How to become visual storytelling masters

It seems like the biggest concern everyone on social media has is how do I produce an interesting post and engage with the online community?

There are two obvious ways of ensuring this: tell stories and use catchy images.

This actually makes a ton of sense. For example, will you be more drawn to a really good novel or a textbook? If you still aren’t convinced, listen to this great podcast by the CBC called Vestigial Tale which explains in evolutionary terms why ‘humans such suckers for a good story’.

As for catchy images, well let’s be honest: between a post filled plain text and a post with a super flashy image, you will click on the image even if the content of the text is extremely interesting.

So what’s the best way of marrying digital storytelling and eye-catching images?

VIDEOS.

According to Mashable’s ‘future of digital storytelling, according to industry professionals’, 2014 was the year of videos. Follow these 4 tips to make a catchy video!

1.       Choose your platform

Different platforms have different types of followers. Choose the platform where your target audience is sure to be hanging out and adapt your video content and style to this audience. Here is Social Media Week’s shortlist of the best social media video platforms:

·         Youtube

·         Vimeo

·         Facebook

·         Twitter

·         Instagram

·         Vine

2.       Choose  snappy title and work on your SEO

Most people view a video because they actively went looking for its content. If your potential audience can’t find you, they won’t watch you. That being said, one of the first things you have to concentrate on to improve your SEO is your video title. Not only does a powerful title incite viewers to click on the link, it will also help people looking for the content you are covering to stumble upon your video if you put the right keywords in the title.

3.       Tailor the length of a video to its genre

The optimal length for a video depends on what the content is. Research shows that, aside from entertainment videos, viewers prefer watching longer videos ranging from 16 to 20 minutes. That being said, it is still crucial to insert your message very early in the video because your audience will often stop watching before the end of it.

The ideal video length also depends on which platform you decide to use. For example, the best lengths for Vimeo and YouTube are usually between 3 and 10 minutes. Successful videos for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are usually much shorter: from 6 seconds to 2 minutes. Why so much shorter? The content on these platforms is usually viewed on mobile devices.

4.       Keep it interesting

Humour, good music and professional content will keep your audience hooked and engaged. Of course, make sure that what you are adding in your video is what your public is actually interested in!

With all the real-life distractions and social media chaos out there, it is essential to make your content is interesting and engaging because viewers are generally multitasking (usually eating apparently) while viewing your video. Cut through the clutter with a flashy video your viewers will stay hooked on!

The best part about my job as (previous) Assistant General Manager – Production is to create and manage my own conferences from concept to delivery, identify future conference topics as well as giving me a chance to expand my business card collection. Having a bit of a sweet tooth, you will always find me having lollies on my desk or you will catch me browsing on fashion sites during lunch breaks.

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Do you have a bully in your workplace?

Psychopath, sociopath or emotional manipulator? The workplace bully comes in many different shapes and forms, but almost all organisations has one.

Research by the University of Wollongong has found that half of all Australians experience workplace bullying at some point in their career, and the consequences for the victim can have a severe effect on their mental health.

And when colleagues jokingly say the boss is a psychopath, they might actually be on to something. In fact, psychopaths are just as common in leadership roles as they are in prisons.

Research has found that one in five prisoners are considered to have psychopathic tendencies, compared to 21 per cent of people within the executive team of the corporate business sector.

An infamous case involving a 42-year-old female road worker who was so badly bullied for over two years that she developed depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and is unable to return to work. She was awarded $1.3m in compensation by the Supreme Court of Victoria earlier this year.

Though the legal process of handling work related complaints has greatly improvement in the last years, the amount of complaints has risen drastically, and the perpetrators tend to be managers to who yell, intimidate and humiliate their staff.

So what do you do when you find yourself trapped with a bully? Do you call him out, put your head down or quit?

Sarah Rey, from Melbourne law firm Justitia, argues that employees need to be better equipped on how to deal with conflicts in the workplace.

"There needs to be a move now towards giving people the skills to manage conflict and bring their complaints to the person against whom they wish to make a complaint in a safe environment and have the confidence to do that without feeling they are going to be bullied," she told the ABC.   

Heads up have listed the following guidelines on what to do if you’re being bullied:

• Talk to someone you trust – this might be an HR person, a manager or a trusted colleague
• Check policies and procedures – Check whether your workplace has a bullying policy and reporting procedure
• Speak to the other person – If you feel safe and comfortable doing so, calmly tell the other person you object to their behaviour and ask them to stop
•  Report it – ways of reporting workplace bullying include informing your supervisor or manager, informing your health and safety or union representative and using established reporting procedures
• Keep a record of events – Ensure your records include the names of the people involved, including any witnesses. Focus on the facts including what happened, when it happened, what you did to try and stop it (if anything) and any evidence (i.e. emails, social media posts)

Mimmie grew up in Sweden and first came to Australia as a backpacker after high school. After travelling around the country for two years she returned to Europe and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in London. But the longing for Australia and the sun became too strong. After having worked for some time in the media industry, Mimmie decided to make a change and swap the news for conferences. She now gets to do what she loves the most, meeting new people and keep learning about cultures and issues while producing conferences on current topics.

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Is your company as empathetic as Facebook?

In a recent study published by Harvard Business Review, Facebook was ranked the most empathetic company in the world.

The annual study showcases businesses who are “successfully creating empathetic cultures” and scores companies based on:

• Ethics
• Leadership
• Internal culture
• Brand perception
• Social media messaging

The list of 20 most empathetic companies (which can be found here) includes LinkedIn, Netflix, Unilever and Johnson & Johnson.

Empathy is often misunderstood and companies go about making attempts to achieve it incorrectly. It is not trying to solve everyone’s problems, nor is it releasing photos of your CEO helping people in poverty.

It is, however, the ability to understand the perspective of Bob, the annoying IT guy who keeps wanting to update your computer. It is, to use an old cliché, putting on someone else’s shoes and asking questions from their point of view.

Whilst creating an empathetic company culture can take months, if not years, it starts with small steps:

1. Be willing to compromise. To develop empathy you must learn to understand, respect and acknowledge another point of view rather than enforcing your own.
2. Be transparent. To understand someone you must see their authentic self and this only happens when we trust them. We are more likely to work with companies who are honest and transparent.
3. Be an authentic leader. This means working closely with front line staff and taking personal responsibility for a level of ongoing direct impact.

Company culture has been the breaking point for companies, particularly start-ups. An empathetic culture is vital to ensuring ongoing organisational growth and retaining your highly-skilled employees. After all, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” – Peter Drucker.

Claire Dowler is a Conference Producer with Akolade. She recently graduated with a double degree: a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Media and Communications Studies majoring in International Communication. Claire minored in sarcasm and puns.

A ballroom-dancer who collects salt and pepper shakers and volunteers for animal rescue, you might say Claire has eclectic interests.

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Why we should all take up Chinese

The Federal Government is pushing for Australian school children to learn more languages, and launched a foreign language programme, ELLA, for pre-schoolers to boost international literacy.

Currently around 8,500 pre-schoolers around Australia are using the app, with the top three most popular languages being Chinese, Japanese and French, the Adviser reported.

“Seeing and hearing young children counting, following recipes and singing in a language that isn’t their native tongue, you understand how engaging this app is and why it has had such positive feedback from kids, educators and families,” Education Minister Simon Birmingham said, the Adviser reported.

Perhaps it’s even more crucial now than ever, that we get on board the Asian market, considering that China is Australia’s third biggest trading partner.

Minister Birmingham was especially happy to see the strong uptake of Asian languages, considering that we live in an “Asian century”.

However, statistics show that for example in NSW between 2005 and 2015, the amount of Year 12 students taking Chinese went down from 1,500 to 832, with only 153 of those being non-native Chinese speakers, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

And nationally the statistics were equally bad, with 4,000 students taking Chinese in 2015, only 400 of those were from a non-Chinese background.

There are arguments that studying Chinese should be made compulsory for Australian school children. Though both Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott showed interest in increasing the level of student participation in Asian languages, the task has now been passed on to current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. 

But let’s hope the recent initiatives by the government, as well as schools’ own initiatives to encourage students to take Chinese, will have a bigger impact than the poor statistics we’ve seen in recent years.

From a financial and business perspective, being able to participate on the Chinese market is crucial, and it has to start with the younger generation of Australians.

Mimmie grew up in Sweden and first came to Australia as a backpacker after high school. After travelling around the country for two years she returned to Europe and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in London. But the longing for Australia and the sun became too strong. After having worked for some time in the media industry, Mimmie decided to make a change and swap the news for conferences. She now gets to do what she loves the most, meeting new people and keep learning about cultures and issues while producing conferences on current topics.

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Greater Sydney Commission unveils 40-year future plan for Sydney

The Greater Sydney Commission has released a draft amendment of its 40-year vision for a liveable and sustainable city.

The draft titled ‘Towards Our Greater Sydney 2056’, with its strategy for a metropolis of three cities including; the Western City, The Central City and the Eastern City is set to provide a framework to bring economic and employment benefits.

The aim is to drive national priorities tailored to local needs and includes creating a satellite city in Western Sydney around the new airport to be built at Badgerys Creek, which is being delivered by the Western Sydney City Deal.

Chief Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission, Lucy Turnbull the vision is to ensure the essentials of liveability, housing choices, smart jobs, great schools, open spaces and facilities.

“The establishment of three great cities in the Greater Sydney Region is emerging as the central and core organising principle of the Commission’s work. This gives a clear picture of how people can realistically achieve the goal of being able to live within 30 minutes of where they work, study and play. This makes life more liveable and way more productive and sustainable for everyone,” she said.

“This is also a particular opportunity for design-led planning. This type of planning will be critical to our future urban form. Design-led planning presents a particular opportunity to co-create hard infrastructure and soft infrastructure. This will improve both liveability and quality of life,” said Mrs Turnbull.

To read the view the full speech from Lucy Turnbull, click here - http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/bradford-oration-lucy-turnbulls-full-speech/news-story/3c9801bc3309c14419abb8287a908e1f

The plans is on public exhibition until the end of March 2017. Submissions can be made via the Greater Sydney Commission website here - http://www.greatersydneycommission.nsw.gov.au/towards-our-greater-sydney-2056

The best part of my job as an Assistant General Manager – Production is to create and manage my own conferences from concept to delivery, identify future conference topics as well as giving me a chance to expand my business card collection. Having a bit of a sweet tooth, you will always find me having lollies on my desk or you will catch me browsing on fashion sites during lunch breaks.

Read more