Video did not kill the radio star

December 6, 2012

Or even the radio-reporter-and-podcast-host. It just got her to experiment. 

I'm passionate about audio but I'm edging into the world of video because if you want to get noticed, that's what you have to do. I am in the uncomfortable position of needing to sell myself and my show, so I need to get with the program. We're drawn to all things visual, even if audio is a more intimate medium (sorry video people, it just is). I want more people to know The Broad Experience exists, and if making the occasional video helps with that, I'll do it. I have to say, I have thus far found being on camera less painful than I thought. Now, if I was being filmed in a studio in HD, would I be having as much fun as I do in the informal online chats I've done so far? Probably not. But I may as well start my training in a relaxed environment. Yesterday my friend and cyber-colleague, journalist and on-camera expert Manoush Zomorodi, interviewed me on Spreecast about The Broad Experience, personal branding for journalists (shudder) and how video can help all of us get our messages across. And what a learning experience it's been. Who knew I was an epic head-tosser and eye-roller?

Never enough hours

November 27, 2012

Sometimes this entrepreneurship business seems like too much. Yes, I said it. There are days when I feel unequal to the whole thing. Today I've been fielding a flurry of email (largely started by me) about what I should be doing for The Broad Experience on social media, the site itself, PR, etc. and it's all piled up to make me feel as if I'm sadly behind where I should be. I would love to be on top of everything, have an amazing site, understand SEO completely, and let the whole world know that my show exists. But I'm human, and I am one human at that. I wish I could clone myself, but that doesn't seem to be an option (though if you're aware of any advances in science, please let me know). As a result, I may for a while be lagging behind all that the marketing gods, and the show, require in the early 21st century. I did do one daring thing today, relatively speaking (thanks for the idea, Sheila Butler!) I wrote to several people I know who listen to the show and asked them to leave me a good review on iTunes as a way to get The Broad Experience a little more notice. 

Changing the subject, and talking of Sheila Butler, here's her penultimate Successful Women Talk interview on developing online influence, with guest Stephanie Sammons. I recommend it for any woman going out on her own. My ears really started perking up around the 10 minute mark. Stephanie has good advice for people on 'drilling down' to what it is you want to say. I like the term 'nuggets of wisdom'. 

Talking of wisdom and nuggets thereof, I'll be presiding over a TEDxWomen event this coming Saturday on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I say presiding, but perhaps jollying people along between talks is a better description. It'll be my induction into the mysterious world of TED and its younger siblings, the TEDx events.

Amy Cuddy's TED talk on 'power posing'

October 16, 2012

I just watched this TED talk on body language and halfway through I was itching to post it here. It's relevant to men and women, but as Cuddy says in the talk, more women tend to use body language that makes them look small, where they shrink into themselves and often guard some part of their torso with their arms. Her message is an inspiring one, and not just because of what she herself had to overcome to get where she is today (details in the talk). She urges us all to practice a few 'power poses' before we go into a stressful situation such as a meeting with the boss, a talk or a job interview. I've already started to talk myself into faking it even when I'm terrified inside. After watching this, I'm even more convinced it's a good idea. 

Women and office politics

September 24, 2012

At this time of incessant political coverage I'm opening up another political topic: work policitics. I just read this piece by Della Bradshaw in the Financial Times. It's about the number of young women who embark on business careers versus the tiny number that ultimately make it onto company boards. But the most interesting thing for me was the comment at the bottom of the piece by someone using the name 'manticore'. I've no idea if this person is male or female but what stuck out was the comment that women hate the 'status games' and 'dominance-submission games' at big companies and that is why so few make it to the top. 'Far better to go out on your own' he/she finishes. 

This was part of what I discussed in my talk at Sarah Lawrence at the weekend: that women - in general - hate politics but that you have to be at least somewhat political to rise up the ranks. I myself have found office politics so distasteful I've ignored them, but I think that was a mistake (if you don't schmooze, you lose). But then a woman in the audience asked a very sensible question: why should women have to mold themselves to the male way of doing things? Why can't companies change the way they think and the way they do things to accommodate the more collaborative female mindset? I am interviewing someone tomorrow who specializes in this very thing - encouraging companies to appreciate and try out male and female ways of doing business. Given McKinsey's research on this (they found many women who did not aspire to the corner office said a loathing of politics was the reason) surely we need to look at this more closely? I am a case in point. I have always rejected the idea of having power or 'getting to the top' at a company, whatever that would mean in my case, because to me the process seems inherently unappealing. The climb often appears to involve horrible behavior, back-stabbing, meanness, generally trampling all over other people, simply behavior I have no stomach for. I want to examine this topic in an upcoming episode. Because if the reason so many women are opting to go out on their own is that they can't stand corporate culture, it doesn't just show the failure of companies to work with their female employees. Surely nothing will ever change within corporations if the motivated women keep quitting? Who's going to push for the kind of change many women would like to see? Thoughts?