Week 1: A Conversation with Guest Speaker Clint Schaff by Saba Faghihi

By UCLA X469.21 Student Saba Faghihi

Saba Faghihi

The first class of UCLA Extension’s Best Practices in Social Media for the Communications Professional kicked off with guest speaker Clint Schaff, VP of strategy & development for the L.A Times. Clint’s foremost message to us is that social media is people-powered media.

To help us understand and relate to this concept, Clint started his presentation by giving each student in the class power to control the pace of his presentation simply by saying “Next” when the student felt ready to move on to another topic. Once we got the ball rolling, he explained that by giving us the power to speak up and engage with him directly, the discussion became interactive and social. His goal for this exercise was to get us to approach the discussion from a social mindset. He went on to explain that he does not like to make presentations using a script, as he wants his audience to make the playlist.

Clint Schaff

Clint explained three keys to social media storytelling:

1. The Storyteller – You can’t inspire until you’re inspired.
2. The Story – Engineer story to drive a desired reaction.
3. The Delivery – Sharpen your skills, illustrate, select platforms and pick the best storyteller.

He also explained that the most effective stories involve a challenge that is relatable and authentic. This is, however, contrary to our business instinct which compels us to say that everything is going well even when there are problems. Most people simply don’t reveal difficult times, but it’s such information that makes them and their stories relatable to others.

Clint also addressed the difference between social media storymaking and social media storytelling. Storytelling is simply recounting something, while storymaking is facilitating and tapping into stories other people are creating and sharing. Put another way, storytelling is one-way communication, whereas storymaking is a dialogue that can be far more impactful.

Clint wrapped up with an insightful tip; He suggested planning social media posts at least seven days in advance so you have the luxury of being spontaneous with posts when there’s an unexpected opportunity to be creative. His discussion was a great learning introduction for the class as it has helped us kick-start our mindset to enter storytelling and storymaking mode.