Be Calm During the Storm.

Be calm during the storm.  

What To Look For in a Great Communicator, part 4 

“A man has no more character than he can command in a time of crisis.”  Ralph W. Sockman

One of the best compliments I ever received from a veteran news anchor during a severe weather situation was, “The crazier it got, I noticed the calmer you became.”  In live broadcasting, there will always be fluid situations where there is no script and things are changing by the second.  During these times, it’s easy for the mind to race and therefore not be able to process and access changing conditions on the fly, and then communicate them effectively.  During these times, I consciously tried to slow down my thought process and effectively triage the bits of information coming in. The same holds true during a PR or any other business crisis.   By remaining calm, it helps one more effectively disseminate the information and also reassures the audience during a crisis.  The audience, the public and the client needs to know your organization is in control, and calmly assessing the situation, and acting upon in their best interests.

 

“Crises refine life. In them you discover what you are.”

Allan K. Chalmers 

Deal With Deadlines

 What To Look For In A Great Communicator, Part 3

Deal with Deadlines!

“I am one of those people who thrive on deadlines, nothing brings on inspiration more readily than desperation.”  Harry Shearer

In any business there are deadlines.  In the media, there are several, every day.  How you handle them has a lot to do with whether a broadcast or project is a success, or a train wreck.  Of course, the biggest enemy of meeting deadlines is simple procrastination.  Take care of tasks as soon as possible and you’ll have less to worry about as deadlines near.  As deadlines near, instead of worrying about everything you have to do, prioritize your tasks and concentrate on ONE at a time.  As you complete the individual tasks, you’ll one by one, finish the larger project on time.  In the end, if you’re prepared, don’t procrastinate, break your tasks down into steps and you STILL don’t make your deadline, don’t worry about it.  You did all you can do.  Move on to the next deadline, which in the media, is not far away!

“Without deadlines and restrictions I just tend to become preoccupied with other things.”

Val Kilmer

Have a Love For Writing

What to look for in a Great Communicator, part 2

Have A Love For Writing

“The only reason for being a professional writer is that you just can't help it.”

Leo Rosten

I’ve never tired of writing and disseminating information.  The best communicators also share this quality. I spend a good portion of my day writing, whether it’s news stories, business proposals, on my blog, facebook or twitter.  In social media, I usually write more informational pieces than simply “what I’m doing.”  Part of the reason for that is my personal life is rather mudane!  The main reason is I like writing things of value to the readers/viewers, whether it's the latest news, weather forecasts or other useful or interesting information. While many might know me mostly as a meteorologist, I spent many years as both a meteorologist AND a news anchor/reporter and won awards in Tennessee and Kentucky for reporting and news writing.    The ability to write well transfers to the ability to speak effectively in delivering stories on-air, and the ability to write well is practiced often…every day!  You not only have to have the ability, though.  You must also love it!

“For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word.”   Catherine Drinker Bowen

Be A Lifelong Student

What to look for in a Great Communicator, Part1

Be a lifelong student.  

"Every mind was made for growth, for knowledge, and its nature is sinned against when it is doomed to ignorance."   William Ellery Channing

Have a thirst for knowledge.  Have a love for reading.   During my career, I’ve worked in all aspects of broadcast news: as a news anchor, reporter, meteorologist, producer, camera person and news director.  All along the way, I’ve always been interested and eager to learn new things, whether it be the history of a certain place or person, how or why something happens or better techniques for forecasting.  An inquisitive mind makes one a better journalist, scientist, businessman and so much more.  I’ll never tire of learning and the best communicators share that trait.  The best journalists, meteorologists, business people I learned from, also were always fascinated by learning.

“We have an opportunity for everyone in the world to have access to all the world's information. This has never before been possible. Why is ubiquitous information so profound? It's a tremendous equalizer. Information is power.”    Eric Schmidt

What To Look For In A Great Communicator

I’ve been blessed throughout my long career in communications to learn from some of the best.  What works & what doesn’t.  What’s a good idea & what’s a bad idea.  I’ve learned how to handle different types of personalities in the newsroom, reporting in the field, in business & in the public. 

On the flip side, after several years in the business, I was able to pass on some of what I learned to young reporters, anchors, etc.  This helped them develop their skills faster if they took the advice to heart, since they could avoid some of the mistakes I made early on in my career.  It makes me so proud to see them move up in the business!  I still hear from many of them to this day. It only makes sense that a lot of these traits also transfer over to business or whatever field someone chooses to enter.  Over the next little while, I’ll post some of what I recognized to be the best traits found in the best!

The End of Time in 2012

I'm really looking forward to 2012, even though The Mayan calendar says this year will be the "end of time." Maybe you even saw the movie "2012" based on the Mayan prediction?  The poles reverse, massive earthquakes and natural disasters, and then all humans unlucky enough to NOT be on the latest Ark, die.

I'm not so sure.   First of all, the ones who made the prediction didn't even survive long enough to explain it or back it up.  Maybe they were too preoccupied with human sacrifices to plan for the future?  At any rate, I always start every day with the same assumption:  I'm either going to work & have a great day, or going to meet Jesus.  Either way, it's a wonderful day!

Secondly, if you go by ancient writings, even the good book says no one shall know the day or time.  That's been the problem with those who have purported to know the exact day of the end of time, or the day of Jesus' return.  If you report it, it simply CAN'T come true!  This has been going on since the New Madrid Quakes of the early 1800's.

Here's what NASA's top scientists say:

"Remember the Y2K scare? It came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation. Impressive movie special effects aside, Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know. It will, however, be another winter solstice.

Much like Y2K, 2012 has been analyzed and the science of the end of the Earth thoroughly studied. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the science behind the end of the world quickly unravels when pinned down to the 2012 timeline."


NASA also has a great website with a FAQ about 2012.  Check it out! 

My suggestion is to bide the time until the end of time by loving one another & helping one another, whether the world ends tomorrow, or in another million years.

God Bless

Goals For The New Year

 My sincerest wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to you and yours!

As we ring in 2012, we say goodbye to 2011, a year which wasn't the best.  A terrible economy hurt so many families, including mine, so we gratefully turn the page with optimism 2012 brings an upswing.  Maybe I'll have extra helpings of black eyed peas, cabbage and ham this New Year's Day.

It's also time to set goals for the coming year.  There are the standards: lose weight, work out more, among others.  Mine are to continue striving to be a better person, a more understanding person & a giving person. 

Music wise, I plan to cut back.  While working at the Telethon of Stars this past November, I was chatting with a friend of mine who is a professional musician.  He was shocked to find I played more shows than HIM over the last 2 years.  That's in addition to holding a demanding full-time job at which I work 50-60 hours per week.  Maybe that's why, during the past 2 years, I've been fatigued from July until my annual "break" from playing, during the holidays.  In 2012, I plan to cut the number of shows in half in order to spend more quality time with my family.

In my professional life, my goal is to continue to improve, learn and help as many people as I can.  In that sense, I don't worry as much about specific numbers, as much as I just strive to do as much as I can to be a positive influence in encouraging others.

Never worry about numbers.  Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.  ~Mother Teresa