

It seems to me that the greater visibility of our lives, the more we document our lives in casual but nonstop social media, has quickened the urge to create a tweaked, Medici-like portrait of ourselves, in which we’re the superhero and above average and very happy and not given to making asses of ourselves. They’re a valuable catalog of all the missteps and embarrassments.Ĭelebrities have always been brands, but now, with social media, we’re all little celebrities, in a way-at least in the sense that our followers or Facebook friends can watch our daily activities, with about the same level of interest they might pay to People magazine in the bathroom. Our cringe moments comprise the anti-resume of the “brand” that is your life, and your self. That can be positively devastating.Ī relatively small investment in upfront training can prevent damage to your brand, and can ensure that the story that’s being told on your behalf is the story you want to be delivered to the world.But when it comes to sharing stories when we were victims of ourselves, and, as captains of our own fate, made utter fools out of ourselves, then the sharing of personal narrative is not as bountiful. The last thing any company needs is for someone to wing it on CNN, or with a journalist from the Washington Post.
#CRINGE DEEP IN THOUGHT TRAIN HOW TO#
It also teaches spokespeople how to properly interact with the media, and how to package information into media-friendly sound bites. Media training gives people who work with the media the skills to deliver information in ways that convey salient points. Media training helps not only to define the key messages you want to put out to the world, but it also teaches people how to respond to questions that might be pointed, uncomfortable, or even accusatory. Additionally, as we live in an information-saturated world, no one wants, or has time, to wade through poorly-worded, jargon-laden information. This is critical, and its importance cannot be overstated. I cringe whenever I hear that a company does not require training for anyone who is a media spokesperson. This, in turn, can help improve your brand not only with your market but also with your employees. Formal training in presentation skills can help your team to avoid common pitfalls when presenting, and assist them in staying on message. If your managers are going out and delivering presentations that are perceived as boring, tedious, and time wasting, you have a problem. They are provocative and inspiring they are adept public speakers. The best presenters are the ones who engage the audience and make them think. Slides are supposed to be a visual aid for presentations, not the presentation itself.
No one enjoys sitting through a 50-slide deck filled with arrows and graphics, especially when the presenter reads the slides. These will include what types of questions to ask, what questions NOT to ask, and how to ensure that hiring managers send a consistent message, aligned with corporate values, to the candidate pool. Considering the enormous cost a bad hire can have-both in real dollars and in productivity-it is prudent to train hiring managers in effective interviewing techniques. A negative employer brand will also reduce your applicant pool. High rates of turnover have adverse impacts on both productivity and morale, both of which negatively impact revenue. The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) estimates that every time a salaried employee is replaced, the cost to the business is between 50-70% of that salary to recruit and to train a replacement.
Most managers haven’t been trained in interview techniques, and most of them are not very good at interviewing. You can ensure that your managers convey the message you want by investing in training for them in the following areas: Do they convey the core values and promote the culture of your company? Are they on message? If they’re not, and if they’re just “winging” it, they are damaging your company’s brand. Your line managers are the public face of your organization.
