Annie Pettit PhD CAIP FCRIC’s Post

Awards Season.......how to write a winning entry 🏆 I am very lucky to be part of judging panels for several awards events coming up over the next few months. It is a genuine honour to review talented businesses and individuals across our industry. Having trawled through a very long list of entries last week I thought it might be useful to share my tips for how to create strong entries. ✔ Read the criteria carefully, and make sure your entry captures each of the required points. ✔ Use bullet points, short paragraphs and easy to digest content. Remember the judges have to read an awful lot, so make sure yours is easily understandable. ✔ If you are applying in multiple categories, make sure you make your entry different in each category (back to point 1) Each entry needs to be relevant to the category. ✔ Don't think you have to apply for every category you may have a chance to win in. Less entries, with better clarity and detail, will have more of a chance. And do not give up. If you don't make the shortlist, keep trying. Over the years I have seen plenty of entries improve year on year, your time will come! Good luck everyone 🍀

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being the Master of Ceremonies [MC] for the 2024 Australian Organic Conference.   Some might wonder how I found myself on a stage in Melbourne in front of key players of the Organics Industry. But it’s quite straightforward really, a) I was invited to do so, and b) I genuinely enjoy speaking and MC’ing at events like this.      Australian Organic Limited first engaged businessDEPOT to help with their accounting and tax work, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with their team on various other projects over the years, including: - Facilitating strategy workshops for different industry segments  - Moderating conference panel discussions  - Serving as the MC for conferences  - Hosting industry awards nights  - Conducting board strategy sessions  - Assisting with strategic plan revisions I love helping people with these types of services and I’ve been relishing the opportunity to do more of it lately. I believe the most effective MC’s are those who can keep an event on course while maintaining high energy levels [without making it all about them]. While I’m neither a comedian nor an entertainer, I pride myself on being able to gauge the atmosphere of a room, connect with the audience by focusing on the key topics and themes, and bringing a business perspective, along with my personal insights to the conversation. Should you know someone in search of an #MC, a #panel moderator, or a #strategy session facilitator, I’d love to hear from you.  Thanks Australian Organic Limited for the opportunity!   #puttingitoutthere #oneplace   

Botswana business and organisation here is an opportunity to participate in best international practices competition and demonstrate that you believe and live excellence.

As we bid farewell to the festive spirit of Chinese New Year, we trust you and your team enjoyed a joyous and prosperous holiday! Now, as we embrace the Year of the Dragon, may it herald boundless opportunities and success in all your endeavours this year. 🐉✨   Crafting an award-winning entry demands dedication, time, and meticulous preparation. We're here to ensure you seize the opportunity to claim one of our prestigious gold trophies. To guide you towards success, we present your essential guidebook, outlining the dos and don'ts that will significantly enhance your chances of triumph.   Dos and don'ts for creating winning entries: 📸 Do utilise captivating visuals to convey your message clearly. 🗣️ Don't assume judges are familiar with your work – provide necessary context. 📊 Do report specific, measurable results showcasing tangible success. 🚫 Don't leave room for ambiguity – break down results clearly. 📝 Do adhere to submission templates without alterations. 🏆 Don't rely on a single entry for multiple categories – tailor each submission.   https://lnkd.in/gENzm4z5   🗓️ Important deadlines: Entries deadline: 5 April 2024 Finalists announced: May 2024 Winners announced: 11 July 2024   Need guidance? Connect with Gloria Yam and Mandy Chan today– We are here for you!

Need some words of wisdom before the weekend? 💡 Take a look at our quick tips for a good awards submission. Remember to get entries in by 15 September.

Entering the Speaker Awards last year was such a learning opportunity! I'm not massively competitive (unless we're playing Scrabble). And usually, anything that requires me to 'prove' myself puts me in a completely unhelpful frame of mind. But crafting my entry, curating clips that showcased me as a speaker, putting words to the value I bring - that was an invaluable exercise to do. It made me clearer about what I bring and how I communicate that. In short, it made me a better speaker, and better at marketing myself as a speaker. Marshall Goldsmith says that credibility must be earned twice: 1. Doing a great job & being competent 2. Be recognised for being competent And maybe that recognition starts with ourselves? Whether you're into winning or not, if you're a speaker I highly recommend you enter this! And as for winning - let's just say that put me even more into student mode! It's been a wild ride of digging even deeper into this craft, learning from wonderful, generous industry leaders like Lovelda Vincenzi, Erica Dhawan, Jaz Ampaw-Farr, Maria Franzoni and many more.

It's definitely awards season now - and winning an award (or getting shortlisted for one) can have massive benefits for your business. But sometimes it's hard to know where to start - so we asked the amazing BuBul awards expert Louise Turner, Chartered PR for some tips - and here they are! Look for quality awards that matter to your target audience – my starting point is always professional membership bodies and trade magazines, as these have a strong reputation for quality, robust judging processes, and are a true endorsement from your peers. Know the rules of the game – give the organiser a call and ask about the deadline and any potential extension, the word count and any leeway, plus whether they allow additional supporting information. Before you answer the questions, think about what you want to say – work in your key messages regardless of what you are asked. Thinking about these first makes sure you do not miss any of the critical points you want to make. A picture paints a thousand words – add them to your Word document to enhance your story, use them in supporting information, or create infographics to add interest. Be aware of the bigger context – while the detail of your project is important, if you have solved a universal problem you need to point this out to the judges, not simply focus on the minute detail of what you have delivered. Thanks to Louise for the benefit of her experience - if you are thinking of entering some awards better call Louise! #bubul #betterbusiness #awards

What makes an MC a "great" MC? Sticking to time? Funny anecdotes? Nice clothes? Pithy one-liners? Sharp speaker intros and summaries? All of that, sure. But more than anything, an MC is a culture-setter. People take their cue from the MC about how to behave. They are the lighthouse for your event. We want our events to have connection, authenticity and value, right? An MC should shine their light so everybody else can see how to make that a reality. ... I recently MCed my first conference in aaages, and absolutely loved it. I'd like to MC three conferences in the next 6 months. Maybe yours could be one of them? (I'm happy to reduce my rate as I grow this part of my practice. Probably shouldn't admit that, but meh.) If you're interested, flick me a message.

Meet Matt Blackborn, a UWL alumni who turned his Business Studies Degree into a successful career in advertising and now crafts his own wine in Portugal!🍷 "The idea of the linear, single career is just gone, so don’t overthink what you want to do from the outset. You’ll find a way if you’re passionate about it." From his time at Ealing College to senior roles in major ad agencies, and now to winemaking, Matt’s journey shows the diverse paths UWL alumni can follow. Read more about Matt's journey in the comments. 🔗 #UWLAlumni #SuccessStories #CareerAdvice

What is creativity? The question is probably as old as the word. And maybe the answer will always fall on the observer. But at CHEW Games, we've seen amazing results from our working creative philosophy: Creativity is like cooking 🧑🍳 Our brains 🧠 is like a kitchen, and everything we know are our available ingredients. Mashing stuff together (cooking) in the pursuit of making something delicious, is to be creative. Why is this our point of view? Because creativity is not magic. It's more like a muscle. That can be trained if exercised. That's why we think of to “chew” on something; is an act of being creative: to be playful, to think deeply and consider, to zoom in and out, to ponder and contemplate -- to dare to create. So if you're in Berlin on the 15th of may, or know friends who are: we're playing the #5 CHEW Game that night at SPICED Academy! Our topic is: "What values should inspire the Tech solutions of the 21st century?" Should be a VERY interesting CHEW in today's climate. 🎟️ Get your ticket here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dcziwU8D Anyways - maybe you who reads this have your own idea of creativity, and if so, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments :) Happy Thursday! ☀️🦄