Sonia

Today I accidentally deleted all the “real” comments off this site when I deleted all the spam comments. How did I do this act of stupidity? Not paying attention to detail. I could blame this website’s interface, but in reality, I just wasn’t paying attention. It’s funny how all these years, I thought I was…

I recently went to an excellent presentation on innovation hosted PRSA St. Louis. The speaker was Kathie Thomas of Fleishman Hillard (headquartered here in St. Louis). She’s their innovation guru, and this presentation was also presentated at a national PRSA conference. I thought I’d share a few bits of her presentation that I found interesting.…

We’ve all heard a lot of talk about change lately, and I’ve experienced big changes this year. But how do we really successfully manage change in our business and personal lives? I read this quote in Maximum Impact’s Leadership Wired newsletter today, and I thought it was very wise. “The most successful businessman is the…

I had so much to say on the topic of great writing, that I had to break it into multiple posts! Here’s a few more tips to follow to improve your writing process: Read out loud. After writing, speak what you write. This unveils awkward phrasing, gaps in the structure, and areas that need revision.…

Want to look smart? Learn how to write clearly and concisely! Writing has never been more important as we all spend hours every week writing emails. Although this list applies to nearly all business and promotional writing, I wouldn’t suggest applying it to essays and creative writing. This is, however, a great checklist the next…

“Gratitude is the ‘forgotten factor’ in happiness research,” according to researchers Robert Emmons (Univ. of California, Davis) and Michael McCullough (Univ. of Miami). A workplace news brief in ASAE’s Associations Now magazine, tells how these researchers are conducting a long-term study on gratitude, its causes and its effects on health and well-being. Highlights from the…

I have to admit, I have some big pet peeves with email. I think its the most abused communication tool ever invented. I think this is because its purpose is has been overextended, and it’s available at the sender’s convenience. You can send an email anytime you feel like it, but you can’t call your…

I recently attended an informative luncheon sponsored by the Community Service Public Relations Council (CSPRC). It was a roundtable format with a myriad of topics; I was able to sit in on two topics, website Redesign and public relations tips from the Post-Dispatch. Although I have a lot to say on website redesign, I’ll save…

In my previous two jobs, I have produced over 60 promotional videos, so I have a few tips to offer on how to create a great video. I’ve done it on the cheap and with a big budget. And, since I only had one video class in college, I learned from experience…and from my incredibly…

No matter what you are communicating, testimonials pack a powerful punch. Well, let me qualify for a minute: real testimonials pack a powerful punch. Fake or doctored up testimonials detract more than they help. (Who really believes infomercials?) Gathering testimonials for your company, product or service takes effort, plus a little time and money. However,…

I was able to celebrate my birthday last week with the fun folks at the Public Relations Society of America – St. Louis Chapter. The monthly luncheon featured a fascinating topic by a world-renowned expert. Author and PR Exec Leslie Gaines-Ross of Weber Shandwick shared how a company’s reputation can be destroyed in seconds during…

I love press releases. They are one of the most clear, concise and non-manipulative ways to communicate important information. And, if written correctly, news releases offer facts and invite participation in a tantalizing way that makes everyone want to read them. I’ve found they are welcome addition to any direct marketing program; why save the…

Warning: this could get a little geeky! Brett, my husband, recently showed me a handy list of 100 top Web applications as voted by nearly 2 million people. Every year, Webware.com sponsors the “Webware 100” awards (which does all the hard work for you in finding cool, useful Websites). The contest started with 5000 nominees…

I recently attended an informative (and fun) luncheon put on by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) St. Louis Chapter. The topic was research and the speaker was Steve Bast of Nucleus Marketing Lab. Since we’re all needing to prove our worth these days, research is becoming more important in every field. Steve customized…

Overloaded? Want to give your productivity and mental state a positive boost? Check out these great online tools to get more organized and improve your life. Remember the Milk (rememberthemilk.com) – This is a free, incredible tool for managing tasks and to-dos. It has tagging, date, location, time estimate, frequency, and notes. You can enter…

Today, I had the pleasure of participating on a panel about careers in communications at St. Charles Community College. It was fun! It was put together by the SCC Speech and Communications Department, which includes Darren Osburn, associate professor, who I knew from our days together at Culver-Stockton College. The other panel organizers were: Curt…

You know that guy. He’s so in love with his iPod that he practically talks you into buying another one every time you enter his space. Or there’s that lady in the cube next to you who’s always reminding that you’ve “got to check out” that great new Google feature because its so useful. According…

This is the kick-off post of my new business-related blog, Word Out. I chose this name because it’s fun, and right on with what every organization needs to do to be successful. Getting the word out to your target audiences is so important; it shapes how people view your organization. Reality is shaped by people’s…