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This online event was hosted by the CIM Graduate Gateway Marketing Club on 21 April 2021. Philip Preston, Volunteer Partnership Manager of CIM, made a short introduction at the beginning of the presentation talking about The Graduate Gateway Programme and the newsletter where students can sign up to receive their copy covering the latest trends and knowledge of the real world of marketing.

Communication coach, international speaker, and author of two books Shola Kaye, whose topics include communication for high pressure situations, workplace empathy and inclusive leadership, was the guest speaker of the event. She started the presentation in a lively, inspiring and interactive way engaging with the audience by asking attendees to reflect and rate themselves.

She talked about four important assets when communicating with others:

• Dynamic - learning how to engage and be lively for your audience.
• Inspiring - storytelling helps connecting with the listener.
• Valuable - good research, being informative.
• Authentic - being genuine, true to yourself.

Now-Then-How Framework

The speaker continued discussing how important is to have a personal brand story that can inspire others using Now (where are you now), Then (where were you before) and How (how did you get to where you are now) Framework. This tool can be used for general storytelling, describing a turnaround work challenge or client examples in order to share achievements, challenges and display mentality.

In her presentation she also explained that accessing different parts of our voice, like head, chest and gut voice, can help conduct personal brand when communicating. For instance, chest/heart voice can appeal to emotions, or head voice can deliver intellectual or playful connection.

Gravitas vs Relatability

Regarding the communication style, this can be adapted depending on who the audience is. Shola illustrated two types of attitudes that people can display:

• Gravitas (also called Cat); People with gravitas are considered serious, balanced, deliberate.
• Relatability (also called Dog); People that easily connect with others and the lines of communication are always open.

Archetypes and Personas

Another essential point Shola raised was that when communicating, there are various models of communicators: such as hero, sage, creator, magician explorer. She focused on four important archetypes:

• The King
• The Warrior
• The Creative
• The Carer

Shola explained and illustrated with examples the importance of being aware of archetypes as every model comes with advantages in different situations. For instance, The Carer speaks from the heart, usually supportive and empathetic, great when a team needs to be pulled together.

Authentic

Furthermore, the speaker outlined that authenticity and knowing yourself is key to becoming a great communicator. Encouraging speakers to use their own style and values as everyone can shine in their unique way.

The Q&A session was helpful at the end of the webinar where the attendees had the chance to engage and find out further information from the speaker, Shola Kaye.

To conclude, the session shared valuable tools to help move ahead with confidence when communicating, having a brand story, and presenting it in a powerful way that can inspire others. It also showed that learning to read different personalities can help with persuasion.

Written by Evelina-Aftinica Varza, BSc (Hons) Marketing with Aviation and Airport Management student, University of Bedfordshire Business School