Deft Communications Archives - Page 2 of 2

Baby Travel

June 17, 2015 by Jon Leave a Comment

George-Clooney-in-Up-in-the-Air

I am a veteran traveler. When I was working corporate, especially at the point in which I joined the company, I was on the go a ton. Granted, I’m no crazy road warrior salesman on the road 80% of the time peddling my wares in every one horse town buffeted by “Resume Speed” signs, but I earned Silver status in United’s Premier program for 3 years, and probably was on the road in some form or fashion five days out of any month.

I know what I’m doing, and I do it with remarkable efficiency and assertiveness. This is doubly true when you compare me against your average leisure traveler who has a knack for stopping right in the middle of the airport thoroughfare blocking everyone’s path while they stare, mouth agape, shoulders slumped, at the glowing Departures/Arrivals board as if they’re trying to remember how to read English.

I am, however, new to traveling with a baby, and that feels akin to going from playing beer league softball to digging into the box while Clayton Kershaw stares you down.

Kristin and I took our daughter to meet her great grandmother in Chicago last weekend. Our seven month-old baby was the hit of the retirement home, and Great Grandma was thrilled to meet the youngest and newest addition to the family. Some of my favorite photos of all time ensued this weekend.

And while the trip out to Chicago was near perfect and basically without incident, the trip home was something else entirely.

Babies, by necessity, come with a lot of gear. Toys, diapers, food, car seats, strollers, extra changes of clothes, I think we packed a portable foundry just in case the baby got bored and felt like forging some cast iron… I mean the list goes on and on. So, in addition to packing your suitcase with 75% more stuff than usual (thankfully baby clothes are small), let’s add a few conflicting factors for the trip home:

Rain – and lots of it
Parents who have gone full hipster
- While visiting my aunt and uncle, we found this old box of 7″ records that we just couldn’t live without, and decided to haul it home.
- We’re beer geeks, so we brought home four bombers of obscure (to Colorado, anyway) craft brews, as well as two bottles of weird barbecue sauce we found at Old Orchard Mall.
Elevated trains that aren’t necessarily equipped with elevators
And, oh yeah, a hell of a lot more rain

On the way to the airport, we hit Revolution Brewing for lunch and beer samples. This was a great decision, and one I’m still happy with considering the excellent food and superb beers we had, despite Kristin having to haul roughly 50 lbs of baby, stroller and carseat up three flights of stairs to the train to the airport while I had my backpack and our two suitcases weighing in at about 100 lbs. The way I look at it, we burned off the beers on those steps.

Where things got complicated is when we got to the airport. Our flight, originally scheduled for 5:35, ended up delayed until 7:19. No big deal, right? Well, then it was delayed until well past 8:00 pm. Then after 9:00. Then 10:00. Thanks to some brilliant finagling by my mother, we switched flights to a 9:00 pm one. That flight lacked a 3rd flight attendant for some never explained reason, and we ended up not taking off until after 10:30. Normally this would be annoying, but ultimately not a big deal.

But, right, we’ve got this little person under our care who doesn’t know why she can’t sleep, why she has to stare at the fluorescent lights while she eats, and wonders where in creation we are.

Amazingly, she handled the whole ordeal like a champ and experienced only one minor meltdown all day. We loaded her onto the plane where she promptly passed out on my lap and slept the whole flight. She seemed to take the whole thing in stride, which is remarkable because she’s a baby and she could have just decided to be pissed off about it, and let everyone know that all day. But she didn’t, and I didn’t think I could love my baby more than I already do. But hey, a little good humor goes a long way.

It was definitely more stressful for Kristin and me, and we both joked about how funny it is to think about how angry we used to get about travel setbacks when we were younger. Having the perpetual Sword of Damocles of a baby meltdown hanging over your head definitely puts your previous short temper and pettiness in perspective.

Thank God we have such a good baby.

Turn Signals

June 4, 2015 by Jon Leave a Comment

You know how there are people in your life who curate incredibly enjoyable Facebook feeds that shine like a bright star amidst the endless, interminable night sky of vaguebooking, inane quizzing and esoteric complaining? I have one such friend who posts updates about his mélange of projects which include his work as a home vintner, carpenter and chef alongside photos of ski outings and travel and occasional viral content that’s actually fun and interesting. He’s a fascinating guy, and his Facebook feed is appropriately representative of that.

He recently posted this update and photo:

“Having just come back from driving in Denver…this is so true”

I also recently had a different friend in town from the East Coast. She too complained about the drivers in Denver, and justifiably so. Having traveled extensively, I feel confident in saying Denver drivers are, when graded as a group, generally pretty terrible. I have not traveled anywhere where people stop on entrance ramps to the highway with as much frequency as they do in my fair city. Any time someone does this, I feel like my head’s going to explode because not only is this hilariously counter-intuitive, it is grotesquely unsafe.

With regard to the turn signal thing, my East Coast friend drove us to a brewery (where else, given my disposition?) and tried to merge into the left lane. She threw the blinker on, and like Denver clockwork, the person behind her sped up to prevent the merge. She exclaimed, “Why? I’ve got the signal on. I’m trying to be a good citizen!” All I could say was, “That’s Denver driving for you.”

And that’s where these two disparate people meet. One recognizes that Denver drivers don’t ever use turn signals, the other wonders why. Very simply, people in this town don’t use their blinkers because if you do, you’re pretty much guaranteed never to get that merge you need.

Some misguided dope behind you will think you’re in a race you had no idea you were a part of, and speed up to prevent you from beating them to whatever arbitrary finish line they’ve concocted in their minds. So you learn to adjust. And adjusting, sadly, means you’re frequently better off without your turn signal if you have any lane changing aspirations whatsoever.

To be clear, I abhor this philosophy and believe the world would be roughly 18% better if everyone used proper turn signal protocol at all times, but still. I got places to be, too.

Presentation Tip #2: Learn about your speaking venue

May 29, 2015 by Jon Leave a Comment

Deft Communications specializes in helping our clients prepare for all manner of presentations, whether it’s going on camera as a spokesperson, delivering a keynote speech to a large auditorium, or simply conducting a small team meeting. This blog series will periodically provide best practices for any type of presentation you do.

I’ve stood in front of hundreds of people in a darkened auditorium with large video screens displaying my meticulously crafted PowerPoint presentation flanking me on either side, wireless mic attached to my lapel, booming sound system sending my voice into what felt like infinity.

I’ve also stood up at a round table seating 10 people, the warm fall air’s gentle breeze washing over everyone’s sunglass-adorned face, no notes in front of me, no sound amplification, only the fondness for my best friend and his new bride carrying me through the brief two minute presentation.

Which speaking engagement was I more nervous for? Beforehand – it was a tie. They both seemed equally daunting. In the moment, it was easily the second one. If that surprises you, you’re not alone. It surprised me, too, but I was ready for it. Why? Because I structured my speech to deal with that level of intimacy.

I wrote this speech to be structured in such a way, that if I got lost, got too emotional, looked too long at the groom’s crying mother, whatever… I could short circuit to the end without missing a beat and without anyone being the wiser. That’s exactly what happened. The groom’s mother started to weep, I got caught up in the emotion of what I was saying, lost my train of thought, and short circuited to the end.

It’s for that type of reason that it’s so important to understand your venue when you approach a speaking opportunity. I knew this would be a small affair – we were only the bride and groom’s 10 closest friends and family members – so I didn’t want to use notes, and I didn’t want to sound too formal. So I knew while writing that I’d have to write in a way that built in a failsafe in case I hit any snags. I did, and the speech turned out wonderfully. Tears streaked everyone’s cheeks, and they complimented me after it was over. It was a good feeling.

Compare this to the large auditorium situation. I knew the crowd would be large, I wouldn’t be able to see anyone, and that I’d have to practice, practice, practice. Amazingly enough, the fact that I couldn’t see anyone gave me comfort because outside of an errant cough or the reactions from my planned laugh lines, I felt much less exposed giving this antiseptic performance than I did while delivering a heartfelt speech to less than a dozen people.

That’s why considering your venue is so vital. Understanding the physical characteristics of your presentation space will – or at least should – shape how you write your material. Is it a large group or a small group? How large? How small? Are you expected to stand up and act as leader or remain seated at perhaps a conference table? Will you need a sound system? Is the audience solely live, or are there webcast attendees to consider? All of these things, taken in concert with the event’s purpose, will inform how you present.

You don’t drive your car the same way on the highway as you do in your neighborhood. Your presentation style shouldn’t be the same in all venues either. Learn as much as you possibly can in advance of your presentation about the room, the audience, the layout, and the physical characteristics of the venue, and then use that knowledge to create the best presentation possible.

Because whether you’re looking to make your best friend’s mom cry, or trying to keep the attention of hundreds of strangers, understanding your environment is a big component of achieving any of your communications goals.

Kindness

May 28, 2015 by Jon Leave a Comment

This’ll be a short one, but hopefully it perks up your day as it did mine.

It can be easy to get bogged down in negativity. I’m especially prone to this for a bevy of reasons I won’t go into here, but for me, when it rains it pours. I start generating the negative self talk for whatever reason, and then I get trapped in a cycle of seeing nothing but ugliness, pettiness, rudeness, bad citizenship, and egregious lack of courtesy. When you’re in a mood like this, you see what you want to see. And when I’m down, I seek the negative. Hard.

I’m not currently in one of these phases, but when I am, I have to remind myself that it’s amazing how beautiful the world can be if you’re open to it. That’s as broad a statement as I’m going to make here because I don’t want this to turn into some boring, platitudinous, vaguely inspirational piece of claptrap that uninteresting people bombard you with on Facebook; rather, I want to share a very small story of common kindness that made my day. Maybe reading about it will make yours.

Yesterday, with gorgeous weather embracing the city for the first time in what felt like forever, Kristin off tending to a real estate client, and me assuming full parental duties for the afternoon, I took the baby for a walk in her jogging stroller through my neighborhood of Park Hill.

As I walked down one of the sidewalks, I noticed a man with a big commercial-size lawnmower working on someone’s property. It was a bagless mower, and the clippings blew out the side. Timing it in my head, I realized I would pass by him right as the clippings blew on the sidewalk, and, as a result, all over my baby. I began to make a move to cross to the other side of the street to avoid this when the man running the mower looked up at me.

He saw my intent, caught my gaze, stopped in his tracks, and shut down his mower until I passed. I waved at him, said “Thank you!” and he took his right hand off the mower, waved it kindly at me and smiled. He waited until I was well past the yard, and then fired up the mower once again.

He didn’t have to do that, and truthfully, it wouldn’t have been a huge deal to walk across the street, but he did, and he made me feel good. It was a random, small act of courtesy, and if we’re open to those moments, they happen more often than we think.

May your day be filled small courtesies and random acts of kindness. Both given and received.

Professional Communication Class

May 26, 2015 by Kristin 1 Comment

Last Wednesday Jon and I were invited to be guest lecturers at Colorado State University’s Professional Communication class. We were asked to speak about what we thought was important to know about the professional world, what we wished we knew, any mistakes we made and anything that surprised us about the professional world.

Kristin presenting to the Professional Communication class at Colorado State University.

Before we delved into our biographical histories (which are quite varied and filled with interesting and weird digressions), we first looked at the syllabus sent to us by the instructor, who was an old friend of ours from graduate school, and we noted that the day’s lecture topic was professional presentations. Having an entire blog series about the topic (the next one goes up this week!), we thought it prudent to share our insights to the class about professional presentations.

We considered going up there and winging it – I mean, we’re professionals, we’re busy enough as it is, and these are college kids, how would they even know the difference? – but we quickly came to our senses and put together a PowerPoint and an outline of talking points. This became a lesson unto itself.

One of the best things you can do when you approach a presentation – any presentation – is to prepare for it. Treat every opportunity no matter the audience, how big, how small, above you in the corporate hierarchy or below, with the same careful consideration, and you’ll generally acquit yourself well. We need to practice what we preach, and that’s why we treated this audience of college kids with the same level of importance as we would a potential client.

Did we reach them? Who knows. College kids are notoriously hard to read in a classroom setting, but the important thing is that the trick to giving good professional presentations is the same trick to succeeding at pretty much everything else.

Work hard, prepare as much as possible, and give your best effort no matter the circumstances. Show up for your audience. Show up for your clients. Show up for yourself.

Interested in having us speak to your college class? Get in touch with us through the Contact Form on our website. We’re happy to talk about anything communications related you’d like. Just click that link.

Cell Phone

May 14, 2015 by Jon Leave a Comment

When I worked for Noble Energy, I was very guarded with my cell phone number. I had to be. Working in communications for one of the top two oil and gas producers in the entire state makes you very popular.

Couple that with my general philosophy of accepting cold calls from pretty much anyone, guarding my cell phone number became a survival technique. Why did I let people cold call me? Because although I have extreme confidence in my ability and creativity, I’m not nearly arrogant enough to believe I could predict or self-generate where every next great idea came from. So I liked to listen. Give me your best pitch, and if it’s cool, creative, and/or otherwise worth doing, let’s do it. Let’s push. Let’s advance the methods, venues and fora in which we talk about this business.

I got some great ideas this way, and forged a number of interesting partnerships. Still, relative to the size of my overall network, few had my cell phone number. It wasn’t on my business card, wasn’t in my email signature and I only read it aloud on my outgoing office voice mail message, which means, if someone wanted to have it permanently, they had to write it down or type it, then manually edit their contact card for me and add it. Sort of a hassle. Again, this was by design.

Let’s fast forward to the present. I’m now on my own. No office phone number, only a cell phone from which to conduct all my business.

I’ve had happen more than a couple of times a text message sent to people I consider close professional acquaintances that were met with the response, “I don’t have this number in my phone. Who is this?”

At first, I felt deflated. How do you not know me? I thought we were close! Am I no longer important to you now that I don’t work for the giant corporation? My, how the world is a cold place.

Then I snap out of my pity party and remember that I live in a problem of my own creation. People don’t have your cell phone number because you never gave it to them, dummy. So I text back, give them my cell number – which, incidentally, I’ve had since I was 18 – and tell them it’s my primary contact number now.

Things change remarkably when you leave the corporate world and branch out on your own… which is a statement so banal, a fake, vinyl ficus in the corner of your drab, neon-lit office just withered and died from boredom at the groaningly facile insight that platitude provided, but it’s abundantly true.

So much so, I had no reason to ponder how an exceedingly minor way in which I conducted myself previously would spill into my new life. This is happening more and more.

So, do you need my cell phone number? I’m not dumb enough to leave it out here for all the spambots to find, but hit me up via email, and I’ll be happy to provide. It’s jon@deftcom.us.

Talk to you soon.

Productive VS Busy

May 8, 2015 by Kristin Leave a Comment

I have a coffee mug that reads, “Are you productive or just being busy?” I’ve adopted this as my work philosophy, and it should be the mantra of all self-employed people.

When you work for yourself – especially at the beginning – it can be tough to gauge how successful a day, a week, or even a couple week stretch is. You’re basically accountable only to yourself, and since your days aren’t spent grinding out a clock that forces you to be there no matter how productive you are, the question of productive vs busy becomes that much more vital.

Since I’ve had a long head start on Jon, who is new to working for himself, it’s funny to listen to him try and figure out how productive a day he has had. The other day he recounted how he had taken two meetings with prospective clients, advanced a proposal on another, set up a meeting to gain resolution on a different outstanding proposal, set up the billing for Google apps, posted a blog entry, edited a podcast episode, and set up the PIN for the company debit card. This was in addition to emptying the dishwasher at home, feeding our daughter twice, and paying the health care premium.

It was only after listing off that day’s accomplishments that he realized just how much he’d achieved. I asked him, “If you’d gotten that much done in your old corporate gig, would that have been a productive day?” He said, “If I had gotten that much done in corporate, that would have been like a ticker tape parade day.”

That’s why I like having my mug with the reminder on it. It can be easy to get bogged down in the rote tasks that seem to hijack our day right from the get go. Whenever it feels like this might be happening, I look down at my coffee mug and try to re-focus. Having worked a handful of corporate jobs myself, I remember when my days seemed to be very busy, but not terribly productive. I expended a ton of effort, but what did I have to show for it?

When you’re on your own, it’s all the more important to make sure you’ve got something to show for your time spent. This mindset also informs our approach with every one of our clients. We don’t want to be the consultant you spend a lot of time with in meetings, which, if you’re billing by the hour, can be very lucrative for a consultant. We want to be the ones enhancing your bottom line, not detracting from it. We want to deliver products to you, not eat up your time.

In short, we want to be productive for you, not just busy.

Beer Geeks

May 5, 2015 by Jon 2 Comments

I returned yesterday from a weekend in Chicago with a few of my college friends. We took in a Cubs game, an improv show, ate some pizza and spent the vast majority of the weekend cracking jokes at each other and enjoying our time away from the real world.

As a craft beer geek, one of the things I was most excited for was getting to try beers yet unavailable in Colorado. I use the beer app Untappd, and before I left for my trip, I searched for the most sought after beers of the Midwest, and added them to my wish list. Untappd is great because as someone constantly seeking out new beers, when I’m at a bar or standing in front of the giant beer case at the liquor store, it’s not always easy to remember what I enjoyed and what I didn’t.

So I consult Untappd, look at where and when I had whatever beer I’m searching, and see what my tasting notes were. For instance, at Revolution Brewing recently, here’s what I wrote about the Cross of Gold golden ale: “Dig it! Very smooth with some subtle bright Belgian notes. 4 stars.” If I ever spot that in the wild, I can peek at my rating and review, and feel confident in buying it again. Conversely, sometimes I’ll misremember a beer, go to purchase it, consult the app, and be happy I looked because it turns out I wasn’t a fan.

As I headed to Chicago, I kept my eye for a number of beer geek trophies. 3 Floyds Zombie Dust, Revolution’s Anti-Hero IPA, Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, Surly’s Furious IPA, Breakfast Stout by Founders, and others. I found a few – Anti-Hero and Two Hearted – but whiffed on the others. While I didn’t find the Zombie Dust, I did have Gumballhead by 3 Floyds, and it was an exquisite hoppy wheat.

We had lunch at Revolution Brewing’s brewpub, and as I sampled and sampled their offerings, I talked my friend Brian through many of the tasting notes. Not a craft beer geek himself, Brian was curious about what I was doing. I talked him through the coriander, the yeast and the esters of the Belgian-style beers; the pine, the citrus and the dankness of the IPAs; the dark chocolate, the coffee and the warming finish of high ABV of the imperial porter. It took his understanding of beer to another level.

I enjoyed doing this because I had friends who talked me through tasting notes a couple of years ago, and I started to appreciate beer in a new way. It was fun, and I’ve been exploring flavors of all sorts – not only in beer, but in wine, coffee and food as well – ever since. Having an entry point is incredibly valuable in a pursuit such as this.

But there are those who take it too far. There are those who take this very narrow slice of human experience on focus on it to such a degree, they fail to see the forest for the trees. Which is to say, they lose the pleasure in their pursuit, and turn sanctimonious about it. You’ve met these people, and they are almost universally off-putting. Not just beer geeks, but wine snobs, football super experts, fine art aficionados, cigar dweebs, comic book nerds, travel freaks… the list goes on, but the severely myopic among us turn off potential converts with their intensity and their pedantry.

That’s why I never refer to myself as a “beer connoisseur.” That term is way too haughty for my tastes. I’m much more of a beer enthusiast. I will gladly share with you my thoughts and all my tasting notes on this crazy rare Belgian quad. I’ll seek out the best craft beer bars in new cities. And I will keep a running list on my beer app of beers I’ve drank, aspire to drink, or will likely never get to drink, but would like to someday.

But I won’t bust your chops for drinking a Coors Light. I’ll gladly share one with you at an Avalanche game. I won’t condescend to you if craft beer isn’t your thing. And I don’t care if you think I’m a huge weird weirdo.

Beer enthusiast. Not connoisseur.

The Scourge of the Twitter Auto-DM

April 28, 2015 by Jon Leave a Comment

Here’s a photo of an exchange I had on Twitter with a recent follower, who I kindly followed back. I’ve blocked out his name and photo to save any potential embarrassment.

For those of you unfamiliar with this phenomenon (and who may be questioning my seeming unprovoked bitchiness), some people have their Twitter accounts set to automatically send you a direct message once the two of you follow each other. As people attempt to grow their networks, they’ll cast a huge net and follow a bunch of random people hoping for a few followbacks. (I ain’t no followback girl! – Gwen Stefani, as a hacky jokewriter)

Quick aside: I choose to followback more often than not even though I know these craven social climbers are probably immediately muting me as soon as they’ve got the connection, but hey, I’m trying to grow something, too. Granted, I’m not willing to do the social media equivalent of just dragging my net along the bottom of the river to see what gets caught in there, but a little follower bump barter is generally okay with me.

The thinking behind this type of transaction is that if what you’re getting is a followback, whoever you’ve just connected with probably didn’t bother to look at whatever you’re peddling with any great detail. A direct message is a lesser used channel that is almost guaranteed to get a look from your newest connection, so why not send a pre-written message to all your new followers?

I’ll reiterate here what I said to Mr. Auto-DM above. Because automated direct messages are tacky and awful. Instead of inspiring people to check out your work, I’d argue they have the opposite effect. I will never click a link sent to me in an Auto-DM because I want nothing to do with a product, an artist, or a project that mercenary.

Hey, new follower I’ve never met and have been connected with for five seconds… I bet you’ll love this thing I’m working on!

Ohmygod it’s like you know me better than I know myself! I was hoping someone would cold pitch me something I’ve never heard of up until this very moment via form text!

I like Twitter and defend it to the doubters, the scoffers and the non-believers. The reason I defend it is because I curate my own stream. It’s an opt-in service, and like most things in life, you get out of it what you put in.

The exception to that rule: Auto-DMs. No one opts in to the Twitter Auto-DM. It’s the door-to-door salesman of the social media world. Uninvited. Unwelcome. Tactless.

Do not send a Twitter Auto-DM.

Presentation Tip #1: Be aware of your time limit

April 21, 2015 by Kristin Leave a Comment

As a public speaking instructor for college students, one of the most frequent complaints I receive – at least once a semester – regarded the seemingly draconian penalties I handed out for exceeding the time limit on any given speech assignment. The common argument was that a time limit was arbitrary, and that a speech should be allowed to go as long as the topic warranted, and then judged on the merit of its content.

What I end up explaining time and again is that adhering to the time limit is a key indicator of the merit of a speech’s content. When schooling functions at its highest level, it serves as preparation for real world conditions. And in the real world, we deal with seemingly arbitrary limitations all the time. Learning to navigate those limitations effectively is what breeds nimble, successful professionals.

In terms of public speaking opportunities, only in the very rarest of circumstances will you be given a blank slate on what to speak, and for how long. Virtually no one is given that kind of free reign. You will almost certainly be given time constraints, and while staying within them can be challenging, I think time limits are better viewed as a gift.

A time limit is an opportunity to hone and tailor your presentation to its most optimal. Do you have five minutes to present? You’d better make those five minutes count. That means distilling your material to its most impactful elements and focusing on that which you want your audience to think, do or feel. Understanding your presentation from the point of view of your audience might also help you understand it better as the presenter.

On a more practical note, adhering to the allotted time also demonstrates respect for your fellow presenters. If you’re participating on a panel during a day featuring multiple presentations, when you don’t adhere to the time limit, you’ve just taken time from someone else. Let’s say there’s three panelists, each given 20 minutes. If you go 25, you’ve forced your fellow presenters to shave five minutes from one (or from a combination of both) of their presentations. That can be viewed as careless at best, and disrespectful at worst.

Know your time limit ahead of time, tailor your presentation to fit the allotted time and focus on the key takeaway for your audience. Then deliver your material confidently. You’ll portray yourself as knowledgeable, poised, and respectful of your audience.