19 Often Overlooked Questions to Propel Employee Conversations

Smart leaders ask interesting questions.

These questions are ignored by many; used by a few.

Here are a handful of questions to help you bridge the gap from "cubicle to community."

The companion article to this post is "19 Surprising Questions To Help You Energize Employee Conversations."

These 38 questions in total will provide you some amazing answers for any media program you are designing and implementing.

Your mileage may vary but I wonder which ones might work for you?

What would happen if we:

1. Connected disconnected pieces to show the “big picture?”
2. Created a visual map making it easy for everyone to know where we’re headed?
3. Shared more success stories?
4. Showed stories of how problems were solved?
5. Showed stories of how ideas failed?
6. Learned to be more trusting?
7. Invited employees to share their personal leadership tips?
8. Listened by asking what matters most to them?
9. Simplified complex business ideas with personal experiences?
10. Encouraged and told stories that point to something bigger than ourselves?
11. Presented more personality and humanized our company?
12. Started thinking “community” instead of “corporate?”
13. Saw or heard stories of leaders capturing our imaginations?
14. Told employees why we are in business in the first place?
15. Demonstrated our values in action when recruiting potential candidates?
16. Stopped using or creating strategies that don’t work?
17. Simplified things?
18. Considered today as the first day we had a communications department?
19. Integrated employees regularly in our communications?

What's your take?
What questions have you used to drive employee conversations? What approaches work for you?

---Tom

PS. If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it with the "Share Article" button below.

Originally posted in FastCompany.com.

It's About the Conversation!

Don't let the name fool you.

"Blogger Social" really isn't about blogging. It's about conversation. In case you forgot, we're anything BUT "bloggers."

Here's what a few folks are saying about this neat event...
Christina Kerley
Arun Rajagopal
Luc Debaisieux
Mark Goren
Valeria Maltoni

Hope to see you there! For conversation, of course :-)

---Tom

It Is About the Conversation

3 Steps to Make Your Corporate Video Jump Off the Screen!

I've seen them. You've seen them.

Boring, unemotional videos from companies.

You roll your eyes, look at the clock and check yourself out.

If branding is about creating emotional experiences and connections between you and your audience, it's no wonder boring corporate videos haven't been an integral part of the branding conversation.

But now it's your turn. You've been charged to produce a video for your company. Perhaps you need to tell your product story or service story.

But you have a small problem: you're not a filmmaker and you don't know anyone who is. You're also not sure what ingredients are needed to go into a memorable film. What do you do?

Discover a hero who overcomes a problem that changes the world.

Here are three simple and easy things you can incorporate into your video to make your brand story jump off the screen and into your customer's hearts.

1. DISCOVER A HERO.

Every corporate video needs a "face" or a "hero" to provide a point of view. Without a hero, your audience is easily confused. Your hero should be someone your viewers can identify with; someone they can quickly feel connected to.

In "Elements of Persuasion," Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman share the role of the hero as one who "grounds" the audience.

Where do you discover your heroes? Right under your nose!

Say for example, Human Resources needs a film. If the goal of your video story is to attract and retain top talent, then discover three or four employees whose personal story reflects those stories of potential candidates whom you want to attract to your company. Those three or four personal stories are actually holograms; tiny slivers of the larger talent pool you are seeking.

2. SHOW ME A DRAGON!

The single biggest issue facing your corporate video is the lack of emotions. How do you generate an emotional response from an employee, or hero, in your film?

Easy. Find a dragon. Ask, "What's at stake?" Every hero needs a dragon or an obstacle to overcome. Without it, your viewers will secretly be wishing for it. Besides, they probably won't talk about it because the story is "sugar-coated."

Following our HR example, let's say one of your heroes:

• Discovers a medical condition limiting their career opportunities.

• Discovers the future business of a large client is at stake.

• Discovers they are overwhelmed with their new job; perhaps it wasn't the right job.

• Discovers their project funding is being severely cut.

While each "dragon" takes a different shape and form, your hero creates an emotional response for your audience in each situation. That is exactly what you audience is hungry for!

3. REVEAL A TRANSFORMATION.

Whether the dragon has been successfully defeated or not, does not matter. What matters is that your audience gains a deeper appreciation of your hero. They now understand the hero's journey. The audience has a sense of empathy they did not have a few minutes earlier. Their world has been changed.

And that, in the end, is what telling your video story is all about.

There you have it. Three simple steps to make your corporate video story jump off the screen:

1. Discover a hero who is comfortable telling their story.
2. Show the hero's struggle.
3. Reveal a new world.

Jumping off the screen isn't THAT hard :-)

---Tom

3 Steps to Make Your Corporate Video Jump Off the Screen

Here's My Secret to Capture the Perfect Interview

The single biggest key to capturing an engaging and honest interview is creating a feeling of comfort and safety for the person being interviewed.

I've been interviewing 30 people for the past two weeks for a large film, so the art of interviewing is very much on my mind now.

In this post, I'd like to share with you one secret I've learned from filming hundreds of interviews over the past 23 years.

Understanding and implementing this simple technique will help you capture ideas, feelings and dreams from your interviewees; or, as I like to call them, your "heroes."

Feeling Nervous? Probably!

Imagine yourself arriving on a film set for an interview. Chances are you might be filled with a bit of anxiety and perhaps even some nervousness. That's pretty normal. But hopefully you wouldn't be as nervous as this person was...

A long time ago, I had someone totally freeze-up at the start of the interview. I'm talking the "deer-in-the-headlights-I-ain't-saying-anything" kind of freeze-up!

Experience has taught me that most people need about fifteen minutes to warm up to the camera and then the interview is really off and running. By then, nerves have settled and the stories are flowing. The hero is now comfortable sharing their journey and story with us.

But this interview stopped the clock. Boom! Uh-oh. What am I going to do to make this person feel comfortable? What do I say? To make matters worse, I had other interviews lined up for the day. This one moment was about to throw off the entire production schedule...not a good place to be in.

"I Know You're Nervous. It's OK"

So we stopped filming. I leaned my chair forward so no one else could hear me and I whispered this to my "hero" interviewee:

"I know you're nervous. I understand how you feel. But you know what? You are totally free to say whatever you like. There's no need to edit yourself and second guess what to say. You know why? Because not only am I the director here on the set, but I'm also the guy in the edit room two weeks from now taking your words and telling your story the way you want it told. Your words are safe with me. I'm here for you."

"Really? I can say what I want?" was the response. "Yes, you can."

In that moment, I gave this person permission to speak freely. It worked beautifully and we moved on to capture some really great feelings and ideas.

On Being a "Story Steward"

Before I record any conversation, I tell the "hero" to speak openly from their heart. I tell them not to edit their thoughts and second-guess what "corporate" wants them to say.

But here's what I learned a long time ago: the hero doesn't know who is the steward for their story. They don't know who is crafting their story once they leave the set. They have a certain level of apprehension while speaking in an interview. They're thinking, "Who's seeing this after I leave? Who's editing my words and ideas? Who's taking care of me when I'm not here anymore?"

The "Green Light" Effect: Create a Feeling of Safety and Comfort for Your Interviewees Heroes

Telling your "hero" ahead of time that their words and ideas are carefully entrusted to the film director or "story steward" gives that person a "green light" to say what's on their mind. This secret solves the fear that a hero sometimes faces before the interview starts. The door is now open to a real heartfelt conversation.

The hero knows who is responsible for telling their story they way they want it told. They also know it's not some disembodied corporate person they have to please...they feel safe and comfortable.

And feeling safe and comfortable on camera, like feeling safe and comfortable at your own dining room table with your family, is how the heart loves to tell a story.

---Tom

My Secret to Capture the Perfect Interview

Broken Corporate Videos: Bridging the Gap

How did the enormous potential of corporate videos get reduced to a commodity?

What happened to the magic of a corporate video strengthening a community and triggering conversations?

Unfortunately, far too many companies handle their video as a commodity. Just listen to the corporate language-it says it all:

• "Can you make a video?"

• "We need a DVD."

• "Our sales force needs a video."

It doesn't have to be that way.

I explain why in my two-part conversation with Conversation Agent, Valeria Maltoni.

You can download our conversation, "*Ask(?)Away: Take Your Brand from Commodity to Community*" in an elegantly designed PDF and have the conversation in one handy place.

Better yet, share and spread the PDF with those who could benefit from our exchange.

A purposefully designed corporate video can stimulate conversations and get people to act.

I hope the "Ask(?)Away: Take Your Brand from Commodity to Community" conversation is a step in the right direction towards filling the gap between broken corporate videos and creating opportunities for videos that are personal, meaningful, dynamic and soulful.

Thank you, Valeria, for acknowledging the critical role videos play in corporate communications and for pushing the conversation into new arenas.

The Ask(?)Away exchange was a breath of fresh air. Clearly, there's plenty of room for fresh voices to extend the discussion even further.

---Tom

Commodity to Community with Corporate Videos