August 2018
ELECTRIC IMPULSE COMMUNICATIONS
 NEWSLETTER
HERBIE'S HINTS (named after my dad!)

I remember the first time I boarded a plane to return home to Akron from San Diego. My parents had moved there a few months earlier. 22 years ago you still boarded flights outside in the evening sky for an overnight flight. I remember I looked up at those Western stars and wondered if I would see my parents alive again.

It’s a thought you have when you live thousands of miles from your family. You never know. Even if we live a mile from a loved one, we never really know. Even when we think we know . . . the gods laugh.

My dad had clarity on his move west. Kind of like the clarity he felt about Oreo cookies, he was clear he wanted to Go West Young Man, Go West. There would be consequences, starting over in your 70’s, new doctors, new dentists, new everything. At the same time there would be little of the old, little of the old furniture, old friends, or old memories. My dad was clear that the good outweighed any perceived bad.

So as I got on that plane 22 years ago, and every time since, I would remind myself that he was where he wanted to be. He had clarity and I needed to have that clarity too.
ASK LESLIE
Stay on Your Cutting Edge
Watch this short video and you will see what micro-management looks like. Give an instruction once, give it clearly, and then observe and assess the results. Proceed to your next instruction.
MISHMASH OF VALUE
Lessons from Camp Next July 28th
A Saturday Boot Camp for 14-27 year olds *One Day = 5 Experts
1. Less is Not Always More
Our Social Media Expert, Shon Christy, shared some social media insights with this group of individuals almost born with a smart phone in their hand. One tip he shared may surprise some generations older than and including Millennials and Gen Z.
Lesson Learned: Older generations may think about younger people as sharing too much, posting too much, and spending too much time on social media. One point attendees learned is that it is not always about posting too much. Those of any age want to make sure that they have a professional presence: bio, recommendations, and testimonials.
2. Pest-o Sauce
Our Table and Restaurant Etiquette Expert, Paul Cincotta, brought the etiquette lesson in the iconic movie Pretty Woman to life for these participants. Using practical advice for real life lessons he used examples and stories to help everyone learn. Paul held up spinach and advised attendees to not eat spinach in public. He went on to ask attendees to look at the word PEST in Pesto Sauce. He admonished participants to not eat the PEST in a restaurant.
Lesson Learned: Ditto eating with fingers during an interview. Paul shared with the group the story of an applicant with a stellar resume who consumed his lunch with his fingers during an interview. He did not get the job. From passing the salt (always with the pepper) to the correct way to tackle your soup, serve from the left and pick up from the right (so you know which way to lean) a hundred of these seemingly small details either add and protect your value or hurt your value.
3. Observe Others
Our Networking Expert, Traci Buckner, was asked an interesting question: “how do I know if the person I am talking to at an event is interested or bored?” Often at a “networking” event (all events are networking events) the person we are talking to at the moment may seem like a lifeline. Traci’s answer was to observe. Observe the other person for signs of interest such as asking follow up questions or signs of boredom such as looking at their phone, watch, or for the nearest exit.
Lesson Learned: As with many things in communication, this answer is simple. But simple is not the same thing as easy. To observe others for signs of interest or boredom means that we have to pay more attention to the other person than to ourselves. Most of us, most of the time, are more focused inward: what are we going to say, what do we do with our plate or what do I say next? When we focus on the other person whether talking to them or trying to sell them, their cues will tell us how to proceed. 
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4. The Twins
Carina Diamond, managing partner of Springside Partners, shared money tips with this group of young people. In communication we preach the value of a story. When great wealth tips partner with a story that equals both advice gold and communication gold.
Lesson Learned: The story was about twins. At 21 one twin saved for ten years and stopped saving. At 31, the other twin started saving. By the time they reached their 50’s, the twin that started saving at 31, still had not caught up to his brother. The value of compounding immortalized in a story that can be easily remembered and repeated.
5. Options
Leslie Ungar was the communication expert. This age group will be interviewing for something now and in the near future: college program, grad program, internship, first job, promotion, something. Participants helped demonstrate the value of having options in the visual component of their value. John wearing only a golf shirt had no options to dress up if the interviewer is wearing a jacket. Jeremy wore a long sleeve shirt. He could either wear it with a jacket or take off the jacket and roll up the sleeves for a more casual look.
Lesson Learned: To protect one’s value from a visual perspective there are three rules to remember. One, dress for the job you want not the one you have. Two, dress one notch above your audience – do your homework to figure out what that is for each interview. Three, dress so that you have options once you get there.
Thanks Paul for coming from USC for Forum 360
Leslie in Person
October 21 - Devlop the Diva
October 23 – Sixth District

Forum 360 with Leslie as Moderator
Upcoming Show:  
Sensory Rooms – Guests Paul Schumacher Jr., founder of the Star Room and Patrick Scanlon, Director of Guest Services for the CAVS - - - Thanks Paul for coming from USC for Forum 360!

Watch/ Listen to Forum 360:
Western Reserve Public Media, PBS-TV, PBS Fusion Channels 45 & 49 (Time Warner channel 993) - Mondays at 8 pm and Saturdays at 5:00 pm. After the show airs, you can download it here.
WONE FM 97.5 Sunday 6 am
For online streaming go to  http://wone.net/  and click Listen Live. 
WAKR AM 1590 Sunday, 5:00 pm, Monday 12:30 am For online streaming go to http://akronnewsnow.com/  and click Listen Live.
If I walk Benji two miles in the morning, he is good for a few hours at my office. Then if I walk him around lunch time I can get through the afternoon. If I have a late appointment, I have to walk him again or send him home. So we spend a lot of time at area parks, hoping we don’t have to walk past another dog.
Now I rate days by percentages. If I run into four dogs and Benji terrorizes two dogs, I say he was good 50% of the time. If I walk past three dogs and Benji terrorizes two dogs, I say he was good one-third of the time.
Instead of looking at the fact that he is still terrorizing any dogs as a failure, I treat it more like a game of inches. Instead of either bad or good behavior, his behavior gets a percentage kind of like a batter in baseball or a quarterback in football.
It really does help my view of his progress as well as my view of my ability to correct him, to give it a different percentage each day.
I have always said that Benji was put in my life to teach me something. I have not been sure as to what those lessons always were, but I knew there had to be lessons. This lesson is to look for ways besides failure or success, black or white, to evaluate any situation.
We are excited that our August 28th Video is full.
Sign up early for our October 23rd Video Session from 5pm - 7pm

Join us at our final HorseTalk of the year on September 28th.

Scary Halloween Boot Camp - Be a star in today's world: Learn how to deliver a great interview; podcast, webinar, radio or TV.

Email us at  [email protected]  for further information or to RSVP to one of our events.
     
Ask me about my 10 in 10!