PR, marcomms, recruitment and all the bits in between

Playing with language slows dictionary definitions team

With modern language changing by the day and teenagers adding to our ‘trendy’ vocabulary by the day, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) definitions have had to speed up the rate at which it is revised in order to keep up with the rate at which language is changing.

With only four letters of the alphabet managing to be complete in the last decade, staff are being encouraged to change their old methods in order to concentrate on words whose meanings are changing the fastest.

Words including “sick” and “book” which describe the term “cool”, are amongst many that are being included in the revised edition. John Simpson, the chief editor of the OED said: “Our team has become more and more experienced as we go along, in what is the first complete revision of the dictionary since it was first published in 1928”.

With the introduction of the internet and its world wide connection, the rate of language change has accelerated. “There are dozens of websites that celebrate new language” says Tony Thorne, of Kings College London. “They are encouraging people to play with it and we are therefore required to keep up with this”.

France to sing in French please

With Hanson’s French office well and truly open, its time to appreciate the cultural delights that France has to offer. Or not, according to French singer Sebastian Tellier. The Eurovision hopeful has until now opted to sing his patriotic number in English, much to the uproar of, not only his French fans, but even the French government.

With tens of millions tuning in to next month’s European Song Contest, keen to support their country, Tellier has agreed to ‘honour’ the French language by changing the lyrics into French.

Jacques Myard, of the UMP commented: "The French language is the tool of a huge industry in terms of cultural influence and if we French give up our language, what do you think the others will say?" Mr Myard, himself a fluent English speaker, said it was not appropriate that, in a European contest, France should "monkey another's culture".

Rest assured that our Paris team are equally familiar with both of these wonderful languages and promise not to sing in either of them.

Another reason to be wary of Facebook…

We’re always hearing about how blogging, Facebook and the internet in general can land you in trouble. It was recently revealed that Proctors at Oxford University have fined graduating students more than £10,000 for post exam celebrations, by collecting photographic evidence from their Facebook profiles. Oxford’s student union called it an in intrusion into student privacy.

This also applies to the world of work though - yes an employer or potential employer looking at your Facebook page may be invading your privacy but it’s a risk you take if you put information about yourself in the public domain. Always be aware that someone can get their hands on that embarrassing picture of you – if you don’t want to suffer the potential consequences it may be worth removing it swiftly!

Civil servants with style

More gems of news about the government have come our way this week. Apparently, Whitehall mandarins are now being offered classes on how to improve their dress sense and personal grooming – all at the bargain price of £970 - and funded by taxpayers, which is always nice to hear. Amongst other things, the civil servants are advised on the importance of keeping hair and nails clean and on what clothes to buy for their shape and colouring. I’m still trying to figure out how this is related to their performance at work. Plus, with any luck, those working for our government already wash their hair and nails regularly and the money could be spent on slightly better things. I’m all for investing in employees but maybe some skills training would give a better return on investment. Besides, we don’t want the likes of Trinny and Susannah to be out of a job do we?

Gossiping is making us generous

We all do it and we all know it is done. But apparently gossiping is making us care more about what other people think and leading us to become caring, generous people.

According to experiments carried out by Queens University in Belfast, people who knew that their actions were going to be discussed would act differently to those who didn’t. The study, published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour, concluded “It would appear that the threat of gossip only serves to promote generous behaviour when people are given the opportunity to enhance their reputation”.

As an unavoidable part of life, gossiping has followed us from the playground to the office, but let’s hope our paranoia pays off and we are all able to become a kind and thoughtful nation.

Is your job under threat from technology?

A few weeks ago we heard that experts were working on creating a robot that can learn, think and talk. The ‘iCub’ can crawl, see and hear and the next step is to teach it English. Now we’re reading about a new restaurant in Germany that has replaced its waiters with technology. Diners use touch-screen computers on their tables to place their orders, which are then transported to them via a rail system. With all this new technology being developed, it seems that it has already replaced the need for staff in the case of the German restaurant. Could we see many a job being phased out in years to come because of progressions in science? Maybe so, but I think we’re safe for a while yet. Until they make a robot that can give a friendly smile, smooth over problems with awkward clients and dream up clever new ideas, the PR and marketing world will just have to carry on employing people like us!

Stress busting

If you find yourself stressed from putting in all those hours in the office, then we have the solution - housework! According to the Scottish Health Survey based on information from 20,000 people, 20 minutes of some kind of physical activity once a week is effective in lowering anxiety. Activities like hoovering, gardening and cleaning are all beneficial, reducing stress levels by up to 20%. There’s no excuse for putting off the DIY now, it just might cheer you up!

Web harassment

Another warning, fellow bloggers. A man has recently had to pay £119,000 in compensation after anonymously posting offensive comments online about a housing group and its chief exec, which included false allegations of sexual misconduct and corruption. The defence called it a “malicious, unpleasant and relentless campaign of libel and harassment” that the rival businessman had conducted. Media lawyers say that this record payment should provide a warning to anyone doing the same.

PR fleeing

What would you do if you were faced with this situation? You’re the PR for British Airways. There’s a press briefing about the chaos at Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 in which the director of operations refuses to take questions. Subsequently you are faced with a barrage of journalists after some answers. If you opted for “run away” you chose the same option as Richard Goodfellow, the PR for BA, who recently shut the door on the many journalists on his case. PR guru Max Clifford’s advice (in a nutshell) was: never run away, use common sense and keep journalists on side as you’ll need them in the future. What would he have said? “It’s difficult to help you. We haven’t got any answers, we haven’t a clue what is going on. We have to make sure we take care of everyone. We have a worldwide reputation, we will get it right.” He’s not called a guru for nothing!

Nap in meetings to help concentration

Meeting too early in the morning? Not awake yet? Meeting too late in the afternoon when you’re ready to go home? If you want to make the biggest impact start your meeting at 10am, but deliver your main message at 11am.

According to Prof Lawrence Smith, of Leeds University’s institute of Psychological Science we are divided into  two broad groups of people - the ‘early risers’ and the ‘afternoon performers’. And as the names suggest there are some of us better suited to different times of the day then others.

Those of us who are early risers should use this to our advantage whether it be as someone holding a meeting or being in one; our ‘body clock’ will be at full throttle at roughly 10am – before the daydreaming starts to occur. And if morning time doesn’t suit you then aim for afternoon slots when your energy really kicks in.

“One of the most effective things organisers can do is to have a short nap, say 10 to 15 minutes” says Prof Smith. “That’s been shown to be hugely effective in people’s levels of alertness”. Whether you are an early bird or late starter Prof Smith advises against alcohol, caffeine, and late nights. Go for lunch time walks, ‘fresh air discussions, and small meals. With this advice in mind we will all be at the top of our game in no time.