Springtime took its time, but it’s finally here! (Unless Mother Nature decides she wants one more dose of winter at some point this week.)

Kim Morrison

When Ned Stark proclaimed that “Winter’s coming,” he sure wasn’t kidding! Memphians were treated to a colder, icier and snowier winter than normal this year, so I think everyone is glad for the warmer temperatures and opportunities to get out and about and enjoy the city. In case you find yourself wondering about what to do first, here are 20 quick tips to get you out of the house and enjoying some of the great outdoor activities the city has to offer!

A photographer buddy of mine, Ariel Antonío of AleksWorks Photography, is having a photo scavenger hunt, with new clues every Monday over the next few weeks. The prize is bragging rights for getting your photos on his blog, but more importantly, you can get out there and get some fabulous shots of this awesome city we live in! (Before it gets to be 200 degrees Fahrenheit with 500 percent humidity. Ick.) 

Get out and walk, run or bike any of the wonderful local parks we have. (Riverwalk, Tom Lee, Overton, the Greenline, Shelby Farms, etc.)

Yes, warmer weather means patio time, and there’s no shortage of them around town, so grab some buds and enjoy their company at your outdoor patio of choice!

Check out a show at Live at the Garden…

Or at the Levitt Shell…

Or at the Snowden Grove Amphitheater… 

Or at the Mud Island Amphitheater. (Yes, we have LOTS of outdoor venues, so use them!)

Go take a ride on a riverboat.

Take a historical walking tour with local historian Jimmy Ogle. 

Visit the world-class Memphis Zoo.

Check out Trolley Night on South Main. 

Check out the array of events in the Broad Avenue Arts District. 

Go to Thursday Nights Out in Cooper-Young.

Did you know we have an outdoor skate park? Check it out by Tobey Park. 

Check out the art and view from the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Downtown Memphis. 

Get the kids out of the house and check out My Big Backyard at the Memphis Botanic Gardens.

May means Memphis in May and weekends full of music, food and fun galore! Check out the Memphis in May International Festival website for all the details on the festivities surrounding the International Salute to Panama, Beale Street Music Festival, World Champion Barbecue Cooking Contest and AutoZone Sunset Symphony.

If Panamanian culture isn’t for you, what about Greek? You can get a taste of it at the Memphis Greek Festival hosted by Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church.

If that doesn’t do it for you, you can get a taste of Italy during the Memphis Italian Festival.

Think you missed all your chances for crawfish? Not quite, go check out the South Branch Lions Club second annual Crawfish Music Festival in Olive Branch, Miss.

Oh, these aren’t enough? No worries, go check out the event calendars at the Memphis CVB, Memphis Flyer, GetDown Memphis, Memphis Magazine, Memphis Parent, Go Memphis, I Love Memphis blog and tons of other outlets!

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and enjoy our town! Got some other good ideas? Feel free to share them with everyone in the comments below!

If it’s on the Internet, it MIGHT be true (according to this Internet blog post).

Kelli Eason Brignac

You’ve probably seen that commercial with the girl who believes everything she sees on the Internet. It’s a State Farm commercial, but no one talks about it for insurance. They talk about it because the poor girl believes everything she sees online. It’s funny, but it’s also sad because it frequently happens in real life! 

The Internet makes it really easy to get a lot of information. It also makes it easy for just about anyone to put information out there - whether it’s true or not – leading to more frequent incidents of people consuming untrue information as fact.

The trend now is intentionally putting content out there to see how far it gets. You’re probably familiar with Jimmy Kimmel’s elaborate pranks to keep the media honest, like the girl who set her apartment on fire while twerking. It went viral and made news headlines on several broadcast outlets and their websites. But did you know that before testing Internet gullibility was cool, I was doing it? 

Let me start by backing up. I’ve always had really cold feet and hands. My feet get so cold that even sitting on them makes the rest of my body feel the cold, rather than my feet feeling the warmth. My mom told me years ago that I just have “Durham Feet,” and it’s probably the same poor circulation she and my mamaw have. You see, Durham was my great-granny’s last name, and a lot of the women in our family have cold feet. But in 2006, after I explained my “Durham Feet” to a boyfriend, he said it sounded like a legitimate condition. Facebook was relatively new and Twitter didn’t exist, but he had recently learned how to create Wikipedia entries, so we decided to see if anyone would believe it. 

We created an entry for “Durham’s Foot, or cryopedis.” We developed a really nice, believable explanation for it. And it stayed there. It stayed there and it spread slowly across the Web for nearly five years. My mom, who was teaching college classes, used the article to show her students why Wikipedia wasn’t an acceptable source.

But apparently a lot of people seek explanations for their cold feet, because they shared “Durham’s Foot” widely. They shared it on Yahoo! Answers, wrote about it in Olympic blogs, discussed it on Reddit and posted it to other Wiki and dictionary sites. Wikipedia, as it becomes even more legitimate, is cleaning up its pages and has deleted the original entry. But “Durham’s Foot” has gone so far that I don’t even think I can get it back!

I do hope that anyone reading the article sought actual medical help if they needed it, as opposed to taking it at face value, but it does bring up an interesting question: How many people really consider the source or the content of something before they share it and believe it?

Consider these few tips when you read something online.

Who wrote it?

There are still people out there who believe a headline they read from The Onion. Even U.S. congressmen are susceptible to misinformation. That’s crazy to me, but not everyone knows that it’s satire. Know your source!

What does the whole story say?

The headline doesn’t always tell the whole story. Read the whole thing! You may find that the headline refers to one person’s opinion, not a proven fact. 

Can you verify it somewhere else?

Really big news is often reported by multiple outlets, from blogs to broadcast news networks. Sometimes news is specific to an outlet, though, and that’s OK. But if you’re really skeptical of what you’re reading, see what else you can find on the subject. Think of it like getting a second opinion if your doctor recommends a serious surgery. You want to make sure it’s right before you do it. When in doubt, there are sources like Snopes dedicated to outing hoaxes.

Are you sure you want to share it?

You may be familiar with the recent Facebook “no religion” rumor, which has spread like wildfire over the past few weeks as users bought into a hoax that their accounts would be locked if they openly discussed religion. (It’s false.) Savvy Internet users probably noticed that Mark Zuckerberg’s name was misspelled on the photo that accompanied the rumor, and critical thinkers realized it would be really bad strategy for Facebook. But many people took it at face value. Know your facts before you share it! 

Got any favorite Internet jokes or viral stories? Share them in the comments! 

How to Communicate as a Dance Coach

Jenn Taylor

Being a dance coach takes a rare breed of an individual. With an eight-month long season, November and January being the most chaotic months of the year, and typically working with more than 10 pre-teen or teenage girls at a time, it is a unique job in itself.

I have been coaching since January 2010, and I have to say that I have learned a lot of things, mostly life lessons that I attempt to put into action in other aspects of my life. One lesson that comes to mind is communication. I like to think that communicating effectively is important with any job, but after coaching, I have found that it is vital to even survive in this profession. 

Some things I struggled with, and am still working on as a coach, are remembering who I am speaking to,  thinking about how I am speaking to them, and realizing I need to say what I mean in a way that they can relate to. I also wonder how much communication is too much communication? And, do I really know what I am talking about after all?

I had to learn that these girls depend on my direction and need to know what I want and expect from them.  

WHO AM I SPEAKING TO AND HOW DO I SAY WHAT I MEAN IN A WAY THAT THEY CAN RELATE TO?

It is important to alter the word usage or form of communication when talking to different groups of people. In my case, this is the first year that I am coaching two completely different age groups, a middle school and a high school team. I would not say something to motivate my middle school team the way I would my high school team. My middle school team has to constantly be motivated and reminded of what to do, what not to do and how to do it, which is normal for any kids in that age group. On the contrary, I try to not only guide my high school team in what they should be doing, but I also try to communicate the advantages of working hard – such as landing a scholarship for a college dance team. Another thing I have to constantly do is try to take out manage the frustration that I often feel during a practice and take the time to explain why I am frustrated and show them how to fix whatever we are working on. The key to communication is being thorough and having a goal behind your message. 

HOW MUCH COMMUNICATION IS TOO MUCH COMMUNICATION?

In order to stay on task throughout the dance season and continue to have effective practices, I have to make sure that what is being said in practice is not just chatter but that it is relevant to the particular practice. I realized early on in coaching, as in any authoritative position, that you have control the conversation’s direction and overall intention. Even though it humors me to listen to my middle school ladies chat about who is going out with out who or who loves or hates Justin Bieber, we would not get anywhere with that being our only conversation at practice. I also try to say things in a direct, non-biased way, which allows the dancer to fix her personal mistake rather than worrying about other dancers around her. 

DO I REALLY KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT?

In any job setting, the team under the authoritative figure should trust and believe in what they are being taught as true and valid. This is crucial in a dance practice to maintain safety, progression of the dancer and the overall success of the program. This communication skill is highly imperative in order for them achieve their goals. If a dancer doubts my credibility or knowledge as a coach, then they are more likely to doubt my coaching methods. Overall, that would end in the team hitting a brick wall, consequently getting nowhere. 

While these three communication skills have been something I’ve learned specifically in my experience as a dance teacher, I believe they should be applied to all different types of jobs so the professional environment runs smoothly. 

Messaging? **blink, blink**

Kim Morrison

For those of us in the PR business, when we talk about messaging, we know exactly what we’re talking about, but sometimes we forget that the concept isn’t as clear to everyone else. We talk about consistency in it, shaping it for the right audiences and getting it out in a timely manner, but what exactly are we talking about when we say messaging? So, here’s a little PR 101 for you on messaging.

Messaging pretty much incorporates any communication you’re sending out to your audiences, whether we’re talking about internal audiences, external audiences and any mode of communication, whether it be a newsletter, morning show interview, elevator speech, etc. We want to make sure that our communication about our clients -- what they do, their missions, their goals, etc. -- is accurate, consistent and concise, from the wording and phrasing we use down to the color palette we use for clients various print materials. If there’s a variance in those factors, you can possibly confuse your audiences, sound unsure in your position and potentially lose audience members due to lack of consistent communication. People like consistency, people remember consistency and people trust consistency. 

The best thing you can do to ensure the quality of your messaging when reaching out to anyone is to take an extra minute to step back and look at your email, newsletter, poster, etc., from an outsider’s perspective. Does it make sense? Is it too lengthy or too short? Is it missing any information? If you didn’t already know this information, would you receive a similar level of understanding from the communication you created? Will it capture your audience’s interest, or is it boring?

With just a little extra work, you can make sure that your intended audience is receiving the best messaging possible to communicate your point. Good communication is the foundation for any good relationship, especially business ones.

Was today “a great sale day”?

Kerri Guyton

Hopefully, you’ve had the pleasure of watching the movie Despicable Me. (If not, I would highly recommend it, and you might as well make it a weekend with Despicable Me 2, also.) If you have seen the first movie, then the title of this blog post may be familiar to you, but just to get us all on the same page, watch this clip.

My goodness! Doesn’t that just break your heart? Mean Miss Hattie obviously doesn’t believe in using encouragement and positive reinforcement to motivate her precious little sales team. It’s too bad, too, because who knows how many mini-mints, choco-swirlies and coco-nutties her team would sell if they were raised up, encouraged and praised for their efforts? To me, 43 mini-mints, 30 choco-swirlies and 18 coco-nutties equal 91 more boxes of cookies sold than the day before. And, hey, if each box costs about the same as a box of Girl Scout cookies, that’s $318.50 in gross sales in one day - by a 9 year old, a 7 year old and a 5 year old! I would call that a great sale day, but that’s just my perspective.

So, what’s your perspective on a great sale day? Or, maybe the question is: what is your supervisor’s perspective on a great sale day? Let’s hope you don’t have a “Mean Miss Hattie” for a supervisor but rather someone who understands the value of motivational leadership and keeping a positive perspective on measuring success, growth and development.

Whenever I have to evaluate anything, from the outcome on a client’s campaign to a team members’ performance, I tend to lean toward the positives first. It’s not that I ignore the negatives, but I even address the negatives with an eye out for the silver linings. If overall attendance for an event was down, I can’t help but dig further into other qualifiers. What was the make-up of those who did attend? Did we attract any new or unexpected audiences? How did those in attendance respond to the event? Did we still hit our fundraising goal? And, when weighing feedback for a team member’s performance review, I am almost always going to balance giving praise and pointing out areas in need of improvement. The point is that in finding the positives, I have reason to give affirmative reinforcement while discussing what can be done better next time.

As you can tell, I’m an optimist. I will always argue that the glass is half-full. In my mind, there’s still more beverage to enjoy! So, it’s natural for me to take this positive perspective on various professional outcomes, and I can always find something to report that shows success, growth and/or development. In other words, I believe that any day can be “a great sale day.” It’s just a matter of how you look at it.

Frame of Reference

Thomas Whitehead

The other day at my gym, there was this dude who was working out with heavy weights on every machine. He was throwing down on every piece of equipment they have -- and with proper form and discipline. He was definitely one of the strongest guys that I’ve seen in there. Then, he started doing some push-ups, and I noticed that he could barely do them. His form was completely off, and he didn’t have any balance. 

The other day at my gym, there was this dude who started doing some push-ups, and I noticed that he could barely do them. His form was completely off, and he didn’t have any balance. Then, he started working out with heavy weights on every machine. He was throwing down on every piece of equipment they have -- and with proper form and discipline. He was definitely one of the strongest guys that I’ve seen in there.

Spoiler Alert – this is the same guy! However, go back and read those two paragraphs again. What is your impression of the guy in the first paragraph compared to the guy in the second?

If you are like me, the ending of the first paragraph’s story was surprising in that you would assume that someone who can work out with that much weight appropriately would be able to do push-ups with considerable ease. And, the second paragraph’s end provides the feelings of being surprised in that you assume this weakling can’t do any large amounts of weight, but then he outperforms expectations. 

I honestly was reflecting about this the other day because I was imagining how I would tell this story to someone who wasn’t there and how depending on the way I told it, the listener would have a much different reaction, as well as perception of the story I was setting up.

It is also a good reminder that companies, brands and organizations need to be very aware of HOW they are telling their stories. As the above example showed, there will always be several ways to share the same story. The challenge is to make sure that the way you choose to share your story is the RIGHT way for you, your company and its overall goals. 

Speaking with clients, we always stress consistency of message when different spokespeople communicate about an organization. This is more challenging than it appears. Each person who is designated to speak about a brand should be well-versed in some type of ambassador training in order to have extensive practice and awareness of the do’s and don’ts of speaking as it pertains to the specific company you are representing. 

Stories are the way that we share everything. Therefore, it is important that the beginning, middle and end of the story is well-planned and thought-out for the audience to which it is intended. 

Evaluating ROI on Your PR Efforts

Ali Glemser

For many years, the concepts and efforts behind public relations were underestimated due to the inability to determine exact return on investment. It was difficult to attribute specific increases in sales numbers or revenue generation as a result of intangible concepts like reputation building, brand management and community relations. Fortunately, this has grown to be easier and more quantifiable thanks to the advancement of technology in the digital age. As relationships are built between a brand and its audiences through traditional public relations efforts in the digital space, they can be tracked and quantified for summarization and analysis. 

Breaking down your digital analytics into the three categories below will make them easier to understand and allow you to identify and target your public relations strengths and weaknesses.

Outputs

These are measurements that can be determined from utilizing various communication channels, including the media. They include frequency, journalist inquiries and reader contacts. By assessing these numbers, you can draw conclusions about how valuable your content is to the audiences of these communication channels. For example, was a particular article that you pitched about subject “XYZ” read and shared over various platforms to multiple readers? How many media outlets contacted you about doing a follow-up story? If your answer included large numbers to all of those questions, then you had a strong return on investment from that news story.

Outcomes

Measure outcomes by assessing the effects of your public relations efforts among your targeted audiences. The results of these efforts would be changes in knowledge or awareness of your brand, product or service or in the opinions and attitudes toward your brand, product or service among your key audiences. This is normally assessed through surveys about brand association or product use. 

Business Results

Business results are the most straightforward assessment of the successful public relations efforts. If you see a positive correlation between increased numbers, such as revenue, market share or stock price, and increased public relations efforts, such as brand messaging, media relations or internal communications, then you can determine the percentage of value added through your PR efforts by comparing your increased figures to what they were prior to those efforts.

After gathering the numbers for your efforts across these three categories, identify where you excel and where you should consider placing more focus for different results. Every situation is different, but identifying these strengths and opportunities will allow you to better plan and execute a well-rounded public relations strategy.

What’s in a name? I’m going to guess, more than you think.

Loren Dean

A few weeks ago, I attended my first two Obsidian new client meetings. In both meetings, during introductions, our clients inquired about the firm’s name. Kerri Guyton, the director of client services, confidently explained that our name is a metaphor of the natural forming rock, obsidian. She explained that obsidian is a volcanic glass formed when molten lava meets water and is rapidly cooled. As our website states, Kerri told the groups that Obsidian Public Relations tempers fires and gives you a solid, impenetrable foundation in an ever-fluid business environment. Kerri was able to explain the mission and purpose of our firm without hesitation because of a simple question. The response from her answer was exactly what an organization would aim for, as the clients expressed their appreciation and confidence in our firm - just because of the meaning behind our name.  

Is the name of your organization really that important? Surely you can guess that my answer is, without a doubt, “yes!” The name of our firm provides us with an elevator speech, a mission statement, a memorable name for current and future clients and a properly projected image for our firm. The most recognized companies today have thoughtful and useful reasons behind the names of their organizations, and it is by no mistake. Branding is an important part of public relations, and finding the perfect name for a business can be the most valuable kick-start to a successful branding campaign.   

When beginning your next branding campaign, consider these questions when choosing your company’s name:

1. Is it unique?

2. Does it tell your company’s story? 

3. Is it memorable?

4. Does it project a proper image of your company?

5. Has it already been used?

If “absolutely” is your answer to all of those questions, then you’re off to a great start. Don’t be afraid to get creative and to think outside of the box when beginning the branding process. Many companies have gone through several names before landing on the perfect one. I’m sure Blue Ribbon Sports doesn’t mean a thing to you, but the same company that now claims the name Nike is world renown. There’s a start to every process, and like all good things, it just takes time.  

Dealing With, Rather Than Suffering From, Writer’s Block

Kim Morrison

I’m not the first person to be in this position, nor is this my first time to be here - staring at a blank windows document, pondering what the heck to write about. Normally, when blog post time comes around, I’ve been mulling over an idea, or inspiration strikes from out of the blue. I have a funny story to tie to, something newsworthy or a topic that recently seemed poignant to write on, but this month? Yeah, I have some ideas, but none of them particularly sound good. And while I’ve given thought to various events personally and professionally lately -- stories in the news, relevant PR advice and anything else I could potentially write on -- none of it sounds good. It all just garners a “meh.” 

Well, “meh” is no excuse, especially in PR. On any given day you could be crafting pitches, news releases, advisories, web content, social media content, strategic plans or any other written works, and just because your muse has decided to take the day off, it doesn’t mean you get to. So, for those times where you get stuck with a fantastic bout of writer’s block, here are some tips to help you break through it.

Write through it.
Don’t look at me like that.  Yes, I know you can’t write, but do it any way. Write about what ever is on your mind. Write about not being able to write. Simply write what you know about what you’re tasked with - just get something on that blank document, even if it’s ranting about how much you can’t think of what to write. Eventually, at some point, your block WILL break, and you should have a good rough draft, if not a product that simply needs cleaning up before submitting. Show that blank document who’s the boss rather than letting it plague your mind.

Dive into your topic.
Immerse yourself in what you’re supposed to be writing on. Review the information for your release, pour over the particulars of a project, go back and review social media and online posts for your client, sift through the news, look at trade publications and review past media coverage. At some point, you’re going to come across a factoid, a photo, a quote or some other bit of information that’s going to strike you and get the words flowing. Plus, once you get going, you shouldn’t have to worry about going back and researching, as you’ve already done it.

Leave it be for now.
Granted, this one requires some advanced notice, but it’s still applicable. Take care to not procrastinate, though. If you’re staring a hole into your computer screen and just can’t seem to find the words, then don’t. Get up, walk away and do something else. Work on another task maybe, do chores, do something fun, but the point is, do something other than willing and stressing yourself to create something on the spot. It’s likely that your stress is causing more harm than good, simply extending the length of the block. So go, clear your mind, and then come back to the task at hand, preferably still with ample time to complete it.

Just do it.
Yes, in the interest of completion and breaking your block, I am saying just get the task done, regardless of how bad it is. Again, this one requires advance practice, as well, to allow for the editing and rewrites that’ll be needed, but the point is get the monkey off of your back and just do the darn thing. It may not be perfect. Heck, it might not even be good, but a complete rough draft is definitely a step ahead of a blank document and a deadline in the distance. Do it and then be completely open to the process of “How do we make this good/better?” Sometimes, baby steps are needed to get to the final goal.

Hopefully some of these tips help. If you haven’t gathered already, I simply went with a “Hey, I’ve got writer’s block, so by dangit, I’m going to write about writer’s block” approach.

How do you deal with writer’s block? Do you have any fun or interesting stories to share regarding writer’s block? Feel free to comment on my experience and advice, and share your own tales of writer’s block below!