GET PUBLISHED NOW! The Secret of Author Branding

Get Published Now! with Beth Barany

I’m coming out of the closet. I am an author marketer and branding specialist.

My business didn’t start out that way. I intended to help authors write their stories and their books. But one thing led to another and now, I help authors get to market. This means not only helping them write and publish, but also market their books. And developing their brand is a key component to marketing.

You may think that a brand is something only to do with products and companies. But actually, branding is now a concern for entrepreneurs and authors, alike. If you understand how to create your brand, and implement it consistently over time, you will create more value for your audience and hence more sales.

We will start the brand inquiry with this article.

What is a Brand?

A brand is a promise.

For an author and speaker, your brand is a promise to your readers and listeners.

To discover and uncover your brand, I invite you to explore you, your author self, and your book through a series of questions.

There is no right answer to creating your brand. Only what is right for you. If you fake it, we will know.

Based on information by professional branding specialist, Jenn Stark, (see resources below), I’ve created three categories: Your Core Brand, Your Functional Personal Brand, and Your Shadow Brand.

Your Core Brand

This brand is for you, and communicated to you by you. No one else dictates it, though others may influence it. However, you get to decide what this is. Knowing your core brand forms the basis for the second level of branding, Your Functional Personal Brand.

1. What do you tell yourself about yourself?

2. What is your taste in music? In food? In travel? In the kinds of places you call home?

3. What are your goals for the next 3 years? (Examples: travel to Paris, speak to a national writer’s conference, get my fantasy novel published)

Your Functional Personal Brand

As an author, you have an author brand. You may also be a speaker or run a business, or both. Each of those roles has a brand. Answer this set of questions for each aspect you’d like to brand.

1. What motivates you to bring your message to the world?

2. What is your message to the world – in this book project, and overall?

3. List 5-10 adjectives that best describe you as it pertains to your message of your book.

4. What are your strengths as a communicator/teacher/coach/speaker in your topic area?

5. How do you want to be known? What words do you want people to associate with you?

6. When you imagine yourself in front of a room talking about your message, how do you see yourself dressed? How are you relating to your listeners?

7. What do you see as your promise to your readers and listeners?

8. What kind of emotional connection do you want to create with your audience?

9. What experience do you want them to have as a result of encountering you or your message?

10. What action would you like them to take?

11. What result would you like them to have?

12. What makes you different from your competitors?

13. What value above all others do you want to communicate through your work?

14. How do you want people to remember you and your message long after you have left the room, or after they have stopped reading your book?

15. If you could have anyone you wanted write a back cover blurb, who would that be? And what would your readers feel about that person?

16. How do you want to be perceived as an author?

17. Who do you admire and want to emulate as a brand? Creat screen shots of the sites you like and don’t like. You can use them as a model as you develop your brand.

18. What are some of the messages you absolutely want your audience to know? State them as phrases or sentences.

Shadow Brand

We all have messages emanating from us all the time, some unintentional. Our shadow side is often there to keep us safe. As much as we are able, it serves us to become aware of our Shadow Brand so that we may choose differently.

What is it that you absolutely don’t want to communicate to your audience? This could be an unintended vibe, or negative trait.

Now What?

Once you have answered all these questions, let the information sit. Come back a day or two later with fresh eyes. Cull through the information, noticing themes, words, and phrases that stand out. I suggest cutting and pasting them into a different document. Now, see if you can distill you Core Brand and your Author Brand into one phrase or list of adjectives.

In my last article, Get Published Now: Sell Some D*mn Books, I gave some examples, reposted here:

• Romance author Stephanie Tyler’: “Romantic suspense starring strong military heroes.” (http://stephanietyler.com/)
  
• Childrens and YA author Michael P. Spradlin: “Action. Drama. Humor. And stuff blows up.” (http://michaelpspradlin.com/)
• Mystery author Michael Connelly: crime journalist turns crime novelist inspired by Raymond Chandler. (http://michaelconnelly.com/index.html)
• Nonfiction author Malcolm Gladwell, Outlier, Blink and The Tipping Point, and now, What the Dog Saw (2009): Outlier Canadian journalist turns his cogent eye on the world. (http://www.malcolmgladwell.com/)

Your Turn!

Post your author brand below and I’ll post my reflections, comments, and probing questions. By posting you'll be testing the market. That’s the next phase: testing the market. And the subject of another post!

Resources

I’m grateful to these sites and blogs, bloggers and authors. Their information aided in the writing of this article.

http://www.knowyourbrand.com : Communications and Branding for Organizations, Authors & Entrepreneurs; site and blog by Jenn Stark

“Getting Your Brand On” http://wow-womenonwriting.com/32-FE2-AuthorBranding.html : Cathy C. Hall’s interview with author, Shelli Johannes-Wells

“Pre-Natal Care for Your Book by Lynn Sarafinn: http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/2009/10/pre-natal-care-for-your-book-by-lynn.html (This blog created was by Tony Eldridge: http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/)

Malle Vallik's Blog about publishing, Harlequin, social media & entertainment: http://mallevallik.wordpress.com/tag/author-brand/

“How To Discover and Build Your Author Brand, article at the Creative Penn, by Joanna Penn: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2009/08/03/how-to-discover-and-build-your-author-brand/

PS. Last Note

Perhaps you don’t feel ready to consider branding. Then start with considering if publishing is right for you by reading my article, “Getting Published is Easy: 8 Things You Need to Know.

For more information, please visit Beth's TNNW Bio.

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BREAKTHROUGH NETWORKING: Create an Effective Verbal Business Card

Breakthrough Networking with Lillian Bjorseth

People don’t buy a stove because it’s three-feet high and white. They buy it because it cooks their food. When you start your conversations with words that cook others’ food, you will convert them into clients much more easily. People buy benefits, not features.

The way you do this is with a benefit-laden Verbal Business Card (VBC), the front end of your elevator pitch that entices people to want to learn more about what you can do for them or their associates.

Last month I discussed many characteristics of an effective VBC and how to use it as the front end of your LinkedIn elevator pitch. Today, I am going to share what to include … and not … in your generic VBC. This is the one you use when you meet people who are not employed by the same company or in the same industry.

To be Included

• Your first, last name. Everyone suffers from memory lapses; so even if you are wearing a name tag, repeat your name every time you start a new conversation. It also helps people know how you preferred to be called, i.e., Bill vs. William and how to pronounce a more difficult name like mine: B-or-seth. (The “j” in Bjorseth is silent, and some people wouldn’t know this without first hearing it.)
• What you do. This is key. People always ask, “What do you do?” yet so many people answer by sharing “who” they are or “how” they do it.
• Benefits to others. How does what you do benefit the people you are meeting or people they know?
• Active verbs. Include the most powerful words in the English language in your introductory words. You can feel the strength in words like “help,” “work with,” “share” vs. linking verbs such as “is”, “am” “was.”

Probably not Included

• Company name. Don’t take up precious seconds with a name that is not immediately recognizable. I could use “AT&T” when I worked there. I never use my company, “Duoforce Enterprises.” It is not a household word and, therefore, doesn’t add immediate value. People might pause and think, “What is a Duoforce?” Instead, I want them to concentrate on me because I have spent time and money branding Lillian Bjorseth. Duoforce is the necessary corporate structure. Your company name could be important at an industry networking event.
• Company location. Generally, this is not necessary in your first few words in a generic VBC. This could be important if you work for a multi-location company and are attending a company function. You have plenty of time to talk geographical locations latter in the conversation.
• Adjectives and adverbs. Use only with careful scrutiny. They are modifiers, and the extent to which they do this is usually at your discretion. They reflect opinions and often are exaggerated and superfluous. Refrain from telling people you, your products, services or talents are the best, quickest, greatest or most reliable within the opening seconds of meeting them.

Not Included

• Company title. Including your title in your first words is not necessary or wise. If you are a vice president, manager, director – this is not necessary introductory information. After all, how many bank vice presidents have you met … and have no idea what they do? If you are a president or CEO, it could well be your ego you are feeding vs. relating valuable data.
• How you do it. How you do what you, especially differently that others in your field, comes later in your elevator pitch. Make sure you have honed those words well, too.
• Business label. Avoid words like accountant, attorney, trainer, etc. These words are nebulous and add little value in those precious first moments. For instance, if I were to introduce myself as a trainer, it could be interpreted as an animal trainer, personal trainer, soft skills trainer, technology skills trainer, etc. I want people to focus on easily understandable and valuable information, rather than giving them a reason to ponder what kind of trainer I am.
• Industry jargon. Avoid jargon at all costs in your generic VBC. Others won’t understand. Jargon is acceptable in your industry version and possibly in your intra-company version if you are talking with others who understand your responsibilities.

An example

I’m Lillian Bjorseth, and I help you build a new kind of wealth – social capital – by improving your networking and communication skills.

If you have taken to heart what I’ve said and want to create your Verbal Business Card, be kind

to yourself and patient with your efforts. A succinct, easily understandable VBC can take hours to create and often is done best under the tutorage of an objective outside source such as a networking skills coach.

For more information, please visit Lillian's TNNW Bio.

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KARL SMITH: Launch Your Own Networking Group

by Karl Smith

I had the most wonderful opportunity this month to address "Avontuur Networking Group" located in the Winelands of the beautiful Western Cape - South Africa. The owner, Zunia, told me that it was their largest gathering to date. She learned about me through one of her contacts. When I left I realized that I had conducted one of the most satisfying "Leverage the Power of Business Networking" presentations to date. The attendees were hungry to learn, they drank the sincere approach to making connections and building business relationships. As I believe in authenticity I normally refer to all aspects of the business and personal life’s of my audiences. “Networking” is not something you decide to do – you live the life, you are “caring” and “giving’ in all areas of your life and that’s the secret to building business relationships and your business.

When the last person left, I asked Zunia how the group started. She told me that they started with 8 people a few years ago and that she never had to market her restaurant. Zunia oozed with energy, a spirit of giving and a desire to help others. I have observed similar qualities in chatting to other successful business network owners. Additionally, I have observed similar attributes among coordinators of professional networking groups hosted by people in the accountancy profession for over 5 years. So I asked myself the question. What does it take to start and maintain a successful networking group? A group is a like an organism, it must be nurtured, cared for and looked after.

Starting a business networking group takes time, money, and a lot of effort, but the potential rewards can be staggering. Having your own business networking group is a great way for you and your business associates to meet new people, meet new customers and share the invaluable experience you have obtained from your efforts. You may be a business just starting out, or you may be a well established company looking to share your expertise in your field.

Here are 7 things to remember when launching your own networking group:

You must have a passion to help others. Every session is an event and it must be done professionally: co-ordination, invitations, finding speakers etc. Its hard work!

Understand whether your new group conflicts with another. People are more willing to support networking groups that offer something new. Develop an interesting model that other networking groups aren't using and you'll create repeat visitors to your events.

Decide early what your mission and strategy is for the first year. Being able to succinctly tell people why you're doing what you're doing can make the difference between having 10 repeat visitors or over 100. Understand why you're creating this new networking group by crafting a winning mission statement and strategies for the upcoming year. What the basis is for this networking group, what it can offer my business as well as my associates, and how much it will cost

Ensure that you build a solid “board”. You can't do this alone, so enlist the help of volunteers who share your vision. They can help you to shape the direction of your new group, and help to broaden its purpose and goal, not to mention help out on the costs.

Draft standard guidelines joining, membership benefits, requirements, payments, if any, etc. These guidelines will help you to govern your group so that it runs more smoothly

Plan your year's events before you launch your group. Nothing will irritate new members more than to attend a launch for your new networking group with no other events planned for the rest of the year. Figure out the appropriate meeting time and meeting place and try to stick to that model throughout the year. Being consistent is vital for any business networking group, as well as being professional and being well organized. If possible, make it the same time each month eg. the third Thursday or the first Monday. That way, people can plan ahead.

Lastly, I believe in getting feedback in everything I offer to others. Your group will grow and their realities and needs will change. So be open to formal and informal feedback.


Karl Smith is the author of “Beyond The Business Handshake: Dare To Build High-Trust Business Relationship”, South Africa’s Business Networking & Referral Coach, and the owner of Business Networking South Africa.

Visit ww.businessnetworkingsouthafrica.co.za to see Karl in action, see what Karl’s clients says, book Karl to speak or to do in-company training, attend a public event, subscribe to his newsletter or to use the free networking resources. Karl acknowledge the expert advice of other commentators in drafting this article.

For more information, please visit Karl's TNNW Bio.

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KARL SMITH: Launch Your Own Networking Group

OPTIMIZING YOUR IMPACT: Where Marketing and Screenwriting Overlap

Optimizing Your Impact with Jeff Schomay

“Yes, I sell people things they don’t need. I can’t, however, sell them something they don’t want.” - John O’Toole, A true advertising master

Great salespeople know to sell the idea, not the product. Commuters don’t buy Jeeps because they intend to drive them over rugged mountain tops, but they like the idea of feeling like they could if they wanted to (“It’s a Jeep thing… you wouldn’t understand.”). McDonalds is the largest hamburger shop in the world, but their slogan has almost nothing to do with burgers, and everything to do with how people (allegedly) feel (certainly would like to feel) while eating a Big Mac – “I’m lovin’ it.” In general, people don’t buy products or services; they buy results, feelings, and ideas, and they make their buying decisions based on emotional responses.

And therein lies the problem – you can’t photograph an idea! You can’t give away free samples of a result. A description of a feeling is NOT the same as the feeling. So, how do you market and advertise these intangible things in portable mediums? How do you transpire specific emotional responses on command?

Welcome to the world of a screenwriter. The screenwriter is called upon to convey and evoke raw emotional responses and literally make people forget they are sitting in a dark room for two hours with only one tool: a description of things you can see and things you can hear.

How do they do it? First, some background on “how humans work.” Humans experience life on three main levels: physical, intellectual, and emotional. Body, Mind, and Heart. Physical is the part you can interact with directly. Intellectual interaction can happen if you have their physical attention. Emotional interaction can only happen if you can connect directly to their personal life. The portable mediums of advertising and a completed film are only experienced on the physical level, which means in order to reach the intellectual and emotional levels you need to encode the proper messages in the proper ways for your interaction to become an intellectual and emotional experience. Hence, the art and craft of screenwriting masters.

In order to sell ideas, feelings, and results, you’ll need to incorporate some of the craft and techniques of screenwriting. These can be studied and experimented with further, but for now the main idea to take away is this:

STOP thinking of your advertising strategies as primarily descriptions of features, and START thinking of them as mini screenplays designed to get an emotional response that can hold a price tag.


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Jeff Schomay is a screenwriter and director of film/entertainer/entrepreneur, with keen insights into making a stronger response on your market.
To apply his unique background and perspective to your own branding and marketing efforts for better responses, contact Jeff at:
303-800-5854
jeff@inspire-your-buyer.com.
http://www.jeff-schomays-portfolio.com/Branding-and-Marketing.html

For more information, please visit Jeff's TNNW Bio.

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THE CONNECTED BRAND: Own Your Connections

The Connected Brand with Maria Elena Duron

Your connections begin in your own database. When I’m asked about how to “own your game”, or dominate your niche, the first place I begin asking about is what do you know about your database?

Even those born within this last minute, already have a handful of people in their personal database. From the mother that carried them, to the physician that delivered them, to the nurses in the delivery room, the pediatrician and the nurses in the nursery – the newborn even know somebody!

How can you make the most of who you are already connected to?

First, clean your list. Start going through to see whose email, phone number, cell phone, address, and employment information is up-to-date and who is not. Your first focus is to make sure you have the most current, effective information for those people who already know you.

Second, grade your list. No, I’m not talking about judging people yet I am talking about categorizing them in a way that makes sense for you. Who really knows you well? I mean they have spoken positively on your behalf, they know your hopes, dreams and aspirations. They may even know the good, the bad and the ugly! They know you. They know what you do for a living. How many close contacts can actually say that? Often we’re connected with those who “kind of, sort of” know what we do so they could never repeat it to anyone or effectively explain it or even speak to a prospective employer or prospect about how you can help them.

Start first with those who really know you well. And, then work through your list seeing who you really know. Again, use the same criteria.- do you know their hopes, dreams and aspirations? Do you know their strengths? Do you know what they really do for a living (not just their title)?

Third, of those who really know you – what gaps do you see in the information you have on them? Maybe you don’t even know if they’re currently married, divorced or single. Maybe you don’t know where they graduated from? Or, you might have their work number yet you don’t have their email address or cell phone number. Focus on where you have gaps and make a plan on garnering some of that information. It might be that you’ll find out at the next ball game or happy hour get together. Whenever it is, make sure that you flow your information gathering into the conversation and not sound like you’re going through a checklist. To do so, would surely shut down conversation.

Lastly, who on that list really supports you? They have been “your brand advocate” all along. They cheer you on and sing your praises! Do any of them fall in the following categories?

• People who have mentored you?
• People you have mentored or taught?
• Former managers, supervisors or instructors?
• And, yes, even co-workers?

These are the foundation of your brand advocates and you must identify them first to own your connections.

Author:
Maria Elena Duron is chief buzz officer & identity coach of buzz2bucks | a personal branding + word of mouth firm. and blogs about connecting your personal brand and SMART Connections. She is also the creator and moderator of brandchat: a live streaming branding discussion on twitter. Follow her on Twitter for daily updates or connect with her on Facebook.

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OPTIMIZING YOUR IMPACT: Inspire vs Motivate: Because “Because I Said So” Won’t Sell It

Optimizing Your Impact with Jeff Schomay

This title is kind of like Jeopardy, can you guess the question that the title is an answer to? If you said “Why aren’t my customers taking action?” you’re right. That’s what we’ll be talking about.

I was recently blamed for not being “compelling.” I was supposed to get 10 people to get 10 people to get 10 people to get—you see where it’s going. I told 10 people what I was up to and what I wanted them to do. That was about as far as it went, and I got blamed for not having 10 friends who would do what ever I say. Now granted, it was for a good cause, and if everyone got their 10 people we could have had a million people working towards one common goal and that would have been pretty slick, but it wasn’t enough to inspire people to action. What was missing?

It is my humble opinion that we had the motivation in place, but not the inspiration. What’s the difference? Good question. What do you think the difference is? Is there a difference? We say, “I was motivated to do such and such” just as often as we say “He really inspired me to do such and such.” Are they interchangeable? Consider this: Every New Years millions of people are motivated to eat less, exercise more, and stop watching so much junk TV. Only the “inspired few” stick with it. Need I say more?

Motivation is an external force. Inspiration is an internal force. The motivated people on New Years saw themselves as fat and lazy and hated it. The inspired people on New Years probably saw the beautiful person hiding inside their temporarily not-so-beautiful body and wanted to let them out. Humans usually don’t act when our conscious brain says to do something, we usually only act when our emotions compel us. And if our emotions compel us we usually can’t be stopped. That’s inspiration.

How does this apply to branding and marketing? If you want to get people to act (ie. buy my stuff; sign up now; get 10 people…) then you’ve got to design a message that translates into an internal force. How do you do that? It’s hard. That’s why it often doesn’t happen and people often don’t act. Here’s some thoughts on accomplishing the task:

• Always, always, always approach your proposition from your customer’s point of view. Put it in their terms. What’s in it for them? What’s the incentive? How does your offer make their life great or solve the things that keep them up at night?
• Create recognition. Humans always respond better to something they recognize. That’s why word of mouth is the most effective advertising, and why people will buy things from the store they’ve shopped at for years when the same stuff is on sale at the competition. Recognition is hard-wired and linked to emotion. After all, half of branding is creating recognition.
• Be part of something larger. Make buying your product a part of a larger story, so people participating feel like they are playing out the themes of your campaign (themes stir emotion usually). Sound complicated? Watch a perfume ad and see how they do it. Or a car ad. Or Verizon’s commercials.
• Copy Hollywood and Disney. Have you ever noticed that everything is Las Vegas is “The ______ Experience?” Experiences play to all your senses and cause emotion. The more you can turn your offer into an experience for your customer, the more it speaks to their subconscious mind.

That should get you started. Look around and notice when people take action and what causes them to take that action. Is there an emotional decision involved? Look at yourself and ask the same questions. Now start crafting your messages to speak to those emotions, and be sure you back it up with a transaction point that upholds the inspiration you’ve created, otherwise it will dead end or backfire. But if you keep the inspiring message solid from start to finish, you’ll get people to act… maybe even one million of them.

Now go try it yourself. Why? Because I said so. Just kidding.


Good luck and good marketing,

Jeff Schomay

--------------------------------------------------------
Written by Jeff Schomay
Inspire Your Buyer - Branding and Marketing
Optimize Your Impact. Get Better Results.
www.Inspire-Your-Buyer.com
jeff@inspire-your-buyer.com
(c) 2009
Jeff Schomay is an expert brander and marketer and a professional film writer and director.

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THE CONNECTED BRAND: Creating Community, Build Your Tribe

The Connected Brand with Maria Elena Duron

I am the moderator of BRANDCHAT. A fast paced, streaming interactive conversation that happens every week via Twitter. We chat of everything about branding and drill down to the specifics that focus on the human factor of branding – be it for an individual, soloprenuer, professional, small business owner or corporation wanting to ensure that their employees deliver on the corporate brand promise with authenticity.

In the chat, we “high five”, challenge each other’s beliefs, share resources along with knowledge and change minds and have our mind’s changed. Another great chat I participate in is JOURNCHAT, a conversation between journalists, bloggers, editors and PR agencies and people. It’s a great place to find out from the sources themselves what the challenges, tips, discussions and focuses are of newsrooms everywhere.

I love that we are in a hyper-connected time where we can reach across borders, time zones, cultures and communities to interact with someone with common goals, the same frame of reference, values with common ground and common interests. And, while there are as many subgroups as there are stars in the heavens those splinters of groups gather together even in greater numbers using the tools that new technology bestows.

To “connect by doing” does not mean to confuse activity with accomplishment and one also must be cautious to think that connecting means having “great numbers” of followers, friends, or links. Great connections have to do with quality of the interaction, relationship and trust.

No longer can we measure ROI (return on investment) by mere numbers of page views, customer counts or eyeballs. We now look deeper into the quality of the relationship and the length of interaction. Thus, we see even the “big brands” creating communities of customers and contacts and listening to their conversation instead of only broadcasting theirs.

How can you create your community?

First, decide who your community consists of.

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Next, develop a strategy around where your community already is. Where do they spend time? Is there a place that they are at or reviewing in great numbers?

Decide on the tools to reach them. It could be:

• A newsletter
• A networking event
• Monthly meet-ups or tweet-ups
• A Ning.com or SocialGo.com community
• A tweetchat room with a weekly conversation
• A tweetgrid focus for conversation
• A Facebook group
• A Facebook fan page
• A Facebook business page
• A LinkedIn group
• An online of offline forum

Now, be the great facilitator for them by fostering conversations, listening intently, and providing resources. Now, is not the time for presenting – it is the time for being present.

Author:
Maria Elena Duron is chief buzz agent & identity coach of buzz2bucks | a personal branding + word of mouth firm. and blogs about connecting your personal brand and SMART Connections. She is also the creator and moderator of brandchat: a live streaming branding discussion on twitter. Follow her on Twitter for daily updates or connect with her on Facebook.

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THE CONNECTED BRAND: From Stereotypes To Strategies

The Connected Brand with Maria Elena Duron

From Stereotypes To Strategies

Bridging the Cultural and Generational Communication Gap

Wong Brothers Laundry Service – Two Wongs Can Make it White” This statement was actually printed on an Abercrombie & Fitch shirt which triggered a national boycott in 2002. “We personally thought Asians would love this T-shirt,” said Hampton Carney, A&F’s spokesman. However, students from Stanford University think, “WTH. That’s so racist!”

These two scenarios are examples of our challenges in terms of cross-cultural and cross-generational communication. In the first scenario, the American clothing brand thought that Asian or Asian-American consumers would love the product, yet it was a flop that resulted in a serious issue. The second example, on the other hand, a college student might react in a manner that cannot be easily understood by a listener who belongs to a different generation. What is WTH, anyway? WTH is actually an acronym for what the heck. So if you’re not the type of person who doesn’t really chat or stay in online forums, then this and other acronyms and emoticons might not make sense to you. In the past, we only had to deal with communication gaps across cultures. Now we have to deal with cross-generation communication gaps as well. So how do we exactly manage this and start seeing beyond stereotypes and turning them into effective communication strategies?

Strategies for Cross-Cultural Communication

Here are some useful tips on how to effectively communicate with people from diverse cultural backgrounds:

• Avoid asking, “Do you understand?” Instead, check for understanding by encouraging them to ask questions or raise clarifications. You may also ask them what they think about the issue.
• Raise your cultural awareness. First, you have to identify the cultural groups you are dealing with. Then ask questions about how they do things in their own country. For instance, in the US, people show respect by properly addressing the person they’re talking to (use of Mr., Ms., Dr., Prof., etc) and by maintaining eye contact. However, in some Asian countries, people show respect by using honorifics (ex., san), bowing and not directly looking at the person they’re speaking with.
• Learn how to cope with culture shock. Of course, culture shock is just a normal response when a person is immersed in an unfamiliar culture. But this is definitely something that we can control by taking a few positive steps. One of which is acknowledging the fact that it’s quite normal to experience culture shock. People have different symptoms of culture shock – some have difficulty in sleeping or eating while others become irritable. We just need to recognize these symptoms and accept that it’s normal.
• Try to learn a few phrases in the native dialect. Have you noticed how politicians and celebrities try to thank their supporters or fans in the native dialect of the place where they tour? You can also do the same. Learn a few phrases and try to use them when conversing with locals because it’s a good way of showing that you’re trying to reach out to them.
• Mimic the reactions of the natives. Another technique that one must try when dealing with people from other cultural backgrounds is by mimicking how the natives react to a certain situation. Observe them and see how they respond. For example, how do they say sorry? Do they bow excessively? Then the next step is to try the new behavior and evaluate if it works.
• Avoid ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s culture is superior to all others. Never assume! Just because an action does not look, sound, or feel right, it doesn’t mean it’s abnormal. For example, if you go to an establishment in the Philippines, expect to be called Ma’am or Sir at all times. They don’t think that you’re from the military; instead this is their way of showing respect to the customers and authorities.
• Take time into consideration. This usually applies to those who work with virtual teams located halfway around the globe or with people from different time zones. Time can also be a reason for miscommunication. Say for example, a boss based in New York sends out a meeting invite at 8AM (a conference call) with a staff member based in Taiwan. There’s a huge chance that the staff in Taiwan will report 8AM local time on that day only to find out that the meeting is scheduled at 8AM Eastern (which is 8PM, Taiwan). In this case, we should be more sensitive of the time and really clarify the time zone you are following to avoid miscommunication that could also result to unnecessary overtimes.

Strategies for Cross-Generational Communication

Meanwhile, let me provide you some tips on how you could flex and match your communication style when talking to Traditionalists, Boomers, Xers, and Millenials.

• Know their communication style. Each generation has its own unique communication style. Traditionalists prefer formal and face-to-face interactions. Baby Boomers tend to be open and direct and they expect to be pressed for details. Gen Xers, on the other hand, enjoy using emails as a primary communication tool. And finally, the Millenials love to send text and instant messages and they are not hesitant to network with other people no matter where they are as long as they’re online.
• Refrain from using generational jargon. If you are a Millenial and are talking to a Traditionalist boss, avoid using acronyms such as BRB (be right back) and LOL (laughing out loud) because one, they might not understand it and two, they might think that you’re being impolite or disrespectful. The same goes with the other generations, Boomers should not expect Millenials to find disco as “groovy.”
• Learn how to provide feedback. Each generation has its own way of perceiving feedback. For Traditionalists, no news is good news and feedback should be given formally. They don’t necessarily want to be applauded instead they prefer a subtle form of acknowledgment. Boomers don’t want much feedback, once a year is enough but make sure that you document it. They prefer giving feedback than receiving them. For Xers, they want to get feedback to know how they are doing and to check if they are on the right track. The Millenials are used to being praised by their Boomer parents and they think that silence is a sign of disapproval. They like receiving feedback and they want it with just a push of a button.

Overall, there’s no secret formula or magic pill that will automatically zap communication gaps. On top of the tips mentioned above, we also need to improve our active listening skills, be sensitive and pay attention to non-verbal communications like gestures and facial expressions, do not interrupt the person talking, show genuine interest, ask questions or paraphrase if you do not understand something, and most importantly let’s learn to respect and embrace these differences.

Author:

Maria Elena Duron is chief buzz agent and inspiring identity coach for buzz2bucks.com a personal branding firm. She is listed as one of the top 50 Personal Branding Consultants Worth Working With and one of the top 100 Twitter experts as well as author of thebuzz101.com

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THE CONNECTED BRAND: From Stereotypes To Strategies

Keeping Up With The Joneses

By Maria Elena Duron

Multi-Cultural Networking Editor

If you’re thinking that this might be a title of a new reality TV show (similar to Keeping up with the Kardashians), think again. In fact, I am actually referring to the “Lost Generation” better known as Generation Jones. You’ll be surprised to know that aside from Generation X, there’s another generation that sprang post World War II. So how do we keep up with them? The best thing to do at this point is to really get to know them.

Meet Generation Jones: the largest adult generation in the US with serious spending power. This generation refers to those people who were born in the US (or UK) between 1954 to1965. So how exactly did they become a lost generation? Before American social commentator Jonathan Pontell discovered about the Jonesers, they are either classified as Baby Boomers or members of Generation X. But then again, Pontell made a good point that they are too young to be a Boomer and too old to be an X-er. He found that they are not as idealistic as the Boomers and not as cynical as Gen X-ers. Pontell believes that this generation that put their idealism on hold has achieved financial security and is rediscovering their idealism as they enter middle age. This is maybe due to the fact that they rode on to the lingering promises given to the Boomers before them and then a new world came as did sizable disappointment.

Why Jones? It’s not like Pontell can’t think of a cool name to call this group. Actually, the name originated from the word “jonesing” or from the phrase “keeping up with the Joneses.” This is because this generation tends to yearn or crave for a better life while having many unrealized expectations. Raised on TV and turmoil, they inherited a good economy that later on turned sour. They are also the kind of people who care about their relative standard of living in relation to their societal peers especially in terms of acquiring material goods. In the book Generation Blend by Rob Salkowitz, he described this generation as a generation that “share many of the values and assumptions of their elders but came of age under somewhat different historical circumstances. Too young to participate in the Civil Rights marches of the early 60s, experience the Summer of Love or Woodstock firsthand, or to be subject to the draft, young American Boomers reached their late teens in a period of cultural exhaustion and drift. They were still products of the postwar consumer culture, still optimistic and full of high ideals, but they arrived at the big party just as it was heading into its weird late-night mode.”

How do you know if you’re a member of this cohort? Some people don’t even know that they’re a part of Generation Jones. If you grew up watching Twister and The Brady Bunch until Watergate interrupted them, then you are most likely a Joneser. During a typical Gen Jones’ formative years, they’ve must have seen Neil Armstrong step on the moon, the fall of Saigon, the Missile Crisis, hyper-inflation, as well as how Oswald was shot on live TV. They are also the first ones who can’t recall not having a television at home or going to a disco. They are also techno-savvy, having played Pong (their first video game) and owned (or at least desperately wanted) a Sony Walkman. The Jonesers have a wallet-full of credit cards and they were happy (before the bills arrive). About 1/3 of internet-users in America are actually members of Generation Jones. It was said that they are the early computer pioneers like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. The fact that they are internet-savvy makes them an extremely powerful market to technology industries. They have the skill to use the latest gadgets, the yearning of not being left out in terms of accumulation of material things, plus the spending power to boot.

The Jonesers at work. According to Gen X innovator Dr. Scott Mills, they were perhaps the “First Yuppies.” “The Jones’ have a very different way of viewing the world. They were a little too late for the great expectations; we can change the world, attitude of the Boomers. And a little too early for the crushing sense of being completely powerless in a world gone mad that X-ers inherited. So they are the roll of your sleeves folks who have been described as practical idealists.” Aside from this, inflation and recession are not exactly new or foreign words to them. Since they’ve known about these hardships, this turned them into practical people who wanted to see measurable results. Finally, while Boomers are starting to retire, Jonesers are expected to work until they are about 70 years old.

Generation Jones and Politics. One of the things that people talk most about Generation Jones is how they played a big role in politics. An article from the Huffington Post mentioned about how the Jonesers, “unlike Xers, embrace the 1960s' idealism and beatified its heroes, while both generations view of government is colored by Watergate and Washington gridlock. As a result, Jonesers adopted a less ideological and more nuanced approach to politics than Boomers and this has made them key swing voters in the last few elections. In general, Jonesers have rewarded candidates exuding confidence and decisiveness but have punished the timid.” Aside from this, the Jonesers are thought largely responsible in the US for the election and re-election of President George W. Bush, but also for the 2006 turnaround when voters successfully elected a Democratic majority Senate and House of Representatives. Barack Obama, another member of this lost generation, has shown one distinctive characteristic of a typical Joneser – someone who wants change from your not-so-typical kind of politics. Jonesers are more likely to vote for a candidate out of their political party if they want change.

This generation has proven that they are not truly a lost generation. Instead, they’ve made their presence known in the internet, heard in the world of politics, and of course, seen by their ability to pay for their luxuries. Apart from their craving to belong, it is also important to take note that they are media and culture savvy. With this in mind, they’ve become attractive targets, not only by political parties, but employers and advertising hooks as well. As Steve Kebler, founder of Kleber & Associates Marketing and Communications (K&A) puts it, “Now that they are all grown up and have accepted that life is (or at least seems) more complicated than it was for their parents, they expect the same comfort level from you that they get from their media-inspired memories of childhood.” So if you want to get a Joneser’s attention, you better be on the internet or at least have seen a couple of Brady Bunch episodes.

Maria Elena Duron is chief buzz agent and inspiring identity coach of buzz to bucks-a personal branding firm.

To claim your FREE gift, Crafting Your On Brand Intro Toolkit, visit her site www.buzz2bucks.com . Join our online growing community of people inspired to develop their identity at www.inspiringidentity.com

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Keeping Up With The Joneses

The X-Factor: Networking The Gen-X Way

By Maria Elena Duron
Multi-Cultural Networking Editor

If you ask someone to define the word “network”, you might get different answers depending on who you’re asking. In 2004, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) held a conference about Generational Learning Styles and in their Generation Gap Game, this question was asked. If you were talking to a Traditionalist, he/she might say that a network is something that a fisherman does. A Baby Boomer, on the other hand, might think that you are referring to a TV station. A Gen X-er would probably tell you that a network is the act of establishing a circle of business contacts. And finally, a Millenial is likely to tell you that a network is a work or home-based interface system which allows multiple users at different computers to link in order to share data. And that’s just one word with four different meanings for four different generations. Today, with the existence of so many social networking sites, I can only help but wonder whether Generation X had something to do with this kind of networking.

So, how does a Gen X-er build a network? I tried to make a research on this by reading books, browsing the web, the works. But I was not able to find a single article defining how Gen X-ers build relationships. However, if given a closer look, their characteristics and values define how they do this thing called networking.

Gen X: The Original Internet Babies. If you think that the Millenials are the real internet kids, think again. The first users of the internet are actually the members of Generation X. The X-ers were among the first to communicate with friends and colleagues via email. In a study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, it was found that about 87% of Gen X-ers use the internet for various activities like communicating via email and instant messenger, purchasing things, job hunting, as well as getting news.

The Latch-key Kids Who Didn’t Want To Become Like Their Parents. This generation was also known as the “latch-key” generation since most of their Baby Boomer parents were busy at work. The latch-key kids are now parents and didn’t want their own children to experience the same treatment they received from their parents. As a result, most Gen X parents are very hands on when it comes to their own kids: attending PTAs, recitals, field trips, and other school activities. Through these events, they are able to build network with the teachers and their co-parents.

X-ers like to have some fun at work. The members of generation X love social events. That’s why when there are parties and other company events; you can expect that they will be there to join the fun. Aside from the fact that these events help boost their morale and cultivate team spirit, it is also an opportunity for them to mingle with their colleagues, bosses, as well as clients. Aside from social events, they also work more smoothly with peers than with their bosses. Thus, there are more and more X-ers who volunteer as mentor among their peers.

Gen X wants work-life balance. As opposed to the myth that Gen X-ers are slackers, these people actually think that their career is important. But when it comes to family, X-ers are likely to prioritize their family over work. "Members of Generation X appear to place a much higher priority on personal and family-related goals than on their career goals, "says Dr. Paulette Gerkovich, Chair of the Catalyst Award Committee from Boston College and an expert on glass ceiling issues. In her study about Generation X and their work-life values, it was found that, "84% of the respondents stated that it was extremely important to them to have a loving family, 72% indicated that it was extremely important to have a relationship with a significant other, while 79% responded that it was extremely important to enjoy life." Aside from their families, Gen X-ers tend to have very strong peer relationships. This may be due to the fact that they were once latch-key kids and that there was a spike in the number of divorced parents, friends became increasingly important so it’s no wonder they value their personal relationships over their careers.

Great network, so what? Building relationships doesn’t just stop there. The members of Generation X actually use their network for so many reasons. It may be as simple as finding a great tutor for their kids or getting a new job. This generation proved that a network isn’t just about a computer network, or a fish net, or a TV station; more importantly a network is also about relationships. Just like what a Gen X friend would always say, “At the end of the day, all that matters are your relationships.” Good point.

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The X-Factor: Networking The Gen-X Way