Tell me something I don't know so I can be a big fish in the pond

I recently attended a workshop on Media Strategies for Fundraising. The workshop would cover how to communicate with the public to generate awareness and funding via the media. How the media could assist with gaining support from Corporates, getting publicity for sponsors and establishing a win-win relationship. We would develop a media/marketing strategy to ensure organisation effectiveness. All of which I was eager to learn and participate in.

After day one of the two day workshop, I started to lose credibility in the facilitator’s lack of direction and expertise. All participants expressed their disappointment at the value she was adding to the brief knowledge we already had. As all of us were from the NGO sector, we could not afford such a workshop or the luxury of missing two days works so we expected value for our money and time.

The few comments and handouts given were brief and was information that anyone could obtain from the Internet. So what were my expectations? I expected someone who had ten years experience in media (she worked for a national paper) and was once an editor of an NGO publications to give in-depth knowledge and experience how to get our foot in the door. Strategic research, witting, pitching, angles, insight and tips were what I was expecting. I wanted to know how we (the small fish) could compete with the big fishes in the pond - so we too could claim a pie of the pie.

And to top it all off...the food was not that great to say the least. She was not able to cater for all, to her embarrassment, resulted in many of the participants leaving to go buy lunch. Everyone knows what a blunder food can have on an event.

I cannot say I got nothing out of the experience…the networking that got done amongst us NGOs were more than beneficial - we shared ideas, resources and experiences on what worked and what didn’t work. I have built strong relationship with people who share the same goal as mine – to create a better world for those we care for. We have arranged to meet on a daily basis to see how we can help each other achieve our goals.

With the bad taste left in my mouth, it had me thinking…should there not be a regulator who qualifies who can give workshops? An official body who could assess the competency of facilitators? This experience was definitely one to remember, I will now approach a workshop or course with caution…at least until their background check clears.

We are what we do

How true is this statement? For some, work is just a means to pay the bills. A place that people go to day in and day out, that contributes no enrichment to their lives. I live my life by doing a job that I enjoy as opposed to looking at the remuneration or status that that job could offer me. Don’t get me wrong…status and money makes the world go round but I prefer to wake up in the morning and be motivated to get to work.

I work in the NGO sector and enjoy doing my job…I am passionate about what we do and how I can contribute to improving the lives of the people in our care. Passion is vital in life… I truly believe in my job and my NGO’s cause. People can hear that when I speak, I speak with conviction and in an authentic voice. What has become apparent to me over the past few days was how I live my life according to my job requirements.

I have studied Public Relations (PR) and find myself living my life according to attributes of my job. PR is all about maintaining positive perceptions, monitoring trends and building mutually beneficial relationships. These are fundamental characteristics that I live my life by too. I recently went to a night club and was amazed at the girls that were drunk, wearing next to nothing and showcasing their sexy dancing – it became clear to me how they were ‘selling’ themselves to the opposite sex as if that was all they had to offer. It saddened me to think that the perception that they were getting was not a positive one. By no means do I box myself to be just another cardboard cut-out or playing grown up by acting all professional, like the Cluetrain Manifesto mentions, I just like to live my life by a standard of morals and values – and would like to be perceived like that.

I find myself being sensitive to those around me to establish what their perceptions are, predict their future actions and then finding myself decoding how best to communicate. Because I am naturally a friendly person, I networking quite often which allows me to build new relationships and how to ensure that it is a win-win situation for both parties. I am not the only one who lives my life according to these principles, I see friends that do highly skilled work that have no room for error emphasis safety even when they leave the office.

I think that if you are in the correct industry, the statement ‘We are what we do’ would be true for you. As humans we can’t help but be patriotic but sport, our loved ones and the same would go for your job. It is easier to love what you do if you believe in what you do.