Jab Jab Cross

A lesson from boxing on how to communicate. Or immigrate.

Let’s start with some definitions, to not take the risk of not being clear.

Jab is a type of punch in boxing where the lead fist is thrown straight ahead and the arm is fully extended. A cross, also called straight, is a power-punch thrown with the rear hand directly to the opponent, in a straight line.

If there is an effective boxing punch combo, this is jab, jab, cross. It is so simple yet so efficient.

The same rule applies to communications. To communicate well with people we have to focus on building a relationship with our audience (being your audience personal, commercial or professional). You must start to create your relationship as early as possible. You engage with the audience before the “cross”. You “give, give” information. Then you “call to action”.

Jab, jab, and then cross. That’s the idea.

To exemplify, think on those grocery stores that promote lots of good and gourmet recipes, usually created by chef-celebrities. They are engaging with their audience, to bring them to their stores, inspired by those recipes.

Who knows me should know that I am super addicted to paper crafts. Card making and scrapbooking mainly. Many of the biggest craft companies make video tutorials along with the launch of a product. They do that to teach people on how to use that product, to inspire consumers and to create the desire to acquire it.

Jab jab cross.

That’s a good recipe, not just for boxing, but also for communicating.

Many companies out there use social media to jab jab cross. Blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter are the mostly used ones.

But how this is related to immigration?

That is very simple. You research, research, and then you decide. You plan, plan, and then you immigrate. You dream, dream, then you achieve.

The basic rule of boxing is also the basic rule of immigration.

It is important that every person who intends to immigrate have a plan. First of all to not fail on their intentions. Second, to not get frustrated or even expend money for nothing. Plans go wrong sometimes, but it is important to consider all the options and all the possibilities.

Last July and August I spent 7 weeks in Brazil. My daughter and I were in vacation, so we decided to visit my family and friends. I have never had so many requests of information about immigration, from people that I didn’t even know. Many people are really decided to immigrate. But most of them still have to do their jobs on researching and learning.

I don’t want to seem snob. Please, don’t get me wrong! That’s not my intention at all. I am just sharing the concerns I had when I was planning our move. The biggest one was learning every possible rule about immigration. Learn about every step and understand it. This makes our life as immigrants so much easier. Being an immigrant has its owns difficulties already. Being able to drop them as much as possible is a huge deal!

Don’t forget: jab jab cross.

Hope to see you soon!

Carol

Digital and Social Media and a reflection

Since we are here in Winnipeg, I decided to get back to school. I have a Bachelor Degree in Social Communications from Brazil. I also have a diploma in Teaching. But I realized that if you don’t have Canadian education and/or Canadian working experience, being an immigrant, would be hard to get a good job here.

So I decided to take Public Relations,Marketing and Strategic Communications at PACE (Professional, Applied and Continuing Education) at University of Winnipeg.  It is an amazing program; I am in love with my choice.

One of the courses I am doing now is Digital and Social Media. Great opportunity to think about what is going on in our world in terms of communication, both personal and commercial.

When I graduated, back in 2000, everything was about the message. We should deliver good messages. As we had, by the time, a pretty standardized type of media to reach some type of audience, we weren’t worried about the media, just about the message. Everything was the same, and the message itself was the difference.

We barely had Internet access. The smartphones weren’t a big thing until the late 1990s and just in 2007 Apple introduced the IPhone. I guess it was from the time when internet went into smartphones that everything started to change.

New media, same old messages?

The ways we communicate with each other have changed dramatically. Also the ways companies communicate with us have changed.

I would dare to say that the majority of this new generation of people couldn’t even imagine life without connection – and social media.

So, messages are still very important to us, obviously. But today, the way we deliver the message seems to be the most important thing. The presence in a social media channel is crucial to any company out there. And is also important to us, if we want to make part of this new generation and be truly updated.

In addition to the channel where the message will be delivered, we have a new strong component on the media mix: time. We can communicate today in a matter of seconds. Literally seconds.

But there is something that is still true in terms of communication: we still want authenticity on our relationships. Actually, we want relationships rather then just connection. It is all about people. It is not about the technology.

We still want to connect with people and be part of something. We still want to feel appreciated and show appreciation too. That’s haven’t changed at all.

And that’s the challenge of being connected. Find a way to maintain the authenticity either on our personal or even commercial relationships.

Disclaimer: although this post is not directly related with the main topic of this blog, which is my experience being an immigrant, is a relevant topic for my program at University, which subsequently is part of my immigration process.

Hope to see you soon!

Carol