Clear is the New Clever
I love the title of this post: “clear is the new clever.” There — I said it again.
I’m not a particularly “clever” PR person. I don’t come up with lame excuses, I don’t misdirect people to divert their attention. I like to help clients sort out their story, position themselves strongly, and then tell the [...]
Storytelling Gets the Harvard Business School Seal of Approval
Anyone making a living in PR ought to know this, but it always bears repeating: a good story is the best way to convey information. Dry facts = boring. Good story = interesting. And interested people are much more valuable than bored ones.
But if you’re the type who needs academic facts to back up your [...]
How to Keep Your Spirits Up and Boost Your Success in PR
Doing PR can be a pretty frustrating job, with endless client/boss demands, temperamental reporters and editors (and bloggers), pitching difficulties and the like. It’s a wonder any of us enjoy making a living at this at all!
Over the years, I’ve found that working in teams, brainstorming with colleagues and having the occasional bitch session with [...]
Go Ahead – Coin That New Word
In the PR game, words really matter. The well chosen or well-coined word can really change the discussion, raise awareness and influence decision-making.
Too often, we in PR fall back on old words, and as a result, we send the signal that we only have old things to say. Not good.
So go ahead and coin that [...]
To communicate in today's world, think "infosnacks"
Tweets. Text messages. Emails. Emoticons. LOL.
You name it, and we can shorten it into a tidbit of information. That’s an “infosnack.”
No longer do people want to “digest” a full newspaper article or curl up with a good book. Give me the story in 140 characters (twitter) or even less (TXTing) and let’s get it over [...]
It's The Content, Not the Pipes
As this blog has noted many times, PR writing needs a major, major upgrade. On second thought, cancel that — as long as PR writing sucks, I’ll probably still be able to make a living, because I know how to string two words together.
But seriously — I would like to see the profession’s writing skills [...]
Obama Dumps the Phrase "Global War on Terror" (GWOT)
The Obama Administration is thankfully retiring the term “Global War on Terror” to describe the U.S.’s, uh, what was it used to describe again?
This was always the first problem with this misbegotten phrase — that it sounded all puffy and strong but it was about as strong as a souffle — that is, easily popped. [...]
The 3 Essential Skills of PR – Part 2
Yesterday, I laid out the three skills every PR person should have if they want to succeed:
Developing strategy
Writing
Pitching
In yesterday’s post, I talked about being a strategist. Today, let’s talk about writing. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about pitching.
As I’ve said repeatedly on this blog, the paucity of good PR writers is baffling. It may be the single [...]