Cookie Water

It is all in the positioning. I should know that having been in public relations for the majority of my 20-year career. But, when it comes to my kids, I often forget.

Recently, the kids wanted something to drink before bed. I said, “only water.” The response was a bunch of groaning and moaning and went something like this, “Noooooo! We want chocolate milk, apple juice, a yogurt drink… blah blah.”

My husband Paul, overhearing the conversation, quickly jumped in, “Do you want cookie water?”  He filled the kids’ water glasses with water from the tap and gave it to them.

“Yum… this cookie water is awesome,” they said. Of course my six year-old knew better, but he went a long with it; and I was grateful.

Wow, Paul just “PR-ed” the water situation. He branded it, gave his product a sellable name and positioned it in the right way for the right audience. He was spot on.

It is all in the positioning. Good parenting… good PR. Who knew the two were so closely related. 

Be a Better Listener

In the last week, the idea of being a better listener has come up several times and in so many different parts of my life: in my work, in my personal life and even mentions in some of my favorite blog posts. I wanted to share with you just a few of them as I think the universe is calling for me to develop my listening skills and become a better listener. Dontcha think?

• New Hampshire author and mother of two grown boys Katrina Kenison has emerged this year as one of my favorite writers. She was recently on a book tour in California and she posted this blog about a man, who was sitting on a street corner with a sign “free empathy.” Her blog talks about a woman who sat and poured her heart out to this stranger because she needed someone to sit and listen. http://www.katrinakenison.com/2013/02/20/free-empathy/. I loved it.

• Last week, one morning before daycare, I ducked into a small coffee shop with my two-year old, Owen, to escape the bitter cold and wind. We sat down next to a friendly 40-something overweight and tired-looking woman who commented on Owen, his age and his cute way of waving out the window at the people on the sidewalk walking by. She told me she had a daughter. (HAD?) She proceeded to tell me that she was just sitting in the coffee shop to pass the time as she was waiting for her therapist. Her daughter has passed away several years ago of sleep apnea, and died in her sleep—she was only 16. She told me her daughter’s name, that she liked Tim Burton movies (I do too!) and that she was a good student. I told her that I had no words for her story it was so sad and I was so sorry -- and her response was very poignant. “Thanks for listening.”

• I am working with a new CEO who is 26 days in to the position. His resume is impressive and he has spent the majority of his career in other CEO and C-level roles at other companies. His number one initiative for his first 100 days is to embark on a “Listening Tour.” He said he wants to visibly listen, learn and not say much. “What people look for in a leader is leadership,” he said. “And, a good leader is someone who will listen and learn.” Again, that act of listening!

• It will be close to 10 months since Owen had his surgery for ear tubes. I like to say that he found the world on that day. We walk to school every morning and he continuously asks, “What’s that?” We talk about all the sounds we hear, from bells ringing to street sweepers whooshing to the clanging of the big metal plates in the road and even the fire engines. But, he just doesn’t hear the sounds; he actively listens for them and then rejoices in each one. We are both appreciative of a world that is brand new.

I think it is in my blood as a communications person to be a talker – that is how we are trained. But are we great at listening? Studies have shown that while speaking raises blood pressure, listening brings it down.

And, listening is definitely not the same thing as hearing.  Hearing refers to the sounds that you hear, while listening is way more than that: it requires focus (like Owen’s focus for new sounds on our way to school every day). Listening means paying attention not only to the story, but how it is told, the use of language and voice, and body language.  (I knew that woman in the coffee shop had a sadness about her the minute we looked at her.)

We are trained to fill in the silence with our own voice and point of view—whether on a phone call or in a meeting or with my sons or my husband or just a random person in a coffee shop. Just giving the silence space and listening to see what might fill it and how you can absorb it is a very special skill that I (for one) am trying hard to develop.  So I will make it a focus not just to try, but also to become a better listener.

My PR World Aflutter with Timing of Pope's Departure

Social media sites today are buzzing with the news that the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI, will resign at the end of the month "because of advanced age."

It is the first time a Pope has stepped down in nearly 600 years. And, my world of PR people around the country are perplexed with why the Pope would choose to announce that he is stepping down on Feb. 28, during the holiest time of the year. After all, it will be only 13 days into the season of Lent, and right before the Easter holiday.

My friends and colleagues in the industry are having a field day with this news. Anyone who has done any executive communications or crisis communications has a strange feeling in their gut about the timing and the news.

According to CNN, the pontiff stated, "Strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me," said Benedict, 85, according to the Vatican.

So let the questions begin! Does anyone really think the 85-year old's health is the issue? Could he have lasted in the position another few months? Why would the Pope and his advisors make the decision to resign now? Could this be good for the Catholic Church? Will they drive awareness during the Easter season to increase positive PR? Is the key message that a new Pope will drive change and a new leader will be chosen from one of the "emerging Catholic markets" (Latin America or Africa). Are we waiting for the other shoe to drop and the Church is trying to get out in front of a massive PR sex scandal that is about to bust open? Certainly all eyes are watching the Vatican and Catholic Church now.

Cardinals will meet to choose Benedict's successor sometime after the official resignation on February 28. The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said that the Church would have a new Pope before Easter. I usually don't pay attention to the Pope, his statements, doctrine or his Easter Mass. But, I will be paying attention this year, will you?