This weekly post is a compilation of posts, videos and podcasts selected for athletic communications professionals and creative professionals. This is part of our professional development and continuing education outreaches. The content collection focuses on topics, issues and problem-solving ideas in the areas of leadership, strategic and digital communications, productivity, mental and physical health, and more.
PODCAST
ESPN PRod Pod: Conversation With VP of Digital Production Mike Foss
Time: 24:41
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Did you know that virtually every month, ESPN Digital eclipses its previous highs across key metrics? In this episode of
ESPN PRod Pod, the official podcast of the ESPN Communications Department, ESPN VP of Digital Production Mike Foss shares his overall philosophy for digital content and zeroes in on the massive content of ESPN's YouTube page which he tells the PRod Pod, offers a "comprehensive representation of" what ESPN provides.
Learn more about content strategy from Foss, who oversees the burgeoning, industry-leading ESPN digital empire, including ESPN's YouTube presence,
SportsCenter on Snapchat, multiple digital studios and live (often on-site) presentations, Podcasts, ESPN+ studio offerings and the newly-launched, mid-day program,
"Debateable."
BLOG
Three Essentials of Tiger-Lean Writing
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Content marketer Jesse Stanchak publishes microfiction stories, which he has been publishing three times a day for four years on Twitter. Some amazing content! In this blog, Stanchak gives advice on writing with brevity, noting you "need to make your shots count." He offers four storytelling lessons from his side hustle of creating microfiction on Twitter, starting by examining your overall writing structure and approach. As he states, "The most important advice anyone has ever given me came from my 9th grade English teacher. 'Never say, 'I think' or 'I believe.' Write as if everything you say is true."
COMMENTARY
3-Minute Read
Learning From The Dogs: What Training Dogs Teaches Us About Leading People
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Just as dog breeds have their specialties, people also excel in some areas but not others, writes Wally Bock, who offers five analogies for being a leader of people.
STORY
Bias At Work: How To Defuse A Ticking Time Bomb In Your Organization
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There are hidden signs of bias in the workplace. In this interview with Kiplinger's Joan C. Williams, author of
Bias Interrupted and professor at the University of California Hastings Law School, she discusses what to look for and offers ideas for what to do to help correct it.
STORY and RESEARCH
Avoid These 5 Filler Words To Sound More Charming and Confident
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There are public-speaking habits and "filler words" that listeners do not find appealing - are you guilty of using them?
According to a British psychologist, filler words make will make you less charming as well. Dr. Richard Reid says charismatic people use language differently--they are considered eloquent and articulate. Reid notes that "vocalized pauses" (filler words) will "severely cramp your communication."
There are five filler words that appear to be the most common culprits of cramping communication. You're probably familiar with these words - and may have noticed them creep into your own conversations (so, uh, right, you know, I mean).
STORY/WEBINAR REVIEW
Webinar Recap: 6 Takeaways From MuckRack's State of PR Measurement 2021
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Tracking, measuring and reporting the results of media relations efforts are essential steps, and ones made more complex each year as new outlets and non-traditional channels come online. Muck Rack surveyed 500+ communications professionals working for agencies, brands and nonprofits to find out what metrics mattered most to them in 2021 and what they'll be looking at in 2022. Muck Rack's CEO Greg Galant hosted a webinar to explore some of the findings with a panel of PR pros.
COMMENTARY/STORY
Instagram's Efforts to Win Back Young Users Will See Video Become The Focus of the Main Feed Display
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From
Social Media Today: Where is the Instagram app headed? As Facebook changes its name to Meta, and still has
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus VR under its control, it is also losing favor with younger users. Instagram is its key connection to youth and the youth culture, and author Andrew Hutchinson (SMT's Content and Social Media Manager) notes that soon,
your main Instagram feed will be a combined display of relevant image posts, Stories, Reels and Video content, all displayed in a full-screen, swipeable UI, ala TikTok.
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STORY
What Disney Songs Remind Us About Public Relations
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Here's a fun read for all communications professionals! The lyrics of some of the most famous Disney songs remind us of concepts and important foundation "truths" that we may have forgotten about our profession, and illuminate some current issues and trends.
With the release of "Encanto," Disney's latest animated musical, have some fun and try to guess what song/movie the lyrics are from. (Answers are at the bottom of the article.)