Frank Roby

From fighting over the front seat of the car to borrowing shirts without asking, my sisters and I have fought over almost everything and anything.  These petty arguments usually involved tears, name calling, and door slamming. Luckily for my mom, like the calm after a storm, 15 minutes later and we would be laughing and smiling—just like that—as if nothing ever happened.

Disagreements are unavoidable, natural parts of life.  Some conflicts cost billions of dollars and precious human lives to resolve, while others can be fixed with in moments over a bowl of ice cream. While there is an enormous discrepancy between these two types of disputes, they both arise from the same communication problems.

Tonight’s speaker, Frank Roby, claims that the inherent problem with communication is how we approach communication. As humans, we are wired to only concentrate on the message we want to send, that we can’t concentrate on other incoming messages. We are so one-sided in our own thoughts and opinions that we find it difficult to open our minds and listen to what others have to say.  

So, how do we fix things? Understand that we must put our differences aside in order to have a meaningful conversation. Although it may sound simple, this is still a huge challenge to all of mankind. And until we find a way to successfully communicate and solve discords, siblings will still bicker and wars will still be fought. 

Matt Gobush

Matt Gobush, Manager of Corporate Communications for the world's largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, knows a thing or two about effective strategic communications. Although his background is not originally in the oil industry, Gobush’s communication expertise has helped ExxonMobil take on the world’s toughest energy challenges.

After working on Capitol Hill for several years, Gobush started at ExxonMobil without any experience in the oil and gas industry. The need for people with political experience in the corporate world helped Gobush land his position at ExxonMobil, where he uses his background in politics to influence policy makers and opinion leaders. Calling communications an “art and a science,” Gobush claims that communication skills are universal: you can apply the same skills to a different industry and still see the same results.

Showing the class that it is not just about cleaning up reputations after major crises, (such as devastating oil spills) but rather improving overall living standards around the world, Gobush shared some of ExxonMobil’s many innovative initiatives. For example, researching the potential of algae for alternative fuel.

Gobush’s presentation made me once again realize the versatility of communications: all these basic skills I am currently learning in class will one day help me in almost any industry. 

Maureen Locus

“Life is short. Work Happy.” Norman Brinker, founder of Brinker International, coined this motto to motivate his “BrinkerHeads” to work hard and play hard.

 Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to “work happy” when you’re dealing with disgruntled customers on a daily basis.  With 226 international Chili’s locations, there is enormous potential for many things to go wrong, which is why it amazes me that only four people run the communications team at Brinker International. Luckily, this small yet hardworking team is lead by Maureen Locus, who not only monitors the organization’s media hotline, but helps respond to crisis’ by securing media placements and implementing social media.

Locus has dealt with everything from uptight and unhappy customers displeased with their dining experiences to the more extreme case of a New Mexico woman finding a needle in her mashed potatoes. With a strong commitment to delivering hospitality to every guest, Locus handles each crisis situation in a calm, cool and collected manner. Locus explained to the class that she must “become numb to the situation” in order to efficiently comfort people and solve issues. Throughout her presentation, it was obvious that her patience, work ethic, caring nature, and extreme passion were major contributors to her success in the PR world. Her admirable qualities made me realize and focus on some of the areas I need to practice and perfect before I enter my own personal career.

Along with all of the valuable insight Locus shared with the class, she also generously gave each of us a gift certificate to Chili’s. Immediately after class ended, Laura, Madison and I raced to Chili’s and redeemed our gift certificates…nothing like (free) molten lava cake to end the day. Thanks Maureen!