They’re all subjects of interest to comms professionals.
by Dee Cowburn
Communications can be pretty stressful. It doesn’t matter if it’s in-house, freelance, or interim work. Whether it’s crisis comms, internal comms, media relations, training, data insights, behavioural change comms, or anything in between.
Working with people and communicating in a way that resonates can be very intense.
The thing is everyone feels they know how to do communications. But the thing is, they don’t.
But the people that do have to be diplomatic about how they convey that to the people that don't - before they even get to the actual day job - and managing of the personalities involved in actually doing comms.
Throw in working for yourself and the uncertainty, yet welcome freedom it also generates, then finding ways to alleviate stress can be very welcome.
A certain type of personality works in comms I think. You need to like people a lot, not necessarily the ones who constantly change your quotes, but everyone else. You need to be able to see the bigger picture, work under pressure, write well and coherently, think on your feet and welcome change. Feeling comfortable with being uncomfortable is all part of the freelance life, as is utilising your support network. That is vital.
A freelance comms group I am part of, created by Darren Caveney, features lots of lovely consultants offering support and advice to one another. Ranging from accountants to contracts and lots of serious business-like stuff. You always feel less alone, you can sense check things or have a sounding board. Lots of generous people offering support and sound advice to one another.
Chances are if you are experiencing something, someone on the group has been through it and can share learning.
Yet sometimes the threads on that group are more marvellous than usual. And quite random. Take the question, who did you go to see for your first gig?
Sounds straightforward but that one innocent question can take you anywhere - and it did.
That question generated answers ranging from US alt rock band Living Color and The Icicle Works, to Five Star, to Showaddywaddy, Pet Shop Boys, Blow Monkeys, Bruce Springsteen and Daft Punk (and that’s just some of them!) and some random facts about Lee from Blue.
Making sandwiches for celebrities was another interesting fact I learned, including Toadfish from Neighbours, as was the fact that someone owns a record by Keith Harris and Orville, anyone remember Orville?! I bet that cover is worth something now.
That’s before we get onto hotel rooms. The views from hotel rooms is one of my favourite threads. How concrete and depressing can your view be? How narrow are the corridors? Does the room have a coffee machine? It’s like a really good advert for realistic work trips, Air BnB are missing a trick.
And train journeys and delays. How long is your train delayed and from where. How many carriages are out of order. Is it now cancelled and if so how are you going to get home?
And another one is the ‘Where Am I?’ questions, accompanied by a secret location pic. It could be a beach, a street, a building, a view. One consultant is so good at guessing with such limited information, I swear he has his own state-of-the-art drone scanning the countryside for the locations!
Mixing it up, bands and views, I am thinking what the next thread can be. Views on a postcard please?
Just not from a hotel showing a really fancy grey car park and a fetching brick wall please with a mural of a random eighties band. I think that thread has probably already been covered!
Unless the mural is of Culture Club, now they’re one of my faves! Or Bon Jovi! Or Erasure. Or the Human League.
Okay I’ll stop now.
Stop the press - The latest thread is on favourite wines. That might need to be another blog post!
Dee Cowburn is owner of Dee Cowburn Communications Ltd, a media and crisis communications consultancy. You can say hello on LinkedIn here.
