I can’t remember a moment as terrifying and humiliating as when I was laid off from my job. It happened three years ago on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. My positive performance reviews were ignored. Awards I’d received from professional organizations and peers were forgotten.

Stripped of my email privileges, I was escorted to my car in the parking lot. As I sat, shocked and weeping in the driver’s seat, I kept asking myself over and over, why didn’t I see this coming?

You are not alone
Many senior professionals receive the pink slip every day. As one’s golden years just begin, cheaper and younger pros are eager and available. We seniors seem set in our antiquated ways while new projects demand sharp social media and varied digital platform skills that can intimidate us.

Statistics say that more than 100 million men and women over 50 are unemployed in the United States at this moment. Seeking a position at any age, no matter the reason, is a challenge. When you’re 55 years old, getting back into job-hunting mode is depressing and downright scary.

Update your image
Your invaluable years of experience in communications – attracting and nurturing clients, launching successful public relations campaigns, developing a network of colleagues, writing award-winning annual reports – offer prospective employers sophisticated, sought-after skills. Still, it’s important to look critically at the image you portray.

In “50 Plus! Critical Career Decisions for the Rest of Your Life,” author Robert L. Dilenschneider gives 50-plus job seekers important guidance about being successful in the marketplace.

Dilenschneider points out that you might be subconsciously sending the wrong message by wearing clothing that is out of fashion or sporting a dated hairstyle. Don’t be afraid to consult a personal shopper or to ask friends to help you modernize. Invest in the best clothing you can afford, the author advises, and purchase a new briefcase.

When you present a professional, modern appearance you give the interviewer the impression that you can be counted on to perform well.

Your personal PR campaign
First, think of yourself as a client. Determine your key selling points, define your personal message and determine how to promote your distinct brand.

As Dilenschneider says, successful public relations campaigns deliver succinct messages. You too must refrain from relying on clichés and focus instead on your unique strengths, bolstered by vivid examples.

Use real-life problems and show how you tackled them. Explain how you streamlined a clunky delivery system or generated positive press for a challenging event. Talk about your ideas. Describe how you work well with other team members. Offer insightful analysis of what went right and what you would do differently in a recent scenario.

Avoid dwelling on the ‘good old days.’ Don’t complain about ‘young people today.’ Simplify your pitch to three or four key messages; write them down and memorize them until they sound natural. Refine and practice your short, direct elevator speech.

Establish yourself as an expert by mentioning your profession honors. Share brief testimonials from clients and coworkers. Offer letters of recommendation from impressed clients and colleagues who’ve worked side by side with you on significant projects.

Your network, your safety net
You never know who will be your next boss. It pays off to be friendly with everyone – your past and present clients, colleagues, associates – even your interns. Don’t be shy about telling everyone you know about your job hunt. Ask for assistance and request advice.

In PR, we often go back to a reporter several times with updated information or a comment on something they’ve written. These frequent calls help keep us and our clients top-of-mind as key sources. If you think that way about yourself, you’ll recognize many opportunities to ‘sell’ yourself to professional contacts.

This is not the time to be shy. Spend money wisely, of course, but tap into your resources for lunch and coffee dates with colleagues. During the meal, pick their brain about the job market, the skills they consider vital, and their opinions about the local business climate.

Be considerate and write personal thank-you notes to the people spend time talking with you. Keep in touch with everyone you meet. Offer them your new business card and send them articles you know they’ll be interested in. Nothing is more personal than a little hand-written note that says, ‘I saw this and thought of you.’

Take time to breathe
When I lost my job, it took me several weeks to calm down and see things rationally. Yet I came to realize that despite my personal trauma the world did not come to an end. I became thrilled with the possibility of a new phase of life.

Taking time to breathe deeply, I slowed down to consider what I really wanted from my work. A new path opened for me to capitalize on my creative energy and use my skills in innovative ways.

Rather than seeking another full-time position, I decided to put my 30-plus years of writing, editing and public relations expertise to work as head of my own company. Thanks to decades of concentrated networking in the journalism and communications fields, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I love working alone but I treasure being part of a creative team. I use my communications skills to create projects of true value. I wake up every day excited about my life.

Summing up
A number of 50-plus professionals are cashing in on their status as senior professionals in unique ways; some have changed careers entirely, others have sought corporate work instead of agency gigs, and a few are well-paid consultants.

It may surprise you that sophisticated advice from seasoned professionals is valued highly by savvy prospects and smart clients. The happy realization that you can earn a good living – even one that commands higher fees than your former salary – is the most best motivator of all.

Indeed, the qualities your last boss considered drawbacks – your many years of experience in various environments, the sage advice you can offer based on hard knocks, and your diverse and growing network of professional associates – is pure gold in the marketplace.

Eager employers and clever clients will realize your true value provided you can clearly express your ideas and convey your integrity. Losing your former job is an end, yes – but it also can be the beginning of a keen new outlook and even a more fulfilling life.

Information of all kinds is accessible at the touch of a key. But writers looking to craft memorable stories that resonate with readers must go beyond the basics to present facts in context and from differing perspectives. 

That means going to great lengths to interview people who have expertise and passion for the subject you’re writing about. In journalism school, aspiring reporters are taught to use the interview to expand upon the basic “who, what, where, how, when and why” of newsgathering. 

Only the best journalists will venture beyond the 5 Ws and the H and take the time to listen effectively and probe beyond the obvious. Readers are drawn to stories that pack a punch created by thoughtful writers who look for the context, impact and emotion to make their words come alive.

In this tutorial, I’ll provide a list of ways to conduct effective interviews based on my experience writing stories for dozens of publications. We will cover the best ways I’ve found to prepare for, conduct and follow through with interviews of all kinds.

Tools of the Trade
Let’s begin by looking at the different tools to use for recording the information as you receive it. 

1. I’ve found I conduct my most successful interviews in a quiet environment where I can concentrate on my subject without distraction.
2. Rather than wasting time transcribing, my primary recording method is to type notes on my iPad or laptop. 
   -   I have a small digital recorder that I use as a backup.
   ​-   When I get back to my office, I email my notes to the PC and clean them up before beginning to write my story.
3. For in-person interviews, bring extra business cards in case your interview subject introduces you around.
4. If distance or schedule doesn’t allow for face-to-face interviews, I conduct them over the phone using a wireless headset and type their responses into my computer.
   

What Questions Work Well in an Interview?  
My own curiosity guides the questions I prepare.  Also, if I’ve been assigned the interview, I ask the questions that help enhance and direct my content in order to satisfy the client.

1. Ask yourself: What do I want to get out of this interview? 
2. Think about the 5 Ws and the H, and craft your questions to cover all of those angles 
3. Be prepared to ask follow-up questions to illuminate interesting points 
4. Put your questions in some kind of order, from the most general ones to those that get into more detail or complexity.
   -   Always be ready to divert from the order or content based on the answers.

The Importance of Listening Well  
Ernest Hemingway noted that “most people never listen.” Not surprisingly, the best interviewers are wonderful listeners. 

1. It’s important to hear not only the content you’re listening for, but the tone of voice and attitude behind the words. That information will help you phrase your questions to obtain additional detail.
2. Be patient, polite and respectful – even if the subject is difficult to deal with or reluctant to offer insights.
3. Ask for referrals to other sources. 
4. Don’t be shy about asking your subject for extra time as you write their comments down, or request that they repeat an important point.
5. Write down more than what you hear in an interview – note what you see.
6. Some of my best quotes come after I assume the interview is over, so after the interview is over, I always ask if there is something he/she would care to add.
7. Let your source know that you may call back to gather additional information or check facts.

Interview Best Practices  
Here are some quick notes on interviewing from the Poynter Institute, the world’s leading instructor, innovator, convener and resource for journalists.

1. Ask the person for his/her name and position up front.
2. Ask open-ended questions that will elicit more than “yes” or “no” answers.
3. Keep your questions neutral in tone.
4. Ask for definitions, examples, anecdotes.
5. Ask questions your audience/readers want to know the answers to.
6. Keep your questions short and to the point.
7. Ask one question at a time (do not double-up on questions).
8. Be prepared to ask follow-up questions—and be sure to be listening for questions that require a follow-up.
9. Do not make assumptions.
10. Make sure you are asking a question, rather than making a commentary.
11. Do not argue with the person you are interviewing.
12. Do not try to cover too much territory during the interview. Remember your focus.
13. Be polite, but persistent. Keep asking until you get a response to your question.
14. Prepare a closing question.

Putting it All Together

1. Review your notes as soon as possible after the interview, while everything is fresh in your mind and annotate the most important points.
2. Consider outlining your story immediately based on your interview, or even sitting down to write the story.
3. Finally, follow the general rules of storytelling outlined in my previous blog, Simple Steps to Better Storytelling.
   

Careful preparation helps interviewers overcome self-consciousness and shyness. But only successful repetition of the interviewing process will make you comfortable. 
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Rather than avoiding interviews, I now look forward to them. I enjoy meeting new people and learning new things, and interviewing is second-nature to me. Other than the creative process of writing stories, it’s one of my favorite parts of my communications work.

I’ve been in plenty of meetings where I found myself rolling my eyes (at least internally) at the worn-out clichés and trendy phrases other people used to try to make a point. Over time, I’ve noticed that if you pay close attention to how people react to jargon, slang and buzzwords, you’ll see that they often tune out and miss the key messages.

Recently I’ve electronically clipped several articles on ridiculous phrases and corporate buzzwords – as well as some useful tips – that can help us eliminate these crutches to vastly improve our presentations, emails and conversations.

Travis Bradberry’s “Please Stop Saying These 25 Ridiculous Phrases at Work,” published July 28 in Forbes, awarded “at the end of the day” its top honor for ridiculousness. Bradberry included “hit the ground running,” “low-hanging fruit,” “it’s on my radar” and “think outside the box” as other ineffective catchphrases to avoid.

Be Original. Be Creative.
Original approaches and proper wording are as important as ever to getting your message across to the right people in both conversations and writing. Such precision requires concentration and creativity (as well as a good thesaurus) but yields the most immediate and positive results.

In “14 Dos and Don’ts That Can Improve How You Communicate Via Email,” a recent LinkedIn post by PRSA’s David Grossman, he noted the best ways to engage your audience, the words that most effectively communicate, and warns that a poorly written message is often ignored.

He emphasized that emails live forever and can be forwarded, shared, copied and subpoenaed. In fact, that’s true of any communication these days because of the ubiquitous cell phone and its ability to record everything. As a general rule, Grossman advises; don’t share anything in an email that you wouldn’t want to see on a Jumbotron in Times Square. I would expand that advice to everything you say and do, either in print or in person.

Why Words are Important
It’s not enough to have a brilliant idea. If you can’t communicate it effectively, it won’t fly. Author and writing expert Melissa Donovan notes in writingforward.com that honing grammar, spelling and punctuation skills should be an ongoing process for communicators. “The basic tools of your trade are words, sentences and paragraphs,” she writes. “If you don’t understand the basic rules, your writing will be in big trouble. Writers who can’t be bothered to learn the rules of grammar tend to produce sloppy work and weak prose.”

Donovan says that effective communication depends on knowing nouns from verbs and predicates from prepositions, and understanding tense and agreement.

Precise language is important in the workplace, too. Some corporate terms – like “change agent,” “gatekeeper,” “cascade” and “silo” – may be commonly used, but are vague, misleading and even dehumanizing, notes Laura Hale Brockway in an August 26 PR News article.

Better Ways to Communicate
How can we harness the right words to reach our target audiences most effectively to motivate positive change?

• First, it’s important to employ the right venue for the message. You wouldn’t send something requiring an urgent response via email, because your audience may not check or respond immediately.
• Second, vital information that isn’t succinct and direct runs the risk of being ignored or misinterpreted. That means using relevant words and avoiding repetition, and using as few words as possible for the greatest impact.
• Avoid sloppiness. If you’re speaking, eliminate crutch words. If you’re writing, make sure there are no typos, repeated phrases or extra phrases that muddy your message.

Lastly and perhaps most important, employ communicators’ best practices. Refresh yourself and get a new perspective. Force yourself to refer often to resources and research so you are sure to include the very latest information from the best sources. In doing so, you will establish yourself as not only an excellent communicator, but a team leader and an original thinker.