We walked into the building to interview an employee about the value of expanding public transportation. When Karl entered the room, we didn’t hesitate to begin the questioning before he sat down. The initial questions were not the ones we expected.
Karl’s beard was impressive, immaculately groomed and perfectly tamed. To our surprise, the contrasting gray patch naturally grows aligned in the center. We imagine many people would feel uncomfortable making such a fuss about a man’s facial hair. To us, ignoring this ice breaker, this conversation starter, staring us in the face would feel unnatural.
The twists to Karl’s story are not confined to the beard. The beard had placed third in a contest. Also, Karl likes to cook and had auditioned twice for national TV shows for chefs. In addition, he first met his wife during a layover at an airport. Their eventual wedding invitations resembled boarding passes.
Employee Communications
We interviewed Karl on-camera about our intended topic — public transportation. However the best stories are sometimes the ones you never intended to hear. For his company, Karl’s story offers a trove of fun, visual and interesting tales to share with customers and employees through blogs, e-newsletters and social media. When we talk with people prior to their on-camera interviews, eavesdropping co-workers amaze us by how often they respond, “I didn’t know that about you!” To genuinely build culture and camaraderie, your employee communications must mix in gee-whiz stories along with the flood of usual corporate messages. A man’s beard or how he met his wife might not reinforce a company’s core values or help focus a team on sales. Simply put, it doesn’t matter. Build a workplace full of people, not only salespeople. Keep in mind Karl is only one person. Imagine what we might learn by talking with an entire staff.
Video Production
Karl’s beard and cooking skills did not fit into a video about public transportation. However, delightful snippets of quirky information sometimes might perk up video production laced with an otherwise sleepy message. During a different on-camera interview, an employee explained how public transportation helped him land at conventions where he could converse with fellow fans about Star Wars and Star Trek. This information should more than elicit a polite smile or laugh prior to pressing the camera’s record button. With a wave of content washing up on our social media shores, any fun fact might make someone remember your video and, in turn, learn the ultimate key messages you are attempting to relay to your audiences.
Media Training
One of the most common complaints we hear about the news media is how often they arrive to interviews with stories already formulated. In other words, the story angle isn’t changing no matter what someone shares during the interview. This is unfortunate but people can push back by proactively sharing their own compelling stories. During media training, participants frequently never consider how sharing personal stories can shed new light about the interview topic. As media and presentation trainers, we must squeeze stories out of the employees practicing their interview skills. Reporters, often rushing to the next assignment before finishing the current one, won’t always seek out the powerful stories that can change the trajectory of an article. Don’t assume no one cares that you met your wife during an airport layover and during a discussion about algae (a true story!). Facts are important, but our experience teaches us viewers and readers remember stories more than a conveyor belt of data.
The next time a co-worker such a Karl walks in with a few off-topic tales, don’t push snooze on your curiosity. The sheer volume of content that companies and our friends think we care about is both astronomical and silly. So this opens an opportunity to allow someone with smarts and creativity to put some distance and distinction between what you offer and what the rest of society sees as essential.
