Happy Friday! I’m headed to the beach bright and early Saturday morning, so I’m extra-psyched and ready for today to fly by. Do you have any fun weekend plans?

Before I load up on sunscreen and escape to the beach for a long weekend, though, I wanted to share five blog posts that really stood out to me this week. Please share your own in the comments!

1. At the Engage365 blog, Elizabeth Henderson shared part 2 of What Sustainability Can Learn From Quality. One notable point? Break down interdepartmental barriers and work as a team. I think small staff associations have an advantage here, as their (duh!) small size inherently lends itself to working as a team rather than funneling everything through silos.

2. Jeffrey Cufaude advocates getting back to good old-fashioned brainstorms with white boards, etc. Encouraging people to interact with one another while brainstorming can really help the ideas flow – more so than sharing a document over email. How does your small staff foster brainstorms?

3. Who does your organization belong to? David M. Patt reminds association professionals everywhere that the association belongs to the members, not the founder. Without the members, there wouldn’t even be an association.

4. How are conferences going to evolve over the next few years? Jeff Hurt share four things that will help shape meetings and conferences, including curation, social objects and game dynamics. He advocates that association professionals should start accepting them and adapting sooner rather than later.

5. Eric Lanke shares why it’s crucial to have both courage and clarity to solve problems: if you want clarity, the clarity that comes from the intersection, you’re better served by turning your headlights off and looking at the problem from different perspectives.

From everyone at MemberClicks, have a great weekend!

Are you worried about your organization’s membership – and what will happen to it in the future? It’s imperative to look to the future of your membership – young professionals and college students – to keep things going. But what happens when college students graduate and stop paying dues?

Off the top of my head, I can think of three professional associations that had very active presences on my college campus: the Society of Professional Journalists, Public Relations Society of America and National Association of Black Journalists. (Bet you can’t guess what I majored in!)

Despite my journalism school bias, I know there are tons of associations out there that have active student memberships, and then as soon as those members graduate, they let their memberships lapse. (And I’m one to talk. SPJ, call me!)

As a fairly recent grad myself, I wanted to discuss some (relatively) easy ways to retain your student members after they turn their tassels.

For starters, is there a big gap between the price of student membership and non-student membership? Not to beat a dead horse, but we all know unemployment rates are sky high right now. Unless your recent grads realize the value in their membership, they’re not going to want to shell out for it while they’re still living with mom and dad.

Consider offering a reduced membership rate for young professionals. For example, it could be for only those ages 25 and under, or for those who have been out of school for less than two years. Especially now (there’s that “economy” thing again!) younger members would do well to take advantage of the professional services associations have to offer.

Which brings me to my next point … do you make it clear how membership can make younger members stand out in a sea of resumes? Do you offer exclusive job boards and member profiles with their specific accomplishments? Take advantage of the terrible economy and show young potential members what you can do for them. The earlier in their careers they join, the more likely they are to retain membership down the road.

It should go without saying that ignoring technology and social media is a no-no if you want to recruit the younger demographic. It can be as simple as setting up a Facebook page for younger members to interact or as intricate as setting up your own social network on Ning. (See this post for more details on Ning.)

Speaking from personal experience (and on behalf of my friends), it can be very difficult to find your footing after graduation, especially right now. (For those keeping score, this is Terrible Economy Reference No. 4.) If you don’t already have a mentoring program, consider implementing one. Pair a recently graduated member with an established professional – mentoring works both ways. And maybe the young professional will find their chosen profession isn’t the right fit for them. There’s nothing wrong with that, and in my opinion, the sooner they discover that, the better!

What other suggestions do you have for retaining your student members after they enter the big, bad real world? What has worked (and what hasn’t worked) for your organization?

It’s not what you say. It’s how you say it.

It’s a common cliché that my dad used to say to me all the time if he thought I was giving him “attitude.” But in reality, it really is how you say something, rather than what you say, that people remember.

Whether you’re a manager in your organization or you’re the youngest person in the office, remember that what you do for people isn’t as important as how you make them feel. We’ll generally remember those feelings longer than we remember actions. And how you communicate with people will contribute to that.

For example, if you frequently interrupt others (whether it’s intentional or not), you convey the message that what they’re saying isn’t important enough.

There are a few basic styles of communication:

- Listener: A people-person, generally don’t delegate well, can be slow decision-makers, believe there is more than one way to get a job done

- Creator: Enthusiastic, like public speaking, can be persuasive, impulsive, have trouble following through with ideas

- Doer: Assertive, pragmatic, competitive, verbal, can be arrogant or a poor listener

- Thinker: Detail-oriented, like rules, can be slow decision-maker, low risk-taker, analytical

All of us tend toward one or two, but different situations call for different approaches.

I think it’s good to occasionally reevaluate your communication style – both verbal and nonverbal. (I’ve had people ask me why I’m angry when I’m not mad at all. I think my brow’s natural state is furrowed, so I make an effort to fix this so I don’t walk around looking angry all the time.) We all know not to sit with our arms crossed in meetings because it makes us look closed off, but how many of us still do it unconsciously? We all know that we should make eye contact and smile, but sometimes distractions can get the best of us.

Communication matters no matter what industry you work in, what position you hold or who you’re talking to. You could be speaking to your boss or your organization’s newest member, but the way we communicate with others directly affects our careers and relationships.

What’s your communication style?

If you’re a small staff association executive, you probably rely on just a few people to help the association run smoothly. Maybe those people are a few other full-time employees. Maybe they’re part-time staffers. Or maybe they’re volunteer leaders who know resources are tight and are consistently willing to pitch in.

Whoever helps the organization operate, it’s crucial to know how to make your interactions with everyone go more smoothly.

Some tips for leveraging people’s skills and talents in the best possible ways:

- Treat your staff to lunch occasionally, just to find out what’s up with them. Is someone interested in an area that they don’t currently get to work in? How’s their job satisfaction?

- Have regular staff meetings, at regular times. No matter how few staff members you have, it can always be productive to put all big issues on the table and work on them together, if necessary.

- Use volunteers (and then recognize them!). If you have enthusiastic members who realize how few staff members the association has, they’re often willing to pitch in — especially if big projects are broken down into more manageable tasks for them.

- Benefits, benefits, benefits. Sometimes, the best benefits are the ones we don’t even think about — for example, a flexible telecommuting policy, gym membership or extra paid days off. These benefits can be instrumental in retaining quality staff members.

- Don’t micromanage. Make sure everyone has clear expectations from you and knows what their jobs entail, but don’t micromanage them. As a small staff exec, you probably don’t have time for that anyway, so be sure you hire smart, competent people.

- Let staffers expand their horizons. If someone wants to jump into social media on behalf of the organization, let them do the research and report back, even if their job doesn’t have anything to do with communications or marketing. If someone’s enthusiastic, they’re more likely to do a good job.

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

I wanted to share a few great slideshows to encourage everyone to use tools – such as YouTube – to their greatest potential. I’ve also included a primer on Twitter for those who may not know the basics. It’s always good to have a refresher!