The Best Storytelling Posts ...

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It’s always fun raking through the posts at the mid-year point.

Monday’s post included half of the list capturing my top posts from this year, including Alex Rodriguez showing his sensitive side (not a pretty picture).

Here’s the rest of the list.

 6 Reverse Engineering the Storytelling in a New York Times Feature

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Every time I break down the components of a feature story in a major publication, I’m reminded of the disconnect between PR and the media. In short, PR generates little content that works for journalistic storytelling. This post comes with a bonus. The New York Times journalist who wrote the story, Alexandra Stevenson, dropped by the neighborhood to voice a correction.

 7 TSA Shows Its Visual Storytelling Chops

If any government agency could rationalize stiff communications, it’s the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). No one wants to joke about airport security. Yet, the TSA puts a face on the organization with an Instagram account that highlights the dangerous and even weird stuff that people try to get through airport security. With 300,000 followers, it seems fair to conclude that the clever storytelling — the “customers” produce the narratives — is working.

 8 Dear College Grad, About That Resume and Cover Letter

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If a university had invited me to deliver a commencement speech, this is what I would have said. Forget “change the world” and “follow your passion.” These two grandiose themes come later. First, you must  differentiate yourself to land a job. Then you can “change the world” and “follow your passion.”

 9 The Gift of Desperation

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The Holmes Report named us one of five finalists for the Tech Agency of the Year 2015. The Agency is once again in rock-in-roll mode. Reflecting on 2011, there’s nothing quite like failure to inspire action. Albert Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” I didn’t want to fall into that trap.

 10 Executives Struggle with One of the Most Effective Storytelling Techniques

This is the one storytelling technique that puts every company on equal ground. Politicians have mastered the technique. Executives, not so much. Can you guess what it is?

I expect to see the same pace of upheaval in the communications world in the coming months and into 2016, which means plenty of fodder for the blog. It sounds dull on the surface, but the distribution of journalism bears watching. With venture capitalists sprinkling their pixie dust on the space and heavyweights such as Facebook and Apple making a play, the “D” word lurks.

Of course, one dynamic never changes.

Given a choice between dull or interesting, people gravitate toward interesting the vast majority of time.


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