Consider yourself in a time machine that has whisked you back to high school English. Remember your teacher hammering home the point that effective writing “shows” the reader as opposed to “tells” the reader. It’s the showing that underpins true storytelling. The same holds true in business communications. Nobody wants to read — or believe …more
After 600+ posts, I feel that I’ve honed my voice. Of course, that doesn’t mean that every post hits the mark (or even gets horse-shoe close). Still, I’ve strived to apply the same counsel we share with clients: Offer fresh takes that help those in communications. As far as what constitutes the “best,” it’s a …more
Every PR agency and internal PR function strives to communicate positive stories about the organizations it supports. When we capture storytelling assets for one of our clients, no one proactively comes forth to share the time that something went horribly wrong. Yet, failure is one of the best techniques to bring tension or even drama …more
Today brings a grab bag of business storytelling for easy consumption. Here goes — Incredible Product Placement and Mr. Whippy Didn’t Pay a Quid It turns out there was more than one winner at the Ryder Cup. Not only did the Euros trample that happy-go-lucky bunch from the U.S.A., but Mr. Whippy — Scotland’s famed …more
HP’s decision to cut along the dotted line and create two companies signals the end of an era. We supported HP’s communications efforts from 1988 to 2002 when the Compaq merger resulted in a game of musical chairs with the PR agencies … and left us standing. To this day, the experience rates as one …more
With the story “The Invasion of Corporate News, The Financial Times became the latest publication to skewer brand journalism. I suppose the FT figured a headline along the lines of “You’re Too Stupid to Figure Out Journalism from Propaganda” might alienate readers. Because that seems to be one of the themes in the FT piece. …more
The influence of journalists remains as important today as when I started in the communications business. While the Internet has commoditized news announcements, what appears in publications still impacts a company’s brand and reputation. That’s why I was intrigued when I heard that Muck Rack (in cooperation MDC Partners) surveyed a cross section of journalists …more
I am an unabashed fan of the anecdote. I’m also convinced that it’s one of the most underutilized storytelling techniques in business communications. Executives often perceive anecdotes as fluff and put the kibosh on such content before it sees the light of the day. That explains why if you audited the content generated by PR …more
One of the best parts of my job involves conducting storytelling workshops. It’s both fun and satisfying to help participants connect the dots to a simple premise: Given a choice between “interesting” and “dull,” human beings pick “interesting” virtually every time. I’m constantly refining the package shared with participants in our workshops for business storytelling. …more
