“Best” is such a subjective word. One person’s “best” is another person’s “meh.” Sometimes, the word carries zero meaning as in “You’re the best.” With the New Year philosophizing out of the way, we can skip to the posts that kicked the hardest as determined by me — not the Google Analytics. 1. Tim …more
I wrote a couple weeks ago about how word choice can lift a narrative. Forget the classic story arc for a moment. Even one word or phrase can warm up the copy or jar the reader with a bolt of incongruence. But nothing tests the ability to harmonize words in tight quarters like …more
Nothing says storytelling like the “F” word. Point to a movie or book or TV show that captivates, and I’ll show you failure. I’m currently watching “Better Call Saul.” The man goes from untangling drug lords from their legal difficulties to shaping dough at Cinnabon, the classic story arc with the requisite failure. . …more
Journalists, particularly those at Tier-1 media properties, are the best non-fiction storytellers on the planet. They toil in a Darwinian world in which clicks correlate to economic health. If they don’t produce content that triggers clicks, they’re going to eventually hear words to the effect, “You’re not a fit here.” With this in mind, it’s …more
I’m tardy in pulling together a curated list of the best posts in H1 of this year. I suppose the big one-oh distracted me. As always, I start with the caveat that these posts don’t necessarily represent the most popular posts — the ones that got most clicks. It’s me, not the Google Analytics dashboard, …more
As a student of business writing, I don’t turn to obituaries for inspiration (probably a good thing). The typical obit adheres to a formula that goes something like this: He or she passed away Source of fame Key achievements Surviving family There’s a reason that newspapers assign the “obit beat” to newly hired college grads. …more
Your title might be PR manager, keeper of the blog, content developer or the classic copywriter. It doesn’t matter. All of us need to get the visual storytelling religion. The increasing amount of information accessed on mobile means shortened attention spans. And people want an entertainment dimension to their information, even in the business sphere …more
Conducting our storytelling workshops never gets old. It’s energizing to help the workshop participants connect the dots to a simple premise: Given a choice between “interesting” and “dull,” human beings pick “interesting” virtually every time. I have to use the adverb “virtually” allowing for the individual who sports a “math is fun” button. Similar to …more
It’s not enough that Warren Buffett has become one of the richest men in the world. He’s also a world-class storyteller. If it’s any consolation, he seems to struggle with this Twitter thing, flinging out nine missives since 2013. . Stumbling across Buffett’s Wikipedia profile, which happens to include a citation from one of …more
