Here is my entirely subjective collection of interesting tidbits found online this week.
Birth to 12 years in under three minutes Here’s a lovely time-lapse video showing the filmmaker’s daughter growing up before our eyes. I hope he continues this project through the teen years.
Why great design is the future of content marketing It’s funny, but I was just thinking about this topic recently, after noticing how we are seeing more and more visuals; some of them are even well designed!
Curate your way to a successful email newsletter My friend Christopher S. Penn explains how to curate content so you’ll never have to lament: “We have nothing to say in our newsletter this month!”
15 things people absolutely hate about your website Since I’m in the midst of a total reboot of my website, I was eager to read this post about the things that really bug site visitors.
The right way to use PowerPoint This simple post from Nick Morgan explains how to avoid fatal flaws in your presentation when you use PowerPoint. If only every presenter would follow Morgan’s recommendations.
This morning I was working with a client on a webinar for her company. One of my tasks is to massage the intro and closing scripts so that they are pleasing to the ear.
Sometimes people forget this simple truth: When I listen to what you are saying, it’s not the same as reading what you have written. Copy that looks fine on the page does not always sound right. Worse, it can be hard to understand.
Take a typical written passage, in this case from the Town of Oakville Economic Development site:
With easy access to North America's third largest financial centre and a workforce armed with expert knowledge in a variety of fields, establishing your business in Oakville will pay handsome dividends. Located at the epicentre of Canada’s Golden Horseshoe, Oakville, a dynamic community of 170,000 residents, is well within reach of major U.S. capital markets and nearly seven million potential consumers in southern Ontario. Coupled with a favourable Canadian tax environment, Oakville makes perfect business sense.
This is fairly well written, except for the dangling participle in the first sentence. Let’s now recast it for the spoken word:
Establishing your business in Oakville will pay handsome dividends. Here’s why: Oakville gives you easy access to North America's third largest financial centre – Toronto – and a workforce with expert knowledge in a variety of fields. Located at the epicentre of Canada’s Golden Horseshoe, Oakville is a dynamic community of 170,000 people. What’s more, the town is well within reach of major U.S. capital markets and nearly seven million potential consumers in southern Ontario. Add a favourable Canadian tax environment, and Oakville makes perfect business sense.
Do you see the difference? Shorter sentences, simpler language, and a more direct tone.
Here are a few tips for writing for the ear, whether your end product is a script, speech or podcast:
Use simple words, not complex ones. (Use rather than utilize.)
Shorten your sentences. If it requires a semicolon, it’s probably too long.
Round all numbers. Say nearly one million, not 989,320, unless there is a specific reason to use the exact figure.
Use the active voice, not passive. (Our team ran the webinar, not The webinar was run by our team.)
Visit the Trafalgar Communications website for information about how we can help your organization to tell its story through traditional and new media.
Happy Friday! Here is my totally subjective collection of some of the most interesting communications-related stories in the past week.
Dollar Shave Club rocks it This product launch made the rounds like wildfire this week, with good reason. After watching it, I almost wished I were a guy. A guy who needs to shave. Daily. Let me know what you think of DollarShaveClub.com.
Four ways to capture your audience My friend Kare Christine Anderson was quoted in this Forbes article about grabbing the audience’s attention as soon as you step up to the podium. Having seen Kare speak several times, I can attest to her success with these methods.
Why a content curator is not an editor As someone who writes and speaks about content curation, I’m often asked, “What’s the difference between a curator and an editor?” In this piece, Liz Wilson does a great job of outlining the important distinctions between these roles.
Nine ways to increase your online visibility David Finch shares his favourite tips for getting on someone’s radar to promote your expertise, products or services.
No matter how much client work I do in a given week, I always find time to read and save interesting content that I find via my RSS feeds, newsletters, Twitter, Facebook, GooglePlus, Paper.li and now Pinterest, among other sources.
I thought I’d start curating some of this material for you each Friday. So here goes: A totally biased list of some of the most interesting communications-related content I’ve found on the Web this week.
10 changes to Facebook you need to know about It’s a challenge to keep up with Facebook’s myriad changes. Here’s a good outline of what you need to know about the most recent updates.
Five insanely simple ways to make your next presentation sizzle I always learn something from posts about presentations, or else am reminded of what I thought I knew but don’t always practice. Here’s a nice quick list of things to do to please your audience and meet your speaking goals. On a related note, please check out the Trafcom News Podcast interview I did with Shel Israel, author of the new book, Stellar Presentations.
A sweet business story I’m a sucker for these kinds of things, and love reading about the provenance of products I buy. Here’s a lovely example of storytelling about a product.
Why Pinterest is not the next big thing for your business Everyone’s in a lather about Pinterest. Yes, it’s new and it’s fun but is it truly the be all and the end all for business communications? John Jantsch reminds us to calm down.
Speaking of Pinterest Although, like John Jantsch, I don’t think Pinterest is the best thing ever invented in the history of the world, I’m exploring ways of using this tool. Recently I’ve joined a pinboard devoted to podcasting, thanks to Daniel Lewis. What do you think?
Top tips for a great video meeting More of us are meeting via video these days, whether it’s Skype or GooglePlus Hangouts. Follow these tips for a better online meeting experience. I would add two things: Be sure your camera is positioned in front of your face, not looking up your nose! And be aware of what's in the background. No one wants to see your laundry pile.
Why an optimized content strategy is crucial for social search Social search is changing the way we find information online, and publishers of content need to take this into account. Here’s some advice on ensuring that your content is optimized. You might also want to check out my recent series of posts on content marketing.
Top 100 first-world problems Let’s end with a laugh. This well-produced video reminds us to keep things in perspective, and to be grateful for the lifestyle we enjoy in the developed world.
For years, we've heard "experts" advising us to be more like Apple CEO Steve Jobs when we take the stage.
In this interview for the Trafcom News Podcast, Shel Israel explains why you should not don a black mock turtleneck and try to emulate Jobs as a speaker.
Shel, the author of the new book Stellar Presentations, shares more insights about speaking and storytelling in this 26-minute podcast. Hop over to the Trafcom News Podcast site to hear the audio and read the show notes. And please feel free to leave a comment here!
Looking for some learning opportunities this fall? I don’t know about you, but for me, the new year starts in September – likely a vestige of the days of freshly sharpened pencils and squeaky new shoes.
Here are a few September 2011 events on my calendar; I’m sure there’s lots more going on around Toronto.
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)/Toronto chapter Professional Independent Communicators (PIC): Marketing on a tight budget, Toronto, September 7, 2011. Tom Kaufmann of TK Enterprises will share his strategies for achieving your marketing goals whether you run a small or large business. You will learn the most effective marketing tools to promote your business; how to craft an “elevator pitch” that works; and how to network to win business, plus much more.
Halton-Peel Communications Association (HPCA):Digital storytelling, Oakville, September 15, 2011. This is a newly revised version of the talk I did at the IABC world conference in San Diego in June, focusing on the dos and don'ts of telling digital stories – including through podcasts and videos – with practical advice you can act on right now. Compelling content for your online marketing and PR efforts starts with a strong strategy and a solid story, rendered well in text, audio or video format. Info and registration here.
Ivey Alumni Association, Toronto chapter:Personal online branding through the power of social media, Toronto, September 19, 2011. Geared toward professionals with minimal day-to-day exposure to social media, this session will give you a solid grasp of what social media could do for you, your personal brand and your career. This panel and workshop will also teach you about the tools you’ll need, and explain specific steps for getting started. I’m fortunate to be speaking on the panel and leading a breakout session, along with Cyrus Mavalwala and Kendra Reddy. Info and registration here.
Professional Writers Association of Canada:Audio/podcasting workshop, Toronto, September 24, 2011. By the end of this hands-on morning session, participants will know how to script, read, edit and publish an audio file. In the afternoon they’ll learn about video. Info and registration should be online soon.
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)/Toronto chapter: Get known, get remembered, get blogging, Toronto, September 27, 2011. I’m excited about speaking with my IABC colleagues and guests about blogging. I hope to answer their questions about how blogging can help them to build relationships and establish expertise in a niche. We’ll get into practical advice about how to start blogging and increase readership – and much more. Info and registration here.
Every few weeks I get a call that goes something like this:
“Donna, we’re thinking of inviting Jane [or John] Doe to speak about social media at our executive leadership conference [or all-employee meeting or …]. Have you heard of him [or her]?”
In the best of all possible worlds, the caller has named someone I respect, and I can say: “Yes, I know her. She’s great. Excellent choice!”
Often, though, the name of the potential speaker is new to me, so I will say so, adding: “My not knowing Jane does not mean she’s not capable. It just means we haven’t crossed paths.” On a few occasions, I’ve later searched online for the person and found some excellent blog posts, articles and Twitter updates.
Sometimes, though, a Google or Bing search turns up a few dozen hits, with no blog, no Twitter stream and no Facebook or GooglePlus presence. Hmm. Hey, there she is on LinkedIn! Nice start!
If I turned up for a seminar on social media by someone who is just learning the ropes, I’d be pretty peeved. Actually, last year I attended an event where a speaker talked about social media as though we were frozen in 2008. His slides and statistics were woefully out of date, accompanied by screenshots of the old Facebook. Sitting there, I was waiting for him to exhort us to join MySpace. (Was he ill-informed or just lazy? I don’t know.)
So what kind of due diligence are these organizations conducting before hiring a speaker? Do they ask for references? Testimonials? Anything?
The next time someone asks me for advice, I’m going to offer up suggestions like these:
Be certain of the needs of your audience, and what you want the speaker to accomplish.
Sharpen the topic and find a speaker who can address it. “Social media in business” is too vague. “Using social media to market your book” or “Boosting restaurant sales with Twitter” are better. In fact, you probably don't want a "social media speaker" at all. You really want someone who can talk about marketing or communications or fundraising or whatever, and the social media tactics that work within well-crafted strategies in these areas.
Know whether you want someone to speak in theoretical or practical terms. A person who is an academic and not a practitioner cannot tell you about the genuine challenges and benefits of using social media in an organization. Does she have any business experience, or does she speak based only on research? This distinction may not rule the person out as a presenter, but I’d be cautious before hiring her because she may not be able to answer questions based on the real world. (That being said, I would expect a speaker to do a certain amount of research so that her presentation is up to date and tailored to the audience.)
If he purports to be an “expert” in social media (or, God forbid, a “guru”), look for his presence on various social media platforms. Is he active? Does he have a following? (If he calls himself a “ninja,” by the way, I think you should look elsewhere, but that’s just my opinion.) What is the person talking about in his blog, on Twitter, and so on? Is it all about him, or is he sharing valuable knowledge?
Ask for references from previous groups the person has spoken for. Does he have video or audio on his website, to give you an idea of what he’s like on stage?
Also ask what the person did before becoming involved in social media. Look for someone with experience in a relevant organization or industry.
Of course, all of this assumes that the person knows how to present, and doesn’t stand there droning on reading his slides.
