During a much-needed and unplanned sabbatical from podcasting and blogging, I thought about my plans for this site. CommaKazi Speek began as an extension of my desire to delve into the world of social media. First, I blogged. Then I created podcasts.

Both ventures provided me with practical experience and a better perspective of this portion of the social media space. They helped me to connect with other bloggers and podcasters. They let me stretch my professional skill set while having fun.

Like a lot of people, I have plans for my life–both professionally and personally. Those plans change at times, due to circumstances or opportunities. I wondered whether my blog and podcast could help me launch into a different phase of my career. They didn’t. They remain a hobby without reward, other than personal satisfaction.

That only goes so far, when I have to balance other commitments and responsibilities. So I’m planning to shut down my CommaKazi Speek podcast site as soon as I ready this blog to handle podcasts. Why pay Libsyn to store my old shows, when I can’t be sure when I will have new content ready to post? I’ll be downloading PodPress and then using it to distribute any podcasts that I choose to create in the future.

At the same time, I’ll be changing the focus of this blog…sort of. In June 2005 I launched the predecessor of this blog on Blogger.com. My purpose for launching the site was to prepare me to blog as a volunteer at the 2005 IABC International Conference. I believed that blogging at the IABC conference would:

• help me to focus during the conference
• broaden my networking efforts
• force me to dive into this blogging thing

My final reason given at the time was that Warren Bickford, 2005 IABC Chair, had asked for volunteers, and “it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Those initial posts on the IABC Cafe opened the door for me to continue posting there for a couple of years, while I moved this blog to its current home.

Because I started blogging at an international conference for communicators on its blog, the focus of my blog posts up to now primarily has been on communications issues. About what else was I going to write?

As time passed, although I was careful to keep a self-imposed wall between my work as a corporate communicator and my opinions expressed on the two blogs (mine and the IABC Cafe), that wall negatively impacted my ability to write meaningful posts regarding communication trends and experiences. The bottom-line point for this post is that I plan to move away from communication issues…sort of.

I’ll write more about this tomorrow.

Hi, it’s been a while–more than two months–since I stopped posting here. Although I didn’t pre-plan the start of my “sabbatical,” or know at the beginning that I was taking one at all, it was a necessary and helpful thing for me to do.

During the past two months, my time and energy have been spent on family, other matters of no global import, and both physical and spiritual renewal. Many times, I had thoughts to express on this blog, but never did.

And did the world suffer? Hah! What clearer message could I have received than almost no contact from readers asking what was up. I’ve been able to reset my perspective and priorities since receiving confirmation that neither I nor this blog are crucial to the survival of the blogosphere (lol).

So what happens next here, if anything? I’ll continue to write, with a different focus. I have a plan for this blog and my soon-to-disappear podcast site.

Whenever long periods of time go by between posts on blogs which I regularly read, I wonder what’s behind the silence. Is the blogger overworked, overtired, waylaid, apathetic or ill? In my case, I needed to step back from this blog when the number of people and tasks facing me combined with a cold/sinus infection that decreased my stamina.

The result: cobwebs on the blog.

This probably has some well-known, prolific bloggers laughing. You know, the guys who Twitter that they’re blogging about a new social media report while recording a podcast about their new wiki that is changing the face of public relations as we know it. But many of those types (at least the ones I’m picturing) are consultants who:

• Use social media to advance their practice, by enhancing their reputation and reach, and by becoming known as “gurus” in their field,
• Are constantly traveling, where the long flights, delays and stays in hotels provide time for blog posts and tweets, and/or
• Are young and unattached, giving them fuller control over their schedules and priorities.

I started blogging and podcasting to get experience with these tools and techniques so that I could make informed recommendations when discussing social media with management at my employer. Don’t get me wrong: If, along the way, I had the opportunity to launch my own consultancy that provided endless professional opportunities, along with bags of cash, I’m sure that, today, I would be one of those consultants described above. I’m not knocking consultants. The fact is, many communications consultants have, directly or indirectly, taught me a lot about social media–and I remain grateful to them all.

My point is that when you look “behind the scenes” in many organizations, the reasons why so many employees are NOT blogging, podcasting or tweeting include the fact that we ARE NOT CONSULTANTS.

If my company hired a consultant to provide guidance on the possible introduction of social media within the company, management and staff would expect the consultant to tactfully, but accurately, present the facts regarding the value of social media tools and techniques–and the opportunities that would exist within the company for employing those tools and techniques.

But I’d love to hear from any internal communicators who have experienced something like this next scenario: You spend a lot of time developing a strategy for introducing social media tools and techniques within your organization–only to get pooh-poohed or outright denied the chance to make your case.

A second difference between consultants and in-house employees: free speech. Some of the most interesting blog posts that I’ve read have been written by consultants who start with the phrase, “At a company where I worked (or consulted)…” In the case of an internal communicator, every post that mentions the company has the potential to bring heat upon the author–up to and including termination. In my case, why would I jeopardize my job to write a post about a struggle that I might be having with management over social media tools or policies? The people in the trenches have a great position to gather “real-world” tales of trials and errors. But many of those tales never make it onto a blog.

So some of my silence has been caused by my decision to keep some things in my life “behind the scenes.” But that won’t stop me from writing about the rest!

In addition to my full-time position as an internal communications manager, I volunteer to guide communications at the church that my family has attended for 12 years. I’ve probably faced more challenges in terms of developing communication strategies and obtaining resources of people and budget there than in any of the “professional” jobs that I’ve held throughout my 27-year career.

That’s one of the reasons why I was excited about participating in a communications workshop offered on July 30, 2007 by the staff of Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana (USA). Granger is a solid example of how the Gospel message can reach people who have become disenchanted (even downright hostile) with “organized religion,” and who aren’t attending a church because, according to Granger leaders, they see church as too boring, intimidating, or irrelevant to their “stressed-out, hyper-speed lives,” and/or “they felt unworthy, unloved and unlovable.”

Following the communications workshop, I interviewed Kem Meyer, Granger’s communications director, along with some workshop participants. I posted the discussion on CommaKazi Speek. It was my second recorded conversation with Kem; here is the first one.

As one of the workshop participants points out in our recorded conversation, Granger has become known as a leader in effective communication to today’s tech saavy person, who may also be wary of any hype coming from institutions–including organized religion. So how has Granger reached and retained members? How has it grown from about 10 people meeting in the living room of Senior/Founding Pastor Mark Beeson and his wife, Sheila, to several thousand people worshiping in a large, modern space that also features:

• a casual atmosphere
• friendly people who’ll help you find your way around
• contemporary music, powerful dramas, high-impact media presentations
• an innovative children’s space and
• a Starbuck®-esque café?

Communications played an important role. Although Meyer was quick to credit the terrific speaking skills of the church’s pastors, she also provided practical tips for church communications staff and volunteers.

Bad communication is when you are trying to change someone’s “world view,” Meyer said. Good communication is when you speak respectfully to a world view, even if you disagree with it. Instead of trying to send “the right message” to your audience, you need to develop communications that release “the right response.”

Meyer defines “world view” as the bias that affects the story we tell ourselves to make it easier to live in a complicated work. Examples of world view include:

• A home-cooked meal is better for my kids
• Church is boring and is for sissies
• Organic food is “better”

During the communication workshop, Meyer presented five “communication myths” and four “best practices.” The five communication myths are:

• You (the communicator) are in control
• The more choices (products, services, message), the better
• Advertising creates interest and reinforces the brand
• It worked before, so it’ll work again
• People care about what you have to say

Although I don’t have time to unwrap all of these myths, I’ll cover a couple of them. People mistakenly believe that advertising creates interest and reinforces the brand, when at best, advertising creates awareness, which is not, in and of itself, a motivating factor. Meyer pointed out that cancer creates a sort of powerful awareness in people–but that doesn’t mean that people want it. Brands are built on experiences, she added.

People remember, on average, 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 40% of what we do and about 100% of what we feel, Meyer said. Emotion is the “on/off switch” for thinking.

The four best practices discussed by Meyer were:

• Know your audience (psychographics as well as demographics)
• Remove barriers to entry (is that tri-fold brochure and over-friendly approach to visitors attracting people–or repelling them?)
• Reduce the noise. Life is hard enough; we shouldn’t make it harder on people trying to get our message.
• Tell one story at a time. Act as an air traffic controller, and let the ministry leaders fly their own planes. You simply direct the flow and keep them from crashing together.

Among the practical examples of how Granger’s communications staff uses this knowledge, Meyer talked about how the church looked to attract visitors who could be hostile to Christianity and church. The church staff developed a message series titled, “The Most Irritating Things About Christians.” That series attracted people who were looking for affirmation that certain things about Christians can be seen as being irritating. Pastor Beeson was able to shape his messages to address those irritations, while affirming the reasons why Christians may act in a seemingly irritating way.

I’ve only skimmed the surface of the workshop, and haven’t talked about the practical advice for improving the communication process, adding volunteers and determining the ways to reach a particular audience or demographic. I’ll be sharing more with my church’s leadership, and may find other tidbits worthy of posting here.

While waiting for a flight to Chicago after the 2007 International Conference of the IABC, I spent some time recording a conversation with Ned Lundquist, ABC. Follow this link to the podcast, and enjoy a 9-minute conversation that touched upon the IABC conference, observations about New Orleans, Ned’s Job-of-the-Week email newsletter and website, and the current job market for communicators.

One correction to my recorded introduction: Ned now is with Alion Science and Technology.

I’m in New Orleans for the annual international conference of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). I’m going to be busy attending the conference and conference-related events, as well as meeting up with colleagues as much as possible.

I expect to have a lot of content for blog posts, but may have to keep them short until I return home.

I have recorded two very short podcasts that I’m calling “Quick ‘n Dirty New Orleans.” These will be unedited podcasts recorded during my stay here in the Big Easy. My work computer doesn’t have any audio editing software installed, and you have to be an administrator to do so–which I am not.

But what’s wrong with spontaneity and a rough edge?

If you are in New Orleans, leave me a message here, or at the IABC Message Center. I’d like to meet as many of my readers as possible. Maybe we’ll record a podcast together?

UPDATE: I’ve posted some newer podcasts, including one regarding a fundraiser for the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center. If you read this on Saturday, June 23, head over to the CAC for a fun adult event.

If you want to try podcasting, but aren’t ready to invest in a digital recorder, you should know about free Internet-based software–and services that might be available to you through your job–that would allow you to record discussions and conversations with nothing other than your dialing finger.

I cover the topic in my latest edition of the CommaKazi Speek Podcast, available for downloading and immediate listening here.

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CommaKazi Speek Podcast Show 8
Interview Date: May 2, 2007
A follow-up interview with crisis communications consultant Gerard Braud, taking a closer look at crisis communications planning two weeks after the Virginia Tech massacre.

No, we haven’t started summer reruns yet…this is a 12-minute follow-up conversation with a crisis communications expert who has helped many organizations prepare for the worst–and has seen firsthand how the lack of crisis planning can be as devastating as the crisis itself.

Braud shares some important ideas–including why text messaging isn’t the “answer” in a crisis like the Virginia Tech shootings. He also provides a glimpse into the presentation he will make this June in New Orleans at the International Conference of the International Association of Business Communicators.

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Not Your Parents’ Church Communications

CommaKazi Speek Podcast Show 7
May 1, 2007
An interview with Kem Meyer, communications director at Granger Community Church, Granger, Indiana, USA

Not-for-profit organizations often struggle to get their messages out to their publics. Volunteer help can be difficult to count on. How does Granger Church manage to be edgy in the often staid world of organized religion? Listen to this 20-minute interview to get some real insights into what is driving the success of this church as it reaches its community through a different kind of mind-set.

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Devote about 30 minutes to listen to crisis communications expert Gerard Braud share lessons learned from the Virginia Tech massacre and the devastation to the Gulf Coast caused by Hurricane Katrina. The conversation is the focus of the latest CommaKazi Speek podcast, Show #6, available for downloading here.

Looking back, it was an eerie coincidence that I moderated a comment that Braud left on one of my IABC Cafe posts about emergency communications just minutes before the Virginia Tech student began his shooting rampage on Monday morning (April 16) that left more than 30 students and faculty members dead.

Braud and I had begun to discuss the idea of recording his thoughts on crisis communications related to Hurricane Katrina. Then the media frenzy surrounding the Virginia Tech massacre made us realize that we should expand our original discussion.

As Braud points out in the podcast, this is not a time to benefit from the misery of this tragedy. We do feel that the events at Virginia Tech and New Orleans provide an opportunity for communicators to engage in important discussions with their employers and clients regarding crisis planning.

Show Notes

CommaKazi Speek Podcast Show 6
April 18, 2007
An interview with Gerard Braud on the topic of crisis communication planning.

00:00 Show theme, “Rollin’”; by Barry McCabe
00:15 Introduce Gerard Braud
01:00 Virginia Tech tragedy
01:25 Flawed Crisis Plan / A Learning Experience
07:30 Phones and Text Messages
10:30 Leaders in Crisis
15:30 Denial in New Orleans
22:15 The Workshop and Tour
29:00 Yes, New Orleans is Safe to Visit!
Also, here is a link to a April 18, 2007 online Wall Street Journal article, regarding the value of text messaging in an emergency, that quotes Gerard. If you are interested in registering for the June 24, 2007 workshop and Katrina Bus Tour led by Gerard, register on the IABC website.

David Murray’s blog post: “Communicators: Always in trouble“Technorati tags: