Knowing what you don't know is the first step towards being a great communicator!

What’s the key to being a great Comms Pro?

The main perception that needs reshaping is amongst Comms Pros who are limiting their own potential by believing a lie – that is, they are painters, not builders. It’s time Comms Pros realised how much reality they are responsible for! C.S. Lewis writes: “What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.” This is a perfect lesson for Comms Pros who need to realise there is a seat at the executive table for them if they want it, but they also have to believe they are as valuable as every other participant seated there.

What is the greatest challenge for Comms Pros today?

27,000,000 pieces of content are shared each day. Still, that doesn’t mean the C-suite cares! You need someone who can elevate the conversation –someone who can make the words and images make sense to an audience preferring to think in dollar signs and decimal places.

How do you make the C-suite sit up and take notice?

We are not simply in the business of attracting someone’s interest – that’s what flashing lights do. We are fundamentally about influencing. The only way to influence to the degree it results in a specific action is to involve the audience or target in such a way as they feel a part of the process

How do you become a better influencer?

The greatest skill in leadership is making people think your ideas are theirs. That’s influence!

What is the best kind of influence?

Thought leadership is disruptive. It creates a new paradigm, paints a previously unpenned view of the future and is backed up by evidence!

What is thought leadership?

I use the four EEEEs: Enticement, Engagement, Evaluation, and Emulation! This helps to assess not just what you do, but the impact of what you’ve done!

How do you best measure your value?

Just as an organisation is strengthened by better management of individual brands, so too is it optimised when Gen Y and Gen X play off one-another. The same goes for the Baby Boomers. Cross-generational learning has never been more important.

How do you get more from the digital world?

Great innovators have three things in common:1) They give staff the time to invest in thinking, without specific outcomes being defined up front;2) Cross-functional teams are part of every-day life. In some companies, you’ll never know of, let alone speak to, people from other departments;3) Risk taking is not just encouraged, but rewarded. Comms Pros have a core role to play in all this!

How do you create a culture of innovation?

Teams are best defined by skills, not titles. This fluid model, is what I call ‘best-in-class teaming’. It aims to mimic the best parts of a start-up, where great minds and attitudes are forged into one compelling desire to excel.

How do you create a better Comms Team?

Fostering ‘authenticity’ in professional communications is the quickest way to driving better outcomes because so few organisations actually do it!

How do you change people’s perception?

What is a brand? That singular notion one owns inside the mind of a market! Creating a positive one is at the heart of every Comms Pro!

What’s the end goal?

Visit CommsPro.me today! It’s my Blog. - Aaron Crowther

Where can you read more???