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How to Land Your Company on the Today Show’s Website

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People always ask me…

How do I get on TV?

How do I get my company mentioned in articles?

I know media mentions help my SEO, so how do I get legit ones?

I landed the first spot in an article on the Today Show’s website this week and thought I would share how I did it – with you.

How did I do it?

I’ve built relationships with many journalists because I’ve worked with many of them as a journalist… and some, I built organically by giving them valuable information that helps them with their work.

I follow them and keep my eye on what they are searching for.

I respond within minutes.

I only give them exactly what they want and how they want it delivered.

Here’s why this week’s placement worked:

Aly Walansky was looking for last-minute help on a National Cookie Day article she was writing that morning.

She specifically said she needed help now because she was posting her article that morning.

I reached out to Kerry Brown, the co-founder of eat G.A.N.G.S.T.E.R. (they make my favorite cookie mixes).

She responded within MINUTES with exactly what I needed.

I sent it to Aly seconds later. 

BOOM, the next day, eat G.A.N.G.S.T.E.R. was the top placement of Aly’s TodayShow.com article.

When you break it all down, it’s about two things:

1: Relationships

2: Speaking to the reporter where they are & how they want to be communicated with

#1 Relationships

I have relationships with reporters worldwide because I’ve worked with them side by side as a journalist… and guess what?

Reporters are people.

Just whipping off a press release to hundreds of emails doesn’t land you in the media.

Reporters receive hundreds of emails a day.

Do they know your name?

Do they trust you to have their back? (i.e. know what a good story is and not waste their time)

#2 Speak to the person where they are and how they want to be spoken to

Doesn’t this work for every relationship?
It works with reporters too (of course, because they are human beings).

I teach this in my media and public speaking training.

We need to give the reporter the information they need and the way they want to receive it.

When I present to big groups on media training, I’m always asked:

How do I send my information to the reporter?

How do they want images?’

How do they want video?

Even if you don’t have the exact answers, always ask yourself: what will make their job and day easier?

Here are some tips right from Aly Walansky, freelance food and travel journalist with Food Network, TODAY Show, Forbes, All Recipes, PopSugar, Men’s Health Magazine, Your Tango and Men’s Journal.

1: Label your pictures. Do not send images attached to an email with names like “image01” or “screenshot12.” This is especially true if you are sending a batch of images for various things at once. It’s also a great way of me using the wrong image for the wrong expert/product/menu item. It’s super helpful if your image file name in some way describes what is inside. For example, if you are sending me an image of an XYZ brand serrated knife, you may want to title that image XYZ-serrated-knife.jpg.”

2: Please don’t send me giant galleries of images and tell me that the image of that one specific dish or cocktail or product is “somewhere in there.” That too increases the possibility of me not finding it, or choosing the wrong one and then you needing to ask me to switch it out later.

3: If I do a call for pitches (like the ones below) and mention that something needs an image to be considered, please don’t skip that. I got tons of great cocktail pitches yesterday for the dessert cocktail story, but a good 20% did not include a needed element (the image, in most cases.)

4: I’m FULLY OK with you sending an image as a dropbox link or a google drive link instead of an attachment, and my inbox actually prefers it. Just make sure you do the aforementioned file-identifying so we’re all on the same page and there’s no confusion.

Aly Walansky has a newsletter you can sign up for if you want to know what kinds of stories she’s writing each day – and what companies she’s looking to feature. More and more freelance writers are doing this now. This is part of the work in building the relationships between you and the reporters you would like to work with… or you’re targeting. Find out how THEY like to communicate and talk to them there.

Could be Twitter. Lots of reporters search for experts there.

Find out where your favorite reporters hang out.

This is a lot like dating, right??

Go where they hang out. Go where they are comfortable communicating.

Do not make them uncomfortable by DMing them if they say they do not respond to DMs. But do they tweet publicly? Great! Then, tweet them.

Do they have a substack newsletter? Great! Sign up for it. And then follow the rules that they’ve outlined in their newsletter regarding how they like to take pitches.

This is so important.

Like dating, we do not cross the lines — or you won’t get that second date. I.e. Don’t show up in person at her work with flowers after the first date. 

But you can send cookies to her house and tell her she’s sweet 🙂 

Extra points if you know she has food nut and gluten allergies and you send these.

I hope this approach helps next time you are trying to get an article or TV placement, as it has for me and many of my clients in the past.

P.S. Here’s the link to those awesome G.A.N.G.S.T.E.R. cookie, cupcake and cake mixes if you want to get in on the National Cookie Day celebration this Saturday, December 4th… 

I Never Thought I Would Be an Entrepreneur

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I never thought about owning my own business.
Entrepreneurialism.
Employing other people.
Managing their health insurance.
Business insurance.
Liability insurance.
Workers comp insurance.
Invoices.
Contracts.

Changing lives.
Helping people earn more money.
Showing clients how to move up in their careers.
Giving people their confidence back.
Changing someone’s mindset so they can achieve their goals.
Mentoring.
Creating more fulfilling lives for people.

Today is Women’s Entrepreneurship Day.
I never thought I would be an entrepreneur.

And why not?

I’m sitting here sipping a coffee and waiting for my daughter to wake up.

Our nanny will arrive in an hour and I’ll commute to work by walking to my office on the first floor.

I will arrive at 8am and my first client will be there on the computer.

I’m going to meet with people all over the world today.

I’ll write new media and public speaking training proposals for credit card companies, a TV network, an app, and a hospital system.

I’ll shoot a few social media ads and a YouTube video.

And at 4pm, I’ll take my family to the zoo to see the Christmas lights.

I’ll also work from Florida for several weeks this holiday season.

I created this.
I chose it.
And it worked out because it just depended on my own drive and willpower.

No internal approval process for all my contracts.
No long meetings and debates about content.

Oh, and I never have to wait to get my holiday time off (that I earned) approved.

And I control my margins and make more.

Makes me think… why wasn’t I taught this option in high school?

I can’t wait to show my daughter how to be an entrepreneur.

How to Communicate in a Public Speaking Presentation, Social Media & On Stage So You’re Remembered

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You may know Scott Galloway for his new show coming up on CNN+, but he’s also got an e-learning platform called Section4 and I was honored to be asked to present at their Member Lightning Talks recently.
The topic was communication, and I was asked to discuss how to communicate so you stand out and are remembered by your audience – in public speaking engagements, on social media, and on stage.
 
Is this something you’re working on right now?
 
Here are three strategies to help you stand out when you communicate:
 
1. Know your audience
2. Edutain (be provocative)
3. Be vulnerable to be memorable
 
P.S. – Don’t forget to prepare and practice!
 
Want to delve deeper into these concepts? Here’s the video with my complete talk.
Transcript:

Kathryn Janicek: Let’s now talk about how to craft your messages that will actually resonate with your customer the most, whether you’re on video, it’s your website, it’s social media, if you’re on stage, or in the media. I’m Kathryn Janicek, I’m the Founder and Chief Strategist at Kathryn Janicek Productions. It’s a super creative name. I’ve had my company for about seven years, I train in media and public speaking. I am a former TV exec. I’ve been the media for 25 years and I’ve won three Emmy’s. I have been so honored to be able to take three of the section four classes and it’s just been amazing.

How can you stand out as a thought leader? How can you show up as the expert in your industry? In your field? How can you impress audiences, future customers, current customers, investors make them trust and like you? I’m going to give you three ways you can do that today. There’s so many ways, but one way is to really know your audience. We hear it so often, but so many times, how often do you get to a conference and someone really hasn’t thought about their audience? Or they get up on any kind of stage or they’re being interviewed by the media and they’re really not thinking about who that end audience member is. So, think about your audience. If you’re in the media, for example, your audience is really not that journalist. Your audience is that person at home who might download your app, who might try out your brand new health thing or might buy your toy, whatever it is. But think about that 45-year-old female with two kids, who’s at home on the couch and that is who you’re talking to, that person.

You’re not talking to everyone. We narrowcast, not broadcast, right? We think about that actual person. And also to think about if you have a health company, if you have anything in healthcare or that honestly, anyone who needs to be trusted and if you need to look like you care about them, you need to look like you care about yourself. So, making sure you show up looking healthy and clean and it’s so, so important in front of anybody, right? Now, we all want a story tell, but think about your exact audience about who you’re telling a story to. And I was training a COO and other execs a couple weeks ago from a 12 billion company, I thanked them for taking the three days to fly to Chicago and actually take that time with me.

I told them about my dad was a weekend dad. He was around Monday through Friday, that resonated with this group. That would not resonate with 300 women who I might speak with who are in their twenties. I also told a story on day two about how I was misrepresented in an E! Entertainment story about Chris Farley. It was the Chris Farley biography that aired in 1998. This audience was perfect for it because it was men about 40 plus and they knew who Chris Farley was. I wouldn’t tell that story to a group of millennials or maybe women who were in their thirties because they just don’t remember who he was. So, think about who that audience is and what stories you can tell them. It’s really, really important. Another way you can think about it too, for yourself is I was training the new President of a major medical association.

And her job is to get more people vaccinated because she is in healthcare and that’s her job. She’s a pathologist. Now, instead of just saying, “you need to go get vaccinated,” we spun the story and I talk said “talk about as a CMO and as a mother of two college students, I really cannot tell you how important it is. I cannot underscore this enough, how important. When I got my two kids vaccinated, I needed them to get vaccinated before they go to college”. So, she wove in her story. So, be vulnerable and leave that in and we’ll talk about that in a second. Also, remember this is educating and entertaining. As much as CEOs will tell me all the time, I’m not a performer. I don’t want to entertain. It really is your job because you want to make sure you get your message across.

So, we have to edutain. We get up, we show our smarts, but we have to captivate an audience and keep them for 5, 10, 20, 40 minutes. So, you have to entertain. One of those ways is we can be a little bit more provocative. And I think that sometimes we think being provocative is injecting sex, it doesn’t have to be that way. If you really look at the old definition, the Latin origin of being provocative, it’s really about challenging, changing. How can you change the status quo and be provocative in your specific industry? And then how can you communicate how you’re different? You can’t compete with other companies head to head, right? You can’t compete with them with exactly what they’re doing. Try to change the status quo and then communicate how you are different.

And then really, really it’s important is making sure that your team is diverse because sometimes when we try to be provocative, you guys have seen all the bad stories out there when they backfire. When we want to be provocative, we should have a good diverse team, men, women, different people from all over the place, and also that reflects your audience because you don’t want it to backfire. Okay. In TV, we always made sure that we had people a diverse background, so we could talk to our specific audience. It’s really important. TV can do a little better of a job and they’re working on it. Also, be vulnerable to be memorable. Tell those really heart-wrenching stories and here’s, what’s really important is to practice, practice, practice. If you don’t prepare and really rehearse your speech, your talk, whatever it is, your two-minute video for YouTube, it’s really hard to then be vulnerable and be present and really emote, be thinking about every word you’re saying because you will not be impactful if we get up and read the words.

We have to really think about them because then you will touch the people, you will stay with them, you’ll be memorable. I’ve had CEOs who are great in the rehearsal, but then they get up and they get so much in their head because they’re trying to perform and look a certain way and make sure that all their ego gets going. And that vulnerable moment that we rehearse, that moment where they really thanked their team or whatever it was, and they kind of teared up, they didn’t do it when it was live because they weren’t present. They were thinking too much about how they were going to look. So, be prepared, so you can then be vulnerable. So, those quick takeaways are just making sure that we know our audience, we edutain, we are vulnerable but we rehearse, so we can be vulnerable and really be present. And I hope that was helpful.

It’s not an overnight success: How my healthcare client launched a public speaking career & published her book

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Sometimes we see someone on TV, in a TEDx, on Instagram… and think, wow, she really made it.

We don’t see all the work that went into it.

No success is overnight.

Nothing is instant.

I can tell you from personal experience that no matter how famous or wealthy, celebrated or successful someone becomes, there is always a “before.” There are also coaches, experts, allies, and in some cases good therapists.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how grateful I am to have witnessed my friend Joyce Marter’s “before.” And how lucky we are that Joyce has published a book about how we can all transition from “before” to something more in terms of our health and wealth. 

Joyce founded and sold Urban Balance, a holistic mental health practice. She integrated her own family-first approach into Urban Balance’s culture, bringing on board other moms who wanted to work part-time and offering flexible work schedules. Urban Balance faced some of the same financial challenges encountered by most small businesses, including a bumpy cash flow that jeopardized timely payroll and rent payments. Joyce found a strong CPA and other experts to fill in some of her own blind spots. The accounting expertise helped right the ship and ultimately, set the company up for a profitable sale. This freed Joyce up to focus on the work she most enjoyed — writing and traveling to speaking engagements as a means of sharing with a broader audience what she had learned in her clinical practice. 

During this transitionary period, Joyce started wondering about a central question: Does prosperity lead to happiness, or is it the other way around? She reflected on a trend she’d been seeing with her clients: as their mental health improved, her clients also began experiencing raises, promotions, or better jobs; and many clients even started their own businesses. Joyce began to formalize a process by which she had helped her clients unlock the door to a life of personal health and financial wealth. Mental health and financial health are deeply interrelated, she reasoned. She knew money problems can trigger deep-rooted issues around self-worth, identity, and fear. But, she asked, what if you could shift your mindset around finances and open yourself up to a world of mental wellness and holistic success?

I began working with Joyce at the beginning of her public speaking career. I recognized her clear talents right away, and helped bring her professional speaking, media presence, branding, and image to the next level. By giving her honest feedback, like I do with all my clients, she was able to grow as a speaker and media contributor — and her confidence grew significantly. I helped her OWN her worth. 

As Joyce would often reflect during our meetings, “Mental health is the key to unlocking a life of prosperity, joy, and happiness. Too many of us are stuck in a rut of negativity. Phrases like ‘I’m not worthy’ and ‘I can’t do this’ are uttered far too frequently. From money to relationships to career and more, we’re consistently selling ourselves short. These thoughts contribute to our limiting beliefs about ourselves, our lives, our finances, and what we’re worthy of—and they’re 100% false.” 

Joyce codified her insights into a book–the culmination of years of Joyce’s work as a therapist, but also the result of her own personal journey towards an abundance mindset. In The Financial Mindset Fix, Joyce aims to help readers shift their mindset around finances and open themselves up to a world of mental wellness and holistic success in the process.

I’ve read an advance copy of the book, and it’s a life-changer. If you aim to be happier in your personal and professional life, The Financial Mindset Fix deserves a prominent spot on your bedside table. Joyce’s wisdom connecting mental health and wealth is really a breakthrough. Frankly, I learned several things about myself (associated with my gender’s sometimes-unique feelings about money), and I’ve made a few tweaks with immediate results. As a public speaking and media trainer, I know how much confidence and self-worth are tied to financial success. I will be giving this book to my clients. 

But don’t just take my word for it. Best-selling author Stephen M. R. Covey said, “In this wonderful new book, successful therapist Joyce Marter gently takes you by the hand and walks you down the path toward better mental health and a more abundant financial life.” And entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker Seth Godin said, “Money is a story, one that too often is used against us. When you’re ready to engage with intention, this book can help rewrite your story.” Yep, totally agree, gentlemen. 

Here’s my own review that you can see on Amazon (and it’s inside her actual book). I’m sandwiched right between Seth Godin and Stephen Covey.

Kathryn Janicek's review of The Financial Mindset Fix by Joyce Marter

As Joyce says, “Your personal beliefs about money can drive you to exhaustion or liberate you. Do you want the never-ending panic of scarcity or the freedom and joy of prosperity?”

The choice is obvious, right? I’m thrilled to have witnessed Joyce’s inspiring journey, and to have played a small part in her success.

I’m also the media coach and public speaking trainer who helps you present at a higher level, tell your story, and gain media attention. So do yourself a favor and read the book. Who knows? Maybe someday soon, I’ll be celebrating your journey, as well. 

If you’d like to order Joyce’s new book, you can do that here:

https://www.joyce-marter.com/book/the-financial-mindset-fix/

Happy Reading!

Warmly,

Kathryn

5 Ways Healthcare Professionals Can Improve Telehealth Appointments for Patients

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A lot changed about how we do our jobs during the pandemic. For healthcare professionals, a watershed moment arrived for technology that was slowly trickling in for years. 

All of a sudden, telehealth appointments became the norm and many felt unprepared for how to best connect with their patients in this new virtual setting. Even when the pandemic is over, telehealth is here to stay. The genie is out of the box. We now know it can be done. And isn’t it nice not having patients show up late because of traffic?

As an experienced media and public speaking trainer, during this pandemic I’ve found myself specializing in helping healthcare professionals present themselves from their computers — whether that be with patients in telehealth appointments or in media interviews and public speaking engagements for online conferences. 

We’ve seen all the mistakes on TV. Cameras too low, cameras too high, dark rooms, terrible sound, distractions, and others I’m sure you’ve noticed.

This isn’t about looking good. It’s about making sure you connect with your audience. Making sure you do what you set out to accomplish with that telehealth appointment or media interview.

What are some ways you can improve your online presence and get better results?

Make it a great experience for the patient

This is what it’s all about. Your patients are coming to you with a health issue. They’re seeking comfort. They’re seeking guidance. And everything you do in a telehealth appointment should be supporting the goal of making the experience positive for them. Even though you’re connecting with your patients online, you want to make them feel cared for in the same way you would in person. 

Experiencing a technical issue? Don’t panic! Consider jumping on a phone call instead and cut out all of the video distractions. Good sound and connecting with the patient are what’s most important here. Also don’t spend a ton of time complaining about or apologizing for any technical issues, that only takes time away from the patient’s time and it can start eroding their confidence in you. Address it once and then move forward with the appointment. Recently, I had a telehealth appointment where the head of the department kept apologizing for the tech issues and disparaging technology in general. It made the experience frustrating for me and he came across as out of touch, so it was harder to trust him. Telehealth is here to stay – learn it, love it, and definitely don’t complain about it!

Be aware of your lighting

When you’re interacting with a patient in person, they’re able to easily read your body language and facial cues. They can clearly see your eyes and connect with you. This helps you establish trust. When you’re meeting with a patient virtually, it’s important to make sure they can see you so that they can read these same cues over video. If your face is in a shadow or your patient can’t quite see your eyes, it’s going to be very difficult for them to feel connected to you and to trust you. Lighting is crucial to how you appear on the screen. You want to make sure there aren’t any windows behind you. Your light needs to come from in front of you. If you can, use natural light from a window. But if that isn’t an option, try soft lighting from a lamp you place in front of you – and be sure to avoid creating any shadows with your monitor or phone. These lights from Amazon are a really affordable option… under $100 and I’ve used them for years. If you wear glasses, try to avoid those commonly used ring lights. You’ll see the halos in your lenses and that’s distracting.

Invest in a quality camera

In the same way that good lighting is an essential part of how you appear on the screen, the quality of your camera will impact how well your patients can see you. Cameras built into computers aren’t the best quality, so you’ll want to invest in one that makes you look as close to how you do in real life as possible. This Logitech 1080p camera is about $80 and I recommend it to all my clients.

Once you have a camera, where you place it is key! You want to set it up at eye level so you are looking right into the camera – and right into the eyes of your patient. It may feel a little weird at first, looking at a camera instead of your patient on the screen, so make sure you practice looking directly into the camera and talking to it. Beware of putting the camera too low or too high – we don’t want to look up your nose or have a meeting with your neck or chin (or your boobs)! 

Don’t forget about sound

Do not forget about sound. Clear communication is such an integral part of building trust with your patients, which is why you want to make sure you’re using a quality microphone so they can hear you. The sound of your voice can deliver a message that you care. We need to hear all the depth and range. During the pandemic, I had a family member who was very ill and I attended many telehealth appointments with them. There was one healthcare professional who was having sound issues during the entire appointment – her microphone was buzzing, she was cutting in and out and we kept mentioning it, but she couldn’t understand us. It was so frustrating because my family member was so sick and on top of that we were having to deal with not being able to hear what the doctor was saying. After the second time this happened, we just started making the trip to the office. This definitely isn’t how you want your patients feeling, so make sure you invest in a good microphone. AirPods work great. The mic is good and they are less distracting than a headset. 

Dress… not distract  

Just like you would for an in-person appointment, you want to present yourself well to your patients during a telehealth appointment. When you’re on camera, there are a few considerations to keep in mind that are a bit different from in-person. For clothes, you want to avoid high contrast patterns that don’t translate well. Go for rich, solid colors instead. Should you wear your white coat? That depends on the resolution of your camera and the background. If your camera has a low resolution or your background is predominantly neutral, you’ll want to avoid wearing your white coat as it won’t show up well. This is another reason to invest in a better camera. As far as accessories go, avoid loud jewelry because remember that quality microphone you ordered? It’s definitely going to pick up the sound of your bracelets clinking together when you gesture with your hands. That will be very distracting for your patients.

Above all else, when you’re thinking about ways to improve your telehealth appointments ask yourself, “Will this improve my patients’ experience and my connection with them?” That’s the goal: to create an environment where your patients feel cared for and supported, even though you’re not sharing the same physical space.

Interested in doing some one-on-one work on your telehealth technique? Let’s connect!

My new healthcare media training online class is launching soon. To get on the waiting list, sign up here!

Kathryn Janicek is a three-time Emmy winning media and public speaking trainer. She consults Fortune 500, healthcare, small businesses, tech companies & others on how to grow their business, attract better employees, increase brand equity and help their people be more confident by delivering more impactful messages to audiences.

How to look your best on video conference calls

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People around the world are finding themselves working and conducting media interviews from home for the first time.

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing many to move their in-person meetings to video conferencing on platforms like Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts and GoToMeeting. It’s also changing the media landscape. Interviews that used to be done from a studio are now being shot in experts’ living rooms, offices and kitchens.

As a media and public speaking trainer, I teach executives who need to do interviews on TV stations worldwide through video conferencing and who need to reach other live audiences through their computer screen. During my executive coaching sessions, I show them how to represent their business and themselves professionally and also make sure their message sticks with their audiences.

You can make a good impression through video conferencing platforms as long as you have a few specific things in place. 

Create a background that isn’t distracting

The key to speaking on stage, in the media, in your videos, during live video conferencing and in job interviews is to keep the audience focused on your message and nothing else. Take a look at the wall or space behind you and make sure nothing behind you is distracting. Look for light switches, outlets, open doors, open windows, and anything else that could be distracting. You want people to remember your content and message, and if there’s a very obvious picture or book behind you that grabs the viewers focus — remove it. You don’t want anything in the  background distract from your message, or worse, offend your audience.

Good lighting is your best friend

When you are selling your company, your brand, a product or service – you want to be seen in the best light. Literally and figuratively. When you show up in a media interview or in a meeting and you are poorly lit or there are lots of shadows on your face, the audience can subconsciously feel like you’re hiding something. That you can’t be trusted. The majority of your message is your physical content. This is why what you do and your appearance is just as important, if not more, that what you say. Lighting is vital to the way you appear on the screen. Make sure there are no windows behind you. The lighting needs to be in front of you. Natural light from a window is the best. If you don’t have a room that works for this, use soft lighting from a lamp and place it right in front of you without creating shadows from your monitor or phone. I’ve used this light from Amazon for years. It’s under $100 and many of my clients use it for their media interviews. 

Make eye contact with the camera

Just like in person, you want to make great eye contact with your audience. When you’re video conferencing, this can be tough. The software will show you speaking on your monitor, along with the person interviewing you – or all the people you’re talking to on the call. This can create a lot of distractions for you. The key here is to make sure when you are talking, you look into the camera on your computer or phone. When you look directly into the camera, you will be appearing as if you’re looking right into the eyes of your audience. This takes practice to get it down and not let your eyes wander off and look at all the other people on the call. Why is this so important? When you let your eyes move from person to person or somewhere else in your room, you may appear to be insincere, detached, uninterested, insecure and even shifty. Make time to practice good eye contact. You do not want to portray the message that you don’t care about the meeting or interview.

Be camera ready

Working from home means you may not have to put a lot of focus on what you’re wearing on your lower half, but you need to make sure that from waist up, you’re all business. Take the time before an on camera meeting to do your hair, makeup and wear something that is not too distracting. For on camera media interviews through video conferencing, my clients normally have their makeup and hair professionally done. During a pandemic, you can’t hire someone to come to your house to get that done. There are many consultants who can talk you through this virtually right now. Our team of makeup and hair stylists is doing this for our clients. If you don’t have a professional to help you, make sure you look well-rested, alert, your skin looks healthy and your best features are emphasized. Since you want your audience to lock-in with your eyes and trust you – make sure your eyes are not blocked by extra hair and eyeglass frames that don’t fit your face properly. A lot of professionals are balancing children at home and working — so both men and women can benefit from a little concealer under their eyes. Make sure your hair isn’t distracting and falling into your face during your calls and try not to adjust your hair or touch your face while you’re on camera. When it comes to wardrobe, it’s better to wear a solid color or something that’s not as distracting. If you have a bold or quirky personality and you love bright colors and patterns, it’s okay to be yourself, just make sure you don’t distract from the conversation.

Position the camera at eye level

Before you jump on a call, make sure the audience will not be looking up your nose or at your ceiling. We’ve seen a lot of these kinds of calls and interviews! Make sure you’re going to appear to your audience at the angle they’re used to seeing you from across a table. Adjust your computer so it’s at eye level by adding books or something else to raise the computer up a little. Sit upright, in the front half of your chair, and look alert. Do not swivel. Again, you want to pretend like you’re making eye contact with the people on your video conference, so make sure you adjust your computer accordingly so you can look right into the camera when you’re speaking. 

Be heard! (and sometimes silent)

If you’re in a virtual meeting with a lot of other people, mute yourself when you’re not talking. You may have kids and/or pets at home right now and a spouse working from home. This is the time to learn how to effectively mute yourself when you’re not talking so the speaker is heard clearly. Also, make sure you shut off your notifications. You don’t want to hear your computer or phone dinging throughout. You also could be taking notes during the call, and you don’t want the sound of your fingers tapping away to distract the others.

Working from home also means creating barriers between your home and the “office.” Make sure to create a good system that will keep you happy, successful and sane during this (hopefully) short period of time where most of us need to work from home.

  • Sleep at least eight hours a night. Working from home can create some unhealthy habits like working at all hours of the day/night. Make sure you are getting your personal time to recharge and you’re sleeping. Showing up as your best during video calls and media interviews online while you’re not rested can be a big gamble. You need to be able to answer questions thoughtfully and think quickly. You need sleep for optimal brain function.
  • Shower every single day. Start your day with a shower and do your normal morning and evening routines. This will keep you alert and productive. Plus, you need to look good on camera!
  • Create 10-15 minute breaks between large blocks of meetings. Stretch, go to the bathroom and eat. You cannot show up looking healthy, trustworthy and likeable on camera if you’re dehydrated, are not sleeping, and you’re hungry.

While working remotely might be a bit of an adjustment, we’re here to help you feel confident and make sure your message sticks with your audience and makes them ACT.

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!

Why Hire Me? If You Want to Double, Triple, or 10x Your Business…

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I have amazing clients — but I’m always looking to help more people.

I’m often asked, “Who should hire you?” And, “Why should someone hire you?”

These answers are nicely outlined in a book I helped write last year that made it onto the Amazon best-sellers list.  I’m giving away free copies of the book to the first 50 people who ask for it.

Success Hackers Book - Kathryn Janicek

In the meantime, here’s a little excerpt from the book where I explain who I am and why you should hire me:

I’ve won three Emmys for breaking news and social media – and two Associated Press awards. I’ve been in media for almost twenty years. I have worked in cities across the United States as a TV news executive producer, producer, VP of news for a national network and a spokesperson for law enforcement. 

My career sent me to seven cities in less than 15 years – and when it was time for me to make my next career jump a few years ago – it meant moving to LA or NYC to move up and make more money. I wanted to stay close to my family, keep growing my network and roots in Chicago. I love Chicago because of the culture, theatre, work ethic, restaurants, neighborhoods, media… it’s a perfect city. It was time for me to figure out what was next without moving.

The problem was – I didn’t think I had skills that were translatable to another career. What exactly did I do? I wanted to leverage all the knowledge I had soaked up over the years. I knew how to produce television – live and taped… lead anchors, reporters and a team of producers and writers. I juggled live shots, a chopper and kept the weather guy talking when a story needed a few more seconds before it was ready to make air. I knew what was important for my viewers to learn… what was trending, how to dig up a story… how to train people on how to write news for TV, web and radio… but at the time, I didn’t know how to create a company out of that – unless I started my own television network.

I only realized my skills – when people started asking me to help them. I got clients immediately because once I was a free agent, people told me what they wanted from me. I didn’t go out and decide what to do. People came to me and said:

  • “I could really use help with media strategy.”
  • “I want to get better at delivering big speeches. I want to know what to wear and what to do with my hands on stage.”
  • “I want to get into the media. I want my fifteen minutes. I want free publicity.”
  • “I want my story out there.”
  • “My client needs a media coach.”
  • “I want to sell more.”
  • “I want to put more butts in seats at my restaurant.”
  • “Can you help me?”

That’s how I started Kathryn Janicek Productions.

I guide organizations in media and public speaking training. I coach executives looking to move up in their career, those who are making major speeches for the first or 100th time — and spokespeople who need to get “media ready.” They need help delivering a better message – a more memorable message. And I produce that for them. I also coach people who speak English as their second or third language – helping them with delivery, pronunciation, vocabulary, cultural things… whatever they need.

Some clients have really wanted to be on TV – or be seen as an expert in their field – but they need help getting their story out of them. I guide them on what a writer or producer may find interesting about them… and then I coach them on how to perform better when it comes to being on TV or radio, or how to give a more impactful quote so it makes the newspaper article or the magazine article.

And I haven’t stopped producing stories and video. I produce videos for clients because video is KING online. If you don’t have video – you cannot connect with your future clients. Not only will a well-produced video help your sales team share WHY a client should purchase your services or products, but video will help people connect to the people behind your company if you have a well-produced video on your homepage. Video should also be used on social media to attract future clients. Video is also what Facebook’s algorithm favors over any other content. You will be seen by MORE people and future customers if you have video. Video also gets more eyeballs on LinkedIn. This is why video is King when it comes to content.

I also produce stories for television. I produce for Soledad O’Brien’s show, Matter of Fact, on Hearst stations across the United States. I’ve also produced TV shows for PBS worldwide. I dig up the stories, plan the shoots, find the interviews – direct the crew – and then write the stories for TV and online. It’s been fun to travel to a few places I haven’t seen. For the majority of my career, I spent an ungodly amount of hours each day inside a newsroom. It’s nice to experience things in person – and not just through monitors in a control room.

That’s what I help people do. I can’t take credit for finding that myself. People started asking for help.

I followed the demand. Supply and demand. I listen to my customers and help them produce the results they want.

My most common client is a rock star at what they do. They’re in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60+ — and the two things they all have in common is they’re an expert in their industry – and they need work when it comes to translating their message to a crowd and making sure their content sticks. I teach people how to make their message more relatable to a larger crowd, how to get more emotion when they present so people say “Wow! I want to work for that person,” or “I want to know that person,” “I want to buy their book,” or, “I believe in their company.” I teach people how to present better so they can attract more clients. I produce the best YOU.

If they need more energy — I help them inject that into their presentation skills. If they need help engaging their audience – I show them how to create more memorable messages. Sometimes they need more confidence so they can shine either at work or during a major presentation. I help with that too.

They learn how to breathe correctly – how to deliver their message – what to wear in different scenarios – ways their posture changes their message – how to alter their tone to change how the message is delivered – how and where to sit at a conference room table – how to end and start sentences in an authoritative way – what colors to wear – how to carry themselves on stage or during an interview – how to make a statement without going overboard when it comes to makeup (men too) and jewelry… and how to work with stage lighting. One of the biggest improvements I made with a client’s overall presentation had to do with his eyebrows.

In this video, I outline what you need to know before you show up to a public speaking event. This is very helpful information that will prepare you — and make you feel and look more confident:

If a client is preparing for an interview – we go through key points they need to land. Even if the hiring manager doesn’t ask – we practice ways to make sure those messages are delivered – and the employer sees the client is incredible.

I think people more in their 30s, 40s get it. They say, “There’s a reason I haven’t been able to move up,” or, “Maybe there’s a reason I haven’t been able to get my story out in the media or sell more,” or, “I’m a financial advisor like her – why haven’t I been able to get into an article in Forbes or on a cable news segment?” — and then they finally act on it and hire help.

I would absolutely love to help more people who are just starting out, but usually, it’s by mentoring. Many people in their 20’s, who need the coaching respond, “You’re x-amount per hour or x-amount per month? I really can’t afford that.” They haven’t realized yet that you MUST invest in yourself to come off as your best in an interview or during a presentation.

I produce the best out of people and companies. That’s a service worth paying for.

People need to invest in themselves and this training earlier on so they can avoid performance mistakes. And – they won’t develop bad habits!

I think that if we all could have been a better-produced version of ourselves in our 20s we might have worked up the career ladder a little faster.

Success Hackers Book - Kathryn Janicek

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!

How public speaking skills can propel your career

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Remember debate team in high school?

I wish I had joined.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved being an editor of my school’s paper, concert choir, DECA, acting in high school musicals and plays… but I didn’t really understand the value of debate team until later.

Preparing and delivering an argument has to be one of the skills we most need in life – no matter what we do for a living.

I think back now and wish debate team was required in schools. What’s a more valuable skill to learn?

Public speaking skills like being able to think on your feet, deliver an argument, defend your worth… these are all strengths that can propel your career.

My husband and I started watching the show, The Grinder, last night on Netflix. Have you seen it?

The show aired on Fox but was canceled in May 2016. It’s clever… it just never achieved high ratings.

The series follows actor Dean Sanderson, Jr. (Rob Lowe), who returns to his hometown of Boise, Idaho after his long-running television series ends. Though Rob Lowe’s character is not a lawyer, he thinks his experience playing one on TV qualifies him to practice law. He joins his family’s law firm much to the chagrin of his younger brother played by Fred Savage (who’s still as cute as he was as a kid), who’s a real-life lawyer.

Fred Savage’s character has the law degree and the real knowledge. He studies. He’s prepared.

But, over and over — people are attracted to the brother played by Rob Lowe who has NO legal knowledge or degree. They want HIM to represent them in court. Why? Besides for the fact that he’s Rob Lowe…

Because he looks and sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. He’s eloquent… convincing… and a little suave. He carries himself with confidence, makes eye contact, smiles … while Fred Savage’s character has all the real facts of each case… but reads with his nose stuck in his notes. No eye contact. Just awkward body language… and stern looks.

So imagine the power of knowing what you’re talking about AND having the delivery that attracts your audience? Imagine drawing people to you naturally without having to sell to them.

What could you do at work with that kind of power?

Whether you’re an electrician or an electrical engineer – you interact with clients – selling yourself each and every day.

Leaders speak calmly and clearly in an emergency. They stand out and more easily move up.

If you want to advance in your career, communicating effectively is essential. You must sum up your ideas and solutions faster than the others. If your job (or your dream job) requires any kind of presentations or just mingling – you need public speaking skills.

Some companies offer classes on this because they know it’s that important. If your company doesn’t, look for a local class in public speaking. I can help you too.

If you think colleagues would be interested, let’s talk about presenting the idea of holding a class at work to your company. You’ll get bonus points for organization and initiative.

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