The Chartered Institute of Public Relations has recently relaunched its webiste, with the addition of some great new features to keep PR professionals in the loop.
These include ‘CIPR TV’, where you can watch discussions with leading figures in the industry and a new ‘Features’ section that gives ready access to a range of in-depth articles, tips and advice from seasoned pros.
The new CIPR website can be found at: www.cipr.co.uk
Melitta
Many thanks to the 60+ communicators who attended the seminar today with John Zimmer on presentation skills – a very interesting presentation.
Some select photos of the event are found to the left of our page. For more information on John, please visit his website “Manner of Speaking”.
Thanks again to Tony Murdoch of the Murdoch Group for moderating the event and to our sponsor, the International University in Geneva.
Glenn
With the increasing popularity of Social Media such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn and the like, the communication profession is facing new and exciting opportunities to communicate – as well as new challenges to meet.
To map out exactly how Social Media is impacting the communications profession, Communication Director magazine and the University of St. Gallen are currently conducting a Europe-wide study of communications professionals – and have invited GCN members to contribute.
For instance, how do you use Social Media? What impact does it have on your daily work as a communicator? What support do you need to be able to cope with using Social Media?
There are two versions of the survey accessible via the below links. Please select the most appropriate one for you.
Survey for agencies and consultants >
Survey for in-house communicators >
Completion of the questionnaire will take approximately 15 minutes. All answers are anonymous.
A summary of the results will be posted here in the winter.
Melitta
Just to let all communicators know that our next lunchtime seminar, scheduled for Friday 15 October is fully booked! We are at our full capacity – 60+ persons, so if you didn’t book yet, we look forward seeing you at our next event.
Glenn and the team
Last week two of the most dominant players in the social media space, Skype and Twitter, announced a change of leadership, highlighting the intense competition in the market.
Twitter has replaced Evan Williams, a founder of the micro-blogging service, with Dick Costolo who is well regarded in the Silicon valley for his impeccable business aptitude and focus.
At Skype, the chief executive position is being taken over by Tony Bates, a former major player within Cisco.
More information about this story >
Melitta
Head of Unit, Marketing and Internal Communications at the ICRC
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a neutral and independent humanitarian organisation. This exciting new full-time vacancy is at its Geneva headquarters. Deadline for applications: 27 October 2010.
Those interested in applying should refer to the www.icrc.org website for details and for information on how to apply.
Further details are also available on the GCN Careers page.
Good luck!
The Geneva Communicators Network is proud to be affiliated with the Lift Conference Series. The next Lift Conference is Lift11 and will be held at the CICG in Geneva on February 2-4, 2011.
By clicking on the banner on the left of this site, GCN members can benefit from a 25% discount on the registration fee. The early bird rates are now available so act now as conference tickets go quickly.
Lift11 is a three-day conference about current and emerging usage of digital technologies such as online communities, social media and casual games. Participants come to better understand the challenges and opportunities presented by digital technologies, and meet the people who drive these innovations.
It’s the most innovative conference around and an excellent platform for networking so don’t miss out on this great opportunity.
We look forward to seeing you there next February.
Patricia
We are pleased to be able to return to the Geneva Press Club for our next GCN lunch meeting on 15 October.
This meeting will focus on presentation techniques. Making presentations or preparing others to do so is a key role for many communicators. John Zimmer, a lawyer by trade and expert public speaker at heart, will look at emotion from the perspective of both the speaker and the audience, examine why it is so important, and discuss ways in which to add genuine emotion to your presentations.One of the most famous catchphrases of motivational guru Tony Robbins is “Live with passion!” In fact, that’s also how we should speak: with passion; with emotion. Emotion is usually one of the touchstones of a great speech. It separates great speakers from mediocre ones. And it is one of the best ways of ensuring that your audience remembers your message.
Topic: Presentation Skills: Once More, With Emotion
Date: Friday, 15 October 2010
Time: 12h30 to 14h00
Location*: The Swiss Press Club, Route de Ferney 106, La Pastorale, 1202 Geneva (view directions)
Fee: CHF 10.- per person for a light lunch – payable at the door.
Please register here for the Geneva Communicators Network lunch event for Friday 15 October 2010 at 12h30.
If the above link doesn’t work, please copy the following link into your Internet browser: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22B9NBX8Z3J
Speaker’s bio: John Zimmer is a Canadian lawyer who now lives in Geneva, Switzerland and works in the United Nations system. John has over 20 years of public speaking experience. He has addressed courts and tribunals, business conferences, U.N. bodies, international delegations and more. He is a guest lecturer on public speaking and presentation skills for the Executive MBA Programmes at the University of Lausanne and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. John is a member of the International Geneva Toastmasters Club. He is a four-time European champion of public speaking contests. He also writes a blog about public speaking – http://mannerofspeaking.org – that is followed by readers around the world.
We look forward to seeing you there!!
Glenn, Patricia, Melitta & Vincent
*Location sponsored by the International University in Geneva.
The following new job openings have recently been posted on our careers page:
Good luck!
A funny thing happened on my way to work today…I read an article that suggested that using humour in corporate messages can be a positive thing to do.
While most communicators steer well clear of using humour in the office, and I have certainly advised many leaders and clients to use it with caution, particuarly in multi-cultural environments, Barb Sawyer of Sticky Communications has other ideas.
She put forward the case for using humour in the workplace stating that it can reduce stress, increase energy, motivate and makes people feel better about themselves and others.
While she agrees humour should be used with caution and offers the following tips to doing so successfully:
1. Know your audience and what they will relate to
2. Tell stories
3. Be yourself, develop your own brand of humour
However, I would argue that these three tips are not just good for using humour, but for successful communications in general.
Knowing your audience is the only useful starting point for any campaign and storytelling is well known for its ability to engage audiences and make messages memorable.
However, developing your own communication style, while it is something I have long advocated, is not something that you hear about too often. I think it’s particularly important in leadership communications as it helps to create a relationship with your audience and demonstrates that messages are coming direct from the source, making messages more credible.
…so I guess the message within the message is that if you always know what you are communicating and to whom, then you should also be able to determine if humour is appropriate for your message and audience, and what ‘gags’ will go down best.
Melitta