By my back-on-the-envelop math, I’ve conducted over 500 interviews. It’s one of my favorite parts of the job. The cajoling and probing of a source to get to the good stuff offers a sense of discovery. With Mother’s Day around the corner, I get to dust off an interview that makes my top-five list. But …more
I’ve avoided clickbait for nearly nine years and 1,096 posts … until now. The headline for this post definitely qualifies as clickbait. You’re not going to find a video on Kim Kardashian dissing her mom. With that said, watching my mom share her unfiltered insights on the business of public relations does offer …more
This has nothing to do with communications. Then again, it has everything to do with communications. Let me set the stage. My wife and I invited our two sons, daughter-in-law and grandkids over for a BBQ last Saturday thinking spring had arrived (not quite). After shopping for burgers, buns, condiments, etc., we decided to make …more
I’ve lamented the lack of storytelling in job descriptions, with everyone seemingly depending on the same HR 101 handbook. I’ve also showcased killer job descriptions like this one from Medium. Now comes a job description on LinkedIn like none other (h/t to Burghardt Tenderich for the flag). The creator was determined to leave nothing to …more
There. I’ve said it. You can officially classify me as a heretic. My viewpoint started to form in 1983 when I landed my first job at a PR agency. Shortly after, the big boss decided I was ready to support our client Philips at COMDEX — THE computer show at the time (eventually bulldozed by …more
I believe levity is the killer app in business storytelling. Levity lifts the narrative, especially in the B2B tech world where inserting an action verb is considered a win. For the B2B tech companies who say this is too hard, too risky, check out the use of levity by law enforcement agencies, starting with last …more
We know the story is always there. Yet, bringing the story to the surface often requires the right questions. And no one is better at probing and cajoling a source than Terry Gross, the maestro of the NPR podcast “Fresh Air.” She recently interviewed the actor Patricia Arquette. Having done her homework, Gross knows Arquette’s …more
Particularly in Silicon Valley where most executives started their careers on the engineering side. Coming from a technical orientation, they tend to think of anecdotes as inconsequential and yes, a bit fluffy. Yet, the science suggests that PR should be sourcing anecdotal content as part of media outreach. We leaned on a couple interns to …more
By Matt Burrows, Senior Account Executive At first glance, dentistry might seem like the last profession you should address to get thoughts on storytelling, with most conversations with your dentist consisting of them asking questions while your mouth is open to the world. So when Dan Tynan — journalist, communications writer and Thought Follower …more
