How to Win Angry Birds

Sarah Lichterman

Yes, I am referring to the adolescent video game, Angry Birds, which is a popular item in the iTunes app store. The skills needed to defeat the game are similar to the skills you need to avoid becoming an “angry bird” when dealing with frustrating situations. For those unfamiliar with the video game, click here to watch this how-to video that explains the game.

In the world of public relations, a normal day when everything you had planned goes accordingly is rare. Due to this, PR professionals need to be ready to deal with frustrating situations. According to an article on NBC news, a PR executive is the fifth most stressful job following enlisted military personnel, military general, firefighter and commercial airline pilot. One of the reasons this career can be stressful is because you have to flexible when problems or urgent matters occur. 

Flexibility is a trait that is rarely natural, but easy to learn. It starts with awareness. If you decide to go into the field of PR, you need to be aware that you have to be flexible. Let me repeat that for emphasis: you have to be flexible. You have to assume that most plans will not go accordingly, and you have to have a back-up plan. 

In the game of Angry Birds, you have to strategize on what type of bird will be used, in what order and where you are going to fling the birds in order to win the level. There are two main goals per level that you can craft your strategy toward: completing the level with the goal of moving to the next level or beating the level by obtaining the most possible points. 

Imagine you have been playing and replaying a level for 30 minutes, and you finally have done well enough to be able to complete it by strategically using the one bird you have left to destroy the somewhat difficult target that remains. You’ve carefully chosen which bird would be used, and your finger is on the screen carefully placing the bird in the perfect angle to hit the target. And then, your dog runs into the room, jumps on your lap and interrupts your game. You lift your finger off the screen, letting the bird fly aimlessly into oblivion and failing the level. This would be frustrating, right? 

In this type of situation, you need to remain calm and focused on your goal. If you get upset or give up, you have not only failed the level, but you have turned into an “angry bird” and failed yourself.

When a frustrating event of this kind happens in the PR profession, you need to be extremely cautious of your next steps in order to avoid being an “angry bird.” When you get an email from a client about a pitch you have been working on with a reporter for a week, and they decide they don’t want to discuss that issue, your first reaction may be to reply in frustration, using words you would probably be apologizing for later.  Let’s be honest, we all have typed out that extremely rude email reply that we had no intention of ever sending. 

However, your reaction to a frustrating situation with a client, co-worker or reporter really can make or break you. There are many different ways to relieve this stress quickly so you can get back to your job and be productive. Also, there are many ways you can manage your outlook on your workload and be proactive in avoiding stress. Below are some helpful tips to be aware of and utilize to help relieve stress at work. Click here to to read the complete article on Forbes.com.

1. Act Rather Than React
2. Take a Deep Breath
3. Eliminate Interruptions
4. Schedule Your Day For Energy And Focus
5. Eat Right and Sleep Well
6. Change Your Story
7. Cool Down Quickly
8. Identify Self-Imposed Stress
9. Prioritize Your Priorities
10. Reset The Panic Button
11. Influence Others
12. Be Your Own Best Critic

So, the answer to the question, “How do you win in Angry Birds?” is simple. Learn to be flexible when a situation arises, be cautious of your reaction and accept that you have chosen to endeavor on a task that requires patience. Whether you are flinging birds or trying to get the word out there about your client, these pointers can help you to succeed in stressful situations. On the upside, even though a career in PR can be stressful at times, it is very rewarding because it gives you the unique opportunity to be creative, learn a lot and make change happen! 

A bad answer to a reporter’s question sounds like, “I’ll break you in half.”

Crissy Lintner

Ah, the State of the Union address. The speech. The counter-speech. The media frenzy. The State of the Union is a political playground for reporters, as it fuels the fire for numerous debates, analyses, predictions and fact checks. It offers opportunities for great interviews to back up those debates, analyses, predictions and fact checks. And it creates opportunities for people to screw up in a very public way. 

If you want a great example of how emotions can cause sticky questions to become even stickier situations, look no further than last night’s interaction between Rep. Michael Grimm of New York and local NY1 reporter Michael Scotto at the State of the Union. When Scotto asked Grimm a question regarding a federal investigation into his campaign finances, Grimm offered a less-than-desirable response in the form of a threat. Check out the article and video here, and then I’ll give you the “PR 101” insight.

Ouch! I’ll sum it up.

Mistake 1: Emotional Response

Anger is never the best response if you find yourself at odds with a reporter’s line of questioning. Scotto even mentions a couple of options that would have been better than a threat. Here are my suggestions: 

“Let’s focus on the reason we’re here tonight.” 

“That’s not really a fair question for tonight’s event.” 

“I appreciate your interest, but let’s stick to tonight’s purpose.” 

Anything is better than “I will break you in half. Like a boy.” As it is, Grimm made a threat to cause bodily harm to a reporter on camera at one of the biggest political events of the year. This does not bode well for his reputation as a credible, level-headed political leader. 

In all interview situations – live or otherwise – it’s important to maintain composure and respond appropriately. Remember, you can control the interaction – even in a situation where you’re being asked questions that you are unable or unwilling to answer at that time. Always offer to discuss them at a later date if that is a possibility. This will give you time to prepare for that interview rather than being rushed in an ambush.   

Mistake 2: The Unapologetic Explanation 

Grimm’s first public response regarding the situation was to explain why he reacted that way. That was a bad move. Instead of accepting that he overreacted to the reporter’s question, he actually showed no remorse. He even sounded a bit cavalier about his reaction. The appropriate response from Grimm would have been to apologize to the reporter and to accept responsibility for his actions. The end. Explaining really made him seem even more like the villain here. He did eventually apologize, but the damage was done. 

Mistake 3: Opening the Flood Gates

How many of us want to know more about this federal investigation of Grimm’s campaign finances? Me, me, me! And so do many more people in New York, across the U.S. and particularly in the media. As Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary whose tweet was cited in the article, said, "Rep. Grimm has now made it impossible for reporters NOT to ask him about his campaign finance problems. Not a smart move.”

Had Grimm handled the situation calmly, the question and his answer likely would have been a blip on the radar and simply part of the barrage of questions Grimm likely is already receiving from the media on the subject. Making a threat to the reporter made me think that he must have something to hide. It actually made me hope that more information will come out soon. I guarantee reporters who weren’t previously interested in this investigation are now digging into the details and trying to “get the scoop.”

In conclusion, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that if Grimm were my client, I would have felt Scotto’s question out of place given that it was the night of the State of the Union. Was he taking advantage of the opportunity to catch Grimm by surprise in hope of a flub? Probably. And to some degree, his strategy worked. But, Scotto is a seasoned reporter who interviews politicians regularly – I’m sure he didn’t expect such anger from his interviewee. Whether it was a “cheap shot” or not, Grimm’s reaction teaches us all a lesson on the importance of keeping your cool in all interview scenarios. 

Resolve to put an end to these common grammar mistakes

Bianca Gordon

With less than 30 days of the New Year under our belts, everyone is still going strong when it comes to keeping their New Year’s resolutions. Gyms are more crowded, grocery carts are filled with more fruits and vegetables and fewer chips and cookies, and that extra “splurge” money is being put into a rainy day fund somewhere. Once the New Year doesn’t seem so new anymore, it never fails that other things take priority over the resolutions we make and vow that “this year I’m going to follow through.”

Nothing drives me more crazy than reading something and suddenly finding that I can’t understand it because the words the writer used convey a different meaning than he or she intended. Take a look at the following common grammar mistakes, and let’s resolve to say goodbye to them when we say goodbye to 2014.

1. Your vs. You’re

I can honestly say that this may be my biggest grammar pet peeve. It’s also probably the one that’s most frequently misused. To avoid error with this one, keep the following in mind: 

“Your” is a possessive pronoun, as in “your car” or “your dog.” 

“You’re” is a contraction for “you are,” as in “you’re confusing your readers using your when you really mean you are.”

2. It’s vs. Its

This is another common grammar mistake. You can follow the same rule of thumb previously mentioned and ask yourself if you intend to use a contraction or possessive. Here’s an example:

“It’s” is a contraction of “it is” or “it has.” “Its” is a possessive pronoun, as in “The juice lost its flavor.” 

3. There vs. Their

While I don’t see this one as much, unless it’s a typo, people still get tripped up occasionally. 

“There” is used many ways, including as a reference to a place (“let’s go there”) or as a pronoun (“there is no hope”). “Their” is a plural possessive pronoun, as in “their bags” or “their opinions.” Here’s a rule of thumb: Ask yourself if you are talking about more than one person and something that they possess? If so, “their” will get you there. 

4. Affect vs. Effect

This one is likely the most difficult on this list. When I’m writing, I sometimes pause and think about this one to make sure I use the correct word. 

“Affect” is a verb, as in “Your ability to communicate clearly will affect the outcome of your message.” “Effect” is a noun, as in “The effect of a bad diet and no exercise can be dangerous to your health.” 

Which of these do you struggle with in your writing? Are there any I left out that fall under your grammar pet peeves? Comment below, I’d love to hear from you. Oh, and don’t forget to share your New Year’s resolution and how well you are doing with it so far!

PR Disasters of 2013

Lauren Hannaford

As fast as PR disasters come and go and with the perpetuation of these “disasters” by social media, there’s no surprise we continue to see an increase from year to year. This year, we saw everything from “foot-in-mouth” fiascos to social media meltdowns. Here’s a recap of the worst! 

1. Paula Deen. Enough said.
2. The Abercrombie & Fitch “Cool kids” viral video, based on a horrific interview by the CEO in 2006. 
3. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smokes crack. 
4. Lululemon’s pants controversy, and ensuing comments by the company’s CEO.
5. Carnival’s PR nightmare. 

Other highly-debated examples include comments in a GQ article by Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson, the failure of Healthcare.gov and Lance Armstrong finally coming clean during an interview with Oprah Winfree.

Social media saw its fair share of blunders. These were truly heinous: 

1. Kenneth Cole puts his foot in his mouth again with offensive tweet. #Cairo 
2. The most epic meltdown on social media, ever. #amysbakingcompany 
3. Justine Sacco’s “the tweet heard round the world.” 
4. This terrible idea by J.P. Morgan 
5. Home Depot’s racist Twitter photo and tweet 

No Punctuation Marks Were Harmed In Writing This Blog

Thomas Whitehead

During the holidays, I used some of my spare time to catch up on reading anything I could get my hands on – articles, periodicals, books, etc. Of everything I read, an article in the New Republic was probably the most interesting, telling and, possibly the most, alarming story I have read that could greatly impact interpersonal communication for years to come. 

The New Republic published an article discussing how, perhaps, the simplest punctuation mark, the period, has been transformed into a subtext that can indicate anger or disappointment when used in electronic conversations, especially texting. Yes, you read that correctly. A punctuation mark used to finish a declarative sentence (which in itself is merely a “declaration” of a statement) has now entered a place in culture where it, if used, can imply anger or frustration. 

The article indicated that the extra effort (and Twitter real estate) needed in adding a period to a sentence in written electronic communication was intended to imply aggression about the discussion, whereas a punctuation-free sentence (and I hear English teachers asking if this is even possible as I type this) is a casual, care-free zone.

Even further, the stats provided were telling. According to the article, a study by American University found that less than 50 percent of college students use periods at the end of both text messages and online chat conversations. 

Personally, I find this quite disappointing.  Without using punctuation to indicate the end of a thought or statement in written communication, especially when it segues into another statement, I feel that my absorption and understanding of the message becomes difficult to comprehend. It creates a distraction to the flow of how I read what is given to me. I could go on and on about how this is a further destruction of the English language, but instead, I am going to go a different direction. 

The reality is, if this is entering our culture, we have to at least be mindful of it, as well as the messages that periods or no periods can imply when we communicate. 

As communicators, especially those of us who still insist on using periods, we have to be aware, especially with younger audiences, that the period could mean to them that there is anger behind the statement, even if that is not our intent. 

We may not be able to always have people communicate in the ways we want them to, traditional or not.  However, if we are aware of different interpretations that exist in our society, we can strengthen our communication skills for the generations to come See what I mean 

Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

Bianca Gordon

As public relations professionals, a great deal of our success is based on securing media hits for our clients. In turn, much of our frustration can also come when we don’t achieve media hits for a client or story we know is newsworthy. So where does it all start? I’d say with the perfect media pitch.

The perfect media pitch is a lot like the perfect cupcake. If your cupcake eating starts with the icing, there’s nothing worse than delicious icing and dry, tasteless cake. If the cake happens to be your favorite, then what’s worse than moist, delicious cake with horrible icing? Just like the cupcake has two critical components to make it just right, so does the perfect media pitch.

The media pitch is the toughest (and most important) task to master when dealing with the media relations aspect of a PR professional’s job. It’s your initial contact with the reporter, a.k.a. the gatekeeper to the door that will get your client featured. Let’s be clear – we aren’t aiming for “good” pitches. While a good pitch may certainly get you a response and is better than the ignored “bad” pitch, it’s the “perfect” pitch that gets your client in the door and seals the deal for their media coverage.

Courtesy of Flickr

So, how do you accomplish both the perfect cake and delectable icing of the media-pitching cupcake? It starts with the subject line. In an age where all pitches are delivered via email, what your reader sees in the subject line can determine whether you get that double click to open or your pitch is headed straight to the trash. At all costs, avoid “press release” or “breaking news” with a slew of exclamation points to follow. This is a sure-fire way to guarantee your pitch a one-way ticket to the trash. Keep your subject lines targeted and short. 

Now, to achieve that perfect icing on your media-pitching cupcake, you will want to understand who you are pitching to and personalize it to that reporter. Know reporters’ preferences, their work and their beats, and also be familiar with the audience they are trying to reach. Nothing comes across more haphazardly than pitching a hard news story to an entertainment or sports reporter. You wouldn’t substitute salt for the sugar in your perfect cupcake recipe, so don’t ruin your perfect pitch by being careless.

Lastly, be sure to tell the reporter why your story will interest him or her. You know your client is the greatest thing since sliced bread; now is your time to prove it.

Going on Vacation? Tips to Help Navigate Your Workload and Inbox

Kim Morrison

Although we all just returned from holiday vacations, we'll soon be looking forward to Spring Break and warm weather getaways. The most dreaded task for a vacation any size? The mountainous inbox you will return to whether it be from a short four-day weekend or **gasp** a two-week-long vacation. No worries, here are some tips before you leave, some advice while you’re gone and, of course, some help on how to tackle it upon your return.

Pre-vacation

• Communicate to your co-workers and superiors when you’ll be gone, how long you’ll be gone and provide them some way to contact you if they absolutely must reach you in the case of an emergency.
• Establish someone to act as a point of contact for your clients while you’re away. Yes, it’s normal to take a vacation, but you also can’t leave your clients high and dry for a week either.
• Inform your clients, vendors and other day-to-day business contacts about your upcoming leave, how long you’ll be gone and whom they should contact for urgent work and emergencies.
• Set up your work email to forward to your go-to-coworker while you are away. If possible, shut off your email for that period. You’ve alerted everyone you will be gone and not receiving emails, so it is unrealistic for them to send you emails anyway and expect you to receive them after the previous warnings.

During Your Vacation

• Take your vacation! You’ve put things into place in order to take time off, relax and rejuvenate, so do it! People know how to reach you if they absolutely have to speak with you about an urgent matter (hotel room info, alternate email, contact person, etc.), so relax and attend to yourself. Most likely the company you work for was successful before you arrived, and they aren’t going to fail simply because you took some time off. Do yourself a favor and unplug. Don’t know how? Fast Company, U.S.News, LinkedIn, Forbes, and MindBodyGreen all have tips and advice for unplugging.

Post-vacation

• Reach out to your superiors, co-workers, clients and day-to-day contacts -- either in person, phone call or via email -- to let them know you’re back at work and touch base about any developments that occurred while you were away.
• If you still received a ton of emails while you were gone, turn it into manageable steps. Sort your emails by sender and delete all of the newsletters, notifications, spam, etc. These do not need your immediate attention in the grand scheme of things. Then sort by subject, and get rid of all of the forwarded and emails that aren’t important (look at this funny link, long conversation on something that isn’t relevant anymore, etc.). Quickly look over the emails you were only copied on, and trash the ones that aren’t important.
• You’re email box should now be to a manageable size. Now, respond to the emails that will take all of two minutes to read and respond to and get them out of the way. Go through the remaining emails, and add them to your list of actual work to get caught up on.
• Finally, don’t get too wrapped up in email. Chances are you knew prior to leaving for vacation what things needed to be accomplished upon your return. Which is more important -- crafting and distributing a news release for an upcoming client event or taking 20 minutes to read a brainstorm email where everyone decided the idea was a no-go at the end? This is why my first post vacation tip is key; reach out to those parties, they’ll let you know the important things, that way you can get back to getting actual work done, rather than swimming in a sea of emails.

Do you have any useful tips for preparing for, unplugging or catching up post-vacation? Share them in the comments below!

Cooking with Kim

Kim Morrison

When I have the extra time, I really enjoy cooking. No, I don’t mean whipping up a box of macaroni and cheese and thawing out a veggie burger (although that is very yummy!); I mean truly creating a meal from the ground up. This winter, my favorites have been soups, finally nailing a good veggie “meatloaf” recipe, Eggplant Parmesan and various sides with cooked, fresh vegetables.

I’ve even become one of those people that has trouble sharing or recreating a recipe due to acquiring the skill to simply throw things together in a pot or bowl and having the dish turn out fabulously. I didn’t secretly sneak in classes with one of Food Network's Iron Chefs, but I have learned to heavily lean on one fail-safe trick. It’s actually a HUGE tenet of Hell’s Kitchen’s Chef Gordon Ramsay. What is this big recipe-changing secret?

Taste what you’re cooking.

Yep, it’s that simple! Think about it; when things go wrong with a dish on Hell’s Kitchen, other than a slew of expletives, what is one of the first things Chef Ramsay shouts out to the various chefs? “TASTE IT!!!” The dish is usually either totally inedible or missing some vital ingredient, both of which could have been discovered and remedied by simply tasting the dish. Instead that person usually ends up kicked out of the kitchen and eventually off the show. You can get away without tasting when making boxed mashed potatoes or some other prepackaged food, but when you’re creating a dish from scratch, how can you possibly know it’s been seasoned properly or has been cooked just right without tasting it? Simply put, you can’t. You have to monitor the taste of the dish to make sure it’s just so when you finally serve it.

The same thing goes for social media. (See what I did there?) Social media is just that, social. You can’t post a blog or something on Twitter and just walk away; it’s about interacting and becoming involved in the discussion. Are people commenting on your content, sharing your content, is it even getting any views? If the answers to these questions aren’t familiar to you, what are you doing with your social media content, and even more importantly, why are you doing it? In this day and age, social media provides a direct line to your publics and clients that’s never been available before. Grab this opportunity by the horns and become involved in the discussion, rather than halfway trying it and getting kicked out of the kitchen.

Why sitting pretty isn’t always pretty

Tiffany Cunningham

We are in a deadline-driven industry, and sometimes, that accounts for a 12-hour sitting binge. Most recently, I was working on an extensive media list for one of my clients and didn’t realize I hadn’t left my desk in five hours. Typically I wouldn’t think about it as a problem, until I saw a report about the dangers of inactivity. 

Those who spent the most time in chairs had a 147 percent increased chance of cancer, heart disease and diabetes, compared with those who sat the least, according to Richard Rosenkranz, a professor who led a sitting study at Kansas State University. The most persistent sitters also had a soaring diabetes risk and were 49 percent more likely to die earlier of many different causes. 

The thing that really made me look into this news was that my daily activity on the Katy Trail in Dallas, Texas, or taking advantage of my gym membership wasn’t enough to undo the damage. 

People with an on-the-go career – Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars) – do not need to be concerned. But for those of us who spend countless hours on our perches of demanding projects, there is growing evidence that sitting is the new smoking. 

Image courtesy of  - http://athingcreated.com/2012/12/04/all-dressed-up-with-places-to-go/

“Standing should be your default mode – when you’re on the phone, texting, even watching TV. The body was designed to be up and moving; our systems work best when we’re on our feet,” said James Levine, M.D., Ph.D., an obesity expert at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz. 

It’s a fact that preindustrial women probably sat half as much as our nation’s leanest people today, but no one knows whether they were more creative, cheerful, focused or slender than today’s office professionals. 

More and more people are catching on the new walk-and-talk meeting to counteract over-sitting and to improve work productivity. There are a lot of things people can do to get moving for 10 minutes every hour during the work week. When you start moving a little more, your body will thank you in more than one way. Simply standing can reactivate key cellular responses that shut off when you sit.