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
Orson Welles wasn’t exactly known for his brevity in storytelling. “War of the Worlds” ran for only one hour, but the radio broadcast seemed so real that it caused panic throughout the nation. We’ve discovered that you can tell a story in seven seconds. Here goes —
By Frank Zhang, DGM Hoffman China Sitting on the train from Shanghai to Wenzhou, I had time to contemplate a simple question: What were students from Wenzhou-Kean University, a Chinese-American jointly established higher education institution, expecting to hear from an international communications consultancy? I arrived at the venue 30 minutes early. It turns out …more
In the spirit of experimentation in communications, our London team has geeked out a podcast studio. I made the guest list when I was in town last month — I’d like to think my title had nothing to do with this honor — to discuss storytelling and specifically our Periodic Table of Storytelling. The photo …more
By Chris Owen, UK Director After working on the book for over 34 years (we have people in this office who haven’t been alive this long), Christopher Booker published Seven Basic Plots in 2004. It’s a seminal piece of work; taking a psychological and analytical approach to literature, it identified seven core themes to which …more
Monday’s post captured five of the 10 top posts this year (so far). Here are the remaining posts. 6. Game of Thrones Depicts the Best of Persuasive Language The final season of Game of Thrones played out this year. Rather than focus on the Iron Throne, we turned our attention to persuasive language, specifically …more
Six months and change into 2019, and I’ve written a grand total of one post on President Trump. I’d like to call that progress. I suppose it also reflects fatigue. This is the time of year when I take a breath, scan the body of work this year and select what I consider the best …more
The concept of “storytelling” has been trending in the communications industry for years. Virtually every communications consultancy touts its storytelling expertise short of saying: “Hey mister, step into our tent and see how storytelling can change your life.” There’s just one not-so-little detail that no one talks about. When it comes to business communications, storytelling …more
You periodically hear that someone is “good TV.” Bill Hader is good TV (looking forward to binging “Barry” on my next overseas flight). Tina Fey is good TV. Sometimes an event or a product like an Apple iPhone launch is mentioned as good TV. Semiconductors are NOT good TV. The technical nature of a semiconductor …more
