I appreciated Paul Holmes asking me to serve as a judge for the Sabre Awards this year. After reviewing the award submissions for my assigned categories and participating in a task force to select the winners, I wanted to share a few tips that will help a submission gets its due. Before going further, I would be remiss if I didn’t say that …more
It almost seems like HR gives the following guidance to the copywriter before drafting a job description: “OK. You know what’s at stake. I suggest you review the job listings from our competitors and borrow what you consider to be the best elements. This is no time to go rogue. Be smart. Let’s use what’s already working. Great. Have that new description …more
We’ve discussed this topic before. While professionals coming from a technical orientation gravitate toward the tangible, there’s also a place for storytelling in reaching this audience. That’s why companies like Intel devote considerable resources to putting a “face” on the company. That’s also why the editor-in-chief of EE Times, Junko Yoshida, applies storytelling techniques in her own writing. For exhibit A, …more
This post doesn’t exactly fall under the storytelling umbrella. I figure a rogue post every now and then keep things interesting. Which serves as my segue into the client-agency relationship. PR agencies disdain the “V” word. Calling an agency a vendor is akin to a slur against the principal’s mom. Agencies want that partner mantle. But I’ve …more
There. I’ve said it. Taking liberties with the Hans Christian Andersen emperor story, why do professional communicators continue to worship the message? Every PR agency offers a messaging workshop. Every corporate communications type has spent the requisite two agonizing days in a hotel conference room eating bridge mix while debating the merits of “innovate” over …more
Fortune recently covered Jack Dorsey’s latest venture, a service that promises to cause heartburn for the banking industry by essentially transforming the smartphone into a credit card reader. From a communications perspective, the following visual caught my attention. Click here for a larger version of this graphic. The illustration reflects a classic storytelling technique we’ve …more
I’m not a fan of the phrase “be authentic.” It sounds too clinical. Can’t we just say “be yourself.” That’s exactly how Millie Garfield approaches her blog, which has served the 85-year-old blogger well. Millie was kind enough to talk with me about her writing. I published the first half of the interview yesterday; here’s …more
Spend 10 minutes cruising the Net on what makes for a winning blog and you’ll find the same advice repeated again and again. Develop a distinctive voice. Share personal experiences. Communicate a point of view. And, of course, the mantra of the digirati: Be authentic. If you want to see these theories put into practice, …more
We’re working with one particular client which targets an older demographic. They were convinced the “older crowd” does not participate in social media. Just for the heck of it, we took five current customers and plugged their names into LinkedIn. It turns out four of the five had LinkedIn profiles and two of them also …more
