Language errors can hurt your company’s reputation
Two things happened recently that all communications should note: (1) An Australian HR firm called Maxumise conducted a study that found bad spelling and poor grammar are hurting your business’s reputation; (2) The words “amazeballs” and “totes” (for “totally”) were added to the Collins Dictionary. Do you see the irony? Just when the widespread lack...
Why all PR pros should start their careers as servers
One of the things my wife and I love about living in Minneapolis is that we have our regular restaurant hangouts. Our favorite is a hole-in-the-wall bowling alley that serves outstanding food and has a pretty strong beer list. We are frequent visitors for brunch on the weekends, and I host business meetings there frequently. But besides...
13 most nifty tips for networking
Having a solid group of professional associates is a definite benefit. It lets us find a job faster, identify a fabulous recruit more easily, and stay current with industry trends and changes more smoothly. But many of us would rather spend a sunny Saturday cleaning the attic than go to a professional event and network....
10 Amazing Ways Technology is Changing HR
Technology is slowly but surely changing just about everything in our lives, especially how we work. These days, most employees not only do a large amount of their work on a computer, but many work remotely, learn new skills in online courses, and even find jobs via social sites and web-based job hunts. All of...
Publicity Stunts…. What Are They? Why Do Them
A magician seeking publicity had himself strapped into a straitjacket and hung upside down off the roof of a building where 50,000 people watched him escape and return to safety. That magician was Harry Houdini, and he did the stunt in 1916. Another magician seeking publicity had himself locked into a glass box and hung...
A simple, yet important tip to sharpen your writing
School is back in session. As an adjunct professor of communication, I am excited to be working with my latest new crop of media writing undergrads. While I’ll teach the inverted pyramid, the art of writing a good lead, and AP style to my students this semester, one of the most important lessons I’ll focus...
How to be a Twitter standout
Since my friend Diana Adams (a.k.a @adamsconsulting on Twitter) and I created a list of “badass women on Twitter,” I get this question often: “How do I become a Twitter badass?” The things that make the community of women in this category so qualified are numerous. So here goes. What makes someone a “Twitter badass”: 1. You tweet...