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By Ravi Singh

On a recent Friday, as work let out and we made our way to the nearest Subway station, a co-worker and I discussed our respective plans for the upcoming weekend. I hoped to spend the majority of the weekend buried in the book I was reading at the moment. She commented, “I can’t remember the last time I read a book or anything that wasn’t work related.”

Even though this co-worker happens to be one of the most skilled professionals and hardest working individuals I know, her comment didn’t surprise me. Certainly, the barista does not want to see a coffee cup at the end of a day’s work nor does the carpenter care to fix the broken cabinet door in their own home. Communicators, who spend the entire day writing and poring over data, press releases, emails, case studies, etc., will probably not be in the mood for additional reading after a day at the office.

This is an unfortunate fact, as it’s often said that “play” is essential to happiness and productivity. Though it makes us feel guilty, stepping away from our desks to go for a short walk, exercise, or even daydream, all contribute to better mental and physical health, which in turn makes us better at our day jobs. Reading is precisely this kind of “play.” It’s not only incredibly enjoyable to venture into a world that’s not your own or meet and come to understand individuals that you just don’t meet in the office and on the street, but it’s practical purposes for communicators are seemingly endless.

First and foremost is the power of reading to strengthen one’s sense of empathy through spending a sustained amount of time with characters and coming to know them as we would family members or close friends. Gini Dietrich, who made the same claim I am now making, points to scientific evidence of reading’s ability to strengthen our emotional intelligence. [1] Surely, there is no skill more highly prized in the communications field than empathy.

Furthermore, good writing is best learned through example. Crafting clear sentences while vividly conveying stories and ideas is the essence of any communicator’s job. Just as any athlete must study tapes of their sport and singers must appreciate and learn from the best in their field, communications professionals need to learn from the best writers. Though they may not be immediately relevant to your work, writers like Ernest Hemingway, the master of maximizing impact with brevity, are our greatest teachers.

Here then, is my very simple and practical proposal for my fellow IABC/Toronto members. For thirty minutes per day, read. Fiction or non-fiction, – blogs, Twitter, and online gossip don’t count – read something outside your comfort zone and not immediately related to work. If you take public transit, use your commute to read. Actually get up from your desk at lunch and take a break and use it for some leisure reading. Read before bed. Trust me, it can be done. You can even break the thirty minutes up into segments throughout the day.

I’ll get the ball rolling with some recommendations. I recently finished and adored “A Flame of Pure Fire,” Roger Kahn’s masterful biography of boxer Jack Dempsey. Alison Gopnik’s “The Philosophical Baby” was an incredibly fascinating exploration of child psychology and a superb example of clearly explaining complex subject matter. Currently, I’m highly addicted to George R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones.”

Fellow IABC members, let’s hear your recommendations. What have you been reading? Let’s get each other buried in books for just a few minutes each day. We’ll be better off for it.

Links:

[1] Gini Dietrich, “Reading Fiction Helps Your Career,” http://spinsucks.com/entrepreneur/reading-fiction-helps-your-career/

Ravi Singh is a Marketing and Communications Intern at an environmental non-profit in Toronto. He completed his Master’s in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University in 2011 and previously completed his Honours BA at the University of Toronto. Previously, Ravi worked as a technical writer for a software development firm and a copywriter for a public relations agency. He blogs at We Are Living in a Society.

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IABC/Toronto’s blog articles appear “as is” from members, who accept all responsibility for the content of their submissions.
IABC/Toronto does not make implied representations or warranties, assume responsibility for content in any links, or guarantee the validity or accuracy of the information.

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By Barb Sawyers

You’ve probably noticed our new blog logo, look and other changes.

Volunteer Cathy Ledden, RGD, explains how she came up with the new design. “The concept combines two words, communication and conversation, so by dividing these words the new wordmark helps people see the dialogue going on. I tried to make it playful yet professional, with the two words in different lines, colours and cases and the colours reversed on the simple single quotation marks.”

As with any logo, Cathy also considered the personality of the organization, using the IABC colours, fonts and other branding elements.

Cathy and her colleague Susan Mosdell, RGD, created several choices for us. But the word mark you see here was an almost-unanimous choice. I guess Cathy has learned to read our minds. Combined with 20 plus years’ experience and a few brand design identity awards, that’s a helpful trait for any communicator.

The new name was created by Juliet Paul-Kamanu and selected by member vote.

We’ve also made a few tweaks to encourage your participation. Like conversations, comm-versations are two way.

Smaller disclaimer The disclaimer is much shorter, less likely to intimidate you from making comments. The social sharing links have been rearranged so you’ll use them mode.

Author recognition To encourage author recognition, the submission form now includes a place for a quick bio, even a photo if you choose. We’ll be dating the posts too.

New archive order We also changed the archive order from alphabetical to chronological. Still to come is a better archiving system, so you can easily check on past posts if you’re researching a topic. Any suggestions on this one? We’d love to hear from you.

For now, I feel like we’ve cleaned out one closet of our web site. Membership communication vice-president Marcia Ross is eager to spring-clean the rest of the house. All we need are your recommendations and elbow grease.

Let the comm-versation begin.

Barb Sawyers is the author of Write Like You Talk Only Better, which she’s now adapting as an e-learning series.

Blog Disclaimer

IABC/Toronto’s blog articles appear “as is” from members, who accept all responsibility for the content of their submissions.
IABC/Toronto does not make implied representations or warranties, assume responsibility for content in any links, or guarantee the validity or accuracy of the information.

Yes, I said it: your communication plan sucks.

No, no – I didn’t mean yours specifically.

I’m sure your communication plan is great…just great…

[Awkward pause]

But there are plenty of communication plans out there that need help! Here are five reasons that an organization’s communication plan could use some revision:

1. There’s no budget

Not everyone values communication planning the way that you and I do. (For shame!) If senior management doesn’t buy into the concept of the strategic communication plan, you are already set up for disaster. A great communication plan is one that’s written by a professional communicator who is given a real budget with which to implement it. This takes time, research, resources, and the participation of multiple teams or team members. The effort will pay off when it’s time to measure your organization’s success. It’s cliché but you do get what you pay for.

2. The goals don’t reflect your organization’s mission

A communication plan is as legitimate a tool as your business strategy. In fact, the communication plan should be based on your organization’s business plan, and have goals that reflect its measurable outcomes. But remember, goals are not tactics. You will use tactics to reach your meaningful, measurable goals and objectives, but they are not the end result. Make sure you can relate each goal to your mission, and if you can’t – throw it out!

3. Your key messages are all about you

I know it’s hard to believe, but no one wants to hear about your business, your goals, your budgets, or all of the great things you do – unless it directly relates to them. We have all heard of the “What’s in it for me?” concept from marketing, and it remains true in communication planning. Understanding your audience and defining the impression you’d like your messaging to have on them is vital to the success of your plan. Authentic, open communications will build trust between your organization and its audience. It will also help them to see the value in what you do, and in what you’d like them to do (i.e. purchase your product).

4. Evaluation? What’s that?

If you have to ask this question, your communication plan has serious issues. The whole point of a strategic communication plan is to generate tangible business results. Your goals must relate to your mission (as stated), and include outcomes that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (SMART). The communication plan should be constantly referenced in order to ensure that goals are being met. If the tactics you’re using are not achieving measurable results that support your business plan, then you need to move on to tactics that will garner success. There’s no shame in admitting that a tactic is not generating results. The problem exists when there is no one critically evaluating the communication plan in order to effectively implement it.

5. It collects dust on your shelf

Most communication plans fall short at the implementation phase. The document itself might be brilliant. It may have approval from senior management. But in the end there’s a) no one budgeted to carry out the work; b) people do whatever they want regardless of what’s in the plan; or c) it’s put on a shelf, never to be looked at again. A communication plan is meant to be a living document – one that remains on your desk for reference, updating and evaluation. If your plan is collecting dust, or propping a door open, you have a problem.

Bryna Jones is the Director of Communications at Hardy Stevenson and Associates Limited, and a member of the International Association of Business Communicators. Bryna’s project experience includes communications and marketing planning, advocacy campaign development, social media strategy, government relations, and project management. She also has considerable experience in copy writing and public speaking.

Blog Disclaimer

IABC/Toronto’s blog articles appear “as is” from members, who accept all responsibility for the content of their submissions.

IABC/Toronto does not make implied representations or warranties, assume responsibility for content in any links, or guarantee the validity or accuracy of the information.

Why are you a communicator? Have you asked yourself that question lately? Can you answer it right away or do you need to think about it for a while?

I’ve been thinking about it since attending IABC’s Leadership Institute conference in Miami last week. Mark Schumann, ABC, raised the question in a great session called, “How IABC Can Strengthen Your Professional Development”. Although I became involved with IABC/Toronto fairly late in my career, I can honestly say that my professional development opportunities, networking skills and confidence all increased when I started to volunteer, so I was intrigued by this seminar. As an IABC Past Chair and 17-time Gold Quill winner, Mark is not only a great orator, he’s eminently qualified to speak on this topic and he didn’t disappoint.

Mark kicked off the discussion by inviting us to talk about questions we had asked ourselves in the last few years. Most attendees shared that they had wondered if they even wanted to continue working in communications, given the monumental changes facing our profession, and if they did, how could they reinvent themselves in order to be successful.

Mark urged us to go beyond the question of whether we want to stay in the profession and think about why we entered it in the first place. Although it seems naive now, I became a communicator because I was seduced by the life of the PR people I saw in the movie “All the President’s Men”. While it doesn’t paint a particularly flattering portrait of public relations, the characters seemed to have a life filled with intrigue, excitement, late night meetings and life or death decision-making – the perfect antidote to my small-town Ontario upbringing. While my career took a different trajectory, I still seem to seek out leadership opportunities and have found many within IABC/Toronto.

Here are Mark’s questions for reconnecting to our career goals:

1. If you could start your communications career over today, what would you do differently?
If your current role is not aligned with the reason you became a communicator in the first place, is there a specific thing that forced you off track? While we don’t want to live with regret, most of us can pinpoint a certain decision, made by choice or circumstance, that took us down the path we’re now on. If we could have a “do-over” what would we do differently? Would we only accept jobs that fuelled our passions? Would we have embraced social media earlier? Would we leave a particular role before becoming complacent? While it’s difficult to transform our livelihood overnight, we can put our IABC membership to work immediately and find articles, volunteer opportunities and professional development sessions that rekindle our long-forgotten career dreams.

2. What is your driving force?
According to Mark, IABC International and each IABC chapter has to ask why they exist every few years or risk becoming irrelevant. You might be surprised by what you learn. You may not like what you hear but you still need to ask if you want to move forward. After completing an extensive member survey a few years ago, IABC discovered that the number one thing members wanted from the association was relevant content. While this came as a surprise to many people, it provided a driving force around which future decisions could be made. It doesn’t mean that everything else was dropped, just that when the organization is engaged in programming, it needs to keep content top of mind because that’s what members care most about. What is your driving force? Do you think about it every day? Is it at the forefront every time you need to make a career decision?

3. How do you envision the next chapter of your life?
We all have chapters in our private and professional lines. Although it’s not always clear at the time, when we look back on the decades, it’s easy to see where one ended and another started. When one chapter is coming to a close, either voluntarily or by force (e.g. a layoff), there is an opportunity to ask we would like the next one to unfold. Mark cautions against answering this question in terms of a specific job, which may or may not exist in five or ten years. Rather, think about it in terms of the situation in which you’d like to find yourself. For example, do you see yourself making high-level decisions around a board table? IABC volunteer opportunities can help you develop those skills while you look for the right position. Would you be happy spending the majority of your time planning events? IABC/Toronto holds more than 30 a year and we always need help.

The point is, there is no situation, person or meeting in your communications career that you won’t also encounter in IABC. So why not use it as a valuable training ground? For more of Mark’s insights, check out his blog at www.acommunicatorsview.com

Louise Armstrong is IABC/Toronto’s VP, Professional Development and a freelance communicator.

Blog Disclaimer

IABC/Toronto’s blog articles appear “as is” from members, who accept all responsibility for the content of their submissions.

IABC/Toronto does not make implied representations or warranties, assume responsibility for content in any links, or guarantee the validity or accuracy of the information.

Earlier in the week, I was disappointed to hear Bob Rae talk more like a lawyer than an opponent, when he accused the Stephen Harper government of “voter suppression,” a term straight from the Canada Elections Act that reporters dutifully echoed.

But I suppress a cough when I’m in an elevator so I won’t spread germs. The Florida legislature suppresses votes by passing a bill that could prevent people who change addresses between elections from voting. This is nastier.

Harper has morphed from defending his party from “allegations” to hurling back the mud with accusations of a “smear campaign.”

Although the “robo-call” description, with and without the hyphen, seemed to stick right out the gate, the discovery that some of the calls in the 40 ridings under investigation were live dooms this colourful expression. I expert some smart communicators in backrooms of the opposition, official and not, are furiously debating an equally insidious replacement.

As communicators know, language is powerful. Words are not the causing the scandal. But they are the lens the world views it through–and a reminder of how meaningful our jobs can be.

Writer, trainer and IABC/Toronto blog director Barb Sawyers is the author of Write Like You Talk Only Better, now available in paperback and for e-readers.

I’m currently enrolled in a fiction screenwriting course through Ryerson University’s Chang School of Continuing Education. Part professional development, part exercise in creativity, practicing the art of screenwriting is helping me to hone my communication skills, and is pushing me to think about writing in new ways. I’m also building a transferrable skill set that I can apply to my work with a variety of clients.

Here are five things I’ve learned from screenwriting that can assist any communicator improve their writing:

1. Start with a premise

You should be able to sum up any writing endeavour in one or two sentences. Use this premise (or logline) as a vision statement for your work. Refer back to it when you feel you’re moving off-course. You can also use it to ‘pitch’ your work to the client, or to your boss.

2. Format matters

In screenwriting, format is king. Your script will get tossed in the trash if the formatting isn’t correct. Not all communication plans are created equally (I’ve seen many templates used successfully in my career), but style does matter. Be consistent, be clean and focus on streamlined design (no Comic Sans, strange Capitalized Words or clip art).

3. Be succinct

Flowery prose are great if you’re writing a novel, but when writing a screenplay you have to imagine action – quick dialogue and lots of visual cues. When communications planning, you might not be working with big screen effects, but you aren’t doing a major character study either. Keep your descriptions sharp and focused on meeting your vision.

4. Use white space

Whether you’re writing a newsletter, a blog or a magazine article remember that short paragraphs (three to four sentences) are not only acceptable, but preferred. White space helps the eye to focus, and allows the reader to scan the page more readily. Headings, and bulleted or numbered lists, assist with reading and flow as well.

5. Develop a plan

Use your premise to create an outline of your work before you get into the details. For example, the premise for this article might be:

A blog post that will assist communications professionals improve their writing using the rules of screenwriting.

Next, outline the steps that you will use to reach your goal. For this post, I listed all of the concepts that I’ve learned in the course (so far) that I thought would help other communications professionals to build on their writing skills. Then I refined the list, and began to fill in the blanks.

You can start by listing your audience, the goals you want your communications plan or piece to meet, and the headings that will organize your work.

These tips sounds simple and intuitive, but it’s surprising how often we lose our focus when writing for ourselves or our clients. The rules of screenwriting can help us to visualize how our plans might be realized, how our audiences will relate to our stories, and how to write in user-friendly, highly readable formats.

For further information, I suggest you read The Screenwriter’s Bible by David Trottier and The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller by John Truby.

Bryna Jones is the Director of Communications at Hardy Stevenson and Associates Limited, and a member of theInternational Association of Business Communicators. Bryna’s project experience includes communications and marketing planning, advocacy campaign development, social media strategy, government relations, and project management. She also has considerable experience in copy writing and public speaking.

Blog Disclaimer

IABC/Toronto’s blog articles appear “as is” from members, who accept all responsibility for the content of their submissions.

IABC/Toronto does not make implied representations or warranties, assume responsibility for content in any links, or guarantee the validity or accuracy of the information.

Communicators, unite. Please join my crusade to stop the overuse and misuse of kick ass, onboarding, serial entrepreneur, evangelist, story and similarly abused words.

As with my tirades about think out of the box and other tired clichés, I know I can’t change anything on my own. We need each other.

Kick ass
Like my earlier rant against awesome, this is partly directed at those middle-aged corporate types who think they sound cool, and younger, by using a term too wild for them to have risked only a few years ago. Seriously, it makes them look like they are trying too hard. If their presentation is so kick ass, they don’t have to say it. Their audience members will discover that through an enticing title and then watching it.

Onboarding
A recent discussion on the IABC Linkedin group reminded me why I hate this term so much. Often used to describe employee orientation programs, its application has extended to new customers and gamers. The awkward construction hurts my ears, almost as much as “de-planing.” Worse still, it reminds me of waterboarding. Hardly the welcome intended. Wouldn’t welcome be a nicer term?

Serial entrepreneurs
Although we know this refers to people who repeatedly start new businesses, its serial killer roots can’t be shaken. Like serial adulterer, it suggests that these guys are up to no good, instead of fueling job growth. If these business starters are so full of new ideas, why can’t they come up with a better description? Clearly, they need the help of us professional communicators.

Evangelists
Some people who are supposedly passionate about their jobs have taken to calling themselves evangelists. But I can’t stop thinking about the televangelists who bilk seniors of their life savings, engage in hypocritical behaviour or speak in tongues. These self-styled evangelists need energetic writing to demonstrate how passionate they are instead of joining the crowd in hijacking questionable monikers.

Stories
Every since some business people realized how potent storytelling can be, marketers have tried to sell brand stories and other commercials that lack plot, characters and other basic story elements. And what’s up with Facebook telling us to click for More Stories? They are updates, links and other scraps, rarely the stories we enjoy so much in books, television, film and live conversation.

As the people in charge of cleaning and clearing corporate obfuscation, communicators have a responsibility to join this crusade. So please share words you would like to kill and alternatives to them as well as strategies for linguistic interventions and measures to prevent this abuse.

Together, we can make a difference. Oops, my cliché is showing.

Barb Sawyers’ book Write Like You Talk Only Better is now available in paperback, Kindle and, any minute now, for other e-readers. A long-time IABC member, freelance writer and trainer, Barb regularly shares her views on annoying words and other communication issues at http://www.stickycommunication.ca/blog.

Blog Disclaimer

IABC/Toronto’s blog articles appear “as is” from members, who accept all responsibility for the content of their submissions.

IABC/Toronto does not make implied representations or warranties, assume responsibility for content in any links, or guarantee the validity or accuracy of the information.

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By Scott Fry

IABC/Toronto’s Marketing Communications team awarded the TTC top marks in its annual report card on Toronto’s top newsmakers. The TTC’s launch of its new subways trains scored better than three other evaluated campaigns, Councillor Ford vs. Libraries/Margaret Atwood, the Launch of BIXI Bikes in Toronto, and Ford Waterfront Plans. See the news release here: http://toronto.iabc.com/news/2012/01/16/2012iabctoronto-public-relations-report-card/

We would love to hear your take on last year’s top campaigns. Share your opinions in the comments box and “Be Heard.”

Blog Disclaimer

IABC/Toronto’s blog and the content herein is provided “as is” from its members, and IABC/Toronto makes no implied representations or warranties.
IABC/Toronto is not responsible for the contents of any of the links provided within the blog.

IABC/Toronto cannot and does not guarantee the validity of the information found herein. Without limiting the foregoing, IABC/Toronto does not warrant that the blog posts will be error-free or will meet any particular criteria of performance or quality.
IABC/Toronto expressly disclaims all implied warranties, including, without limitation, warranties of merchantability, title, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security, and accuracy.

None of IABC/Toronto, its affiliates, vendors, board members or the blog administrator thereof will be liable for any special, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages or any other damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, statute, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), or otherwise, relating to the use of the blog or reliance upon the information contained therein. The post contributor will bare sole responsible for the appearance of any inaccurate or libellous information contained in their submission.

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By Louise Armstrong

Late on Christmas Day, I was having a drink with my parents and my husband. He was telling us about how my son’s new railroad track was missing a piece so he jerry-rigged something to make it work. "I think you mean jury-rigged," I piped up annoyingly. "No", he answered, "I’m quite sure I mean jerry-rigged." My father, who is usually quite proficient in etymology rushed to my husband’s defense saying that the term jury-rigged can only be used in reference to an actual court jury. If this had been a cocktail party or business function, etiquette would have dictated that I leave it at that, but since it was close family, I felt comfortable explaining that in fact, there is no such word as jerry-rigged, even though many people use it. The word they want is jury-rigged, which refers to makeshift repairs or temp orary contrivances using whatever materials are on hand (like MacGyver getting himself out of a trap). The word they’re confusing it with is jerry-built, which means shoddy workmanship not necessarily of a temporary nature (like the falling panels of glass on some Toronto condos). While we’re on the subject of jury, the word jury-rigged shouldn’t be used when referring to an actual jury in a court of law. That would be jury tampering.

No one in my family believed me so I got out both my Oxford English Dictionary and the Canadian Press Stylebook to prove my point, after which we got into a long discussion of words that are commonly confused. At this point you’re probably thinking the holidays at my house are a barrel of laughs and making a mental note never to invite me to a party.

But, since we’re in the business of writing excellent copy, I thought I’d share some of the more common word mix-ups we discovered that night, courtesy of CP Style.

amiable – friendly of people
amicable – friendly of situations and agreements

apparently – seemingly
obviously – unmistakably

blatant – offensively noisy, obtrusive
flagrant – shameless, brazen

complementary – completing
complimentary – praising, free

disinterested – impartial
uninterested – not interested

exhausting – causing exhaustion
exhaustive – complete

flounder – move clumsily
founder – fail

nation – the people of a country
country – the nation’s territory

podium – the platform a speaker stands on
lectern – the reading desk a speaker stands behind

scarce – of things normally available
rare – of things seldom found at any time

stationary – unmoving
stationery – writing material

transpire – become known
happen – occur

I have trouble with all these words and more which is why, any time I’m writing something, I have my reference books close at hand.

Louise Armstrong is a freelance writer, PR specialist and event planner.

Blog Disclaimer

IABC/Toronto’s blog and the content herein is provided “as is” from its members, and IABC/Toronto makes no implied representations or warranties.
IABC/Toronto is not responsible for the contents of any of the links provided within the blog.

IABC/Toronto cannot and does not guarantee the validity of the information found herein. Without limiting the foregoing, IABC/Toronto does not warrant that the blog posts will be error-free or will meet any particular criteria of performance or quality.
IABC/Toronto expressly disclaims all implied warranties, including, without limitation, warranties of merchantability, title, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security, and accuracy.

None of IABC/Toronto, its affiliates, vendors, board members or the blog administrator thereof will be liable for any special, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages or any other damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, statute, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), or otherwise, relating to the use of the blog or reliance upon the information contained therein. The post contributor will bare sole responsible for the appearance of any inaccurate or libellous information contained in their submission.

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By Ravi Singh

There’s no question that instantaneous publishing is one of the wonders of the web Currently, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Youtube, etc. all allowed us to instantly share the doings of our day-to-day lives. Now that these platforms are all accessible from mobile devices, our ability to share content has once again been bolstered.

Even before the advent of social networking, simple web pages and blogs, themselves ever evolving mediums, allowed users to surpass editors, publishers, and censors. Even now, many blogs still come with a sense of rawness, the content having passed directly from the mind of the writer to the audience.

This can also be a downside of the web. Just as it is often unwise to speak without having mulled over one’s thoughts, publishing “in the moment” has often had disastrous consequences for brands, organizations, and, perhaps to the surprise of no one, politicians. The reader, I’m sure, can think of many such instances.

Analysts and pundits have often pointed to the instantaneous nature of the web as the culprit in such incidents. The long process of writing a letter, sealing the envelope, applying the stamp, etc. gave one time to think about the contents of one’s message. Email and social media remove those checks, or so it is alleged.

As far as I’m concerned, this thinking is entirely wrongheaded. What we are doing, and what communicators must absolutely avoid at all costs, is ascribing intrinsic qualities to technology as if it governs our behaviour. We must understand, on the contrary, that as users and creators, we govern these technologies. Just because you can publish instantly and without a second thought does not mean at all that you should.

The rules of clear and effective communication and writing still apply, especially for brands. While some may argue that it is one of the great advantages of the web that individuals may share content so easily, those acting within a professional context ought to be a bit wearier. At the end of the day, communications professionals have the goal of bolstering both the bottom line as well as the public perception of their organization.

Certain maxims of good writing and communication remain true, even on the web. First, good content always has and always will require multiple iterations. The message will not be clear from the start and taking time to tweak it will always pay off. Second, this process requires feedback. There will always be the potential that readers will misunderstand or misinterpret what you’ve communicated or may even take offence to parts of your message. Soliciting feedback from colleagues or potential readers will help to root out as many of these gaffes as possible. The process may not be infallible, but carefully thought out content is better than content that has been given no thought.

The medium may have changed, but the goal of external communications and public relations has stayed the same, namely establishing a solid and positive reputation for your brand and sharing good content. This requires careful thinking and planning.

According to legend, Mozart composed effortlessly without requiring revisions. Caravaggio painted without having to sketch, producing the final product on the first effort. While all IABC members that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting have been intelligent, insightful, and committed professionals, all would certainly admit that they are not Mozart or Caravaggio. Communications is a tricky game, and careful planning and adequate feedback mechanisms are simple lessons, but there are many recent examples in which they have clearly been forgotten. For 2012, they are worthwhile resolutions.

Ravi Singh has recently completed his master’s degree in political studies at Queen’s University with hopes of entering the communications profession. He has worked as a technical writer for a software startup and a copywriter for a small public relations firm in Toronto, where he developed and managed social media strategies and profiles and helped with online ad campaigns. He blogs at We are Living in a Society.

Blog Disclaimer

IABC/Toronto’s blog and the content herein is provided “as is” from its members, and IABC/Toronto makes no implied representations or warranties.
IABC/Toronto is not responsible for the contents of any of the links provided within the blog.

IABC/Toronto cannot and does not guarantee the validity of the information found herein. Without limiting the foregoing, IABC/Toronto does not warrant that the blog posts will be error-free or will meet any particular criteria of performance or quality.
IABC/Toronto expressly disclaims all implied warranties, including, without limitation, warranties of merchantability, title, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security, and accuracy.

None of IABC/Toronto, its affiliates, vendors, board members or the blog administrator thereof will be liable for any special, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages or any other damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, statute, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), or otherwise, relating to the use of the blog or reliance upon the information contained therein. The post contributor will bare sole responsible for the appearance of any inaccurate or libellous information contained in their submission.