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communication

Lessons from The Crown: When You Shouldn’t Listen to People Around You

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Picture courtesy of Netflix 

You must do anything you can to find out how you look and sound to your audience. NOT how people around you say you look and sound. Here is an example as shown in The Crown on Netflix.

I’ve been watching The Crown.
Have you seen any of the series? It’s on Netflix and follows Queen Elizabeth’s rise and rule.

In season 2, episode 5, Queen Elizabeth is criticized by a lord who’s the editor of a newspaper. He points out that her recent speech was tone-deaf.

The monarchy was stuck in the past.

The speech was not written by the queen, but by a bunch of old men who were not in touch with their audience.

Eventually, the queen reluctantly listens to the lord’s feedback.
It’s painful for her. She’s not used to this kind of help.

In the end, his notes made it easier for her to guide the monarchy in relating more to its audience (the people).

It was difficult for her to sit there and listen to the criticism, but she did.

She had to swallow her pride and for a moment, not take the counsel of the people surrounding her.

This is difficult for many leaders. But it’s key to building a business.

You must do anything you can to find out how you look and sound to your audience.
NOT how people around you say you look and sound.

It’s critical to take that information and see if you can alter your presence and image to reach more people, and keep your current audience.

In the Queen’s case, the advice originated from criticism written in newspaper articles.

She could have prevented that in the first place by listening to more forward-thinking advisors.

Sometimes your staff — the people you trust the most — are too afraid to tell you what you need to hear.

It’s not that they don’t care. It’s hard to tell your boss they’re boring, not transparent enough, has an outdated look, doesn’t do a great job on stage… and whatever else you should be hearing.

Many times, it takes an outside voice to break through and convince you of the tweaks that will help you become a more effective leader.

I would have loved to have been there to help guide Elizabeth II. Of course, I’m honored to help all my clients. Here’s a little more on why public speaking is the most important skill you need.

Kathryn Janicek | Media Coach, Producer, Public Speaking Trainer
Kathryn Janicek is a three-time Emmy Award-winning television producer with 20 years of experience working in newsrooms across the country. Kathryn coached talent, producers, and writers before switching her focus on helping entrepreneurs and corporate executives. Now, based in her home city of Chicago, she is a much sought-after media coach and public speaking trainer who will help you produce the best YOU. Click HERE now to book a complimentary 30-minute consultation with Kathryn!

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Apple iOS Bug: A Big Lesson in Communication

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For so many of us who rely on our phones to get work done on deadline, Apple’s iOS text glitch was much more than an inconvenience; it was a lesson in what happens when we are unable to communicate effectively.

Where were you when the iOS bug hit?
I’ll never forget.

I was in a Southwest Airlines plane sitting on the tarmac at MDW waiting for my flight to take off to Philly. It was 10:15 Sunday night.

We were late, waiting for three passengers connecting from another flight. There were delays all day because of tornadoes and other weather across the U.S.

I was swamped with client work. At this point, I’d be at my hotel by 3am. I needed to be up at 7am to get to the Philadelphia suburbs by 9am. Four hours of sleep was ahead of me. It was like I was back producing morning shows.

I needed to get as much done as I could on that flight.

I started texting.
I wrote a few posts for clients.
I tried texting again.
Then, I posted a quick video on my company’s FB page.

It kept happening.
Over and over and over and over.

I couldn’t make it stop.
I couldn’t make it stop…..

I gave up and took a nap. My messages wouldn’t get through that night. The night I couldn’t communicate.

If you’re still suffering from the “A symbol” issue, here’s a quick fix for you from The Verge:

Apple users with devices running iOS 11.1 are finding that typing the letter “I” autocorrects to an “A” with a unicode [?] symbol instead. Apple says the bug is affecting devices including the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch that have updated to iOS 11.1. Not all users have been affected by the bug.

Apple iOS Bug

In the meantime, Apple describes a workaround through its Text Replacement feature. If you’re suffering from this bug and want to use this temporary fix, go to the Settings menu, tap General, then Keyboard, and finally tap Text Replacement. Touch the “+” symbol then in the Phrase option type “I” and in Shortcut, type a lowercase “i.” It’s a fiddly “fix” that brings new variability to the ever useful Apple meme of You’re [insert verb] it wrong.

Kathryn Janicek | Media Coach, Producer, Public Speaking Trainer
Kathryn Janicek is a three-time Emmy Award-winning television producer with 20 years of experience working in newsrooms across the country. Kathryn coached talent, producers, and writers before switching her focus on helping entrepreneurs and corporate executives. Now, based in her home city of Chicago, she is a much sought-after media coach and public speaking trainer who will help you produce the best YOU. Click HERE now to book a complimentary 30-minute consultation with Kathryn!

Why public speaking is the most important skill you need

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The skill is public speaking.

When Warren Buffett went to college, he avoided all classes that would require public speaking. He was terrified of it! When he graduated, he realized his fear of public speaking was killing his ability to move up in his career.

My public speaking course was arguably the best investment I made in my life. – Warren Buffett

In an Inc.com article, the billionaire investor was quoted as saying:

“Now, you can improve your value by 50 percent just by learning communication skills–public speaking.” – Warren Buffett

Richard Branson agrees. In a Virgin blog post, he said:

“Communication is the most important skill any leader can possess.” 

“Today, if you want to succeed as an entrepreneur, you also have to be a storyteller… It is not enough to create a great product; you also have to work out how to let people know about it.” 

 

Why are these skills so sought after?

1: Professional Growth:

Public speaking and knowing how to communicate help professionals motivate change, influence decisions, and form connections.

Great public speakers master the art of influence and leadership. This is a classic guide that all public speakers should read. You must be able to effectively communicate with not only your boss – but your colleagues and employees.

2: Gaining Trust:

Leaders who INSPIRE are trusted by their employees. Leaders with communication and public speaking skills have a much easier time influencing their co-workers. This will also help make projects run seamlessly.

3: Personal Growth:

Public speaking will help you increase your confidence level. If you can get up in front of a crowd – you can ask for a raise, inspire your employees, have more successful dates – even be more successful and happy at home.

Ryan Laverty is the Founder and CEO at SpeakOut. He smartly teaches his clients that, “Confidence helps everyone meet new people, manage stress, and stand up to even the harshest of criticism.”

This new confidence will help you meet new people, manage stress better, and stand up for yourself!to even the harshest of criticism.

Public speaking and communication abilities are an incredible asset even for professionals not in leadership roles.

If you feel like you have big reasons that are holding you back – don’t be afraid.

If you just have PASSION about your job, story, message, background, or the reason you want to help others – I can help you.

MY passion is helping others. I teach my clients how to improve their self-confidence and speak on stage, in front of small groups or in the media.

If you would like help, please book a free consultation with me here. Also, join our Facebook community for lots of free public speaking and media tips.

It’s never too late.

Kathryn Janicek | Media Coach, Producer, Public Speaking Trainer
Kathryn Janicek is a three-time Emmy Award-winning television producer with 20 years of experience working in newsrooms across the country. Kathryn coached talent, producers, and writers before switching her focus on helping entrepreneurs and corporate executives. Now, based in her home city of Chicago, she is a much sought-after media coach and public speaking trainer who will help you produce the best YOU. Click HERE now to book a complimentary 30-minute consultation with Kathryn!

Dude, what’s your car saying about you? A lesson in keeping your message simple.

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Home Depot. Trip #189.
I’m tired. Dirty. And starting to think those hot dogs they sell in front look good. That’s pretty damn hungry.

We get back to the car and see this parking:

Dude, what is your car saying about you?
What are you trying to have it communicate? What’s the message?
I’m lost.

Sure, I can think of a dozen or so things you may mean, but I can’t be exactly sure.
When I posted this picture on my Facebook page, some people saw the message in how you were parked before the license plate.

Have you ever thought you were being clever, but you got blank stares instead of a laugh?

There is such a thing as too clever. It’s when your audience is lost. They don’t get it and good luck getting them back on board. You’ll move on, but they’ll still be a mile back wondering what you meant.

If you want to get your message to your audience, remember to KISS.

Keep It Simple Stupid.

I have no idea where I first heard this – but it’s been with me at least as long as I’ve been in TV. When you’re writing copy for news, you want to keep it simple. If you don’t – and you’re too clever – your audience will miss the next few lines that come out of your mouth because they’ll be stuck trying to figure out what you said a few seconds ago.

In BIG D’s case — if he doesn’t want people to think he means all the D words I can think of… then, it might be a good idea just to say what he means.

Kathryn Janicek | Media Coach, Producer, Public Speaking Trainer
Kathryn Janicek is a three-time Emmy Award-winning television producer with 20 years of experience working in newsrooms across the country. Kathryn coached talent, producers, and writers before switching her focus on helping entrepreneurs and corporate executives. Now, based in her home city of Chicago, she is a much sought-after media coach and public speaking trainer who will help you produce the best YOU. Click HERE now to book a complimentary 30-minute consultation with Kathryn!

We Lost Our House (The Lesson to be Learned on Communication)

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A few days ago we lost our house.

We received an email at two o’clock saying that if we didn’t pay up in three hours, we were done.

My husband was out of town, I was managing the two maintenance guys cleaning the stairways in our building and I was renegotiating the contract with a long-time client. And at that moment, I found out, we were losing our home.

Even in the chaos, I could feel that something was off. It wasn’t adding up. I had met most of the players – and I just knew what I read on email wasn’t what they meant to say. I knew something was lost in translation from the lawyers.

When I asked our lawyer if I could just pick up the phone and call the other party — woman to woman — there was laughing.

The deadline came and went and we lost it. We would have to start our house hunting all over again.

I tried not to get emotional about it. The voice inside my head was my father’s saying, “Kathryn, a home is not an emotional purchase. It’s a business transaction. Don’t get attached.”

I told myself, forget it – and tried to move on. The problem was, I kept having the nagging feeling that something wasn’t right.

A few hours later, our realtor called saying the seller had no idea her lawyer sent the email and she did NOT want to kill the deal. The deal was dead at the moment – but it was so good to hear that my intuition was right on.

The seller’s message was completely miscommunicated through the lawyers to us. She wanted to sell to us – and wanted us to be happy. What could have been a real setback for her and quite frankly, us — turned out to be fixed with clear communication once I was able to talk to her.

Woman to woman.

Have you ever had your message miscommunicated? Through lawyers? Via a promotion? Through your salespeople? In the media?

Do you want to have more confidence telling your story yourself — so it doesn’t get changed, twisted and end up hurting your business?

Not sure what story to sell to reporters – that will, in turn, sell your company?

This video provides some answers on how you can find the right message to land media coverage. I’m joined by digital marketing expert and owner of mConnexions, Julie Holton, to talk about how to find the right story to tell, how to make sure your message isn’t misconstrued, and then the best places to market that message.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0clk3X5NX1Q

Like what you see? Join me every Thursday at 1pm Central, live on Facebook. To make sure you get on in time for my Facebook Live training, like my Fan Page and have the notifications turned on like this:


Every company has a story – we’ll find yours!

Kathryn Janicek | Media Coach, Producer, Public Speaking Trainer
Kathryn Janicek is a three-time Emmy Award-winning television producer with 20 years of experience working in newsrooms across the country. Kathryn coached talent, producers, and writers before switching her focus on helping entrepreneurs and corporate executives. Now, based in her home city of Chicago, she is a much sought-after media coach and public speaking trainer who will help you produce the best YOU. Click HERE now to book a complimentary 30 minute consultation with Kathryn!

Telling Your Story: Landing & Leveraging Media Opportunities

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Have you ever had your message miscommunicated? Via a promotion? Through your salespeople? In the media? It can hurt your message and damage your confidence!

So let’s get out in front by talking through how to sell your story so that your message isn’t misconstrued.

This week live on Facebook, I shared how to find the right story to tell  – and how to tell it to the right media at the right time.

I was also joined by special guest Julie Holton, the Principal Strategist and Owner of MConnexions  for a deeper dive into how to leverage that attention with some marketing must-do’s.

Every company has a story to tell – let’s find yours! Click below to watch the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0clk3X5NX1Q&t=3s

 

Kathryn Janicek | Media Coach, Producer, Public Speaking Trainer
Kathryn Janicek is a three-time Emmy Award-winning television producer with 20 years of experience working in newsrooms across the country. Kathryn coached talent, producers, and writers before switching her focus on helping entrepreneurs and corporate executives. Now, based in her home city of Chicago, she is a much sought-after media coach and public speaking trainer who will help you produce the best YOU.

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