Over the years, I have experienced the satisfactions — and stresses and frustrations — of driving change within several organizations. Among those efforts were re-establishing a proactive media relations program with the computer trade press, creating and implementing an extensive internal communication system, and developing and carrying out a strategic social media marketing plan.

A webinar this week by a hospital public relations executive about implementing an unsupported (at first) social media plan reminded me of some of the practices that have helped me lead change efforts. Here are some things I’ve found helpful:

* Have passion for your cause. Really believe in what you are doing. That’s probably been my No. 1 asset. I can see the possibilities and opportunities. My enthusiasm rubs off on early adopters and change agents.

* Connect with others who have driven (or are driving) similar changes. You can support each other and share ideas. It’s very helpful to have moral support — and to offer backing to someone as they push through negativity.

* Stay abreast of the latest statistics and data that support your cause — and share with key audiences. For example, I have been getting great data from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life project about how Americans use the Internet for healthcare information and decision-making. I share relevant stats with others on a frequent basis.

* Study what your competitors and leaders in your industry are doing — and report to decision-makers. Give them a good idea of what’s out there. Tell them that you want to be ahead of your competitors and among the leaders in your industry — and that this is possible. If there is a will, there is a way.

* Once you begin to implement, track and share regular statistical reports spiced with real-life examples. This is essential. I have found that doing a monthly report with bar charts and stories of how changes have helped achieve a strategic business goal open many doors. It’s part of the strategic process — Research, Planning, Implementation, Evaluation.

* Give presentations about your program both within and outside of your organization. Incorporate stats, stories, video. You need to repeat a message seven times to just achieve awareness. This is a great way to move toward that standard.

* Listen to what supporters and naysayers are communicating. Build upon the support, and address the concerns. It’s great to have an answer in advance to every conceivable “what if.”

* Post quotes from industry leaders in your workspace. I know this sounds silly, but it has helped me reinforce key messages and generate positive discussions in the past. For example, I love this one from Lisa Baron: “Ignoring social media makes you mute, not invisible.” I put it in a Word document, printed out, and put on the wall in my office.

Those are just a few thoughts that come to mind during my weekly blogging time slot! Please feel free to share any more in the comments.

The following is a summery of Jerry Kathman’s Keynote Presentation to be given at the 2010 Digital Non-Conference.

Implications of the Digital Environment on Brand Design

With technological acceleration and constant connectivity, digital environments are rapidly changing the success criteria for brand design. Why are some brands more relevant than others? Why have some brands extended themselves into the digital environment successfully, while others have failed?  Are brands’ life cycles inevitable or do brand builders make choices that determine their destiny? After 30 years of consulting, Jerry Kathman has observed commonalities among leadership brands. Kathman has identified four principles that brands need to embrace in order to achieve and maintain leadership status.

These principles have served a spectrum of brands in the LPK caseload. A leadership brand works against a well-articulated and inculcated brand strategy. That strategy fully leverages the power of design. Further, a leadership brand establishes a culture of innovation and, most importantly, connects empathetically with end users.

By understanding these principles, brands can thrive in parallel with the accelerated pace of this digital age.

Bryce Canyon, Utah

Sorry I haven’t posted regularly this summer. I’ve been busy helping my wife successfully promote and market her book From Incurable: Cancer Survivors Who Beat the Odds, vacationing in Canada and Utah, and plugging away at my day job. I promise to get back on track this fall. I’ve got some experiences with marketing Tami’s book that I’m excited about sharing. Also, I’m reading some good books such as Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz and Value Prop by Jose Palomino — and plan to share some highlights. I’m scheduled to talk social media with state human services leaders in Arkansas in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

Picture this scene.  You have to address a group of people in a public setting.  Perhaps your boss and your co-workers, or maybe a prospective client or a professional organization.  In preparation for the event you work hard on your presentation.  You have a great story to tell.  You choose the perfect images to get your point across.  You find the perfect font to fit your message.  You save your PowerPoint presentation.  You are ready to show off your creativity only to find that you can not use your laptop, the computer you are going to use does not have your font, the version of PowerPoint on the machine is from 2003, the machine will not load your images, and your work of art has been transformed into a steaming pile of digital garbage.  Confidence rattled, you race around to salvage your presentation, give it your best shot, struggle to make sense of your presentation for the audience, pledging that this will never happen again.

Sound familiar?  These things happen to presenters all the time.  With so many different versions of software and hardware, permissions and capabilities, versions and restrictions, there are a lot of things that can ruin a presentation.  It is always good to have a few tricks up your sleeve to avoid unnecessary presentation disasters.  Here are a few of my favorite tips:

1. Save Your Presentation as a PDF File – This is a very easy way to avoid problems.  By saving your presentation as a .pdf file you avoiding using PowerPoint all together.  By doing so you eliminate the worry of font compatibility, versioning, chart rendering, and other common issues.  This is especially useful if you are presenting using equipment other than your own in instances where you use unique fonts or more complex graphical images.  Just open the presentation in Adobe Acrobat Reader, put it in full screen mode, and go.  To the audience, there is no difference on the screen from PowerPoint. This trick is also great when you need to email your presentation to someone else, as the .pdf version is usually considerably smaller than it’s PowerPoint counterpart.  The only drawback of this method is that you can’t use the Presenter Tools and Speaker Notes that are included in PowerPoint.  Ideally, this is a great “plan B” option for a presenter.
2. Multiple PowerPoint Formats – You can easily save a presentation as a .pptx .ppts .pps and .ppt file – one of which should be able to be read by PowerPoint.  Check to make sure that charts and graphs created in newer versions of PowerPoint were not mangled in the conversion process.   Additionally, check to make sure that fonts and other elements were not modified.
3. Thumbs Up – In addition to saving copies of your presentation on your computer, save your presentation on a thumb drive or an external hard drive.  This is a simple way to make sure that if you are unable to use your own laptop for the presentation, you can still get access your presentation.  This is also helpful if your presentation files got lost by the organizer of the presentation, who asked you to email them in advance.
4. Email Yourself – Send multiple versions of your presentation to a web based email account like Gmail.  I have been to places where thumb drives are outlawed, and where I was not able to use my own computer either.  Having a web based back-up allows you to have easy access the files.  If you can get to the internet from the computer you are using for the presentation, you can simply download the most appropriate version.  If you can not get access to the web, you can use a mobile device to forward the presentation to someone who can access the files and help.  Additionally, this makes it very easy to send the slides to anyone who requests them.
5. Share & Share Alike – Upload your presentation to SlideShare.com where you can either present directly from the site or download the presentation and present it.  Both are viable options for a presenter to fall back upon.   Not only that, people all around the world can view, share, and comment on your presentation – spreading your message, building your reputation, and improving your content.

You can’t prepare for everything, but hopefully these simple little tricks will help ensure the success of your next presentation.

What tips and tricks do you use to eliminate presentation problems?