affect company performance and results.

The conference covered three targeted modules on communication leadership, strategy and counsel and change management, and discussed how today’s leading companies are employing talent, strategy and tools to engage core audiences and advance organizational performance. It brought together international experts that included RP’s own Tony Meloto, chairman of the board of Gawad Kalinga, who dazzled the crowd with his take on “Effective Communication as a Tool for Change and Nation-building.” Other representatives from the Philippines were Rey David, IABC Phils. President; Ritzi Ronquillo, regional head of IABC Asia-Pacific North; Owen Cammayo of IBM; PR consultant Lea Caringal; and Anna Soriano of Insular Life.

I specifically followed the corporate communication track conducted by Steve Crescenzo, an IABC “all-star” speaker and recognized expert in employee communication. He talked on the topics “Taking the ‘Corporate’ out of Corporate Communication” and “Reinventing Corporate Communication,” both of which advocated a change in organizational culture from “We’ve always done it this way” to “Let’s try something different and see if it works,” and pushed communicators to stay relevant in what they do. A witty and engaging presenter, Crescenzo regaled the audience with his interesting notes on the crucial roles, today and five years down the road, communicators have to play. Here are a dozen thoughts “Commonness” would like to share with you:

1.Be the best communication talent you can be. Consistent creativity is key in the way you talk, write and listen. Successful communicators are those who can do all these in conversational fashion, challenging formulaic writing styles and avoiding the overuse of formulaic writing, jargon, buzzwords, platitudes and corporate-speak. Enforce a ban on headlines that will drive readers away, confusing leads and “execution at dawn” and “groomsmen covering their crotches” photographs.

2. Set your priorities straight on what to communicate. Stories on products, programs and processes are important, but always first on your list should be narratives concerning people. Deal with whatever they are passionate about, whatever they need to know in order to do their jobs, or anything that is excellently executed and engaging that it pulls them into it.

3. Stop fighting the wrong battles. The battle to make the deadline must be the first to go. You will for sure miss deadlines often if you have multiple things on your “to do” plate. “Do less and make it better” could be your mantra. Also put an end to the battle to create something that will not make it through the approval process. In other words, aim for quality, not quantity, in your recommendations. In business, the battle that matters most is the battle for audience attention and support.

4. Implement a “my company got talent” search. Find people in your company who have something to say on issues that can be used internally or externally. They can be your best spokespeople who can defend the company from “bad will” onslaughts. And if you need interesting materials, tap into stories people have and give them a platform for telling their stories.

5. Get the big picture. Communications work involves dealing with a lot of details. With all sorts of information flying around, someone needs to tell the story of your company’s business. Use people in the organization to propagate the story of what the business does. Employees can be your best corporate evangelists.

6. Start the conversation. Dialogues, talks, discussions and brainstorming sessions happen in organizations. You’re the catalyst for these activities and must take on the title of conversation starter. You need to draw people in and benefit from their experiences, ideas, opinions and leads. Your primordial challenge is how to manage the conversations well.

7. Prop up people to achieve their goals. Be a coach and engage your publics in productive and results-oriented activities. Ask the right questions rather than provide the right answers. You are the process expert that focuses on goal-setting, sincere encouragement and powerful inquiries. Unlike counseling or mentoring, you should hardly ever offer counsel. Your task is to energize the “coaches” to find the solutions by giving them insights into their situations.

8. Blast your messages. You need to do three activities on this front — publishing, listening and engaging. Get published using traditional and social media, listen and accept all comments — negative, neutral or positive — and get your publics engaged using traditional and social media. In the listening process, it is important to accept all observations and work with and around them. Step into a question-and-answer bustle to elucidate your messages, explain your positions, dispel rumors, and bring your audience to the point of need.

9. Learn the power of social media and the knowledge and skills they bring. This is paramount to being an “in-step” talent. Help your leaders with these new tools, figure out what’s right for them and push them out of their comfort zones. But as you do this, be forewarned that all the fancy new tools in the world can’t hide bad content. Realize that the concept of social media places a whole new meaning on communication and the Internet. It gave birth to a new breed of Web-savvy communicators who have been given the opportunity to have dialogues directly with their clients in niche Web networks. The increased bandwidth and innovative social media applications complements communication with a shared milieu that supports meaningful 24/7 conversations year-round and allows communicators to discover and generate useful information through the available tools — RSS, social networking, podcasting and video streaming, to name a few. These developments make communication a lot more efficient.

10. Master the strategy ladder. Move from business goal (to better meet customer needs) to communication goal (educate, inform or change), to messages (every single employee plays a crucial role), to content (audience composition, creative concept, execution, channel distribution, timeline), to measurement (impact, mindset alteration, loyalty retention).

11. Stop being damned shy. If you are able to muster the appropriate talents, you can surely cut through the noise and clutter, be ahead of your competition and get rewarded for a job well done.

The corporate communication umbrella has become much more expansive and nimble. Its area of discipline cuts across various corporate divisions and requires from communicators a level-up commitment to cover what needs to be covered, and the agility to respond to your target audiences’ stipulations, issues, situations and people.

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E-mail bongosorio@yahoo.com or bong_osorio@abs-cbn.com for comments, questions and suggestions. Thank you for communicating.