Of course the Primary is just the most easily found glaring example of this phenomenon. Business communication is also rife with examples, as are the mutterings of the “pundit class.” Here’s an example from Rush Limbaugh: (May 8, 2008 transcript) “So our {oil} production has been cut in half in 20 years. And, see, it’s been a slow bleed.  That wasn’t a dramatic overnight thing, and so its impact was not immediately felt…. There’s enough American oil we could go get, 112 billion barrels, which would be enough to power more than 60 million cars for 60 years, but we have moratoriums on drilling for all this.  The environmentalists are the only ones who are happy about this.  This is an attack on capitalism.  It’s nothing about environment. It’s nothing about saving the planet. It is an attack on capitalism and an attempt to cut this country down to size.  And they’re succeeding with the help of the Democrat Party.” Chris Matthews, the presenter on Hardball,  in his December 20, 2007 edition, Matthews asked: “Is the Hillary Clinton campaign trying to obliterate Obama’s candidacy? Not just beat it, but strangle it in the crib before there’s any chance he catches on?”

Everyday conversation is full of competitive and violent imagery, as well. Consider “I could just kill you,” “clawing their way to the top,” “that cut me to the quick,” and so forth.

Prior to research which showed that viewers tended to suffer from “compassion fatigue” when being shown public service advertisements and the like with pictures of bruised and battered women and children, ¹ most advertisements that were meant to increase the public’s support for issues like the prevention of child abuse and the prevention or response to domestic violence used these negative and disturbing images. Prevent Child Abuse America, a national leader in the effort to prevent child abuse or neglect, took notice and accordingly their communications became much more focused and grounded in what CAN be done to make a positive difference in society, rather than to be focused on what we don’t want, e.g. children getting hurt.

Tom Sebok, in a paper located here: http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/full_text_search/AllCRCDocs/93-20.htm  said “Social conflicts involve challenges to values, mores, customs, norms, laws, etc. Often in these conflicts participants seek to dramatize their beliefs and/or positions to make others aware of their concerns and motivate them to action. When opposing groups confront or refer to one another, they may engage in negative labeling (name-calling and insults), sarcasm, moral judging, threatening, and/or, in the most extreme cases, physical violence and/or property damage against those on the “other side.” These behaviors do not illustrate constructive confrontation of conflict. It is possible that some of these behaviors are so unpleasant that the desire to avoid them could motivate one side to negotiate with the other. However, it is also likely that, at least for some period of time, when participants engage in these kinds of behaviors, the effect is that the conflict is merely perpetuated in its current form, or escalated and made more intractable.”

Neither Mountainside Media nor this writer wants to see our clients, friends, or co-workers become victims of the annoying and potentially dangerous “Politically Correct Thought Police.” However, we do suggest that organizations, and individuals, can benefit from close attention to the way our communications are phrased and framed. It has famously been said “Fighting for peace is like making love for virginity.” This quote is attributed to George Carlin, among others.

Don’t go around saying that you are fighting for peace, if you want to be taken seriously! Or, more importantly, if you want to be effective, which is the whole point of bothering to communicate in the first place.  

¹ See The Frameworks Institute’s “Discipline and Development: A Meta-Analysis of Public Perceptions of Parents, Parenting, Child Development and Child Abuse” at: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/products/pca_americameta.pdf

Blogs
There are many, many blogs out there that are done by experts in the field. Some focus more specific areas than others and some will cover a broader range of topics. When you find a blogger that you find helpful, always make note of any links they have displayed. Most of the time, bloggers will post links to their favorite sites and/or blogs. If you have found that blogger helpful, then more than likely you can find good use in the sites that they link to. Also, add the blogs that you like to your RSS feed reader when available. This allows you to see any updated entries quickly, without having to go to each site individually.

Podcasts
I am a confessed late bloomer to podcasts. That being said, I was very suprised when I finally decided to look into it, of the plethora of podcasts in the field of web. I have found plenty of useful podcasts for both the design and development aspects of web and most are free to subscribe to. However, podcasts are like the inernet in that you need to investigate a little to be sure the person knows what they are talking about instead of just taking their word for it.

Tutorials/Training
Something else that is very helpful is taking part in various tutorials, trainings and webinars. There are a ton out there that are available and most of them stay on top of the ever changing climate of web technology. Lynda.com is an online video tutorial service that we at Mountainside Media have benefited a great deal from. They even go outside the box of web and include tutorials on graphic design, video production, and much more.

To conclude, there is a ton of information out there. Finding what is helpful to you in staying on top of these technological advances can help make these transitions smoother and easier to endure.

The first and most powerful sign of spring is the sunny yellow daffodil. Yellow is symbolic of brightness, joy, optimism, light and warmth. Yellow causes stimulation of the nervous system, activation of memory and encourages communication.

Another sign of spring is the return of the robin. Every since I was young I have always looked for the first robin to show that spring has actually arrived. I witnessed my first robin last week, hopping through the grass collecting straw for her much needed nest. No one can deny the vibrant orange color of the robin’s breast. Orange evokes feelings of vitality, fun and energy. Orange is also said to help balance one’s emotions and encourage socialization.

I love going barefoot in the summer and feeling the grass between my toes, so it always emits a level of excitement from me when the grass begins to grow flourishingly and changes from a drab brown shade to a vivacious green. Another delightful sight is the emerging of buds from tree branches and the unfolding of delicate new leaves. Green signifies growth, renewal, and health and offers a sense of self-control.

And who can forget the emotional healing power of glorious blue skies! Blue generates a peaceful calming effect. It is also associated with stability, truth, confidence and wisdom.

Color is considered one of the most useful design tools an artist has due to the emotional response it creates. Just as the colors of spring influence your mood and disposition so do the colors used in graphic design. Careful consideration of color choice should be a part of your design decisions.

…………………………………………………………………

A child growing up will be asked the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” countless times, but it’s not until that child is much older that they actually seriously consider the weight of that question. Choosing a career path to follow is one of the most difficult choices a person has to make in his or her lifetime. Think about it. In the short period time lived between seventeen and twenty years of age most people are expected to make a series of decisions that will change the outcome of their lives. Which college? What major? Two-year associates, bachelors, masters, or even a Ph.D? What career? After three uneventful years of high school education, you’re suddenly charged with the responsibility to choose what you’re going to do next: and you don’t have a lot of time to make up your mind.

I, like my peers, struggled with these very same questions these last two years. As a high school senior at St. Joseph Central Catholic High I suddenly realized I was running out of time. Thankfully, at St. Joseph we are given the unique opportunity to pursue a two-week internship with a profession of our choice in order to help us make these difficult decisions. Through internships we learn what it’s really like out in the work field and can better decide if an occupation is right for us or not. By this time I had already narrowed down my choices to select a Bachelors in Fine Arts: Film with a traditional animation emphasis at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the arts because I loved drawing and painting, but decided against the road of a traditional fine artist in favor for a commercial one. This way I could get employment while still doing something I enjoyed. Animation is a fast-growing field that improves in leaps and bounds every year and I am excited to help support that cause. The juxtaposed combination of light, color, sound and time makes 4-D art something exciting and unique in comparison to other artistic fields.

However, this choice made my options for an internship extremely limited. There aren’t exactly any film-based animation studios in Huntington, West Virginia. This lead me to decide on an internship at Mountainside Media. Mountainside Media doesn’t only create spectacular graphic design, but they do video, power point and web-based design as well. This versatility in a wide range of graphic design fields is what drew me to their company. Interning at Mountainside Media has so far been an entertaining and educational experience. I have been able to watch first-hand the production and work that goes into making various graphic design projects. The people here are kind and fun to be around creating a relaxed work atmosphere. I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given by Mountainside Media.

A study by specialist journal IRS Employment Review found that, while organizations use an extensive range of communication methods, including online systems, handbooks, newsletters and memos to communicate with staff, employers still value face-to-face sessions as being the most effective.

No matter how much we may value the FTF meeting we’re still left with the issue of overscheduled team members and colliding calendars. The challenge becomes orchestrating that FTF meeting and ensuring all participants feel it was a good investment of their most precious resource; time.

I would argue the most crucial element in making the most of your time together is effective communication. Why, you ask? Because with effective communication you meet one of the basic needs of every human being; to feel heard and valued.

Meeting basic human needs? But all you wanted was to approve a budget! Yes, I get that, but I submit that by understanding the empowering potential of your FTF time through good communication, you can help your team achieve your goals like never before.

So, stop talking and communicate! Here are just a few tips:

• Silence is a great communication skill. So much of communicating successfully is listening successfully. Repeating what you think you heard can often head problems off at the pass.

• Know what your body is saying - Body language accounts for more than half of what other people respond to and make assumptions about when they connect with you.

• Eye contact: Eye contact is one of the most important nonverbal cues you have for communication and connecting with other people.

• Attitude is infectious and drives behavior: Your attitude is the first thing people pick up on in face-to-face communication and it is contagious.

Because Mountainside Media values the effectiveness of FTF communication, we are proud to announce Bizgigs, a new division devoted to effective meetings, conferences and events.

At Bizgigs we intently listen to you. We combine the elements of FRAMEWORK, CREATIVITY AND TECHNOLOGY to design the environment that will deliver the results you want from your FTF events.

For more information, visit us as www.bizgigs.net

Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi Ideas Company, says that marketers need to learn how to get their message heard in an Attraction Economy – an age where audiences are becoming more and more selective about the information they will pay attention to. The messages that successfully cut through the clutter are the ones that entertain, persuade, respond and illuminate. A key tool in this effort is sisomo – Sight, Sound and Motion.

It used to be that you could only have sisomo if you could afford television advertising. But today, screens have multiple purposes in our lives. We have screens on our televisions, computers, mp3 players, cellphones, billboards, scoreboards and even our picture frames. It’s a communications wonderland, providing affordable opportunities to connect with audiences in innovative ways. We can use sisomo to create stories, collect feedback and develop characters.

The growth of online sisomo is incredibly fast. Only a couple of years ago, posting a video on a website wasn’t an option for most of our clients. It was too expensive, the resolution of a manageable file was poor and most people didn’t have the ability to even view a video on their computer. Today, YouTube is the hottest thing on the Internet and video is the fastest growing online technology.

It is an exciting time to work in media, as once separate communications tools begin to connect. A promotional video, for example used to stand alone as a video, recorded on a tape, shown on a monitor before a captive audience. Now we can incorporate that same promotional video into an interactive DVD or multimedia CD-ROM. We can post it on a website, use it in a viral e-mail campaign or add it to a Powerpoint presentation. The possibilities are endless, and we are just beginning to understand the potential of communicating in a sisomo world.

Our advice? Think about your audience and the screens they are looking at. Find a way to add a little sisomo to your message. Be inspiring. Think creatively. Bring your message to the big and small screens of the world, and your audience will take notice.

(Source: The Lovemarks Effect: Winning in the Consumer Revolution, by Kevin Roberts, Powerhouse Books, 2006.)

One of the most interesting and exciting projects that I am working on at the moment is Mountainside Media’s “Storybanking” process. We are developing a system to collect and inventory personal stories that our clients can use in a variety of ways to communicate about their work.
 

A Storybank is a powerful way for organizations to be very prepared, on a continual basis, to share with the public what their work is really about. Studies have shown that, in general, people respond more empathetically, and with more comprehension, when they are told a story about something, than when they are presented with “just the facts.”
 

For one relatively quick example, consider the following;
 

“About 9% of the population purchases health care insurance directly from the market.^[4] Government sources cover 27% of the population (80.3 million).^[4] In 2006, 47 million people in the U.S. (15.8% of the population) were without health insurance for at least part of the year. Among the uninsured, nearly 38 million were employment-age adults (ages 18 to 64), and more than 27 million worked at least part time. About 37% of the uninsured live in households with incomes over $50,000.^[4] According to the Census Bureau, 36.7 million of the uninsured are citizens. Another 10.2 million are non-citizens, but the Census Bureau does not distinguish in its estimate between legal non-citizens and illegal immigrants.^[4] It has been estimated that nearly one fifth of the uninsured population is able to afford insurance, almost one quarter is eligible for public coverage, and the remaining 56% need financial assistance (8.9% of all Americans).^[19]”
                                                                                             ~Wikipedia

 

OR

“I’m Dr. Nancy Nielsen, an internist from Buffalo, New York, and president-elect of the American Medical Association. When I attended graduate school right here in Washington, D.C., I was uninsured for two pregnancies. Those two children were delivered through public health clinics. Without coverage, that was my only option. When my 14-month-old daughter had a fever of nearly 106 degrees, I had to take her to Children’s Hospital’s emergency department. For the rest of the month, I had no money for food for my kids.

If this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.”

 

Source: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/17998.html accessed 11/1/07

Which of the two quotes above resonates more? For the vast majority of people, it’s the story told in the first-person. And which of the two will you remember 24 hours from now? Again, for most people, it’s the story, not the statistics.
 

Stories can be the catalyst for changing our lives, for changing public policy, for changing the way we do business. A story is not “just” a story. More and more non-profit organizations are realizing this and putting the “power of story” to work for their cause.
 

Diane Sawyer once said, “There is no substitute for paying attention.” This type of work involves paying attention not only to the stories that we are gathering from people who have been directly affected by our client’s organization, but also to the process that we are setting up, and the way that the people are treated who are generously sharing their experiences and stories with us.
 

Once we have a “lead” on a potential story for the story bank, a story record is completed, These story records will be organized into a searchable database for easy retrieval, so that it is simple to find stories with specific characteristics when they are needed.
 

When there is a likely use for a story—for example, stories needed for an annual report—the story is developed further by conducting a personal interview with the person the story will be about. The policy is that each time a story is used, or potentially used, that person is asked for permission each time, and given the opportunity to refuse. This way, there are no surprises, either for the person who is sharing their intensely personal stories, or for the organization who is sponsoring the storybank. Interviewees are respected, and are part of the process, every time.
 

For me personally, it has been an eye-opening, and speedy way to learn more about what an organization does, and the positive effects they are having on the state of West Virginia.
 

In fact, I can quote one of the stories, almost verbatim, from memory. One interviewee from this project said:
 

“Without programs like this, you have generations of people who think that they have no choice but to go on, and stay on, welfare. Programs like this help people to see that it can be done, that you can make it; sometimes you just need a little help and to know where to go when you need advice or assistance.”

 

I’d advise any organization, particularly the ones that are working to change the world for the better, to find their stories, and tell them. It’s one very important way to make sure your work “lives in people’s hearts forever.”
 

~ Deborah
 

Footnotes (from Wikipedia)^{4 a b c d e f g h “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006.” U.S. Census Bureau. Issued August 2007.
 U.S. Census Bureau. Issued August 2007. 19 ^ Dubay L, Holahan J and Cook A.,The Uninsured and the Affordability of Health Insurance Coverage, Health Affairs (Web Exclusive), November 2006. Accessed February 4, 2007.U.S. Census Bureau. Issued August 2007.  Dubay L, Holahan J and Cook A.,, (Web Exclusive), November 2006. Accessed February 4, 2007.U.S. Census Bureau. Issued August 2007.  Dubay L, Holahan J and Cook A.,, (Web Exclusive), November 2006. Accessed February 4, 2007.U.S. Census Bureau. Issued August 2007.  Dubay L, Holahan J and Cook A.,, (Web Exclusive), November 2006. Accessed February 4, 2007.}

U.S. Census Bureau. Issued August 2007.  Dubay L, Holahan J and Cook A.,, (Web Exclusive), November 2006. Accessed February 4, 2007.