poseycorp helps innovators become great communicators. (Sometimes by sending out helpful stuff in a newsletter.)
ISSUE 79
Navigating the year ahead
"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche
In just a few weeks, 2021 has delivered more extremes than some years manage in a whole 12 months! I've been thinking about what this means for communicators.
2020 was a long, painful
slog. Depleted and demoralized, we are steeling ourselves to face the hopeful highs and painful lows that 2021 will certainly deliver. How can you guide your teams through the obstacles and opportunities ahead?
First, double down on your mission, your purpose, your why. Everyone who works for you needs to know what they are engaged in and they need to know why. You can’t repeat your mission statement enough.
In the tech industry in particular, we’re facing minefields this year. There’s the power of social networks and who controls access to them - see Shira Ovide’s newsletter article from January 11th in The New York Times. As the anti-trust battles escalate they will create opportunities or problems for the whole industry. We need to constantly and cheerfully show that we're solving urgent and important problems in healthcare, climate change, and inequality.
Knowing what to say is one thing. Knowing how to say it is another - tone matters a ton right now:
Be reassuring. Show your audiences (internal and external) that you see and understand their concerns. “We’re still improvising in 2021. We’ll support you no matter what comes as we navigate through these challenging times. We’ll all get through this together.”
Be hopeful. There will be darkness AND light ahead. Celebrate the good things that you see. Shine more light on the light. We all need proof of positive trends. We need rational, grounded reasons to hope.
Be real. This matters most of all. Learn to gracefully say "I don't know yet but we're working on it" or "We have to change course but I know we can do it" or “That was really hard
and I was scared too, but I’m so proud of you - we made it through!” Facades have no place on the battlefield. Take yours off and speak the truth to your team.
2020 made us resilient. 2021 will make us even more so and give us lots of chances to use this new strength. Here we go!
On poseyblog
We're talking about learning and using what you've learned:
“I’ve died and gone to media training
heaven,” said a happy media training participant!
If you’d like great results, schedule a conversation with me! It’s easy! Reach me at inquiries@poseycorp.com.
Your business must scale, and you must scale with it. Great communicators create the change they want to see in the world. poseycorp helps innovators build powerful messages and the skill to deliver them so they can break through the noise and be heard! Lisa Poulson, poseycorp’s principal, is expert at helping innovators scale by becoming great communicators.
Do you wish everyone around you had great communication skills? Share this link with them so they can learn too!
Sometimes the best teachers
are the ones who show you how NOT to be. Either of these books is a great guide on everything that’s contra-indicated for this year.
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San Francisco, CA 94123
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