Communication Overtones Comments
Amen! It really is that simple: seeing and communicating in others' point of view.
And, I'd add a related note that, in addition to talking to the audience in terms of its needs, we should approach media -- offline and online -- in terms of how what we have to offer can help our contact do his/her job and serve his/her readers.
-Mike
Sometimes the best advice is the simplest. This is one of those times. Thanks for the reminder.
Sigh. A voice of reason. 
Good post, it's so simple, but simple is not easy, and this is often counter-intuitive for organizational spokespeople.
"Why? Why? Why?" (actually "Why me?") is the question I ask at least 1-2 times a week when I get inquiries from a particular trade publication I deal with. For our company, trade publications have very little value as they do little more than inform our competition about our strategies (which is ultimately why they get very little info from me/us). They certainly don't "talk" to our customer base.
I will say I see it as a both/and: We have to talk to both the media and our customers with the ultimate objective getting one-on-one with people. No point in limiting the avenues to that objective. Unless a reporter has just blown it with us in the past I do try to make sure there is a value proposition - in the form of a legitimate news angle - for him or her to include us in a story.
I'm just about to add this notion to my speech. The old model was media release, media phone call, media placement, maybe some influence. The new model is relationship with customer + relationship with engineering and customer support = good reputation in marketplace = good customer reviews.
When customers speak, everyone listens. So thats who we should be influencing.
Some great thoughts here. First, to Mike's point, of course there has to be something in it for the reporter to find what you say to be worthwhile and it always pays to be a reliable resource. So while I am forwarding this as a principle, as Geoff mentions, it is not easy to live up to it. There are a million tips and further ideas wrapped up in this one principle.
I think what Chris was saying, in a round about way, is that people must be the heart of our motives. And Katie took it further to say, when customers speak, everyone listens.
Some of my clients have found this advice to be helpful to getting their messages into print instead of some random (but colorful) quote. Even if you are in the public eye quite a bit, get lots of press and have fantastic relationships with reporters, it is very helpful to refocus on why you are
speaking to a reporter in the first place.
Many companies, like the culture of Web 2.0, are all about “me, me and me.” Kami’s philosophy of talking not to the media, but to the consumers is a simple, yet difficult way to bring organizations back to how business is suppose to be done.
Another thought is that companies cannot approach the media (of any form) as if the media owe them something. Whether you’re a Fortune 500 company or a “mom and pop” store down the street, if you have a product that your consumers truly need, then you shouldn’t have to prove anything else.
Noelle; Well put. My point has always been that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
General rule, perhaps but by no way the Golden Rule.
It really depends on what is interesting... where the story is. Quite often with either small companies making it big or people who climb everest, the story is purely about them and how they got there. A story about inspiration and success, rather than their message per se. But for corporates, sure, the "golden" rule applies.
And the raising awareness about what they want me to say to my readers is secondary. A Sun regional boss commenting about government policy on open source, or an Alcatel manager calling Skype a dead horse is much more interesting than their latest chips or base stations to me.
Don;
I see what you are saying. It is very situational. From a media perspective, I am completely on board with your assessment.
Actually, what I am trying to teach here is to STOP trying to get a reporter to say something, but rather tell the reporter things that would be of interest to his readers. And you are right, colorful quotes with interesting angles are better.
That said, I also have to advise my clients (again) that is is not about them, meaning, people can say things that I would daresay you would love and they would regret when they are feeding the ego.
Thanks for adding your perspective.
I agree with this standpoint. The people are whom we are ultimately trying to reach through all of our media efforts. Our message can get lost when we’re jumping through hoops for the newspaper reporters. It wouldn’t hurt to bring things back to basics. It’s never out of line to check what can be cut away from what you’re doing to leave only what’s necessary. This will increase productivity and preserve the purity of the true message to the consumer.
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