Professional Hugging?

Is there anything like “professional hugging”? Is it the hug type offered by a certified, registered and experienced huger after attending a renowned institution and successfully completed a certain number of credit hours? Or is it the hug offered by a professional such as a doctor, or a pilot, you and me? If it’s the type of hugs found at work here are 11 commandments for hugging at an office. 

The Hugging Rules

1. Don’t Hug those you supervise unless: 

•  it’s being supportive in a non-creepy way 
• after a major family or personal loss – sideways, kind of arm around the shoulder, you care about them hug 
• it’s at a wedding and you are congratulating them 
• it’s a hug for a professional win (promotion, giant sale, big project completion, etc.) 
• It’s with a group, not alone in your office with the lights off; unless you would feel comfortable with your spouse standing next to you and watching that specific hug. 

     2.   Hug your external customers or clients when they initiate hugging sequence

• Don’t hug if: it is required to get business – that’s not hugging, that harassment. 
• Don’t let hug last more than a second or two, or it gets creepy. 
• Don’t mention the hug afterwards; that makes you seem creepy! 

    3.   Don’t Hug the office person you’re having an affair with in the office. 

          (no explanation needed) 

    4.   Hug peers, not just every day. 

• It’s alright to hug, but you don’t need to do it everyday for people you see everyday. Save some up and make it special! 

    5.   When you Hug, hug for real. (Nothing worse than the ‘fake hug’! A fake hug is 

          worse than a non-Hug.) 

    6.   Don’t whisper – ‘You smell good’ – when hugging someone professionally. 

          (That’s creepy – in fact don’t whisper anything while hugging!) 

    7.   Don’t close your eyes while hugging professionally. (That’s weird and a bit 

          stalkerish) 

    8.   It is alright to announce a Hug is coming. (Some people will appreciate a – 

          ‘Hey! Come here I’m giving you a hug – it’s been a long time!’) 

    9.   It’s never alright to Hug from behind. (Creepier!) 

  10.   Never Hug in the restroom. (Make for awkward moment when other employees 

          walk in and see that.) 

  11.   If you’re questioning yourself whether it will be alright to Hug someone 

          professionally – that is your cue that it probably isn't. 

Courtesy; Tim Sackett

Media Relations Tips to Memorize During a Crisis

Crisis can be viewed as a major occurrence with a potentially negative outcome affecting an organization, company, or industry, as well as its publics, products, or good name, characterized by; the surprise, high threat to important values, and the urgency in decision making that it brings. 

Cynthia Martinez, director of global corporate communications at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., picked up these five crisis management tactics from her experience managing the fallout after a fire broke out onboard the cruise ship, Grandeur of the Seas.
 

1.    Have a strategic, coordinated and rehearsed social media plan. Established a three-pronged goal to manage the crisis: Become the main source of information on the fire; provide a steady stream of information and own the conversation and the visuals.

2.    Communicate within minutes and stay engaged. Speak first, speak clearly and speak often.

3.    Communicate with a unified voice. Make sure everyone in your company is equally equipped to become an ambassador.

4.    Control the visual. In addition to pictures of the fire damage, Royal Caribbean also tweeted out pictures of its president and CEO, Adam Goldstein, onboard the ship, assessing the damage and meeting with guests. Major media outlets used those photos in their stories.

5.    Put a company face front and center. People speak louder than logos.

Courtesy; PR News  

Essentials for Connecting With Any Audience

I am a communication specialist with a key interest in Public Relations. PR professionals are majorly storytellers, crafting content for journalists, employees and consumers - just to name a few. Yet, a compelling narrative often falls by the wayside when we write up a press release about a new hire or publish the results of a survey.

For great and true connection with your audience by considering these four factors in your publication:

1. Emotional: Employ sentiments like sympathy and joy in your writing, but don't be afraid to anger or shock your audience as well. Ask yourself, "What's happening in their world?" Find the answer and show how it connects to your message.
2. Rational: Perhaps the opposite of the emotional tactic, it can also be effective to highlight the functional aspect of the information you're delivering. If you're writing a press release about a new product, explain how it will make the lives of your readers easier instead of simply declaring it an "exciting new product.’
3. Values: What do you have in common with your audience? Find out what's important to them and address it in your communications. For example, it's not enough to say your brand is "transparent." Be specific: "transparency with cost to consumer" or "transparency with C-suite compensation."
4. Sensory: Make your content experiential. Put your reader in the center of the story and employ as many sensory descriptions as possible. Did your company recently launch a CSR program where employees plant vegetable gardens in low-income neighborhoods? Describe the whirring of hummingbird wings as they hover around new blossoms, the smell of broken-off leaves of basil and the sweet, acidic tang in a bite of homegrown tomatoes.

Courtesy PRNews