I don’t smoke. I rarely drink more than two Old Fashioneds at a sitting. If I have a weakness, it’s called WG Yogurt. Their root beer yogurt deserves a Michelin star — “creamy with hints of cherry tree bark.” What does this have to do with business writing? During my last stop at WG Yogurt, …more
Breaking the Top 10 storytelling posts for 2016 into two parts, I published the first part last week. Here’s the second part, again reflecting the varied facets that make up today’s communications in the business world. In spite of the massive changes in our industry, media relations and PR storytelling still matter, an apt way …more
Virtually every national and global company desires coverage in the business media. For B2B players, this quest presents an additional hurdle in shaping a story that the average Joe will understand, much less care about. For those who toil in the B2B arena, the pursuit of business media is not a job for squeamish. Often, …more
I am a fan of the anecdote, 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. Which explains why if you were to audit the content generated by PR (in-house + agency), you …more
Persuasive language has a say in the success or failure of virtually every job (ventriloquists get a pass). It doesn’t matter whether you manage a juice bar or lead a Fortune 500 company, the ability to win others over to your point of view matters. The word “others” covers a lot of ground, but let’s …more
I came across this video “Never Estimate the Power of a Great Story” back in 2009. Even knowing the ending, the humor still slaps you across the face. After a recent watch, I realized the video delivers a few pain-free lessons in business storytelling. . Sure, the protagonist manages to escape death several times — machine …more
The heck with big data, analytics and science. Subjectivity rules in selecting the top 10 posts from the first half of the year. Tuesday’s post captured half of the list. Here’s the second half. 6. Media Squeeze — and Watermelon Explosion — Described by the NY Times Presents an Opportunity for PR The New York Times …more
I’m with the seagull. As my Mom will attest, I wasn’t big on rules. Since starting the blog back in 2008, I’ve strived to offer perspectives that you won’t find in the Communications 101 handbook. This is the time of year when I reflect, calling out what I consider to be the 10 best posts …more
That’s right. The basis of visual storytelling can come from words. I call these “word visuals.” They’re perfect for PR folks who can struggle with bringing a visual dimension to communications. Words as a design technique play to our strength. These “word visuals” come in four flavors: Clever words that stand on their own: The …more
