Are you applying the principles of persuasion?

Persuasion. Isn’t that what communication is all about? Effectively and ethically applying Richard Cialdini’s six principles of persuasion can make all the difference in whether a message has impact, or not. The six principles – reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking, and consensus – are motivational levers. If we have a deep understanding of our target audience, we can calibrate them for maximum effect.

In this podcast, I discuss stakeholder analysis and the principles of persuasion as I reflect on my career as a communicator.

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Alexa, chart my career path!

Stefanie Potgieter graduated from our program in 2015 and now works as a senior program manager with the Secure AI Foundations team at Amazon. Her role has several different components. She is the Business Operations Manager for an organization of 5,000+ employees worldwide. Her responsibilities also include executive communications, helping to define and execute a communication strategy for the organization’s vice president.

We asked Stefanie about communication and culture at Amazon and her jobs since graduation. She offers some excellent advice for every communicator, wherever they are on their career path.

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Why communicators should measure what matters — an interview with Katie Delahaye Paine

I recently had the opportunity to interview Katie Delahaye Paine, who has been a pioneer in the field of communication and PR measurement for three decades. You can read some her contributions to the profession at the bottom of this post.

Students in our program consider her book Measure What Matters an excellent and practical introduction to assessment methodology.

Here’s what Katie had to say about measurement and why it matters for communicators in all functional areas — and why the ability to demonstrate communication impact is a key to career advancement in our digital era.

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Global in Outlook, Local in Attitude

In December 2018, I began my 21-hour journey from Boston to Singapore to embark on a two-year international assignment. Until this point, my career had been built on corporate communications roles, working at my company’s U.S. headquarters.

In my new role, I would be responsible for building the company’s reputation through digital media in Asia Pacific (APAC), including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

In APAC, I spent a lot of time listening and learning to get a full understanding of the current online activities that were either diluting, damaging or improving the company’s reputation in each country. From there, it was my job to identify how to harmonize digital content creation and optimize social media channels to drive consistency in alignment with global brand principles.

This experience has changed the way I view communications in three ways:

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The 3rd Annual ePortfolio Showcase: Celebrating our master storytellers

The positive energy reverberated around the globe with participants as far away as China and Qatar tuning in virtually for our 3rd Annual ePortfolio Showcase.

The occasion: Honoring the Corporate and Organizational Communication graduate students who created the most compelling digital portfolios in the 2019-20 academic year.

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What did I do on my summer vacation? Create a virtual public relations and marketing agency, Husky Communications!

Many of us may recall the ‘what did I do on my summer vacation’ essay question at the beginning of the school year. For 17 graduate students in our Digital Media and Corporate and Organizational Communication programs, the summer break was an opportunity to do something very consequential.

With the guidance of our digital marketing expert and instructor, Christina Inge, they designed a brand identity and website for our Virtual PR Firm (VPRF).

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Northeastern’s Virtual PR Firm — redefining the term ‘experiential’

We’ve just finished the first year of our Virtual Public Relations Firm (VPRF). Based on both achievements and feedback from everyone involved, it was a good one that has us planning for bigger and better things as the new school year approaches.

Nearly three dozen students participated in some phase of VPRF work on behalf of two clients: Neuron, a San Franciso-based UX design firm founded by Northeastern alumni and the university’s own Biopharmaceutical Analysis Training Laboratory (BATL).

For our clients, the experience was similar to working with a small PR agency helping them to increase brand awareness and reach new audiences. Under the guidance of instructors, who also are industry professionals, the students first developed a research report, then created a strategic PR plan, and ultimately designed and delivered a wide range of promotional content.

“I think the students were superb,” said Jared Auclair, Director of BATL. “They produced really high quality work.”

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Making a difference through experiential education

For their capstone project, students in the MS in Corporate and Organizational Communication program must engage with a project sponsor to address a communication challenge. Over a 12-week period, students apply a consultative methodology and their communication knowledge and skills in an experiential learning process.

Processed with VSCO with l4 preset — Nicole Bernstein

I recently asked Nicole Bernstein, an alumna of our program, and one of six Northeastern College of Professional Studies students recognized for the excellence of their experiential projects in the past academic year, about her capstone experience.

For her Fall 2019 capstone project, Nicole Bernstein worked with CareerAgility, a boutique Diversity and Inclusion consulting firm, which was founded, as its website notes “with a passion for ensuring women and people with diverse backgrounds have an equal voice and equal advancement opportunities in the workplace. We believe companies are more innovative, competitive, and financially successful when the work environment is diverse and inclusive.” Continue reading “Making a difference through experiential education”

Fears & Failures – Part of the learning process #3 in a Three-Part Series

Can FEAR and FAILURES be part of a learning process? With all that has been happening, this seems to be a good time for the last of my three-part series. As a brief recap from my previous posts, the series started with Why I chose CPS to pursue my dream!, then I shared Unlocking Opportunities! And the journey continues…

Source: https://www.roliedema.com/success-iceberg.html

In my final quarter at CPS, I focused my energies on the job search process. I spoke with many recruiters, sent many emails, applied to many jobs, and gave many interviews. Sound familiar? When I hear and see success stories, I keep in mind that I am only seeing the tip of the iceberg – there is so much underneath. Trust me, the learning during the process is powerful, embrace it!

Sahar Rehman – No fears, learning from failure!

Moreover, I love this quote from Robert Stevenson, “keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.” Hence, I decided to explore how my fears were overcome by my courage and how my failures generated motivation. By taking an inventory of my broad experiences, skills, and competencies, I prophesied that my career development goals are attainable.

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