{"id":41472,"date":"2022-11-16T09:25:51","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T08:25:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/il-glossario-del-consulente\/"},"modified":"2022-12-22T16:47:39","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T15:47:39","slug":"the-consultants-glossary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/the-consultants-glossary\/","title":{"rendered":"The consultant\u2019s glossary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Having studied law and worked at a law firm, joining the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/cantera\/\"><strong>Cantera project<\/strong><\/a> at <strong>Barabino &amp; Partners<\/strong> was my first professional encounter with the world of communications, which I had previously only dipped into through volunteering.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I started this adventure surrounded by the unknown, but aware of having a lot <strong>to learn<\/strong> from a job that, as I would soon find out, never stops teaching you. Ever since the first minute, in fact, I have tried to \u2018keep my eyes and ears open\u2019 <strong>to absorb<\/strong> as much as possible.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Through tens of meetings, gatherings, chats, and tips from my senior and not-so-senior <strong>colleagues<\/strong>, I familiarized myself with several words which recur constantly in a communications consultant\u2019s <strong>glossary<\/strong>: \u201c<em>value<\/em>\u201d, \u201c<em>sharing<\/em>\u201d, \u201c<em>confidentiality<\/em>\u201d, \u201c<em>creativity<\/em>\u201d, \u201c<em>context<\/em>\u201d, \u201c<em>curiosity<\/em>\u201d, \u201c<em>management<\/em>\u201d. These are the words that have helped me the most in navigating this complex and <strong>multifaceted profession<\/strong>. In fact, they are not just words, but concepts that underpin the most fundamental principles of the job.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The worth of appreciating value<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Value<\/strong> is the term that, in my opinion, best represents the soul, the meaning and the aim of the consulting profession. \u201c<em>Appreciating value<\/em>\u201d, \u201c<em>added value<\/em>\u201d, \u201c<em>enhancing value<\/em>\u201d are all variations of the same concept that, despite its many nuances, ultimately means <strong>improving<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>By observing the more experienced consultants at work I realised that, to achieve satisfying results, one must adopt a proactive approach: <strong>a mix between creativity and knowledge of the client and the context<\/strong>. Ever since my first day, in fact, I have been encouraged to pursue objectives designed to contribute to improving the client\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Sharing<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sharing<\/strong> is essential in the world of communications. Better yet, it could even be argued that sharing is the very essence of communicating.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A good communicator, though, does not \u2018<em>waffle<\/em>\u2019. I learned that <strong>Media Relations<\/strong>, for example, are rooted in the mutual exchange between <strong>colleagues, clients and journalists<\/strong>. Information must be shared with the <strong>journalist<\/strong> carefully, to ensure it respects the client\u2019s needs and is <strong>newsworthy<\/strong>. Some information is not newsworthy, and not all <strong>news<\/strong> is tailored to the client\u2019s target base. Being able to identify the ideal medium to convey to the public information that is relevant to them is a basic rule that, thanks to my colleagues\u2019 advice, I was able to pick up on immediately.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Management<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The communicator must always be <strong>in control<\/strong>. This is one of the most complex aspects of the profession, especially since a consultant has multiple different clients. Knowing how to prioritise all the requests and everyone\u2019s needs is fundamental to being able to effectively <strong>organise<\/strong> work. Further still, the consultant has to be aware of the context, which is not limited to the developments of the specific \u2018<em>world<\/em>\u2019 of each client, but rather encompasses everything that surrounds it as well (such as current affairs, politics and markets). As such, the <strong>morning press review<\/strong> and <strong>reading of newspapers<\/strong> plays a fundamental role.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A different type of management is what a consultant employs during <strong>press conferences and events<\/strong>. Participating in these occasions with my tutor and other senior partners, I learned that a good consultant keeps his eyes peeled and must be ready to <strong>act reactively or proactively<\/strong> based on the inputs of all other stakeholders.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Notebook<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A special mention goes to the diary and <strong>notebook<\/strong>, the consultant\u2019s two best friends. With commitments, sudden meetings and unexpected calls taking up most of the day, it is unthinkable to be able to work without taking notes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, I picture the communications consultant as a <strong>professional with a thousand facets<\/strong>. For example, should the consultant build a house, it would be in charge of the operative aspects of the project, like an engineer; he would design the structure, like an architect; he would build it, like a mason, and furnish it, like an interior designer.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Through the insights provided by my colleagues I am starting to fully understand the world of communications, aware of the fact that the professional growth path I have undertaken rests on solid pillars thanks to Barabino &amp; Partners\u2019 \u201c<strong>La Cantera<\/strong>\u201d project.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Contributing to on-the-job training of young professionals has always been a vocation for Barabino &amp; Partners. As such, our internship programme \u2018La Cantera\u2019 is structured to involve and engage the participants, granting them an active role in the communications consultancy projects.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2018Parola ai Giovani\u2019 column is a dedicated space for young people: the pen (or rather, the keyboard) writes about the curiosity, enthusiasm and wonder that is experienced by those who take their first steps as communicators, a job that requires focus, great abilities, and constant commitment. With the hope to see the memories of the start of plenty of satisfying careers recorded here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Having studied law and worked at a law firm, joining the Cantera project at Barabino &amp; Partners was my first professional encounter with the world of communications, which I had previously only dipped into through volunteering. &nbsp; I started this adventure surrounded by the unknown, but aware of having a lot to learn from a &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":40982,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parola-ai-giovani-en"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41472"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41475,"href":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41472\/revisions\/41475"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.barabino.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}