Career development is a long-distance run with overcoming obstacles while adhering to morality and ethics

Introduce yourself in a few sentences..

I am a professor at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” at the Faculty of Philosophy. I teach rhetoric, public relations, business communication, academic writing. I graduated from this university in “Bulgarian Philology” and “Public Relations”, I specialized in rhetoric, I have defended my doctoral dissertation (PhD) and dissertation “doctor of sciences” – PhD. I have experience as a journalist, I am the editor-in-chief of the magazine “Rhetoric and Communications” and the Online Directory of Rhetoric. My profile also includes: blogger, podcaster, trainer, consultant.

What are the main factors and examples that shape us as a person at an early age and form our interests? What is your recipe for curiosity, sources and wells of information and inspiration in this stage of our human development?

I come from a family of teachers and my parents instilled in me a love for learning. My curiosity is the factor that has led me to read books since childhood. I still read books of poetry, stories, novellas, essays, scientific publications. Regardless of whether the books are printed on paper or are in Kindel; whether they are in  pdf or online in virtual libraries. I also listen to audiobooks. The beauty of words and the aesthetics in them, from the impact through words and plots in fairy tales with illustrations to rhetoric already at a non-verbal and visual level.

Whose decision was it where to pursue higher education and what to study? Was this decision correct, viewed from today’s perspective?

I could have studied many things, but philology at Sofia University offers a lot. I say this confidently after 40 years since my graduation in 1985. The specialty “Bulgarian Philology” then and now is a prestigious education, broad-spectrum and it provides systematic knowledge. After defending my doctorate and working as a journalist, I graduated in “Public Relations” in 1999 from the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, the first graduating class. The interest in new professions and the knowledge of communication techniques in a dynamic environment yielded very good results in building and development. My sensitivity to new things drives me to learn continuously, from the history of rhetoric to the virtual speaker, from argumentation to chatbots.

Would you change your profession today and which fields of activity capture your interest?

Change and transformation are not something bad or stressful, work in a given field shapes experiences and makes you adaptable; this way you discover new things about yourself and develop skills to combine knowledge from different fields. Humanitarian knowledge is very important, but without digital competence today it is impossible to succeed. As well as activities devoid of humanity and the lack of humanitarian knowledge in the people who create algorithms is also not good.

It is said that personal branding is everything that people say about you when you are not in the same room with them. What would you like to hear today?

Personal branding requires talent, creative initiative, entrepreneurial spirit, sensitivity to the new, management of organizations and people, creating products, achieving sustainability, continuous self-improvement, reflection, working in a competitive environment, morality and ethics. I have built my personal brand Ivanka Mavrodieva, my blogs are called like this (mavrodieva.wordpress.com, https://mavrodieva.blogspot.com/). I have been the editor-in-chief since 2011 of the electronic scientific journal “Rhetoric and Communications” (https://rhetoric.bg/) and of the Online Directory of Rhetoric (https://www.online.rhetoric.bg/). I am the chair of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Rhetoric and Communications (https://www.iorc.info/), which produces the podcast “The Orator of the 21st Century” with over 50 episodes already (https://www.youtube.com/@instituteofrhetoricandcomm142).

Emotional intelligence, adaptability, and flexibility, as well as our soft skills are key conditions for success in the last few years. How do you cope with the daily challenges of life to be in good shape and mood?

Emotional intelligence is necessary for a successful orator, communicator, presenter. I would use the terms “oratory, communicative, presentation skills”. If the goal is success, impact, leading, managing people, organizations, companies, these skills are mandatory. The orator, manager, presenter, negotiator continuously develop their experience in speaking before different audiences. Today, the orator combines speech with visual, non-verbal, and multimodal means. Communication is multispectral: it is before an audience in a hall and with members of a virtual audience in webinars and conferences on online platforms.

What are the most important conclusions you have drawn so far for maintaining proper communication considering the different characters of the people you meet daily with colleagues?

From the history of rhetoric and successful orators, I know about the principle “A worthy person is successful in speaking”. Morality, ethics, professionalism, speaking before the audience with the aim of informing, persuading, impacting in the name of causes. This principle is valid for communication with colleagues, for managing teams, for positioning in a given business or organization, for the sustainability of personal, organizational, and product brands.

What do you think about money? What is its influence on your life? What is your advice to people who often ask themselves questions, related to money and how sufficient they are?

Money and funding for projects, education, business are important, but there must be accountability, transparency, morality, responsibility, and entrepreneurial spirit in their use for good causes and for creation. There is also crowdfunding, there is outsourcing, there is volunteering, there is philanthropy, when it comes to financing and organizing.

What is the most valuable career advice you would give to people?

Knowledge, skills, adaptation, continuous self-development while adhering to the principle “Career development is a long-distance run with overcoming obstacles while adhering to morality and ethics”.