The Bachelor offers JU-AN valueable lesson in PR.

The Bachelor offers JU-AN valueable lesson in PR..

The Bachelor offers JU-AN valueable lesson in PR.

(Meant to post this weeks ago! lo siento)

If you were not fortunate enough to be a spectator of this, the most “dramatic season ever” of The Bachelor …. s’okeh.

This will be quick and painless, I promise.

All you need to know is that no one got engaged and that everyone now despises the once loveable, La Vida Loca-living, soccer ball bouncing, Venezuelan bachelor – Juan Pablo.

After a few post-rose debates with frien…I mean…colleagues, I started asking was he really all that bad – or did he just have some severe communication issues?

I think I can boil down Juan Pablo’s demise with a couple of simple PR rules: 1. Know your audience and 2. Culture Communications 101.

1. Know your audience: more importantly, know what page they are on and how they need to hear from you. The phrase “s’okey” (#itsok or other versions)  will go down in dating guidebooks as the most despised phrase of indifference to ever be uttered in a relationship.

Juan clearly wasn’t taking into account his female partners reaction to this phrase. While he may have meant it to come off as easy-going and non-invasive; when uttered repeatedly during a heartfelt confession or emotional revelation, it was in fact, making the girls feel devalued, deflated and patronized. s’not okey.

Use your key messages JP; here are some sample phrases that you could switch out on your next dating show:

‘I understand’

‘I hear you’

‘That makes sense’…. or even the old stand by…

‘Fine by me’

2. Culture Shock

Now, I enjoyed playing devil’s advocate in some of these discussions and thought to myself, is he really the world’s biggest douche bag, or is it perhaps a culture barrier?

The truth is that culturally, people’s reactions and inferences are quite different. Anyone who has dabbled in marketing or distribution overseas could speak to this point. The gestures, tone and inferences of someone who might be born in another country don’t often ‘come off’ as they would from an individual who has been brought up in that same country.

To me, Juan wasn’t really being any more of a jerk than he was when the show started – his demeanor, attitude and actions remained fairly consistent while I found the girls needs, perceptions and interpretations changed as they became more emotionally involved.

In the end – they came to the same realization that we could all plainly see from the start;

this ain’t gonna work honey. In any language.

From Ju-an PR pro to another – hope you’ve enjoyed this playful pun of a blog.

What the Polar Vortex teaches us about business

… not much really, just wanted to stay relevant … but seriously, what do you do if everything shuts down for a day, a week, a month? Power’s out, roads aren’t letting people through, you’re snowed in, neighbours are just as bad off as you…. what do you do?

Get back to basics, I guess. Make sure everyone knows how to build a fire, eat wieners and beans for a while, share stories, reach out to loved ones … not bad business advice.

When business gets hit or is thrown off schedule due to things like sudden illness, departure of figurehead or key employee, shutdown of facility/plant, financial hardship – it can feel like things come to a dead stop. Here are some tips on how to not to let a set back FREEZE you to a standstill.

Make sure everyone knows how to build a fire. There is nothing worse than being the ONLY one with your corporate passwords, usernames and knowledge of how to post a tweet. Take some advice, if you have one person in command of this area – be sure that you can involve at least one other person in these daily affairs. Send a link with quick tutorial or just let them look over your shoulder for an hour one day. You will be grateful and it will ease some pressure.

Eat wieners and beans for a while.  Well, if your circumstances are dire or strained, take some pressure off of being ‘Julia Child’ for a night and just eat what’s in your cupboards. Corporately speaking, if you find yourself in less than ideal circumstances financially or internally, it may not be the best time to hit the ‘launch’ button or start any new endeavours. Focus on doing what you are currently doing, but perhaps direct tight resources to improving or making it better. You may appreciate having the extra time to let things ‘digest’.

Share Stories. Do you have any good ones? Are there people who have a better delivery than you? The best way to get more comfortable telling your stories and sharing news and information is to just start! Start that blog you’ve been meaning to get to, look at how and what others are tweeting about, think about how you can share your expertise with others, check out how businesses are using Facebook. If you have nothing ‘going on’ with your business – you can at least start telling people what you’ve already done and accomplished!

Reach out to loved ones. This is never a bad idea in the wake of a storm. If there has been a shift or stall at your company, it may be time to re-think your approach, systems or service model – and talking to others is a great place to start! One cup of coffee is FULL of potential. Start with colleagues, referral partners and even past clients. Asking others about their progress, goals and business can sometimes light fires and link bridges that get you back on the road!

#PRVortex. You’re welcome 🙂