And it’s not “what is your objective.”
Journalism schools like to give first-year students an intriguing piece of advice.
“If you have 30 minutes to write an article, you’re going to spend 25 minutes coming up with your lede.”
Your lede — often misspelled as...
Readers engage more when they know what to expect – these are the tools that create those expectations.
People don’t “read.” They scan.
Make their lives easier and they’ll engage with you and your proposal. That means finding ways to visually introduce and...
Here’s the #1 reason your presentation, pitch or blog isn’t getting through to your audience.
I really am great.
I’m fascinating. And smart. And creative. Oh…and energetic.
I’m also lucky if you’ve read this far…because I’ve just made the cardinal...
Let’s put an end to the communications Autopilot apocalypse.
Here’s a mind-warping little game.
Imagine that your boss just walked into your office and told you that you were presenting at your company’s National Meeting. What’s the first thing you do?
f you’re like...
If you’re copying and pasting words from your last proposal into your next proposal - you may not be doing what it takes to win. Think about these issues the next time you try to sell an idea.
The case for triggering, navigation and visual language in everything from websites and blogs to presentations and Podcasts.
You’re on word four of this post and you’re already so bored that you’ve tuned out entirely.
I’m not surprised, and you shouldn’t be either.
...
Instead of using these well-worn corporate terms, try these less common, more interesting terms.
Do words actually matter? You bet your sweet bippy they do!
Word choice can jostle, nudge, action-ize an audience. Here’s a handy dandy infographic to get past overly common words.
#marketing ...
Sometime this week you’re going to stare at a screen and wonder what you should write next, and it’s going to drive you bonkers.
I hear some version of this story every day. “I have to create a proposal/blog post/presentation/story/web page” and I don’t know what to...
Storytelling is a vital and vibrant marketing communications tool you can use to connect with your audience, engage on a higher level and generate action.
Headlines are your presentation’s most valuable real estate. They keep the audience focused and help them navigate.
How are you going to tell your story in a way that is arrests, engages and drives action? Here are a few options worth considering - examples in parenthesis.
Putting together a presentation? Here’s a whole lotta inspiration for content approaches that arrest, engage and drive action.
Your challenge - transform your idea so that your audience owns it. You'll need great persuasion skills. Here's my personal toolbox.
I’ve been coaching a load of tenured speakers of late. Many of them have the basics down – start with the audience, have a Point, sharpen with engagement...
This is your toolbox of ways to engage, re-engage and activate.
You’re a great storyteller. Your Chapters begin with wonderful, easy-to-remember headlines. You make everything easy to scan and remember.
And that’s just for starters.
When it comes to the specific content of your...