howtoshare – Page 4 – Surprised By Joy

“Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Twenty-five years ago, long before there was MailChimp, one of my projects for Microsoft was to email out their program offers to their 60,000 partners on a quarterly basis. I remember it as one of the most nerve-racking tasks of my job at the time. Not because of the technology, which was no problem, but because if something was wrong with the message we sent out, it had such visibility.

It really is amazing to think about the potential impact that technology has given us. But it also puts a lot of stress on how we share to a wider audience. Whether it’s work-related, part of volunteering on a committee, or a personal appeal to friends to join a cause, we have the ability to reach a broad group. Like my email project, that puts a lot of pressure on how we do it.

That’s why I love this latest episode of the How To Share podcast with corporate communications professional, Brian Hannon.

Brian and I talk about the nuances of professional communication. We explore the importance of understanding the audience, the timing of messages, and the need for authenticity in sharing information. Brian shares insights from his 30 years in corporate communications and journalism, emphasizing the significance of clarity, repetition, and empathy in effective messaging. The conversation highlights the evolution of communication formats and the challenges of simplifying messages for better understanding.

Here are some key takeaways:

Understanding your audience is crucial for effective communication.
Timing can significantly impact how messages are received.
Repetition helps ensure that important messages are not lost.
Segmenting your audience allows for more targeted communication.
Authenticity builds trust in corporate messaging.
Clear and concise messaging is essential in today’s fast-paced environment.
Empathy plays a key role in understanding how messages are perceived.
Feedback loops enhance the effectiveness of communication.
The evolution of communication formats requires adaptation in messaging strategies.
Effective communication is about sharing ideas, not just delivering information.

And a short clip from the episode to whet your appetite:

I’d be honored if you’d listen, watch, provide feedback and subscribe. Here are some ways you can listen and watch to the full episode:

The podcast player embedded below
Click this link to watch in a browser: How To Share Personal Stories
Subscribe to How To Share on Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Podcasts
Subscribing to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@howtosharepodcast

How To Share: From International Lawyer to Thriller Writer – How To Share

In this episode of 'How to Share', hosts Wynne Leon andVicki Atkinson engage with author Marc Ross about his latest geopolitical thriller, 'Attacking the Dragon'. The conversation delves into the book's plot, which revolves around China's Belt and Road Initiative, and how Ross's background as a lawyer influenced his writing. They explore the complexities ofChinese politics, character development, and the nuances of storytelling, as well as Ross's personal journey from law to fiction writing.Takeaways:Marc Ross's book 'Attacking the Dragon' explores China's geopolitical landscape.The Belt and Road Initiative is a significant yet under-discussed topic.Ross aims to portray China as a victim rather than an aggressor in his narrative.His legal background provides a unique perspective on the thriller genre.Character names in Chinese culture are complex but manageable for storytelling.Ross's writing journey reflects a long-held dream to become an author.He emphasizes the importance of creating unique protagonists in thrillers.The art of storytelling involves engaging readers through vivid descriptions.Ross enjoys the process of writing and values reader feedback. His experiences as a lawyer enrich his fictional narratives.Links for this Episode:How to Share homeA. Marc Ross's website: https://www.amarcross.com/index.htmlAttacking the Dragon on Barnes & Noble and AmazonFrom the hosts:Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

Links for this episode:

Brian’s blog: Writing from the heart with Brian

Brian Hannon on LinkedIn

Next up!

Stay tuned for next week’s episode when we get great guidance from Dr. Vicki Atkinson on how to receive when others share. A fantastic episode that comes with many great tips about how to deepen our ability to listen.

“Everyone has a talent. What’s rare is to follow it to the dark places where it leads.” – Erica Jong

Do you have a solid idea of what you know? Not what your jobs have been or what roles you have played but the overarching talent, wisdom, and perspective that is uniquely you?

I ask because I’ve spent the last five months trying to figure out what I know. Believe me, I understand that seems like a long time to try to answer what is a seemingly straightforward question. But I found it to be harder than I expected.

Here’s why. I’m bound by a non-compete so that I can’t fall back to the technical expertise that I’ve cultivated for my career, at least not for a few more months. But that has been an incredible opportunity for me to figure out the bigger picture. Instead of just treading the same path I’ve been walking with Microsoft SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, and the other technologies, I’ve had to examine what mountain I’ve been climbing the whole time.

Here’s what I discovered. In the 25 years I’ve been helping people with their collaboration software, I’ve learned a whole lot about how to share.

Not just what buttons to push to share a file, a photo or a calendar, but what makes groups do it well – and also do it poorly.

One of the more stark examples was a team that was so good at sharing not only files but also ideas, contacts, and worries about what could go wrong, they seemed to be able to nimbly handle challenges.

And then the leadership changed to someone who criticized that they talked too much, wanted people to focus on their own tasks instead of helping others, and berated team members for anything shared before it was polished. The leader thought they were “whipping the team into shape” but one of the side effects was that they were squelching vulnerability and sharing.

A couple of months into the new leadership, the team lost a key client. In the debriefing, it became clear that team members had picked up some little warning signs. If they’d shared them, it would have helped put together the big picture that the client was at risk.

While this example is in a professional context, it happens again and again in writing groups, schools, between friends, and more.

We have to share and it’s vulnerable. So we are continually evaluating who the audience is, what are the right permissions and how to identify the right time. That applies to files as well as personal stories, social media, wisdom, and more.

This period of introspection about what I know has pushed me to launch a new podcast, How to Share. It draws not only from my interest and experience but also applicable research and wisdom. My incredible and insightful first season guests will lend their expertise on how to share things such as credit and feedback, passwords, corporate communications, as well as how to receive when others share.

Here’s a short clip from the first episode, Why We Share:

Based on recent technology changes, we learned that embedding the full YouTube video reduces listens and views. Here are some ways you can listen and watch:

The podcast player embedded below
Click this link to watch in a browser: Why We Share
Subscribe to How To Share on Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Podcasts
Subscribing to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@howtosharepodcast

I’d be honored if you’d listen, watch, provide feedback and subscribe.

On the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast, Vicki and I also had a fascinating podcast conversation with author Mark Wukas about his incredible debut novel The Kiss of The Night. Please check out this fantastic author and hear how he cultivated his dream to write a book and this plot for almost 40 years!