Author: Garth Beyer

Should Journalists Have A Blog

Garth Beyer

Simple answer: yes.

An analogy I came up with the other night while at a panel discussion on the subject was that if you were to hire a photographer, you would expect them to have a website where you can see what makes them a good photographer. It doesn’t need to just be photos they’ve taken, but what photos they like, what they think about the industry, what their persona is.

The same goes for journalists. If you want to be hired, the first thing employers will do is Google you. They expect to find a website that has content you’ve created as well as more of what you are interested in, enough content that they can tell what kind of person you are.

IMO, it’s not should you. It’s why don’t you already?

Get on that.

You’re Not That Important, But Everyone Loves You

Garth Beyer

I’ve sifted through dozens and dozens of blogs, attended some productive, some not-so-productive meetings and listened to speakers all week. Here are some tips to spitshine your blog, your productivity and your speaking.

Blogging

  • Never start a blog post with anything that is similar to “it’s been awhile since I’ve written,” “I’ve been sooo busy and haven’t been able to write lately” and “I’m going to try and write more.” Nothing makes me cringe as much as seeing 165,000,000 results show up on Google
  • You won’t find that fine line between personal and professional until you write a lot under each.
  • I met with blogger Danielle Bruflodt who advocates planning out blog posts. I, on the other hand, never do. I argue that not planning forces you to observe more and keep a more open mind throughout each day to find something to write on. Both ways work.
  • What Danielle and I both agreed on: write daily.

Productivity (meetings)

  • Don’t let any meeting go past an hour.
  • Know who the leaders are and those that flat-out standout. Thank them for it.
  • Some meetings don’t need to be ran. Some meetings run themselves. Recognize this. Leading meetings that don’t need to be lead damages productivity and how people will view you as a leader.
  • If you’re not running the meeting, know more about the people who are than anyone else attending. It’s not creepy to know I completed National Novel Writing Month or stayed in Madison for Thanksgiving.

Speaking

  • Much like the que on how you start a blog post, never start speaking by giving an apology, no matter what you’re sorry for.
  • Not everyone loves cherries on their sundae’s, but everyone loves getting gifts when they get information. Give. Give. Give.
  • Handouts are your friends, but not at the start of your presentation. Let everyone know they are getting a handout outlining the presentation. What matters is that they focus on you, not on following an outline and not on taking notes the entire time.
  • No one goes to just listen to a speaker anymore. They go to speak to. Involve your audience, they expect it. There’s a reason it’s called a “speaking engagement.” Engage them in conversation.

 

Stay Positive & Do, Learn, Share

Garth E. Beyer

A Matter Of Free

Garth Beyer

Free

Don’t give your honest hard work away for free.

Know what your art is and then make sure you receive respectable payment for it.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t give anything for free. No matter what your art is, there are trillions of other things that you can give for free other than your art.*

I’ve always been satisfied with buying a book and getting additional content for free. Or buying an appliance and getting a discount on a future purchase.

I’ve never been happy buying a book and getting another one from the same author for free. Or paying for a cupcake and getting a toaster oven for free. Is it the cupcake that’s valuable or the toaster oven?

Stick to what you deserve to be paid for. What that is, of course, you get to decide on.

 

Stay Positive & Free Should Not Come At A Price

Garth E. Beyer

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*as it goes, there are exceptions. Keurig can give away free Keurig machines because they know consumers can answer the question, “how does this benefit Keurig?” Consumers know instinctively that Keurig’s main profit comes from people purchasing K-cups, not Keurig machines. Thus, no one wonders why in the world Keurig would give Keurig machines away for free.

Love/Hate Relationship With Famous Quotes

Garth Beyer

A couple posts ago I shared content from a handout given by Adam Schrager, WISC-TV. He quoted Mark Twain for saying “I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.”

That quote was actually written by Blaise Pascal. Not Mark Twain.

There’s an entire faction of study that seeks confirmation of who said what in the history books. It’s all fascinating of course; it’s something I love about famous quotes, but it makes me wonder why any journalist would consider using a respectable quote from the past to strengthen their writing.

Couldn’t Schrager have just said, “it’s worth taking the time to make a letter shorter.” Schrager is already a credible source to be making that statement. Why credit someone else? Especially someone who never even said it.

Even when considering using quotes that are verified, perhaps any Winston Churchill quotes. They are all solid. They are all persuasive and informative. Certainly many of them pack a punch. But still, could you not write it better? Could you not angle it in a way that is more comprehensible for readers of this time and accept the credit you deserve for stating it in such a way?

We can’t keep living in the press of the past, no matter how well spoken people were at the time. And, quite plainly, if I wanted to read what Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, or whoever is wrongly attributed to a famous quote has to say, I’ll pick up their books.

But when I pick up your writing, I want to read your writing.

/rant

Trendsetting To 2014

Garth Beyer

Design

  • It’s statistically proven that what people care more about in occupations than money is purpose.
  • Every day I read about people trying to find meaningful work, some finding it.
  • All the workplace infographics I come across point out that people want flexibility, space to grow into and a bit of freedom for how they accomplish their tasks.

These are the most significant trends of 2013.

Now nearing 2014 these trends are shifting. In 2014 they will be as follows:

– It will be statistically proven (blatantly noticeable) that people will not settle for an occupation that doesn’t align with the purpose they see for themselves.

– Every day I will read about people creating their own meaningful work. They will have quit searching for someone else’s box to fit in.

– All the workplace infographics I will come across will point out that people will construct their own schedules entirely (with some regularity near an average), they themselves will be the only roadblocks in their way, growth will be infinite, and along with their complete freedom to carry out tasks their way, they will have ever more pressure to be unique about it and accomplish more tasks throughout the year.

Which I have summed up to be 2014: The year of design.

 

Stay Positive & More On This As 2013 Comes To A Close

Garth E. Beyer

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Showing Up

Garth Beyer

They say showing up is half the battle and half the success.

Gift

Most of your audience are all still kids in some ways. One way being is that they only care about those who show up. It doesn’t matter how great of an idea you have or how much you love them. If you don’t show up, they won’t care about you.

Then again, showing up might mean you need a gift in hand.

 

Stay Positive & What Do You Have To Give

Garth E. Beyer

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