How a Beijinger Survives in New York

Tonight's guest blogger, Sandy Qin, gives us her terse, witty take on the art of framing a challenge.  

I’m a Beijing PR professional in New York City. You might already envision this piece as my personal tragic history. Actually, I’ll talk about how framing can help you find a PR job in another country, and how framing can help attract readers: I didn’t want to bore you with a dogmatic title like “The Power of Framing,” so I framed my title.

When I got my first job interview in the U.S., I worried a lot. I turned to my friend for comfort.

I: I’m not a native-speaker.

He: No. You have an international perspective.

I: Compared to my colleagues, I know so little about America.

He: No. You know much more about China.

He is not a professional communicator (or he has an “external, fresh perspective”), but he masters a key communicating skill: framing. By mentioning “international perspective” other than “non-native speaker,” and “Ms. China” other than “Ms. Ignorance,” he focuses the audience’s attention only on the shining points. How you frame yourself determines how others see you, your product, or your reputation.

George Lakoff will agree with me. Don’t think of an elephant! Think of your strength instead.

Sandy Qin is a masters candidate of PR at New York University and holds two bachelor degrees of Sociology and Economics from Peking University, with interests in reading books, traveling miles, and making friends. (读万卷书，行万里路，交万种人).