Hello All! It has come to the point in my term when I say goodbye. It is bittersweet, but a very good type of bittersweet. Currently, I am a candidate for Masters degree, but come Friday, July 26th I will be walking across the stage at Troy University receiving my Master of Science in Strategic Communication. Honestly, it is hard to believe that the time has finally come for me to move my tassel to the side one final time. After the hard work, long hours and dedication I have put in the time has finally come. It is hard for me to wrap my mind around that fact that I will be done with school, forever. Schooling has made up most of my life. Honestly, it will be strange not having to open up a book, take a final or stress over the dreaded comprehensive exam. (It was the longest three weeks of my life waiting for those results!) Receiving my Masters degree was something I had always planned to do. I am so happy that I waited because I was able to continue my education at a university I love so much with the same professors that had guided me through my undergraduate studies. As I walk across that stage I cannot wait to look into the audience and see the two people that made this moment possible. I know that I have been blessed with the two best parents anyone could ask for. They have nurtured me and given me opportunities that most children only dream of. They have supported me in every way imaginable and knowing that I have made them proud is a joy that fills my heart like no other. I am extremely proud to be their daughter. Everything I have ever done, accomplished and succeeded at is because I knew I had two people who were always in my corner. Two people that would stand beside me no matter what. Two people that would be there to pick me up when I fall and tell me to keep going; that I could do it. Most of all, two people that have always been there to love me and give me encouragement when no one else's words could give me strength and determination. I love them with all of my heart and it means the world to me that I will have them there. Of course, I wouldn't expect any less. They have been there for every important milestone in my life and I expect it continue long after the cap has been thrown.
Have you ever thought about how your body language describes how other people see you? To me, body language is just the same as a first impresssion. If you get a bad first impression of someone the chances are you aren't going to change the way you feel about the person. Or, it will take a lot of effort on the part of the person to change your mind. The same can be said for body language. A first impression can easily be gathered by someone's body language. For instance, if you are at a gathering or a party and you see someone that you have never met, standing alone on a wall and not speaking to anyone, your fist impression of that person is that he/she is shy. That is given away by the person's body language. However, if you see another person easily chatting away with people at the food table or at the drink stand then your first impression of that person goes to outgoing. Understanding people by their body language is just the way we are. It is human nature to "judge" someone on first impressions. Yes, some people do take getting to know before they lighten up and talk, but that doesn't change the fact that he/she is a shy person.
You can easily pick out the people that are confident in what they are doing just from their body language. For instance, if you ever pay attention to an artist at a concert. Most of them are "in charge" of their arena. They know exactly what their fans want to see or here. Their confidence in their talent is shown through their body language which is then picked up by the audience. It doesn't just have to be a singer; it can be anyone confiedent in what they are doing. Michael Phelps always tended to spread his arms out and throw his head back when he won a race at the Olympics. That body language showed his excitement in what he had just accomplished. Today, Phil Mickelson won the British Open for the first time in his career. After he made the winning putt his eyes brimmed with tears, which showed the emotion he felt over his win. Body language appeals to the person or personality displaying it. An example of an artist that does this is Stevie Nicks. Throughout her concerts she constantly twirls or floats around the stage. She has always done this, which play on the fact that she is free spirit or a "hippie" if you will. It is just her personality. Or, when Reba finishes a show she always raises her arms into a T, as if she is soaking in all of the applause. She is a strong woman who knows her talent and knows how hard she had to work in a mans world.
Everytime you look at someone you can gather a great deal of information just through their body language. In today's world body language has also made its way into the digital world. Through emoticons, that is. You can tell a lot about how a person is feeling through one little emoticon that send through text message, tweet or facebook status. I'm not gonna lie; when I talk to my mom over Facebook and she sends me a heart ( <3 ) it makes me a smile. Even though I am not physically in the room with my mom or whoever I am talking to when they send an emoticon it automatically lets me know how they are feeling. Always remember that people are watching you. Someone will always "judge" you by the way your body reacts when you hear a question or when your in situation you aren't comfortable. We are all very transparent and we become even more transparent through body language.
The topic of crisis communication has ended up becoming a major part of my studies in Strategic Communication. Going into this program I had never given much thought to it. Yes, I had heard about the Tylenol incident from the 1980's, but I had never actually studied it or realized how much effort and planning the company put into it to make sure things were handled properly. Crisis management is a major aspect to any company and is highly important in the success. No company wants to encounter a crisis, but when it does happen a plan needs to have been put in place, but that's not the only thing that is important.
Having a crisis management plan is fantastic, but if the company doesn't have a leader who will manage the crisis correctly then it will be of no use at all. Leaders must face reality when a crisis occurs. They should except what has happened, "take the bulls by the horns" and turn the crisis into something that helps the company, not destroys it. I mentioned the Tylenol poisoning from the 1980's. Instead of shying away from the media or lying to the public the company was straightforward and honest. They were open with the public and explained that they were doing everything humanly possible to find out how the poison got into the pills and who did it. They also had to reassure the public that this would never happen again. All three of the companies promises was s success and they proved to the people that the company could be trusted. Tylenol is still going strong today. A company never wants their leader to lie to the public, especially to the media. If the media turns on you it is never a good thing. You want them on your side if something goes wrong.
In today's world a company not only has the media to help them, but there is also this little thing called social media. It is so much easier and quicker to get the word out now than it used to be things to Facebook, Twitter and even blogs. Yes, a blog. Blogs are a great way to get information out, especially if what needs to be said is longer than 140 characters or not suitable for a Facebook post. It doesn't take long at all to type up your feelings and hit "Publish." Within seconds your thoughts and feelings have been let loose to the rest of the world. It is pretty incredible. A leader and a company must utitlize these opportunities to reach out to the public in the wake of a crisis. What better way to reach your audience than to reach out to them through social media? A quick Facebook post in the wake of a disaster could do wonders. The rules of social media are no different than those with the media. Honesty is of the upmost important thing. Do not lie to the public because there is no denying that the truth will eventually come out. When that happens you are most likely to have caused more problems than you would have if you had initially told the truth. No one likes being lied too, no matter what the circumstances are. That old saying, "Honesty is the best policy" holds true in times of managing a crisis. Managing a crisis can be difficult work, but in the long run it will pay off. As mentioned in one of my readings, try to use the crisis as an advantage. Use it to make the changes that you hadn't made before. Tylenol came out on top and is a great example to go by when writing a crisis plan. Don't be afraid to act when something happens. Take the charge of the situation and if a company does that they will be successful in managing the crisis.
How many of you pay attention to advertisements? Do you actually watch the commercial when it comes on the television or do you flip to another channel? The one thing that always keeps me tuned into a commerical is if it catches the eye. For example, I cannot skip over the a current AT&T commercial even if I wanted too. Do I have AT&T? No. Do these commercials make me want AT&T? Yes. The reason behind my thinking is because they are catchy little ads that get stuck in my head. My brother and I go around quoting these commericals all the time. One in particular...
The point of any advertisement is to get a person's attention. When a company does these advertisements they are marketing their brand. For instance, how many of you actually pay attention to the point behind the commerical that I just posted? I, for one, didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it until I started trying to figure out the reasoning behind the commercial. AT&T's brand throughout this advertisement is "Faster is Better," which is put into focus by using the children to get the point across. "What's something that's slow that you wish was fast?" That one question curtailed into humorous answers by the children, but the real point was that we want our phones/internet to be faster. It's a quirky and fun way to get the message across, which is what needs to be done when an organization is advertising their brand.
In a video that I recently watched a man by the name of Morgan Spurlock went around asking people how they would describe their brand. It got me thinking. What is my brand? After some thought I guess I could describe myself as humorous and loyal along with my style being sort of conservative hippie. Do I consider myself a hippie? No, but I do like the clothes, which is why I use it do describe my sense of dress. What can I say...I'm a sucker for the chiffon, flowy skirts and funky patterns. Mr. Spurlock gave two different types of brands; one being an Up Attribute and the other a Down Attribute. The Up Attributes include being playful, fresh, magical/mystical and edgy. On the other side of that is the Down Attribute which includes being mindful, sophisticated, traditional, safe and reliable. These attributes will help you understand what kind of "brand" you are. It is not only big companies and businesses that have a brand. Think of it this way...Stevie Nicks has a brand. Her brand revolves around her wearing black chiffon, moving around on stage like a witch and banging her tambourine. She established this brand 35 years ago and it still is who she is. That is her identity.
Everyone has an identity, a brand. It is what makes people who they are and a business a success or failure. Whether you realize it or not, you are a brand. How would you describe yourself? Have you ever actually thought about it? When you establish a brand, as a person or a company, it is a lot to live up to because once that brand is established it must be kept. For instance, Paula Deen had an established brand. For many people, her brand has been tarnished after the "scandal" that came out a couple of weeks ago. For others, myself included, I feel that she made a mistake 30 years ago and that's all that needs to be said about it. Words for the wise - it doesn't take much for a brand to be torn down, but it will take a long time for it to be rebuilt.
What does it mean to be a leader? Have you ever thought about that question in depth? For me, I have never considered myself a true leader, but I guess that is in the eye of the beholder. I do think back on my life and think of a certain time when I showed leadership or I was in a group that did. I don't think anyone sets out to be a leader. I truly believe that people who are leaders are people who just want to do good, make a difference or just make their business successful. It has nothing to do with being able to say, "Yes! I am a leader." In my experience it's the people that don't realize they are leaders that turn out to make the biggest difference. For example, I think parents are leaders. Why you ask? Parents are leading their children; shaping them into the adults that they will become. My parents made me the person I am today. They had a vision to bring me up a certain way and that is what they did.
I can talk about being a leader from a personal side as well. My father is self-employed in two different businesses. First, he owns a hunting lodge that I will say is a family run operation. My dad doesn't do it all by himself, but he is the one that built it. He started his business in the early 1980's. My dad is an entrepenuer; plain and simple. He does not have a college degree, but he had an idea, a vision if you will, and it worked. Yes, he can be considered a manager, but he is a leader because the people that work for him look up to him. His attitude of always putting his customers first has always been the most important thing. His attitude is what makes him a leader and the business successful. Also, he is what many people call a crop consultant in the summer months. He works for different farmers throughout Central Alabama and he is, basically, there go to guy for information about their crops. He informs them of what type of chemical and how much of it they need to put on their crops to keep the weeds away while continuously being on the lookout for other things that could possibly go wrong in the growing months. My dad's farmers depend on him to make their crop season successful. I know that my dad never set out to be a leader, but he is one in both areas of employment.
Having a vision or an idea gives anyone the ability to become a leader. Take for example Benjamin Zander telling his audience that he was going to get them to love classical music. He had this vision that he would do that and he had a plan on how he was going to get it done. He knew the steps to take, he reeled them and hooked them. By the end of the 20 minute demonstration he had the entire audience in the palm of his hand. It was absolutely brilliant watching him take the audience along for this wonderful ride. I will say, he had me in the palm of his hand as well. Does he have you in the palm of his hand??
I truly believe that true leaders never set out to become one. Martin Luther King set out to try and make a difference because he believed in his cause, not because he wanted recognition. He was made a leader because of what he was doing and the impact it had on people. All people start out doing something because they believe in it. Do they know if what they are doing will catch on? No, but that doesn't stop them from trying. All leaders seem to be unafraid of failing, which in most cases is what it takes to get things done. Thomas Edison had a vision of creating an incandescent lamp, otherwise known as the electric light bulb. He had three thousand different theories in hopes that one would create his light bulb. (http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/lightbulb.htm) Does anyone focus on how many failures he had trying to create an electric lightbulb? No. We only focus on one, the one theory that produced what we now know as the light bulb. He was a visionary, a leader. We all know that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. He just wanted to make a difference, which is what most leaders want to do, and made a difference he did.
How well do you communicate with the people you work with? I don't know if you think about it often and quite honestly until we started reading about internal communication in my graduate school class I had never really paid much attention to it. Yes, it is an important topic because communicating with the people that you work with is one of the most important things that you face throughout the day. If you and your coworkers are not on the same page chaos could ensue. Have you ever been in a job where not everyone was on the same page. I can most definitely say that I have been in that position. Thankfully, the place that I currently work is full of understanding people who are fantastic to work with. In one of my past jobs that was most definitely not the case. I worked under someone that no one in the office respected. It was not a good environment because when the employees do not respect the person in authority there will always be a difference of opinion. That is the situation that I walked into everyday.
Internal communication between coworkers is important yes, but it is not only internal communication that matters. External communication is extremely important, if not more, because without as great of communication you may have inside of the office if you there is not good communication with the office and the outside world then it does no good. Most organizations and companies are in business for the public. Credit card companies, grocery stores and car dealerships are all in business because the public keeps them afloat. Since their success depends on the public the external communication is extremely important. If these companies do not have good communication with the people that keep them in business then the company will no longer be in business. It's as simple as that. I'm sure you all can think of a business that has completely fall apart, or at least taken a major blow, because their external communication left a lot to be desired. I will use Exxon as an example. Back in the 1980's there was a terrible oil spill that they were connected to. Instead of taking responsiblity for it they lied to the media and even pretended the effects were not as bad as everyone said that they were. The simple fact is this: the company lied to the public and the media which was terrible external communication.
What communication all boils down to, in my opinion, is leadership. Leadership does not necessarily have to be someone in a "boss type" role, but it's someone who has the ability to make a difference or make change, even if they don't realize it. A video that I recently watched that spoke of leadership mentions someone who helped to keep someone from dropping out of school even though he had no idea that he had made such an impact on this person's life. This young man helped to keep this young man from dropping out of school simply by using communication. Think of all the people who have made a difference in someone's life without even realizing it. That is what leadership is. Communication and leadership go hand in hand because without good communication, good leadership does not exist. Good internal communication in the office requires a leader, but that is not necessarily one person. Every single person in the office can be a leader because a balance is required between all employees for everything to stay in order. Every person, whether it be in an office, a community organization, or the media, has some type of leadership role that they can fulfill. Every person has the ability to be a leader; they just need to embrace it.
YouTube is essentially part of everyones everyday life. I cannot think of one day when I do not go on the website to watch a video that someone has suggested to me or just to pass the time. It is amazing how, with one click of a button, a video can go viral. It doesn't take but one person to send it to someone else who then sends it someone else and before you know it the video has been viewed by millions of people. In a segment titled Why Videos Go Viral Kevin Allocca talks about different ways videos spread like wildfire through the community. He begins with talking about tastemakers. Basically, this just means the people that send this video on the trend to becoming viral. For instance, he mentions Jimmy Kimmel tweeting the link to a video, which was then viewed 23 million times. This video was nothing more than a guy looking at a rainbow. It is amazing how the simplest of things can turn into a phenomenon. Speaking of phenomenons I am sure that most of you will recognize this image below....
Screaming Goat
How many of you have watched some video that relates to a screaming goat? It seems that those videos are everywhere, most notably compilations and music videos. I was just at a Brad Paisley concert on Friday night and guess who made it an appearance. You guessed it...the screaming goat.
This day in age, it seems that a lot of the artists on the radio are discovered by some means of a viral video or people become popular because they posted something on YouTube. Justin Bieber and Colbie Caillat are good examples. Justin Bieber was discovered after Usher discovered a video he posted on YouTube. After that, he was off. Colbie Caillat posted videos of herself singing on Myspace (does anyone even still have that?) which then led to her getting a record deal. It is amazing how videos take off and make people famous. It doesn't even have to be through music though. People can post one video that just hits people in the right spot and then there it goes. There are people that give makeup tips by uploading weekly makeup lesson videos to YouTube. Those videos have made them famous among a certain group of people.
It is not hard to become famous these days. As Mr. Allocca said, "It only takes one video." That's true it does. If the video hits the right person, then it will take off like a rocket and there is no going back. However, there can be a downside to this. All of the funny videos that go viral are great and fun to watch, but what about the videos or photos that go viral that are disturbing and/or harmful to a person's reputation. For instance, the Taco Bell employee who was recently seen licking an entire stack of tacos while on the job. That is not reassuring for anyone who sees it and that photo was posted everywhere. Reese Witherspoon is another example. Her drunken "rampage" was caught on camera and then released to the public. That video went viral and there was nothing she could do to stop it. In this day in age people need to be wary of the things that they say or do because anything can be releasd to the public. Almost everyone I know has a smartphone, so they have the ability to film anything they want at any time. It is a scary thought, but it is the day we live in. A person can rise to fame or crash and burn in minutes and it can all be because of one video.
In my world of YouTube, I like to focus on the videos that make me smile, laugh and put me in a good mood. For me, that's what most viral videos are right now. I mentioned earlier the screaming goat. They are completely ridiculous, but as hard as you try you really just can't help but laugh. (This video has been viewed over 18 million times.)
I will post one more video just because it makes me smile, which as I said earlier is why YouTube videos so great. This video was only posted 3 months ago and it already has over 6 million views. It is a video made by the company Three out of the UK and they were able to make a video that not only got a group of "tastemakers" to spread it, but there were able to include the viewers in on the fun. With this video they created a website so the viewers can make their own version of the video. By doing this they garnered the attention of people and kept it because not only did they interact with the public, but they made it fun as well. It was a great way to market the company. Obviously it worked because I'm in Alabama talking about a video that was made by a company in the UK for promotional use. These different examples of viral videos and photos are just a few of the videos that have sent individuals to stardom. This day in age it doesn't take much, but content means everything. Without the proper content that is going to get the attention of people you have nothing. So...please enjoy the commercial that will most likely bring a smile to your face. I give you "The Dancing Pony."
