Okay, here's some free advice for someone who shouldn't need it: The White House Communications Director.

The remarkable 10-day career of White House Communications Director, Anthony Scaramucci, was amazing.  The most remarkable part to me was his total and complete lack of, that's right, COMMUNICATIONS experience.  

There are those who believe that anyone can do communications. That it is easy! Guess not.

So if someone hires you off the street to be White House Communications Director, because I hear they are looking, here are a few helpful tips to get you started:

1.  Every time you talk to a reporter it is ON THE RECORD - that means everything you say and do can be reported.  Full stop.  If you use 4-letter words, they may bleep them out, but they will be reported.

2.  Everything you have said or done up until that point in your life is public record.  You want to a credible Communications Director?  Be an honest and trustworthy person.  I'm not saying you can never have made a mistake, but if that's all you've made, perhaps we should rethink our career choice.

3. Clean up your own house before you clean up the White House. Maybe have a conversation with your spouse before accepting the most high-profile job in the world (and make your start date AFTER your baby is due).

4.  PR should NEVER be the PR problem.  You are there to provide messaging to further your boss's agenda.  If all the stories are about you, you are doing something wrong.

5.  Communications is a real thing.  It is a career that takes time to learn and is ever changing.  PR professionals hone their craft.  This White House has changed the discipline, I'll give you that.  But if the public is yearning for something authentic and real, that is not the same as insulting or cruel. We can be honest and respectful at the same time.  The press has a job to do and is there to be a watchdog.  I respect them, but am always careful, they do bite.

As a communications person, I'm not sorry to see Anthony Scaramucci step down.  Much like health care reform, communications is hard.

People appreciate directness.  I like to think of myself as a straight shooter.  But if your message causes a stress reaction in the person receiving it, then they will only hear 20% of what you are trying to convey.  
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Remember the #1 rule of communication?  Begin with the audience in mind.  There are many ways to express your point honestly and directly without attempting to transfer your anxiety to the other.  

Here's an example:
You're new at a job and a demanding, disorganized client asks for something right away. The request falls to you as it is part of your responsibilities. You come out of a meeting to find an email from a colleague with the request and realize you have no time to meet the deadline.  Your anxiety skyrockets.  You shoot off an email criticizing your new colleague for the way the request was handled.  Outcome: Poor first impression of you and work not managed.

How else can you approach this situation?  Pick up the phone, seek to understand how the situation came about, manage your anxiety with a few deep breaths before explaining where you are and why you may need help.  People will respect vulnerability before what could be perceived as rudeness.  

Few simple things to remember for the truth tellers out there:

1.  Is your audience ready for what you need to tell them?
2.  Are you managing your own anxiety before sending that email or making that comment (i.e. think before you send/speak)?
3.  What is your relationship to the person you are addressing (new colleague, friend, spouse, superior, subordinate, peer)? How will that affect the message? How can you tailor it to your audience to get the job done?
4. Play for the long-term relationship.  Once you've built trust, you can be more direct the first time around and people will put it in context.

​Happy Hunting!

I like to ask questions. How often do you?

Here are some reasons I like leading with questions. Can you think of any others?

​- Questions help you clarify, understand and get educated
- Questions let the person you're communicating with know you care about their point of view
- Questions make the conversation a two-way street
- Questions help the person you're asking think of things he/she may not have considered without feeling threatened

Go into your next meeting with this goal: ask three questions before you make a statement. See if you make it. See how it changes the dynamic.

Think you can do it?

Sometimes I get stuck.  I think I'm doing a task the way it has been requested, but there is a disconnect.  My instinct in those situations is to dive into the details. What went wrong?  Do I explain and defend my work or do I concede the point and move on? 

But there are other times when there is something else going on underneath the surface of the communication that I feel, but cannot see. Then it's time to reexamine the process.  How did we get to the point of the disconnect?  How are we communicating?  Do we need to reexamine our process as a team?  Do we need to dig a little deeper?  Take a step back?  Set up a longer conversation?  Look at the "how" instead of the "what?"

It's about your attitude, your approach and your willingness to pick the right peaks to climb when they need climbing.

Here is Nelson Mandela for you today (to compensate for the Miley Cyrus in the headline).
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If eighty percent of communication is non-verbal, why do we waste so many words?

Imagine how much more impactful we could be if we only used the words we really need? If your words were rarified in such a way that each was treasured by its recipient? 

So remember when it comes to communication, think quality over quantity.

Yardley, PA – Feb 21, 2016 -  Stony Hill Communications, LLC a business specializing in healthcare public relations and corporate communications strategic consulting, received national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Pennsylvania-Delaware-Southern New Jersey regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
 
WBENC’s national standard of certification implemented by the Pennsylvania-Delaware-Southern New Jersey is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection. The certification process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women.
 
By including women-owned businesses among their vendors, corporations, and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier/vendor diversity programs.
  
About Stony Hill Communications, LLC
When climbing the most challenging communication peaks, the strongest climbers take a guide. Stony Hill Communications, LLC is owned and operated by Melissa Katz, a seasoned, independent, female communications expert with more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry.
 
About WBENC
The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council is the nation’s largest third party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. WBENC is a resource for the more than 700 US companies and government agencies that rely on WBENC’s certification as an integral part of their supplier diversity programs.
 
 

Do you know everything? Finally! We've met! YOU'RE the one!

I do not.  I consider myself a life-long learner.  And I gravitate to other "works in progress."  

This week I had the honor of training a dozen speakers in preparation for their company's national sales meeting.  Each person walked in prepared, engaged and genuinely open to hearing feedback.  Can you imagine how much better prepared they left that room?  They are now able to incorporate the audience's perspective BEFORE the fact.  Instead of survey data hitting them like a ton of bricks after it's too late, they had the opportunity to know how their presentations would be received and ensure they hit the mark.

See? It might sound strange, but feedback IS a gift!

The most important ingredient in the success of this week was:  Willingness.  You have to be willing to:

- listen
- adjust
- accept
- change

It takes a lot of courage to make the journey and a lot of confidence to take a guide, in fact, only the strongest climbers do :).

Are you willing?

It's that time of year. When, hopefully, things slow down at work and you have a little down time. Those precious moments you wish for all year long. Time to think. What are you going to do with this time.

Here are some ideas:

- Do Nothing - give yourself time to recover and reenergize. Walk away from your work so you can remember why you like it :)

- Get creative - what is that innovation you keep pushing off because you don't have time. Make a call, take a step, have a meeting with someone you never do. Great ideas grow in unusual places

- Plan - maybe your busy times will be less crazy if you can plan at least some of it out in advance. Perhaps put in place some contingency plans for those busier times.

I hope 2015 was as exciting for you as it was for those of us at Stony Hill Communications, LLC. I am filled with gratitude for all of your support and faith.

May your 2016 be filled with peace.

There is only one person who can speak with your voice.  Only one person who is the expert at being you.  Why let someone else speak for you?  Why let them put words in your mouth?  The communications climate today is set for authenticity. There is a refreshing honesty to the conversations taking place.

Disclaimer:  This is not a permission slip to say whatever you want whenever you want. Some think that authenticity means saying cruel things to others on Facebook.  It's not about pointing fingers, it's about being who you are and letting others do the same.  Speak your truth, but not at the expense of others.  

If you are focused on communicating your position, your company, your truth, you will have no problem "staying in your lane" and you will earn the respect of your audience for doing what you do best:  Being authentically YOU.

Clients come to me all the time asking for a "big idea." They want their own ALS ice bucket challenge viral sensation. So we go off and brainstorm great ideas and either the risk or the price tag