Number 36 of 52 Compelling Communicators: Kelly Young
September 09, 2013
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| Hats off to Kelly Young! |
I was 20 when I met the
woman who would influence the rest of my life.
I was the receptionist for the Heart Foundation and she was the Director
of Communications. She was 30 years my senior and all glam in her high heels,
coifed hair and sophisticated hats. A bounce in her step, a big warm smile and witty
remark for every occasion were her trademarks. She intrigued me. She had worked in
radio and was one of those early pioneers who crashed the testosterone-filled
copy rooms. Truly a Mad Men era survivor.
While climbing the ladder
through various jobs, I would hang around her office after hours to help put
together media packages and pick her fabulous brain. Observing her was better
than any course I could find.
Here are just some of the
compelling lessons from the lovely Kelly Young:
1. She would take
the time to write a funny poem about people for special occasions. Her gift of
time and creativity made people not only feel honoured but she would dazzle you
with how much she knew. She would pick up on characteristics that were fun and
showed that she paid rapt attention to every hallway and washroom chat.
Kelly
lesson: Listening and retaining information about people is always a crowd
pleaser. Turning it into something personal as a gift is unforgettable.
2. She took great
pride in her work. I would see her bashing away on that manual typewriter as if
she was in a fury and the end result was heartwarming public service announcements
that would make you quick to part with your cash. (I know, cash and typewriters
– it was the 70’s!) She fought back when people critiqued the sweet sentiments,
as she knew what would resonate with the donors.
Kelly lesson:
Standing up for your words or approach to communication is critical. I have
seen organizations go to the negative or shock factor to get a reaction. It is
rarely the reaction that causes people to donate – more likely to get the
copywriter an award. She helped me look at communications strategically and
from the viewpoint of the audience versus what I liked or thought was more
contemporary.
3. Her writing
style was warm and friendly. She had pithy down pat way
before the world of 140 character counts. She also loved a corny saying or two
and it is endearing coming from her. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart and
hearts of my bottom” was always said with genuine affection and with a twinkle
in her eye.
Kelly
lesson: Have fun with your communication. Don’t take yourself so seriously.
During our family’s
customary post dinner tealeaf reading, my Aunt Annie said a “woman with a great
big hat” was in my cup and would be a huge influence in my life. I was probably
15 at the time of the reading.
It never dawned on me, until
the some three decades later when Kelly and I were hamming it up trying on hats
in an antique store (photo above) that Ms. Kelly Young was the one. Thank you Kelly for compelling me.
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1 comments
What a great blog post - thanks for sharing this Della. There are some great messages to take away.
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