But too often we seem to forget this. We seem to forget that the human connection is what makes businesses thrive and what moves careers forward.

But if you work in public relations and communications, you mustn’t forget that it’s people that you’re reaching out to. And more importantly, it is people that make up a company and shape a brand. It’s actually pretty straightforward: People communicate with people.

Ethnographer and leadership expert Simon Sinek reminds us to do what the human race has been doing for centuries to survive and prosper – reach out to one another. Be there for each other. In his talk at the 99% Conference, Sinek discusses the importance of trust and authenticity when it comes to human connections. In fact, trust and authenticity are the foundation of meaning in our interactions.

Simon Sinek: “Authenticity Matters”

Sinek argues that “every decision we make in our lives as individuals or as organizations, is a piece of communication. It’s our way of saying something about who we are and what we believe.” And Sinek points out: “This is why authenticity matters.”

It is only when we communicate our beliefs authentically that we can attract others to our cause, and form the bonds that will empower us to achieve truly great things. Knowing that and acting accordingly is key to our survival.

Trust and Authenticity

As communications professionals, we’re faced with situations every day that require that someone trusts us. Because we’re all people, and people do business with people they trust. And people buy products from companies they trust.

How can we achieve authenticity in our communications?

Sinek’s plea: “Work for clients and work for companies who you believe what they believe. Show up and feel a part of something bigger than yourself.”

Adopt a spirit of generosity in what you do. “If we’re willing to give to the person next to us, it’s amazing what they’re willing to give to us.”  So why not move away from the selfish “me, me, me” attitude that so many individuals and corporations display and instead think about what we can do for others. We’re more willing to trust someone who is willing to help us.

I wonder what would happen if in all of our communications and public relations we would put people first. What would happen to our brand, to our products? I trust Sinek on this. I believe that a communications strategy that genuinely evolves around people – your audience, your clients – will have a bigger impact than any self-centered marketing message – because you’re acting from a place of authenticity which will then build trust.

What do you think about Sinek’s argument? Do you have an example of a time when you focused on people in your communications and what that resulted in? I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Photo conversation by Susan Sermoneta made available under a Creative Commons license

Fast Company article "This Is Generation Flux" by Robert Safian

I recently stumbled upon a Fast Company article about Generation Flux, pioneers of the new and chaotic frontier of business. Author Robert Safian presents members of GenFlux from different industries and their ways of surviving and thriving in times of uncertainty and chaos.

It got me thinking: It’s not just the future of business that’s unpredictable. It’s also the future of communications technology, tools and apps that seems ever-evolving making it almost impossible for any communications practitioner to keep up with.

So, as a PR professional or communications practitioners – how do you survive and thrive in times of accelerated change and technological innovation?

1. Welcome Chaos

“What defines GenFlux is a mind-set that embraces instability, that tolerates–and even enjoys–recalibrating careers, business models, and assumptions”, writes Robert Safian. If you welcome chaos, work with it – not against it – you will have a better chance at being successful in what you do. Say hello to new communications tools, give a novel app a try, and be excited about a fresh way of how to publish your message.

2. Be Open to Learning Every Day

“Few traditional career tactics train us for an era where the most important skill is the ability to acquire new skills”, knows Safian. Constant innovation, new product launches and software re-designs require that we constantly expand our skills and acquire knowledge about recent changes that affect our industry. Be prepared for an avalanche of learning so that you can hone your communications skills on a daily basis.

3. “Systemize Change”

In his article, Safian quotes Susan Peters, who oversees GE’s executive-development effort: “”Our traditional teams are too slow. We’re not innovating fast enough. We need to systematize change.” What Peters suggests is, don’t just respond to change but adapt to it and change with it – and quickly. If you’re a communications professional, think about how you can reform your infrastructure to better serve your clients in an interconnected world.

4. Harness Fear

Jonathan Fields wrote a whole genius book about how to take fear and transform it into confidence and creativity when faced with uncertainty and chaos. Successful GenFluxers have embraced this way of turning fear into food for brilliance. As Safian writes “it can also be exhilarating.” As a PR and communications practitioner, find out where you can say good-bye to fear and welcome the challenge of turning it into something powerful and creative.

5. Re-invent Success Daily

According to Safian, GenFluxers don’t look back. They’re not nostalgic, and they don’t rely on what has worked before. In communications and PR, it’s ever more important to be able to re-invent success on a daily basis. A campaign that has worked for client x a few months ago, might not work for client y today – the circumstances have changed, new apps are available, other social networks emerged. If you focus on taking advantage of the “new” instead of sticking to the “past”, you will have a greater chance of being successful in your campaigns.

What do you think? How can you thrive in this world of constant change and economic uncertainty? Share your insights with us!

A friend of mine asked me not too long ago “What’s a communications plan?” A communications plan serves as a guideline of your marketing and public relations efforts. It can be as simple and as comprehensive as you need it to be – depending on your goals.

The New Year marks a great starting point for your communications plan. Map out what kind of content you’d like to create over the year and what vehicles you want to use to distribute it.

Most entrepreneurs and solopreneurs can put together a plan on a simple Word document or Excel spreadsheet. There are a few elements, however, that a good communications plan can’t do without.

1. Make your communications about customers

Your customers are looking to you for advice and guidance. In thinking up what you can communicate to your audience, think about content that is helpful for prospects and customers. By providing content that your audience values and needs, you will establish yourself and your brand as a trusted resource that people will gladly come back to again and again.

2. Tell stories, not marketing blurbs

In all communications, you have 2 choices on how to present your content. You can write dry marketing blurbs tooting your own horn, or you can produce compelling stories that provide a solution to a problem, inspiration or a new perspective. The choice is yours.

Stories will grab people’s attention and will very likely trigger responses and engagement from your readers. And who doesn’t want a good story to go viral?

3. Be creative – and have fun

Communications is so much more than the written word. The social media space allows us to create creative stories in various forms at a very low cost. Think about how your story can be told in new ways, maybe through pictures or infographics. Or maybe you prefer to tell your story via video or podcast. Keep it creative and fun; and your audience will love you for it.

4. Choose your channels wisely

Think about why you’re communicating and what kind of audience you’d like to reach. Depending on your product or service, you might not need to be on Facebook, but rather use a Twitter stream or a newsletter format.

Make sure you publish your content on a channel owned by your company first, and then re-post or link to from third-party platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Your own blog is a great way to publish content first. That way you own your content and can syndicate your messages on social media in a second step.

5. Create a routine and stick to it

When putting together your communications plan, be very honest with yourself and determine how often (once a week, twice a week, bi-monthly etc.) you’re able to publish new content. Once you created your routine, it’s important to stick to it – it will help you staying on the ball. And your online visibility will benefit from a regular publishing activity; in other words web crawlers love being fed fresh content bites on a regular basis.

What elements have gone into your communications plan? Leave a comment about your experience and insights!

The featured photo, “Communication” is copyright (c) 2009 by elycefeliz and made available under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license