This topic initially stumped me. Specifically, what exactly is a “practice?” I finally settled on this definition: The act of repeatedly engaging in an activity for the purpose of improving or mastering it. So what are the five things that today’s communication practitioners should be doing again and again with an aim to master? 1) Know …more
Avery Dennison dominates the market for mailing labels and the like. The company rung up roughly $6B in sales last year. With that said, I think it’s fair to say that the sticky label space fits into the commodity quadrant. I’m also guessing that the margins on those “Hello My Name Is __________” tags aren’t …more
After tackling the topics of ghost blogging and how PR can stay relevant, 4 Perspectives on 4 Communication Issues enters week three pondering what role a communications agency should play in a client’s social media effort? This question delves into one of the great debates of our time, right up there with the meaning of life and …more
Certain storytelling topics catch my attention, but don’t carry enough substance to warrant a standalone post. I’ve finally figured out how to weigh in on these topics. Introducing the “Storytelling Grab Bag,” a forum for discussing two to three topics in the same post. Storytelling Techniques at Yom Kippur Services All religions depend on storytelling. …more
After addressing the topic of ghost blogging, 4 Perspectives on 4 Communication Issues enters week two. This week’s question: How should communication professionals evolve to stay relevant? It’s been almost a year since Steve Farnsworth hosted my guest post, “A Mass Comms Curriculum Alone Short-Sheets Tomrrow’s PR Pro,” which tackled the question from the perspective of an …more
A study led by University of Pennsylvania Professor Deborah Small caught my attention. The study examined how different types of content influence people when it comes to charitable giving. Check out the following passage which personalizes the need: Any money that you donate will go to Rokia, a seven-year-old girl who lives in Mali in Africa. Rokia is desperately …more
Virtually every blog strives for reader interaction. Beyond posted comments, I’m hoping Ishmael’s Corner can evolve into a platform for anyone who has a “story” on this form of communications called storytelling. Toward this end, today brings our third guest post – the first one came from Michael Margolis and the second from Julia Sinykin …more
Before addressing the topic at hand, a little bit of background. During the final installment of my interview with Steve Farnsworth on corporate blogging, Paul Roberts weighed in with some good questions. This triggered the clever idea on Steve’s part to engage others as well as himself in answering these questions, one per week over …more
I conducted a session on storytelling for one of Sony’s sales teams earlier in the week. An old poll jointly conducted by The New York Times and CBS served as a good trigger for discussion. The first chart points out that the average person feels “on guard” with others. It gets worse as you can …more
