By Catriona Pollard Archives - Catriona Pollard

The importance of showing your appreciation

After I taught a creativity course recently, one of the students invited me to her property on the South Coast of NSW to collect material for my art as a way of saying thank you because the course was transformational for her.

I can’t even tell you how much that meant to me as I only use foraged material, so finding places to collect is hard. (Coincidentally, every single one of the works I made from this collecting session sold in my recent exhibition.)

I have this thing about saying thank you and showing appreciation. In business and life, we want acknowledgement for the things we do. We have an innate desire to feel appreciated and valued by others. And I believe our workplaces function much better with a praise culture.

So how do we make sure we say thank you more, and acknowledge the people around us?

Saying thank you

When we pitch a story to a journalist, and the story gets a run, the journalist is just doing their job right? They got a great story because we came up with the idea and sent it to them. In my Agency, we have a policy of thanking the journalist. We acknowledge their effort and time, by emailing a simple thank you. You should to.

Give when no one is expecting it

I’ve spent every weekend for the past three weeks at a gallery where my solo exhibition was being held. In between visitors, I sat on the floor and wove sculptures, which gave me some thinking time in that space.

I thought, I have expertise that all of the other artists involved in the gallery could benefit from. So on the last day of my exhibition, I put enough copies of my book From Unknown To Expert for everyone on the shelf in the storeroom. So simple.

Don’t take people for granted

I’m sure we all have people in our lives we take for granted. Colleagues, best friends or even the person that makes our coffee in the morning. I know I do. So from time to time, take stock of those people and acknowledge them. Let them know what their action’s personally mean to you.

Run a gratitude exercise with your team/friends/family

With my team, we sit in a circle with one person in the centre and tell them why we are grateful for them, being specific about moments, lessons and impacts. We talk about how we have changed because of their impact on our lives.

The power of thank you has the power to change a workplace culture, start a beautiful friendship or make someone’s day. It can also change your life.

Tweetable: The power of saying ‘thank you’ @CatrionaPollard http://bit.ly/2A1wm53

Nail your next presentation with these golden rules

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Last week I did a presentation and completely stuffed it up. Yep…even though I’ve done hundreds of talks, presentations, seminars, even a TEDx in front of thousands of people, I stuffed this speech up.

The talk was for my opening of my solo exhibition and I’m not sure what happened. I do know that I was exhausted, not grounded, hadn’t practiced, and weirdly felt people would judge me (even though most of them were friends).

The result was a jumbled mix of words, thoughts and nervousness.

What I do know is I didn’t follow my golden rules. As you probably know, it took a lot of courage for me to step into the spotlight (if you don’t, watch my TEDx about this journey). Along the way I have developed key steps to public speaking.

Prepare and practice

The more prepared I am, the less nervous I am. Research your topic thoroughly and prepare your speech and then practice, practice, practice.

Know your audience

Before any speaking opportunity find out information about the audience. This will help you to tailor your speech to their needs and level of knowledge.

Find your lighthouses

My friend and speaking coach, Mariette Rups-Donnelly taught me this, and I use it every single time. Find the lighthouses in the room. They are the people that are engaged and listening to you. Speak to them and they will feed you energy. It works every time.

Relax and deliver

Try to overcome your nerves. This was the hardest thing for me to do, but it’s important to relax and be yourself. You can use relaxation techniques such as controlled breathing to calm your nerves and make sure you are prepared.

Become a regular public speaker

Trust me, the more you practice public speaking, the more successful you will be. Start by speaking at small events and then build up to bigger ones. Say yes as much as possible to every speaking opportunity.

And sometimes you stuff up. And that’s OK. We regularly sing the song “Let It Go” from the movie Frozen in our office. Don’t hold on to failure, let it go.

I think the most important thing is to grow from the obstacles on your path and find wisdom through their solutions. And always – always – treat yourself with love and care.

Tweetable: Golden rules for public speaking @CatrionaPollard bit.ly/2lCCQng

Why you should say YES to sharing your opinion

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Think about something you feel passionate about. It could be a political issue, an art form or flying to Mars. It could be anything.

Imagine if you shared your passion or opinion beyond your family and friends. How would that make you feel? What impact would that make?

The other night one of my staff messaged me and said he had written an article over a glass of red about why to vote yes to marriage equality and could I have a look at it.

Not only did I look at it, I edited it and the next day, during work time, we strategised which journalist and publication to pitch it to. (And of course, it was picked up. Read it here).

Now that is a scary thing to do. I know that personally. Being prepared to share your voice with the world puts you in a really vulnerable position, particularly on a divisive issue such as marriage equality.

If not you, who?

But here’s the thing. If not you, who?

I believe we all have stories to tell that will help others in some way. We have experienced situations through our lives that should be shared because others will benefit from it. Or if we feel strongly enough about the issue, it’s our responsibility to express that, to affect the change we want to see.

The world needs to hear what you have to say. If you don’t, you miss out on sharing your beauty with the world. You miss your purpose.

Be brave

Having the courage to be honest and exposed when you tell your stories through the media and social media will make them so much more impactful. They will start resonating with people.

When you start telling your stories and sharing your expertise because it is helping the people who are listening or reading it, you will be amazed with the emotional connection that you start building with people and the relationships you start developing – because you’re positively impacting their lives.

We live in a world where we are encouraged to compare ourselves to others. As soon as we do this, we start living smaller lives. We start thinking our stories are not as important as theirs.

We need to have the confidence to know our stories are valid, not matter how big or small.

So it’s about saying YES to your voice, to equality and to love.

Tweetable: Why you should say yes to sharing your opinions @catrionapollard http://bit.ly/2xgfvfX

How to get motivated to do the things you don’t want to do

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I’m coming to the end of my office lease and I’m considering my options about staying or finding a new office. When I even think about starting to look for a new office I want to well…do something else. Anything else. Run a marathon. Skydive. Make a cup of tea. Look at the yoga class timetable online. Check my Instagram feed. Sing live on TV naked.

You know, anything else.

So my desire to move is clouded by my motivation to look for a new office. Like anyone I can be highly motivated to do the stuff I like, but golly gosh, when it comes to the stuff I dislike, my motivation evaporates.

So how do we motivate ourselves to do the stuff we don’t want to do?

I just don’t feel like doing it

You can’t wait until you feel like doing something. Sometimes we never feel like doing a task, but you just have to show up. When I was writing my book or when I had my solo exhibition, I created a routine and just showed up. Sometimes what I produced was crap, but other times it was gold.

Just start

When I’m teaching fibre art workshops and I hear a million excuses about why they can’t dedicate time to their art practice, I get them to write down every reason so they see it in black and white. Then I ask them to spend time questioning it. Is it an excuse or a legitimate reason? How would it make you feel if you had more art in your life? Usually it just boils down to one thing. Just start. Even if it’s for one minute a day. Just start.

Willpower sucks sometimes, so trick yourself

I’ve spent a career on deadline. In PR and running a business I walk into the office and know I have multiple deadlines that day. So when I’m faced with a task I don’t want to do I attempt to trick myself by placing a deadline on it. (Attempt is a key word, as sometimes it doesn’t work as well as I’d like). So plan it out – decide what you’re going to do, and when and where you’re going to do it so there is no umming and ahing.

Ebbs and flow

There are times when it’s OK that you’re not motivated to get to the gym or to get stuff done. I’m not saying create a bunch of excuses to opt out. But there are ebbs and flows in our lives and we should listen and be aware of them.

So I’m going to trick myself into a deadline for looking at offices – even though I have a real deadline! What are you going to do today?

Tweetable: How we can get motivated to do the things we don’t want to do @CatrionaPollard bit.ly/2ioyIFU

Give yourself permission to bloom

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A few weeks ago it was my 17 year business anniversary. (Yep, I’m a stayer). When I started CP Communications my sister gave me a card that had a quote from Anais Nin on it. It’s framed in my study and I notice it most mornings when I’m getting ready for my day.

She gave it to me as she knew that for me stepping out from a safe established career to start a business was what I desperately needed to do at the time, and at that moment the risk to remain a tight bud was more painful than the unknown of starting a business.

I think we have all experienced moments in our lives where the pain of remaining closed becomes too much.

Whether it’s finding our voice and stepping on stage, leaving that job that no longer serves you, picking up the phone to call a long lost friend, creating an online dating profile, starting the online business you’ve been dreaming of…

Whatever it is, as each petal loosens its grip on the bud, and you give the petals permission to open one by one, it releases new inspiration, insight and beauty.

The release of blossoming also leads to significant growth.

Do you need to allow the bud of potential to open – to bloom? Is it time to share your beauty with the world?

While it’s often fear that holds us back. Sometimes it’s complacency. Sometimes it’s simply exhaustion.
Staying as a bud we think we are protecting ourselves. Tightly wrapped, cocooned from the unknown.

But staying safe is an illusion. It’s like saying chaos doesn’t exist. It’s everywhere. Staying safe is what hurts the most.

So opening to your potential is about moving from unknown to expert, it’s about letting the world know you have something to say. If you don’t bloom you miss out on sharing your beauty with the world. You miss your purpose.

So today is your day to unfold. Release the bud of hope and desire and make your dreams come true. And remember, you are truly beautiful.

Tweetable: It’s time to bloom and let the world know you have something to say @catrionapollard http://bit.ly/2tiZtzu

Get bored over the holidays

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I was interviewed by AAP this week asking if we can survive without technology. I said no. I want the traffic lights to work on my way home, and computer to work so I can write.

But having said that, I do think this time of year it’s worth having a check in about how we are feeling about digital overload. (And overload in general.)

I feel like I’ve had two years in one. Now I’m at the end of the year, I’ve notice that I’m posting less and less, having fewer online chats, and not going on a few apps I was on all the time. I’m also not doing big Christmas events, just catching up with people individually.

I’m craving low key, which is lucky as I’m about to spend a few weeks at one of the quietest places in Australia (my parent’s place up the coast), and I’m starting to think about how I can recalibrate the best.

Digital chill pill

At the moment I check my email first thing and last thing in the day – as I do the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram twirl. Like most professionals, I spend up to 10 hours a day online.

I really think it’s worth asking the question…would I find it difficult to not take my phone with me down to the beach, to grab a coffee, to go for a walk, to go to bed?

Over the holidays, it might be good to challenge ourselves to a digital detox. See what life is like off the grid.

Do nothing. Be bored.

Can you remember the last time you were bored? An amazing thing happens when you are not constantly stimulated. Your mind quietens down.

I don’t do bored very well, but when I am, I come up with the best ideas and new concepts. (I was told by one of my staff not to come back from holidays with the idea to write a new book or launch another business…which happens each time I have a low-key holiday. I couldn’t promise it!)

Chillax

I’ve found this awesome app called Insight Timer. There are thousands of free meditations and my favourite is Yoga Nidra which is a progressive muscle relaxation. It’s so relaxing.

What I’m most excited about over the holidays is to sit under my tree at the very end of the beach and just gaze at the water and listen to the waves. The jury is out if I can resist taking my phone with me!

I hope you have a wonderful time over holidays – with or without digital. See you in the New Year.

Tweetable: Get bored over the holidays @CatrionaPollard http://bit.ly/2oZnMlA

Transform your business through creativity

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I’ve always been somewhat creative. Naturally, as an entrepreneur, I have a talent for out of the box thinking, and at different times in my life, I’ve dabbled in different creative pursuits, like photography, art, and design.

But if someone told me 15 years ago when I started my business the thing that would make the difference between failure and be building a sustainable, successful business was an art form that saw me playing with sticks and twigs and hosting a second solo exhibition this week; I seriously would have laughed. But that’s exactly what happened.

It was about six years ago where I was working flat out building my business. Like most entrepreneurs, running my business consumed me. I never really switched off, and I was starting to burn out from the intense pressure.

What’s more, my industry of public relations was (and still is) going through significant change. Dealing with the changing media landscape was like operating in quicksand, where I could be pulled under if I didn’t keep innovating.

Something had to change

I went through a process of reflection on what I wanted out of my business and my life, as the two were inextricably linked. I realised my ability to cope with change was being impaired; my creativity was being sapped. I needed to figure out a way to slow down and allow myself the space to problem solve and be innovative in responding to challenges.

I needed to find an outlet for my creativity that was tactile and not about perfection but more about exploration and play. I wanted to think in new ways and use creativity to gain new insights and perspectives.

Looking back now, I found an outlet that was opposite to my world as a business owner. I discovered the art of sculptural basketry – an art form that goes back to our primal roots and hasn’t changed for thousands of years. It was feminine, introverted, meditative and nature-based; compared to my entrepreneur life which was masculine, extroverted, technological and fast-paced.

A light was switched on

I began responding to change in new and unexpected ways. I wrote a book; I launched an online, productised side to my business. I started to work with my team in different ways so the business could leverage the collective strength of our ideas. The business became more stable, but more importantly, I felt more in control of where I wanted to take the business and what its purpose in my life was.

Through art, I was able to change how I saw things. It helped me to overcome business challenges and appreciate risk and potential in different ways.

Today my art is very much part of my identity

I conduct weaving workshops with my team, my office is overflowing with my sculptures, and I hold my own exhibitions – my latest ’11:11’ starts tomorrow.

And my business is better for it. There are still challenges, things don’t always go to plan, but how I respond to these situations is heightened with creativity and innovation. Rather than feel inundated and paralysed, I see the opportunities that are only limited by my imagination and creativity.

So is there anything in your business and life that would benefit from a creative approach?

Tweetable: Creativity can transform your life and business @CatrionaPollard bit.ly/2y1upHZ

What to do when you realise you’re not coping because you have too much on

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I have been in several situations lately where I have been asked how I manage to get so much done.

The truth is there was a time a few weeks back where I came into the office and said to my most trusted team member that I wasn’t coping. I had said yes to too many things – speaking gigs, gallery openings, exhibitions, mentoring, business operations tasks, writing, organising a trip overseas…I could go on.

I was dealing with so much stress that I was waking up at 3am every morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. Which was good in one way as it meant I had more time to get stuff done. But obviously, not healthy.

Lists are my saviour
Jo, who has worked with me for a long time and knows how my brain works, said “Let me get my notepad”. She sat with me and I told her everything I had to do. Three pages of items later, she put them in order, and even typed up an action plan (similar to how we do client work).

I slept through to 5am that night…because I had some order to the chaos and a plan of attack. And you know what…I’ve nearly ticked everything off my list! Such a great feeling.

Ditch faffing
You know faffing…taking ages to make a decision or finish things off. I enjoy being highly focused, and often set myself false deadlines to eliminate faffing. Although, I find myself faffing about certain things…my inbox is currently sitting at 3,792 unread emails.

Use your time wisely
My business is run with military precision. We have procedures for everything. It’s structured in a way so time isn’t wasted. Also I maximise my effort and time. For example, all of the articles I write aren’t just used once. They are used multiple times across every social media platform, sent to journalists, uploaded to news sites and then they are used in an ongoing basis as evergreen blog content.

I like to be busy. I’m happier when I’m doing and achieving stuff. But I also need to have downtime, whether that’s catching up with the people that make me feel good, spending the afternoon at the day spa or walking in the bush. My mantra during these times is be still and let the beauty emerge.

So I guess for me, sometimes I wonder if I get addicted to the adrenaline that high pressure situations bring with them. But when you realise that you’ve pushed yourself to the point of not feeling like you’re coping, it’s important to ask for help from people that care about you and put in place actions that help you organise your time more effectively.

Tweetable: Stop faffing! Tips on how you can get more stuff done @CatrionaPollard http://bit.ly/2rpbWlr

Connecting Is The Bee’s Knees

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I’ve been reminded lately how important it is to be and stay connected with people from all areas of my life.

A few weeks ago I went to “The Gathering”. Sounds like an ancient druid meet up hey, but no. Every two years people who are interested in traditional basketry come together to share techniques and experiences. I’m one of those people, and I was speaking at the event.

Connecting through shared interest
What was so lovely was that it reminded me how wonderful it is to be in a room full of people who love what you love. (Not often do I sit at a table where the conversation goes something like, “Wow, banana fibre is so great to weave with!”)

More importantly, most of those people I had only seen on social media in the past two years but we had stayed connected through Instagram and Facebook . So when we saw each other again it felt like a continuation of a conversation we had been having for years.

There were some people I hadn’t even met before, but they follow my art on Insta, so felt they knew me and it helped to quickly establish a deeper connection.

Honey and lemon
I came back from “The Gathering” with laryngitis and an ear infection (yep, couldn’t speak or hear very well) and posted a photo on Facebook complaining I was sick. A lovely woman who I’m connected to on Facebook and have only met a few times at business events, messaged me to offer to bring me over honey and lemon. So lovely.

Saying yes to media
Luckily it only took a few days to get my voice back, and a journalist who I’m connected to on Facebook and never chatted to before, contacted me to do a last minute interview. Which of course I said yes to, because that’s how you deepen connections with journalists.

So while many people believe that social media is disconnecting and anti-social, I think the opposite. For me the combination of social media and real life experiences deepens connections with so many extraordinary people which I’m so thankful I have in my life.

Tweetable: Why connecting is the bee’s knees @CatrionaPollard http://bit.ly/2plZnGH

Are you listening?

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The other day I caught up with someone who described himself as a great listener. Considering 20 minutes into the ‘conversation’ I hadn’t said a word, his idea about talking and listening was a little screwed up.

It made me think about listening. I believe it’s everything. It can be the difference between getting the sale or not, getting a journalist interested in you, or let’s face it….getting a second date.

When I started exploring my personal brand I realised that as an introvert I listen a lot. In a conversation I’ll ask questions, rather than talk. In a meeting I’ll do the same.

But it’s more than just listening. It’s being present. You know when you’re talking to someone and they just don’t seem to be paying attention or they talk over the top of you. That’s annoying and makes you want to ditch the conversation.

Becoming a better listener can improve productivity as well as your ability to influence and negotiate. And who doesn’t want that!? So how can you become a better listener? Here are some thoughts.

Be in the conversation
Don’t think about what you’re going to cook for dinner that night, stare over their shoulder or think about the next thing you want to say. Pay attention and actively hear what they are saying so you can understand, respond and remember the conversation.

Visual cues
Think about the last conversation you were in when the person didn’t show they were listening. I’m sure it impacted how you felt about them. Have eye contact and nod to show you’re listening, as well as verbally with words such as yes and uh huh. You might want to also mirror their body language.

Don’t interrupt
This is one of my pet hates. Don’t interrupt or speak over the person. It frustrates the speaker and makes them feel that their words are not important. We all think and speak at different rates, so allow the other person to speak at their own pace.

I feel that genuine listening is beautiful. You are gifting the person your time and attention and showing them you care. It builds relationships, rapport with colleagues and makes the world a better place.

Tweetable: Why listening is everything @catrionapollard http://bit.ly/2nG1cZ2