They say that most news – or sometimes the best – happen on a Friday afternoon. At least that is what I am told. 🙂 However, I am very excited to announce a project I was able to be a part of officially now. No, I am not launching a new album under the radar like Beyonce. However, I have to admit that Queen B does have style many PR professionals (and professors in fact!) could learn from this.
So, what is the news? I just found out the training session I did for the Reputation Institute‘s Reputation Academy on social media and reputation management is now available. I am truly honored by having this wonderful opportunity.
The Reputation Institute is the world’s leading reputation-based advisory firm with some of the leading minds in the profession and research on the area of reputation management, branding, and strategic communications. For me, this is super huge! Not only they are a great firm, but they are also hosts for a conference I’ve been to ever since I started the PhD program at Tennessee. Since 2008, I have been attending and presenting research at the annual conference hosted by the Reputation Institute. I’ve been to a lot of different conferences over the years, but this one is one of my absolute favorites. The presentations are engaging, relevant, and bridges between research and practice.
The Reputation Academy brings forth leading experts (both professionals and researchers) to create webinar training sessions for top level executives on a range of topics associated with reputation management. You see some of the thought leaders and visionaries of the field within these listings.
When I got asked to do a session on a topic that I love both professionally and personally, I was beyond excited. This was truly an opportunity I could not refuse and I jumped on board with it immediately. Creating content, organizing talking points for the session, and figuring out the amount of time each slide needed explanation were all factors that came forth with this experience.
What were some lessons I learned from creating the training session for the Reputation Academy? Here are some things I wanted to share about my wonderful experience:
- Determine who your audience is first: This was key for me – I have done a lot of social media presentations across various industries, and it really does set the tone for what information you need to present, and how to frame it. I found out top level executives from brands and corporations around the world would be my audience – so that put things in motion to create the presentation.
- Concise presentation and writing will be your friend: I’m naturally a wordy person when I am writing, and I know I do have a lot more words presented in my slide deck. However, I had an awesome friend/colleague/mentor who was able to be reviewer and pointed some places where I needed to reformat and even edit down a few of the points. Thanks Craig!
- Practice, practice, and practice!: One of the things I realized very quickly is that I had to practice making sure to talk slowly and clearly. When I talk about social media – I get so excited I almost talk at warp speed! I realized that I had to take my time and make sure I was consistent with my tone as well as speed during the presentation.
- Eye contact is crucial to have: With this presentation, I had to have both a microphone and I was on video. What does this mean? Not only do you have to make sure you are clear and concise with your talking points, you want to make sure you give the audience key eye contact at all times. This does not mean reading from the screen or looking all over the room when you are on camera. This is where doing lots of guest lectures via Skype and Google+ really came in handy for me.
In summary, I am again honored and extremely excited about this opportunity and chance to do this online training session for the Reputation Institute. It’s another big extension for me to help me become what I want to be as a professor, researcher, and consultant in the field.
Professors – I would encourage each to consider looking at opportunities like this as well. Students (particularly PhD students) – add this as a goal for when you are entering the profession as well. I highly recommend it – it’s been a wonderful learning experience and truly an honor to be a part of. Special thanks again to the professionals at the Reputation Institute for allowing me to be part of the sessions offered at the Reputation Academy.
Hope you all are having a wonderful day! 🙂
Best Wishes,
Karen
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