PIC Newsletter - November 2013
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 Hope you enjoy the latest edition of The Buzz!

A message from the PIC chair, Sharon Aschaiek

Each year, it feels like the holiday season starts earlier than the year before. Long before Thanksgiving arrived, Home Depot was running commercials about doing home improvements during the "fallidays." Then, before we had even reached Halloween, holiday merchandise started appearing at some retailers. Several of my neighbours even turned on their Christmas lights in mid-November.

 

If your business cycle is anything like mine, the holiday season may be starting to slow down your business. I work mainly with clients in the higher education sector -- universities, colleges, private schools, education associations -- and usually, their communications people take time off during the Christmas and New Year break. As a result, most new projects don't begin until the new year.

 

While a softer workflow can be unsettling for independent communicators, it's ultimately part of the ebb and flow of being in business. I use this time to do business development activities that often get pushed aside when things are busy. Here are the to-do's I try to tackle during quiet periods:

  • prospect for new clients
  • update my website, LinkedIn profile and resum
  • do training related to communications or business
  • attend a networking event
  • prepare my client holiday greeting card list
  • create a "buzz piece" -- a free report on an industry trend for target clients
  • catch up on industry news, blogs, and newsletters
  • reconnect with old colleagues
  • clean out my email inbox
  • research business management tools, e.g. for invoicing, storing files, and sharing documents
  • research industry conferences and events to attend
  • search for my articles online and save them as PDFs for my files
  • explore advertising opportunities
  • volunteer at industry events
  • browse RFP ads
  • revisit and update my business plan
  • organize my paperwork for my next HST filing
  • write my PIC newsletter message early!

We'd love to hear about your business-building strategies during the holiday slowdown. Please share them on our LinkedIn group, IABC Independents, or better yet, tell us in person at our holiday social on Dec. 11. You'll find more details on that event further down in the newsletter.


Continued success,
Sharon
In This Issue
A message from the PIC chair
Nov. 6 meeting report
Next event Dec. 11
Jan. 25 is Digital Day
How to craft a good tweet
November is Member Month
Meet Janna Stam
Communicator needs volunteers
Explore the PIC blog: Pricing!
Quick Links
Newsletter archives
Find back issues of The Buzz here.
Join Our Mailing List!
We want your talents!
Interested in writing, editing or contributing ideas for PIC's The Buzz or IABC/Toronto's Communicator? We'd love your help. Let us know!
Tidbits of knowledge
Visit the Professional Independent Communicators - Toronto blog for tips on such topics as pricing and running your business, as well as pre-event podcasts and post-event reports.
PIC 2013-2014 Executive
Contact any of us with questions, comments and ideas for speakers or topics!

Chair:
Past Chair:
Communications: Membership & Events: Programming: Social Media:
Nov. 6 meeting report: Magic shows how tricky our brains are
 by Sue Horner
Dan Trommater poses with PIC executive members (from left) Sue Horner, Amy Sept, Elizabeth Trew and Sharon Aschaiek.
Photo credit: Patricia Davies.
 

Can you trust your brain?

 

Not necessarily. As magician Dan Trommater told PIC members and friends at our meeting Nov. 6, your brain sometimes fills in the blanks when you make assumptions. It also shuts off when you come up with the answer to a problem, passing over what may be perfectly good ideas.

 

Dan dazzled the group with a trick that involved a disappearing $20 bill that magically reappeared in a lime he cut open before our eyes. After asking the group for theories on how he did the trick, and just how strongly we each believed our own theory, he revealed there are at least 10 possible methods.

 

Dan described telling this to an executive, who had been convinced he knew the only way the trick could be done. The man was stunned, and realized if he could be wrong about this, he could be wrong about many other areas where he "knew" the answer. And that was exactly Dan's point.

 

"Are you making a decision based on theory-based evidence, or is it your brain filling in the gaps?" he asked the group, adding, "Throw away what you think you know."

 

Dan also led an exercise to help us go beyond the first response to a problem. With a little prodding, we came up with dozens of practical, impractical and downright bizarre options.

 

"It's human nature to 'solve a problem' and move on, but you leave a lot of good ideas behind," he explained.

 

As a reminder to shift our perspective and pay attention to the tricks our brains play on us, Dan handed out a card with an image of two tables (see this illusion by Roger Shepard here). Although each table appeared quite different, placing a red magnet over each revealed they were identical. For more great illusions that show how we mis-think, check out Al Seckel.

 

Dan shared another reminder that what we think is "obvious" isn't necessarily so, with the help of PIC member Janna Stam. From her perspective, she saw the wonder of a cut rope magically joining back together. From the audience perspective, we could see some of the trickery that gave the illusion the rope was cut. (Dan's TED Talk shows how.)   

 

"What is truth or magic for one person is clearly different for another," Dan pointed out. "It all depends on your perspective."     

 

To gain a better idea of your client or another person's perspective, Dan suggested this simple, powerful statement: "Tell me more."   

 

See more photos from the event here

Next event Dec. 11 is the PIC seasonal social: Where the stars play!

Join PIC and friends on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013 for an evening of conversation and casual networking. It's pay-your-own-way for drinks and snacks, but the great company is free!

 

We're meeting where the stars play during the Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF Lounge is a central feature of TIFF Bell Lightbox, with spectacular views of King Street and downtown Toronto. It's the perfect atmosphere for mixing and mingling with colleagues. So come on out, have the first eggnog of the season, and renew acquaintances or make new ones.

If you can make it, please send a quick note to [email protected] TODAY so we can reserve enough space for everyone. We'll be waiting for you!  

 

Date & Time: Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013, 7 p.m. and onward 

Place:  TIFF Lounge, TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King St. W.,(corner of King and John streets), Toronto
Jan. 25: Digital Day presents web-based strategies & tools to boost freelance success
As independent communicators, we live and work online. Doing research, meeting with clients, sharing files with colleagues, writing copy or invoicing -- all of it can be done on the web. 

But what if you could do it all a little better, faster and easier?

Join PIC and the Professional Writers Association of Canada -- Toronto Chapter on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for Digital Day. This comprehensive one-day workshop will cover digital strategies, techniques and applications you can use for your business and for your client projects, with professional development sessions covering the following areas:
  • sophisticated social media strategies
  • the how-to's of blogging
  • website must-haves
  • search engine optimization
  • advanced online research tactics
  • tech tools for communications and business
You will leave this comprehensive workshop with new resources, strategies and contacts for building your communications business, as well as insights on often unseen opportunities for independents. Arrive early for a free 40-minute "social media starter" session at 9 a.m.

Date & Time: Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Place:    Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, Room R318, 750 Spadina Ave. (corner Bloor), Toronto
Cost:    $75 for IABC and PWAC members and students if paid before Jan. 10 ($100 after)
    $100 for non-members if paid before Jan. 10 ($150 after)

Get more information and register now!
How to craft a good tweet

by Amy Sept  

 

Every week, one billion tiny posts are published on Twitter, spanning the mundane to the thought provoking. But let's face it: A lot of those tweets suck!

If you avoid Twitter because it often seems often irrelevant and confusing, it certainly can be. It's not always easy to toss out tweets: Getting a coherent message across in 140 characters or less takes thought, and sometimes a good dose of creativity, from even the most naturally concise writers.

   

How can you shape your words into something clear and meaningful? Here are a few recommendations:

  • Keep it relevant. Personal tweets are OK, but if you're using Twitter to support your professional reputation, focus your posts around your area of expertise.
  • Limit yourself to one idea per tweet. 140 characters is one brief sentence and, like any other writing, if you cram too much information into too little space people will forget - or ignore -- the whole thing.
  • Avoid acronyms and abbreviations. You may be able to get away with writing "FYI" or "info," but can you readily decipher others like IDK or FWIW? Tweets may be short, but it's still critical that people can understand what you type.
  • Be picky when it comes to hashtags (words prefaced by #) and use no more than two. Hashtags are a way to file information on Twitter; the tag #IABC links information about the International Association of Business Communicators. A tweet with too many tags, however, is hard to read and looks like spam.

If you want to create posts that are more easily and readily shared, plan to:

  • Keep it short. Approximately 120 characters is a good length to aim for; it leaves a bit of space for someone to share your tweet and add their own commentary.
  • Share links when appropriate, but not all the time. Build credibility by sharing your own opinions with a blend of information from other people; this shows you know your field and are an active part of the Twitter community.

Are you on Twitter? Follow @PICToronto for event updates, news and professional advice. Follow Amy at @AmySept and find out more about her at Nimbyist Communications

Offer ends soon! Gain three extra months by renewing your IABC membership in November
Renew your membership in IABC during the month of November, and you might get 15 months for the price of 12.

The offer extends to the first 1,000 members -- new, current or lapsed -- from around the world who join or renew by Nov. 30, 2013, so don't delay!

As a bonus, if you're just joining or coming back to the fold after an absence, IABC will waive the $40 application/renewal fee you'd normally pay.

Learn more or join now! 
PIC Personalities
Meet Janna Stam
by Sue Horner

We count more than 160 members in PIC, offering a range of talent from coaching and media relations to video production and writing. Do you know everyone? PIC Personalities introduces new members and randomly profiles existing members. Let Sue Horner know if you'd like to be profiled and she'll be in touch to set it up!

Janna Stam is brand new to PIC as of fall 2013. She is a writer and editor, and supplies web content, case studies, business profiles, white papers and more in the areas of healthcare and non-profit organizations. Read Janna's blog at www.jstam.ca and reach her at 416-427-7164 or [email protected].

 

What's your background?

I've always been a reader and a writer. So when I went to school, I completed a Masters in English Literature. After graduating, I worked in marketing for Canada Life, then in communications for a small healthcare IT software company, then in communications again at Foresters.

When did you launch your business?

I had always wanted to try freelance work. So when my contract with Foresters ended about May 2013, I thought it was a great opportunity. I began freelancing in June.

 

Do you have any advice for others new to independent life?

My advice:

1. Be open to volunteer opportunities when you first start. They are a good way to connect with people and to write about what you love. You might not necessarily get paid work, but you'll get hands-on experience working remotely and managing timelines and workload.

2. Talk to other freelancers. At my first PIC meeting, I asked a lot of questions and was interested to hear others' feedback. I also found a lot of resources online, like Ed Gandia's advice on how to market yourself.

What do you enjoy most about being an independent?

I have to say that most of what I do doesn't feel like work! It's exciting to get up and go to work without thinking about the issues in a typical office environment. And you can't beat the commute from bed to desk! I live right near the 401 so constantly see the traffic, and am so glad I'm not in it.

 

I also appreciate the quiet. Working on my own helps me focus. I actually appreciate spending time with people more because I have control over when and where I see them.

 

What are some of the things you're working on?

I recently worked with IABC member Julia Bennett on an article about text vs. video, for the January issue of Communicator.

I also have an upcoming weekly column about women's health issues for an Alberta-based media company called Troy Media. That work came about through serendipity, really. I met someone at an IABC breakfast seminar, which led to a guest blog post for the Health Council of Canada. Then I met a Huffington Post journalist, who also published the post. That led to Troy Media.

It's early, but are you already seeing the value of PIC?

Yes, I think there's a wealth of information and experience in the group that new people like me can benefit from. There seem to be more people freelancing these days, especially between contracts, and it would be great if they knew about PIC!

Volunteers welcome for IABC/Toronto Communicator

Writers, editors, proofreaders and idea generators -- IABC/Toronto's member magazine needs you!

Communicator is published six times a year, and IABC/Toronto wants help providing readers with interesting, well-written, topical articles on public relations and communications. If you have a story idea, would like to write an article, or are great at proofing other people's work, please contact Stephanie Engel, VP, Member Communications, at [email protected].
Explore the PIC blog: Our favourite topic, pricing!

Check PIC's IABC eXchange site, listed upper right as "PIC Toronto blog," for resources and information to help you start, run and grow your business. In "Setting Your Fees," you'll find helpful advice about fees, retainers, contracts, tracking your time and more.

If you find a dead link or inaccurate information on the site, please let us know. If you'd like to volunteer to update specific sections of the blog, let us know that, too!  
IABC-logo.buzz
 
PIC is a special interest group of IABC/Toronto. PIC's mission is to support independent IABC/Toronto communicators through professional development, networking and marketing. 
The Buzz is PIC's e-newsletter, intended to inform independent communicators about our activities, share professional development tips from past meetings and keep us aware of what's going on. Connect with us on the web at pictoronto.com.

As the largest chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, IABC/Toronto provides access to products, services, activities and networking opportunities in Toronto and around the world. IABC helps people and organizations achieve excellence in corporate communications, public relations, employee communication, marketing communication, public affairs and other forms of communication. For more information, visit the
IABC website.

Sue Horner                                                           Heather West   
Director, Communications - PIC                              Copy editor