Category: General

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Stop, listen and think..

It’s accepted that we are all incredibly busy these days.  We’re rushing around, juggling plans, meetings, calls, issues, projects and to-do lists – not to mention e-mail and Twitter.  It’s very easy to keep your head down and plough on.

It is however – in my humble opinion -incredibly important to stop on a regular basis. Stop and think. Stop and review.  Stop and listen.

I know that the Sharpen the Saw analogy has become a cliché, but then it has become a cliché because it’s true!

One thing I love doing is sitting and listening to my son.  Five year olds are so honest, their minds are full of opportunities and they don’t allow norms or experience to restrict their thoughts or dull their expectations.  This is something we should all contemplate.

That’s why I loved this post by Richie Escovedo: “9 PR rules my daughter learned in kindergarten”.

9. Listen to others – There is an interesting duality to this rule. A.) You don’t know all there is to know about public relations. You need to continue to learn and hone your skills through discussion, research, and professional development. PR is an ever-evolving field and being able to adapt and change is what will make you stand out. B.) You don’t know all there is to know about your organization or clients. Active listening within your work environment, on behalf of your organization and through monitoring will mean the difference between taking shots in the dark and making educated and informed communication decisions.

Interesting food for thought…

True life is always stranger than fiction…

I previously wrote about my love of language in general and the writing of the vintage UK TV series “Yes Minister” in particular. Yes Minister for the uninitiated was a sitcom based around the relationship of a UK government minister and his daily struggle with his civil servants.

Well a story in the UK Daily Telegraph over the weekend caught my eye. It details leaked civil service memos that were prepared to brief civil servants ahead of the arrival of the newly elected government:

The documents, instructing senior officials at the Department of Communities and Local Government how to woo their new bosses, give a checklist of what are called “hot button”, Tory-friendly words, to be dropped into conversation whenever possible. These include “families,” “radical,” “neighbourhoods” and “progressive.”

and the advice continues:

civil servants are told to “talk of efficiencies / value for money without prompting” and advised to deploy blatant flattery, with suggested phrases including: “Congratulations! I had so much confidence in you, I might get complacent!”

The documents order mandarins to “smile!… Lean forward!… Be interesting!” They are told to engage in “supportive listening,” and “take cues from the Secretary of State.” Officials are advised that “eye contact [is] the real currency.”

Yes, life is stranger than fiction.