Working backwards
How often do you hear a speech, read a blog, watch a commercial, or peruse an email blast and say, huh?? What is this about? Or, what does this have to do with me? Keep that confusion in mind the next time you need to communicate. The point is, you’ll be wasting your time… unless […]
Knowing When to Quit
I remember Sinatra in the 1980s, preening before adoring crowds as if he were still the coolest cat around. But the pipes were rusted and he couldn’t hold a note for very long and he couldn’t fake it with technique anymore. It was painful to watch, though his legion of grey-haired fans didn’t seem to […]
Selling Through Storytelling and The 4th Earl of Sandwich
The British politician and aristocrat John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, liked to play cards. But he also enjoyed eating a snack at the same time, and that tied up his hands and involved utensils. So, in 1748, he came up with a solution: he put beef between slices of toast, so he could […]
The Fine Art of Baloney Detection
With social and traditional media burning up with all kinds of questionable information and messages, it’s a good time to make sure you’re targeting your communications to the people you want to reach. Can you visualize that person, understand his or her needs and frustrations, and address them? If so, you’ll have a much better […]
Prisoners of the Metaphor
Metaphors matter. In a study of women who were about to give birth, the mothers-to-be were told to expect a local anesthesia before receiving an epidural. Nurses told one group they were going to get “a local anesthetic that will numb the area so you will be comfortable during the procedure.” Another group was told, […]
8 Words to Avoid When You Need to Talk About Yourself
We all know that in business, certain words get overused and become clichés. And in our highly connected world, it happens pretty darn fast. In some of these cases, and in other instances, some word choices are just not right, because they give the wrong impression. Here are some examples that are all-too-often used when […]
The Obfuscating (Incomprehensible) Language of Finance
Many people – maybe most people – feel put off and insecure discussing the subjects of finance and economics. It’s almost like talking about serious health concerns with a doctor who only uses medical lingo. Many of us don’t have the training to understand, so we smile, weakly, and nod our heads. But whether it’s […]
It’s not about you. Know the 5 stages of awareness.
Written communications are about your audience! Whether you’re putting together a website, a social media campaign or any kind of corporate/marketing communication program, you often tend to focus on the product, service or idea you’re promoting. It’s understandable. But your communications effort is NOT primarily about you, it’s about your audience and their needs. Not […]
“What’s in it for me?” The most important question.
The three questions a prospective client is thinking (if not asking) are: Who are you? What do you want? What’s in it for me? The last one’s the kicker. Audiences of any kind – whether they’re customers, employees, volunteers or donors – don’t have time for anything else, especially today with so much “information” coming […]
Head, Heart and Hand: A Simple Path to Effective Communicating
In addition to writing for a variety of clients, I spend time working with scientists, engineers and IT professionals on their presentations to non-experts. While it’s a bit of a cliche’ that “tech nerds” live in their own world, it’s often true that their focus on data can thwart effective communicating by strangling key messages […]