tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78067551219454067652024-03-12T16:04:08.471-07:00Content Creation FAQsRepository of advice for science and technology PR/marketing pros. This blog began in 2009 and has since moved to www.writeculture.com Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-29565381703200961232016-07-08T14:52:00.004-07:002016-07-17T09:46:04.238-07:00We need a VA! Could this be you?<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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WriteCulture needs a virtual assistant. </div>
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If you know someone who might be interested in this part-time contract position, please kindly pass along this post!</div>
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Details below:</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDecPLTGyvDtBlP2Im-IZP4Gm4DntQ7LKq5TmPH5lstFSR42Gu_GrmMh3qNI2ac2YrwGkOUFBoGSV7jUaD-O_VRvW8ACUMtDTuyr1Yr6lof1R8FTmctABPKoIFpHPBRkRMHuEhrdGmCZiV/s1600/Lauren+Final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDecPLTGyvDtBlP2Im-IZP4Gm4DntQ7LKq5TmPH5lstFSR42Gu_GrmMh3qNI2ac2YrwGkOUFBoGSV7jUaD-O_VRvW8ACUMtDTuyr1Yr6lof1R8FTmctABPKoIFpHPBRkRMHuEhrdGmCZiV/s200/Lauren+Final.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lauren Edwards<br />
WriteCulture Founder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WriteCulture </b>brings innovative
writing workshops to public relations agencies and companies nationwide with a
focus on Silicon Valley and the tech industry. <span style="line-height: 120%;">We offer a range of classes using
a hands-on, highly adaptive format designed to get the right business and media
results. </span><span style="line-height: 120%;">WriteCulture was founded by Lauren Edwards in 2000. Find out more at
www.writeculture.com.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What we’re looking for: </b>A
self-motivated problem-solver and social media enthusiast with the creativity
and initiative to manage clients and make things happen. If outsmarting
challenges, using your own judgment to get results and learning about building
a thriving small business appeals to you, keep reading!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What you’ll do:</b> Reporting to
the founder and CEO, the Virtual Assistant will play an active role in shaping and
executing a wide range of activities, including client management, social media
marketing and outreach, special projects research, and shepherding the
day-to-day operations of the business. The right candidate will be able to
juggle competing priorities, foster close relationships with clients, and have a
high attention to detail and follow-through. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What you’ll do</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Client management <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Serve as the primary point of contact for new
and ongoing clients <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Communicate with clients around class scheduling
and materials<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Organize and send materials to class
participants<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Gather feedback from participants following each
class<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Email surveys and quizzes, along with reminder
emails<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Conduct follow-up interviews with class
participants to feedback<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Social media outreach and marketing <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Schedule blog posts and newsletter e-blasts<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Post on company Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
accounts<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "courier new"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Edit/proofread bi-monthly newsletter and weekly
blog posts<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Manage and update email-marketing lists <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "courier new"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Research and recommend ways to increase
company’s social media engagement<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Administrative Assistance<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "courier new"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Maintain calendars and attendance records<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Perform general clerical duties <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Special projects, as time and interest permit<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "courier new"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Write or revise blog posts <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Conduct new client outreach calls and prospective
client research<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What you’ll bring:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">At least 2-4 years of work experience,
preferably in communications, sales, marketing or public relations</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Very strong organizational skills</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Strong writing and proofreading skills</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Solid analytical and problem-solving skills</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Able to work autonomously as well as take
direction as needed</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Proficiency in the use of Google docs, Microsoft
Office suite, social media platforms and virtual meeting platforms</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Energy and enthusiasm for quickly learning Hubspot/Infusionsoft (email-marketing and sales platform for small businesses) and for
helping to conceive and modify campaigns</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Some knowledge of MailChimp, Infusionsoft, WordPress
and iMovie preferred</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Personal Attributes:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Upbeat, positive and professional</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Goal-oriented with a growth mindset</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ability to thrive in an entrepreneurial
environment; flexible</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Compassionate, service-oriented</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What we offer:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Opportunities to learn about the PR industry and
small business development</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Room to innovate and grow in the position</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="line-height: 120%; text-indent: -0.25in;">A small agile team</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Salary</b>: $20 to $35 per hour, depending
on experience<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hours:</b> Part time, hours will
vary (8-20 hours per week depending on season and projects) <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Please send resume and cover letter to info@writeculture.com and please
indicate in the subject line “Virtual Assistant Applicant.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 5.25in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Lauren Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496513902186580259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-57836976676063137632015-04-23T14:59:00.004-07:002015-04-23T15:01:54.873-07:00WriteCulture's workshops & recommendations<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mJSXpKDbeFdUBliWsOoQTQoaRXS7cJmzTLwEw-_lr1TrlNUmku3q6in-8JRW062DnSc5AiwKk20IahzucxJH95M9Tt2DjYlL5rT_xntVz1JZEN9HQ8O-uAr059-NkFx6sDRwq58PyfdM/s1600/20150423_133739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mJSXpKDbeFdUBliWsOoQTQoaRXS7cJmzTLwEw-_lr1TrlNUmku3q6in-8JRW062DnSc5AiwKk20IahzucxJH95M9Tt2DjYlL5rT_xntVz1JZEN9HQ8O-uAr059-NkFx6sDRwq58PyfdM/s1600/20150423_133739.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Some of you know I'm in the process of going from consultancy to company.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>The website is still in the works, but here's some of the copy. </i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">***</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Here's our top recommendation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Two “Best Bet” foundational
workshops</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">• Two half-day workshops<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">• Cut across all types of writing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Attendees use their own content as
source material: bylined articles, media pitches, speaker abstracts, awards
submissions, complex emails, case studies, reports, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">First: "Creating Compelling
Content"</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> -- 4 hours, limited to eight people at a time<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">1. Distill main point<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">2. Discover hidden news value<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">3. Structure for highest impact<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">4. Glue readers’ eyes to page<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">5. Build long-term trust relationships<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">6. Dramatically reduce word count<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">7. Think like a veteran professional
writer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Second: "Being Your Own Best
Editor"</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> -- 4 hrs, limited to eight people at a time<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">(Unofficial nicknames: How to Have a
Calm Supervisor, How to Write Like *David Pogue)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">1. Demystify process – what to do
when, with whom, how & why<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">2. Clarify writing standards for
digital business era<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">3. Clean & tighten – tips for
improving mechanics<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">4. Rev up verbs the real way, without
a thesaurus<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">5. Learn when to slow down to speed up
overall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">6. Invite readers visually<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">7. Take responsibility<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">In both workshops, attendees make
discoveries about their own writing. Each person brings their own work, and
measures it against criteria, standards and examples in a workbook.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Attendees share ah-ha moments, and
learn as much from their peers’ reactions as from the workshop leader. The
outcome is not just illumination but motivation. Because they see it and feel
it for themselves, they find the changes easier to make.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">*Apologies to David Pogue</span></i></b><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> ;-) <i>He
didn’t participate in the creation</i></span></b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> of this workshop, but his
writing appears in some of the examples.</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 10.0pt;">David Pogue was the tech columnist for
the New York Times for 13 years before moving to Yahoo Tech. He’s a monthly
columnist for Scientific American and host of science shows on PBS’s “NOVA.”
He’s been a correspondent for “CBS Sunday Morning” since 2002. He’s won two
Emmy awards, two Webby awards, a Loeb award for journalism, and an honorary
doctorate in music.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">These two workshops above are the
place to start, no matter whether you are:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">• rewarding a seasoned team with a
refresher<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">• shoring up a growing team receptive
to help<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Micro-training by topic</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">After completing the two “Best Bet”
workshops</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">, teams can add micro-training on topics including “SAE
Transition,” “Award Submissions” and “Turn Survey Results into News.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">After
you’ve taken the foundational courses</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">, you’re ready to add on. Please note
there may be additional prerequisites for a few of the courses below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">All classes below are shorter in
duration than the two “Best Bet” foundational workshops, so it’s possible to
combine multiple workshops within a single day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">1. “Make Your Pitch a Hit” (3 hours)
–- AAs to SAEs, mixed-level<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">2. “Get Faster Email Replies” (3 hrs)
-- interns to AMs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">3. “</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">*→</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Turn Survey
Results into News” (2.5 hours) -- AEs to AS/AMs, mixed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">4. “</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">*→</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Make Press
Releases Strategic” (3 hours) -- AEs to AS/AMs, mixed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">5. “Grammar for PR Pros” (1.5 hours)
-- all levels, mixed-level<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">7. "Latest & Greatest AP
Style for Tech PR" -- AAs to SAEs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">8. "Build a Narrative Arc"
(2 hours) -- AMs to VPs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">9. "SAE Transition: Think
Strategically" -- SAEs and experienced AEs nearing promotion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">10. “Up-Level Reports for Executive Eyes”
(2.5 hours) – interns to SAEs, by level<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">11. “Speaker Submissions” (2 hours) –
interns to SAEs, mixed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">12. “Award Submissions” (2 hours) –
SAEs to VPs, mixed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">13. “Interviews for Case Studies” (2.5
hours) – AAs to AS/AMs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">14. “Think Like a Journalist” (times
vary) — all levels<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">*→</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 9.0pt;">The workshops marked with
asterisk-and-arrow have prerequisites.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>Ask for info about:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">1. “Blogging for Business”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">2. “Journalism for Bloggers”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Easy-to-add
standalone classes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Recommended next-steps after the two
“Best Bet” foundational workshops:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">• “Brain Pack” – Develop a business
mindset (by job level).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">• “AP Style for PR” — It’s the
industry standard, and our workshop is efficient.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 11.0pt;">• “Grammar for PR Pros” — Top mistakes
by educated professionals. Entertaining.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: -27.0pt; margin-right: -49.5pt; margin-top: 0in;">
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Lauren Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496513902186580259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-76739363609713991592015-04-16T11:22:00.001-07:002015-05-07T11:35:48.990-07:00AAs, here's to your speedy success! (new class available)Calling all AAs!<br />
<br />
You could wait five years for the school of hard-knocks to teach you the-Many-Things-Your-Supervisors-Don't-Tell-You-Because-They-Forgot-That-They-Once-Didn't-Know-Them.<br />
<br />
Or you can minimize pain and embarrassment, and accelerate your future promotion.<br />
<br />
I suggest you ask your employer to sign you up for a <a href="http://paragonstrategies.com/writeright.html">May 27 class in San Francisco</a>. You can take BART to Montgomery station and walk three blocks to this half-day class at the office of Paragon Strategies, which is partnering with my new company<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.5749435424805px; widows: auto;">. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.5749435424805px; widows: auto;"><br /></span>
<b>Your supervisor will be happy</b><br />
<br />
In the end, your supervisor will be glad because you'll immediately perform better than those who didn't take the class.<br />
<br />
Promise your supervisor that you'll share what you learn with other AAs and AEs in your office. You can suggest a 30-minute briefing for your peers and then let that group decide whether to meet again to learn more from you.<br />
<br />
If your employer can't pay but will give you the time off for a work-related morning investment in yourself, make double-sure to sign up quickly so you can get the early-bird discount.<br />
<br />
<b>How the cost compares & what you get</b><br />
<br />
Divide the $497 early-bird price by 10 years, and that's less than $50 a year for 10 years, or 2.5 months worth of Starbucks Frappuccinos per year. The investment probably will pay off in earlier career success ... and probably higher pay earlier in your career, though that part of it is outside my control, of course.<br />
<br />
Work is more fun when you're good at it and receiving more praise and opportunities. To make the class even more fun, see if some of your peers want to join you.<br />
<br />
<b>Advance your career, not just your skills</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
If you don't sign yourself up now, you'll have to wait to see if your employer will hire WriteCulture for a group training on-site at your office. That's how I usually work -- on-site classes for a team. But this new partnership with Paragon Strategies gives us a place to offer a public class to individuals.<br />
<br />
A description of the class is below, but if your supervisor already knows me, you can tell her/him that this new class is a hybrid of four classes, winnowed to what's most relevant and immediately useful for someone with less than two or three years of work experience.<br />
<br />
(The four originals that this is drawn from are: Developing a Business Mindset 1, Getting Faster Email Replies, Creating Compelling Content and Being Your Own Best Editor.)<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
<span style="color: #ff6600; font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-center;">Business Writing 1: Building on the Basics </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-center;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-center;"></span></div>
<div align="left" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; text-align: -webkit-center;"><a href="http://paragonstrategies.com/writeright.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://paragonstrategies.com/<wbr></wbr>writeright.html</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="left" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Business professionals who want to build more productive relationships with supervisors, colleagues and clients will enjoy a workshop that improves their written communication skills. Learn how to complete the transition from academic to business writing, edit overly familiar work with fresh eyes, and get faster e-mail replies.</span></div>
<div align="left" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
</div>
<div align="left" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">These are among the topics we will cover:</span></div>
<div align="left" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
<ol>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How to quickly distill the main point</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When to slow down in order to speed up</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The four types of email readers and how to write one email that works for all</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How to structure written communications to best respect readers' time</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Why proofreading is hard and what to do about it</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">Length of training program: Half Day 9 am - 1 pm: </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Bonus: Half Hour Writing Coaching</span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Date: May 27, 2015 - Wednesday</span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
Register by May 19 and save $100: Pay only $497 which includes Half Hour Writing Coaching; a $200 value. After May 19, investment is $597.</div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
Register today: <span class="il">Class</span> is limited to 10 </div>
</div>
</div>
Lauren Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496513902186580259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-42554089453185686032015-02-27T11:56:00.003-08:002015-02-27T13:29:05.726-08:00PR editors, are you too controlling?<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><b>PR team leads, you might in fact be part of the problem. </b>If you do a lot of heavy editing of your team's work, you might be creating a monster. The more rewriting and tracking of changes you do, the more demoralized your direct-reports become -- but you won't know it because they will hide it from you.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">And the more demoralized they become, the worse their work becomes. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_GCUzac9Q5EIBX7cyKA0hxE_3usBdTTXrlsdNdxGL8WNbRvb80ccvXKuvAF7jbxLXeVqNPq2O8DuOySb1a3LZg1He2_5UQiWyEItaiKcZoYdzByq40r5qh0MWAFbCsTrubRCNnAQpLJ3/s1600/editor_at_work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_GCUzac9Q5EIBX7cyKA0hxE_3usBdTTXrlsdNdxGL8WNbRvb80ccvXKuvAF7jbxLXeVqNPq2O8DuOySb1a3LZg1He2_5UQiWyEItaiKcZoYdzByq40r5qh0MWAFbCsTrubRCNnAQpLJ3/s1600/editor_at_work.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">The deception isn't intentional. I hear it from them because I'm a third party. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">T</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">hey aren't complaining when they tell me. They are searching for help or, in some cases, wondering if they should leave the PR field altogether. They respect you and want to please you.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Here are some things you can do to deflate the monster and grow your team's confidence and skill.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Not everyone can do No. 1 here, and that's fine. But you can certainly do numbers 2 and 3, and give the advice in No. 4. (Also, book me for the class called "Be Your Own Best Editor," and I will make many problems go away.) No. 5 is a more advanced technique for the most devoted of mentors.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">1. </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Try side-by-side editing, if you can -- some people can't.</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"> This means the writer sits beside you as you review the document. You <i>think out loud</i>, so your team member can hear your thoughts immediately rather than try to guess later what you were trying to get at (when you made the entire page bleed).</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">It takes no extra time. Don't make an appointment to "walk through the changes." Instead, have your team member just sit there in real time, </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">observing while it happens</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">. Both of you will learn from this exercise, painlessly. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">You might notice that some of your edits are in fact arbitrary. For example, you might like the word "international'" better than "global," or "achieve" better than "accomplish." Or you might be moving commas around because you hear a pause in a different place. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">(Commas are not pauses, by the way. Our teachers told us that in elementary school when we were first learning to read and write. But it's not true. Every comma has an objective rationale. For more on that, look for a book called "The AP Guide to Punctuation," or look at the punctuation section of your AP Stylebook.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">If you notice that some of your changes are to make the writing "sound better," you might be an arbitrary editor. If this is you, remember that everyone's syntax is slightly different. Even if you are striving for a "consistent voice," you still need to allow for some variation. Let people be themselves; don't make them try to be you.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">2. </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Step back and look for patterns</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">. Rather than fixing every little thing and reacting one by one to each micro-episode of mental discomfort, you should distance yourself from the document. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><b>Use a highlighter </b>(either digital or hard copy) to mark places where you find yourself reacting.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Then look only at the highlighted sections. Look for repetitive choices or a missing perspective.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Send a note with <b>two or at most three </b></span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">questions or overarching directives </strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">that get your team member to think </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">differently. Tell this person you want it back right away (within five minutes, or 10 or 20, if there's a lot to do -- but not "later" or the next day). </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Sit back and wait, and t</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">hen be pleasantly surprised when you get back something great. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">The quality often ratchets up about 200 percent. The people on your team are smart, or you wouldn't have hired them.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">3. </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Decide what really matters and let the rest go</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">. Sometimes the problem is that you are very gifted. It may be that your team member will never be as good as you are.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">You need to accept this reality. It's like the law of gravity or the sun rising in the East. You are very talented, and others won't <i>ever </i>quite catch up to you. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">If this is you, make a list of criteria that you can share with your team member. What are the two to five things this person must deliver? It might be something like this: business foresight, contrast and comparison for the purpose of pulling out insight, more white space (short sentences and paragraphs with subheads and bullets), the information needed for decision or action in the first or second sentence, precise verbs, ...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Once your team member can do everything on your list, you can add other items one at a time over time. You need let your team member</span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"> evolve over time</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">. This person can't be you. He or she will never be you.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Editors with this problem always say to me, "Yes, but I need to uphold quality standards for the client's sake." Yes, but some quality standards matter more than others. Choose. If you don't, everyone's life worsens.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">If you are struggling with this one, ask yourself: "Will this edit alter our business outcome?"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">If yes, honor it. If no, let it go or try the steps above.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">4. <b>Separate out proofreading as a final step</b>, unrelated to content or wordsmithing</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">. It's something to be done at the very end, and done surgically. That is, only remove what's objectively incorrect -- no finessing.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Senior people shouldn't be doing this particular task (proofreading). Try to reserve <i>your</i> comments and edits to meaty issues. Hold your team member accountable for client-readiness. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">If your team isn't up to speed on </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">grammar, style, punctuation and proofreading, which need to be impeccable for credibility's sake, </strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">come up with a plan. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">This plan should be separate from routine editing incidents. Let your team member know that their improvement in this area is non-negotiable, and give them tools. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Almost no one (0.5 percent?) leaves college knowing all they need to know to be good writers and editors. Most of us learn through work experience. Make it clear that this learning is to continue.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">(I offer an AP style workshop specifically for tech PR and a class on the most common grammar mistakes among PR pros. The grammar class focuses on what people <i>didn't know</i> they didn't know. it's eye-opening.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><b>5. Sneak a rewrite but don't show it to anyone.</b> This is the most difficult one, and it is time-consuming. It's a last resort for when you are overwhelmed by the awfulness of the document you're editing. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">When I don't know how to give guidance that honors the writer's autonomy and intelligence, I secretly do a rewrite of at least part of it. But I don't show it to anyone. Instead, I do a comparison and contrast to see what's different between the two. At that point, I can usually create a recipe for the writer to try to follow. By recipe, I mean the advice in No. 2, with a bit more. Usually, it's a perspective shift, not just the words on the page.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">This last one is time-consuming but an investment in your having to edit less in the future.</span></span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;" />
<strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Change is hard</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">, I know. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">If you are the writer in this scenario, I hope this post will help you take the feedback you've been getting less personally and realize that some of the problem is in fact your supervisor's fault. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">If you are the editor, I hope this post helps you realize that your joy will rise as your team's competence rises, and that a red sea of tracked changes won't get you the results that you and everyone else need.</span>Lauren Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496513902186580259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-75184084057960395192014-12-02T16:31:00.003-08:002014-12-02T17:30:59.716-08:00It's 2 a.m. Do you know where your star employee is?It's 2 a.m. Do you know if your star employee has logged on again from home and is still awake?<br />
<br />
Work flows to the most competent, right? Chances are good that the best writer on your team, if this person is also fairly senior, is staying up too late -- anguishing over the team's mediocre writing.<br />
<br />
Documents that should have been wrapped up by 6 p.m. at the office instead get reopened after 10 p.m. at home, when Star has rested a bit or put the kids to bed, and is now ready to tackle nagging thoughts. "Eee! I can't possibly send this to the client as is!"<br />
<br />
The more tired Star is, the more likely he or she is to rewrite rather than edit or request changes of the team members who wrote the original.<br />
<br />
Well rested people identify key points, make keen observations and pose incisive questions.<br />
<br />
<b>Tired people </b><i><b>rewrite</b> -- </i>because it's easier. The problem is that this is a <i>downward spiral</i>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPnfw7FaUsaCVtS09BUjoSNQd_GVMuzXYg80MqX3W_nCQMSgB8Cr1u2oJ9-NxCXcBQhSC5WUw4qNihhspJPO9ve7eWMwTXTKM-Sosg8WPJvw6-SRTGYXY1r9H1HP3ieSNaGY_-moQkvUM/s1600/201303-omag-tired-clock-600x411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPnfw7FaUsaCVtS09BUjoSNQd_GVMuzXYg80MqX3W_nCQMSgB8Cr1u2oJ9-NxCXcBQhSC5WUw4qNihhspJPO9ve7eWMwTXTKM-Sosg8WPJvw6-SRTGYXY1r9H1HP3ieSNaGY_-moQkvUM/s1600/201303-omag-tired-clock-600x411.jpg" height="136" width="200" /></a></div>
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The more rewriting Star does, <b>the more demoralized the team becomes</b>, and the worse their work gets because, they say, "It doesn't matter. She's just going to rewrite it anyway."<br />
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I've seen it! Many times! If this is your situation, don't be embarrassed -- you are in the majority!<br />
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<b>Boss & Star confide their frustration</b><br />
<br />
A variation on that scene is this one: Boss and Star are confiding in each other, united in their frustration over work that doesn't seem to improve, despite feedback and good intentions.<br />
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Both situations are common, and they often precede my being hired to give writing workshops.<br />
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I am proud to say that Star in the above scenarios is someone who has worked with me in the past. I know because he/she tells me.<br />
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But I'm even prouder to say that there's every reason for hope. I really <i>can</i> help your team improve such that Star doesn't burn out and leave you.<br />
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<b>Office-wide culture of self-improvement</b><br />
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For 2015, I'm revamping my offerings to emphasize <i>office-wide</i> improvement. It's possible to create a culture of self-improvement where individuals <b>know how to progress</b> and are motivated to do so.<br />
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It's not enough to train junior staff. Mid- and senior-staff need to know how to "receive the ball," so to speak. The roles and relationships on the team need clarification, so that everyone can improve and keep on improving -- because the office culture permits and encourages it.<br />
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I don't mean to say that everyone who hires me is anguishing, though many are. Some companies invest in their employees as a matter of course, and that's how they stay strong over the long haul. One longtime client in particular still has me in from time to time for refresher classes.<br />
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Here are other common reasons people hire me:<br />
<ol>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixwY401WkbxWGSwAVJzeCv4H1MJVl1FtSxt6tZfE1nmDA2zTV0GsYJAeeQxkt8jpBwE3Ndxb1BYrPyOshM2CHr4p23O_XIBEEK6IQeq0ITKCvqtJ-HbH2k_ozAZHt0A6NbIibP3cGpxi52/s1600/selfconfidence.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixwY401WkbxWGSwAVJzeCv4H1MJVl1FtSxt6tZfE1nmDA2zTV0GsYJAeeQxkt8jpBwE3Ndxb1BYrPyOshM2CHr4p23O_XIBEEK6IQeq0ITKCvqtJ-HbH2k_ozAZHt0A6NbIibP3cGpxi52/s1600/selfconfidence.png" height="133" width="200" /></a>
<li>The agency is growing <i>very</i> fast, mid-level staff are mostly new and representative of too many disparate corporate cultures. Training gets everyone on the same page.</li>
<li>The agency grew fast, and the people who took workshops in the past want the new people to have them, too. The veteran staff don't have time to train the new people themselves because they've been so short-staffed for so long while waiting the the much-needed new-hires.</li>
<li>A refresher class is a reward. People who are already giving-giving-giving (!) at high levels of quality enjoy an occasional switch-up. It's nice for someone to give to <i>them</i> for a change.</li>
<li>The teams themselves are self-aware. They have a nagging sense that there are more efficient or effective ways to do what they do, and they are open to expert advice.</li>
</ol>
<b>Why God created junior staff ;-)</b><br />
<br />
School doesn't prepare us for work -- that's why God made interns, AAs, AEs and SAEs who undergo on-the-job training. ;-)<br />
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Some people squeak by over time despite so-so writing -- because they're good on the phone, because they are strategic thinkers or because they have a way of bossing around the client that the client likes. But they don't make VP because their writing at times embarrasses SVPs and EVPs.<br />
<br />
Others learn as they go because they lucked out with a supervisor who is also a good writing mentor or because they took the initiative to improve themselves on their own time or dime.<br />
<br />
<b>Who's responsible? </b><br />
<br />
At any rate, senior staff are good at their jobs, not necessarily at teaching writing, editing and critical thinking. It shouldn't be up to them to train the entire team to write well. It should be up to the teammates themselves. They need to know what the standards are and how to reach them.<br />
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That's where I come in. My goal in 2015 is to create office-wide cultures of self-improvement. Frankly, it takes more than one or two workshops to achieve that. But I bet I can get you going with fewer than eight workshops, maybe four to six, depending on your circumstances.<br />
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<b>Legacy investment serves up enduring clients</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4qJiOhmwk68E5WO6L8oVbcE54nf3aLNZ0CXKPCcoeewMoTg_vOxHELFI9SnbErAGE4yqsyLSu7OGb52U3yw_H7Iqbma_B1lXUvZ63kXCZbs9b8TNXxm3wJqyV5f5q9i8z9EGBi6zIVSo/s1600/Candle.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4qJiOhmwk68E5WO6L8oVbcE54nf3aLNZ0CXKPCcoeewMoTg_vOxHELFI9SnbErAGE4yqsyLSu7OGb52U3yw_H7Iqbma_B1lXUvZ63kXCZbs9b8TNXxm3wJqyV5f5q9i8z9EGBi6zIVSo/s1600/Candle.jpeg" height="200" width="200" /></a></b></div>
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<br />
Two, four, six or eight workshops might sound like a lot.<br />
<br />
But if the investment leaves your office with a <b>legacy of self-improvement</b> -- not just with individuals who may forget what they learned over time, or who burn out and leave you, taking their gifts elsewhere -- then you'll have achieved a greatness that endures through rough patches.<br />
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A culture of self-improvement can serve up satisfied clients long after the workshops end.Lauren Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496513902186580259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-20398078291438835042014-11-21T14:38:00.000-08:002014-11-21T14:43:19.667-08:00Who to mention and when in your media pitchHow quickly should you mention your client's name in a media pitch? And should you mention competitors, too?<br />
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It depends, of course. But in tech startup PR, <span style="color: blue; font-style: italic;">more often than not </span>the answers are:<br />
<br />
(1) Do<u>n't</u> mention your client's name until the end of your one-screen pitch.<br />
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First, say something of relevance to the reporter's <i>audience</i> (hook). Then say why this information matters at this particular point in time (why, why now). Then offer your client as a resource that lets the reporter further explore the topic.<br />
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The delay isn't meant to be a trick. Tricks are bad because they don't help you build a long-term trust relationship. The delay is about relevance. If your client is unknown, it's irrelevant. Start with what matters, and then introduce your client as a topic expert.<br />
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There are other approaches and other answers to this question, and I've got more to say on this one particular approach, but we can save those for another time.<br />
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(2) Do mention competitors, and do mention anything that's an alternative to your client's offering, even if that alternative is "do nothing and just suffer."<br />
<br />
In fact, articulating the "do nothing and suffer" part in depth is a good idea, especially if your startup client is extremely innovative and ahead of the curve.<br />
<br />
To sell aspirin, you must first remind people that there's this thing called a headache, and it isn't something they absolutely must keep suffering. Rather, there's something they can do about it.<br />
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Why competitors? One company does not a market make. Being the only company in the world that does a particular thing is cool, but it makes your client less of a news story.<br />
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I've got more on that one, too. But I'll save it for later.<br />
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<a href="http://laurenedwardssv.blogspot.com/2014/09/pr-tip-rookie-mistakes-to-avoid-in.html">For "before/after" samples of pitches, click here.</a><br />
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<br />Lauren Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496513902186580259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-11357616071321706372014-10-25T18:09:00.000-07:002014-10-25T19:51:38.091-07:00Newsprint v. Kindle -- my experienceExperimentally, I downloaded an issue of the Wall Street Journal to my Kindle Paperwhite and compared it with my newsprint version.<br />
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The tiny print of the newsprint version is unchangeable, whereas I can enlarge the type as much as I want on my Kindle. That was my primary motivation, but I also wanted to find out if I would miss the sensations that accompany newsprint reading.<br />
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In general, I love my Kindle. When I'm reading a narrative (novels, biographies), I find that it's easy to disappear into the story. I'm so immersed that I stop seeing the device.<br />
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But educational books, which I also read a lot of, are better in hard copy because I can easily skip, skim and revisit pages as my mind flits and flies between my own ideas and the book's contributions.<br />
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Sure, Kindle lets you "bookmark" and take notes, but it's slow and unappealing to change locations electronically. I feel like I'm learning less, too. Sometimes, I've purchased a second copy of the same book because I realized I needed it in hard-copy form, for easy jumping around.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-ixYNKZH8-Mpti01xnr6iAOU-s_HC1lD8l2bA9iohkX3qihYgpET_3e1038pSwDKKP_OqqZg_UIjw9mDiTrN17MHd63GMYkucl2xmDafkggV-PAfaVr492-OovbT6TXYh9JkwaGQznEb/s1600/headline.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-ixYNKZH8-Mpti01xnr6iAOU-s_HC1lD8l2bA9iohkX3qihYgpET_3e1038pSwDKKP_OqqZg_UIjw9mDiTrN17MHd63GMYkucl2xmDafkggV-PAfaVr492-OovbT6TXYh9JkwaGQznEb/s1600/headline.tiff" height="139" width="200" /></a><br />
That's where I was coming from in my experiment today.<br />
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To my surprise, I found that headlines differ. Same story, different headline. In some cases, photos differed. Check out the top-leftheadline below, compared to the one at right.<br />
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It's perhaps irrational, but something about this difference made me feel cheated.<br />
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Like a snob, I looked down on the electronic headlines. The substance was the same, but the newsprint versions were aesthetically pleasing, as if those writers tried harder because headlines are their specialty and craft. Am I right? I don't know.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg1glVc2PKN1a0g76CKoOjtnwTgS9XbKsmnh134rCCFTMCZMEGJatfWKRz9G6l6xJRdRNJX2L-l1YlX6b98H-icoSe119a13vc5ghguq3oStFdaR7m78DHaxShHP_Kb7pR8nk0VA-RqsK/s1600/20141025_170016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg1glVc2PKN1a0g76CKoOjtnwTgS9XbKsmnh134rCCFTMCZMEGJatfWKRz9G6l6xJRdRNJX2L-l1YlX6b98H-icoSe119a13vc5ghguq3oStFdaR7m78DHaxShHP_Kb7pR8nk0VA-RqsK/s1600/20141025_170016.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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It is nearly impossible to view the charts and graphs on the Kindle.<br />
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Ack!<br />
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Major deal-breaker!<br />
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The Wall Street Journal is <i>GREAT</i> at meaningful and appealing charts that I actually <i>enjoy</i> taking the time to look at in detail, so that's a big loss.<br />
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I tried enlarging them the way I enlarge type, but it didn't work.<br />
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Below is the Kindle version of a graph. And below that, the newsprint version.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyu3oTFMboAPpEDC8OhujpaMJjKkbev-0y9oTn0WG1s-8jN22SKgGcuYmIMSiFFliRoF9Ti6MnErNOyg2aoPs6iXHB-puw5XzOMuQhgMNV-riR8nZ1acxg2FlZrjJC-_JwZT-UnoODoCU/s1600/20141025_173957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyu3oTFMboAPpEDC8OhujpaMJjKkbev-0y9oTn0WG1s-8jN22SKgGcuYmIMSiFFliRoF9Ti6MnErNOyg2aoPs6iXHB-puw5XzOMuQhgMNV-riR8nZ1acxg2FlZrjJC-_JwZT-UnoODoCU/s1600/20141025_173957.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBOSUx7d8UOLsuMJsojenN0sn0_BQ_8iN3rs2MX-FgS8V5RqxuC8maLBeGkDu84pGUF6UH06N_h_d9NCzBi5jViO94KdhnUR3ZsfZNgRZJnnwAILt9Gx_dIkPqRoUaPie-PHgFLtmpz9D/s1600/20141025_165957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBOSUx7d8UOLsuMJsojenN0sn0_BQ_8iN3rs2MX-FgS8V5RqxuC8maLBeGkDu84pGUF6UH06N_h_d9NCzBi5jViO94KdhnUR3ZsfZNgRZJnnwAILt9Gx_dIkPqRoUaPie-PHgFLtmpz9D/s1600/20141025_165957.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></div>
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Below is a newsprint graph and photo combined. In the Kindle version, only the photo appeared.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXU4FHsS3635ghnbZLQihbOucZeeA1kFfK2c3sLsEiDISV14L2gA6gGc0GsBnIZdGEczjxp6xSkQ_W4HmCjsJcS2Ko0b_MFCi8d7vTYz_tShJdmzEJDgBIcVcppmkdlrNDushylkTZen0/s1600/20141025_165936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXU4FHsS3635ghnbZLQihbOucZeeA1kFfK2c3sLsEiDISV14L2gA6gGc0GsBnIZdGEczjxp6xSkQ_W4HmCjsJcS2Ko0b_MFCi8d7vTYz_tShJdmzEJDgBIcVcppmkdlrNDushylkTZen0/s1600/20141025_165936.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></div>
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Below are more images. The Kindle lets you see the lead story in each section via a single screenshot, which could be more efficient for someone who just wants info but doesn't care about experience. The newsprint version requires physical removal of each layer to see the same headlines. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffVNlgy-FOD0uQBUre9Oylv3UTAJl_tMNj1nBGYxLw3tt52_E0x_qKUAX9Cs65HvgNMEfys9gDQgywLKzonZ4dgBTCZ7TD1YEA5pdC-tYJSWz6-7qgkLd2w9YcMSzt4NaSzFFOS-_siO1/s1600/20141025_165727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffVNlgy-FOD0uQBUre9Oylv3UTAJl_tMNj1nBGYxLw3tt52_E0x_qKUAX9Cs65HvgNMEfys9gDQgywLKzonZ4dgBTCZ7TD1YEA5pdC-tYJSWz6-7qgkLd2w9YcMSzt4NaSzFFOS-_siO1/s1600/20141025_165727.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></div>
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I can also choose a non-graphical view of the same options, and then choose one section to see in a bit more detail. Below are four headlines at once, which are A2-A4 in newsprint.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMYKcm0GGf-zAxp-sB3E9Nyy3G3Ek9GzgbzcYxa3H7n2DeCqmQZ5rMpVYkyOOBTXbTVZIgdd-0BHfQU85WXAY0XIdx_UrwC4PIMaonegUAQPdDSJQsGEctqJFiC95kK8PfadGmB3-eVjgm/s1600/20141025_165716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMYKcm0GGf-zAxp-sB3E9Nyy3G3Ek9GzgbzcYxa3H7n2DeCqmQZ5rMpVYkyOOBTXbTVZIgdd-0BHfQU85WXAY0XIdx_UrwC4PIMaonegUAQPdDSJQsGEctqJFiC95kK8PfadGmB3-eVjgm/s1600/20141025_165716.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></div>
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I won't be quitting my newsprint subscription any time soon. I can see myself preferring Kindle on crowded planes and trains. But at home, in a coffee shop or in the passenger seat of our car (husband driving), I prefer rattling my pages and skimming with my head moving up, down and sideways.<br />
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Ideally, the print would be bigger. When I dive into an article, I pull the paper a bit closer to my face, but I can still read it without glasses. That said, I wish I didn't have to bring up the matter at all!<br />
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Experiment completed. I wish I could enlarge the type of the newsprint, but that's my only complaint. On Kindle, I have a variety of complaints and the benefit of the compact size doesn't outweigh them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NoCe_MK3d5uvpv4XOCO47qcq7JeivbHDsmDSZURvbcE4_YE4nikLBADp8TDyANU2grqpf-Rj0XtuIvnaVyly9lThMmV_m-74jNStOp5h410NkzP-fAkLfom22wZn6Vdf4F3Lonz1AuR4/s1600/20141025_170016-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NoCe_MK3d5uvpv4XOCO47qcq7JeivbHDsmDSZURvbcE4_YE4nikLBADp8TDyANU2grqpf-Rj0XtuIvnaVyly9lThMmV_m-74jNStOp5h410NkzP-fAkLfom22wZn6Vdf4F3Lonz1AuR4/s1600/20141025_170016-1.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Lauren Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496513902186580259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-21721961833882457592014-09-03T14:28:00.000-07:002014-11-21T14:09:35.996-08:00PR tip: Rookie mistakes to avoid in email pitches<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3ezAnGJfWbLknTtEm9Pt-XvwrJ54COrhKIlXr_UcTtmnCdOLwah4HI6sx5s_SZoV8RsuUnZyBtkbXhqnn3z2KOX_-L8ajdwD449_fsfyX4FH3TohwtqxOEaF_Kqdop-8fWh02Y0RBTOH/s1600/email+pitch+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3ezAnGJfWbLknTtEm9Pt-XvwrJ54COrhKIlXr_UcTtmnCdOLwah4HI6sx5s_SZoV8RsuUnZyBtkbXhqnn3z2KOX_-L8ajdwD449_fsfyX4FH3TohwtqxOEaF_Kqdop-8fWh02Y0RBTOH/s1600/email+pitch+art.jpg" height="193" width="200" /></a>No offense to actual used car dealers, but if you are new to pitching news reporters, you may feel at times like a variation on that metaphor -- like you're urging something not-so-valuable on someone who is shopping ... but not shopping for what you're offering.<br />
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And worse, if you're like 99 percent of the newcomers I've met in 14 years of coaching tech PR writers, <b>the way you're writing </b>your pitch<b> </b>is <i>really </i>bad.<br />
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Here are do's and don'ts for newbies, who are extremely intelligent and capable, I might add. But there are certain natural tendencies you must overcome if you are to succeed -- and you will!<br />
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<b>Dialog, not an essay</b><br />
1. Be a person talking to a person, not an agency writing to a publication. Your email in this case should be almost like the transcript of an in-person conversation between two busy people who like and respect each other. It should not sound like an essay or a business letter from the 1950s.<br />
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<b>Bad grammar ≠ conciseness or humility</b><br />
2. But "writing dialog" doesn't mean leaving off the <span style="color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">first-person</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> </span><span style="color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">singular</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> </span><span style="color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">nominative case</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> </span><span style="color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">personal pronoun</span></span> of your opening sentences. It's OK to use the word "I." Leaving it out doesn't sound like casual dialog, nor does it make you seem more humble -- e.g., "Wanted to see if you're interested ..."<br />
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This isn't actually a rookie mistake. I see it in experienced people, too. It might make sense in some of their situations, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt, but rookies are copying it and -- given the other problems in their pitches -- the oddness of the omission compounds the bad impression.<br />
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<b>Readers with questions, clients as sources</b><br />
3. Avoid mentioning your client's mission, and if possible avoid mentioning your <i>startup </i>client's name at all until the bottom half of the pitch. If your client isn't yet a household name, no one cares what it's doing. First say something relevant to the reporter's audience, and then follow up with your client as a resource for helping the reporter's audience with questions about their own interests.<br />
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<b>Competitors? Yes!</b><br />
4. It's OK and even desirable to include names of competitors (and customers, if you have permission) because one company does not a market make.<br />
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Reporters write about issues in flux. If the movements of one company are influencing the movements of others, there are questions about the immediate future in there somewhere. Reporters care about questions and the immediate future.<br />
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Let your client and its competitors/customers be characters in a story that makes a useful point in the readers' immediate future. The characters aren't the story; they are elements in telling the story.<br />
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<b>Statistics ≠ smart or relevant</b><br />
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<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->5. Statistics are helpful only when interpreted, surprising or about the reader's own questions. Starting a sentence with, "According to [source]," is like hiding behind your mommy's skirt when you were 3 or like trying to fake out a college professor on an essay you've thought little about.<br />
<br />
<i>You </i>are smart. <i>You</i> can make a point. Your point doesn't have to be someone else's. If your point is backed up by a statistic, it's fine to say so and you should name the source, but let it be backup, not a curtain behind which you try to hide.<br />
<br />
Usually, when someone gives you the advice to "find a statistic for the pitch," they are really saying, "Find context. Put your info into perspective. Show its relevance."<br />
<br />
Statistics are good when they contribute insights and feelings, but not in and of themselves.<br />
<br />
That's plenty for now. Below are three examples, one bad and two better. All are fictional.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Fictional bad pitch</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Hi [Reporter’s
Name],<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Hope this email finds you well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Noticed that you wrote an article on
Aug. 20 in the Bay Area Times titled “</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">San Francisco Settles $2 Million Movie Scandal Lawsuit</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">,” and wondered if you might like to
interview Dante Williams, vice president of marketing, at Good Law Inc., the
leading provider of mobile solutions for the legal services industry. Good Law
has signed more than 100 firms for its breakthrough Find Legal Help Fast
outreach platform, which assists users in the litigation, mediation, arbitration
and advocacy industries, demonstrating momentum in the quickly changing
landscape for digital legal services. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Good Law’s 600 percent revenue growth
and its achievement in surpassing the 1-million-mark in apps downloaded
nationwide as of April 14 are further evidence that Good Law’s innovative
solutions are driving a revolution in the legal services industry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">According
to Legal Weekly, </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">many
attorneys charge $300 an hour, compared to an average American family’s
earnings of $22 an hour. Legal Weekly says many attorneys often ask for a $5,000 retainer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Good Law’s mission is to aggregate
and curate legal discussions to enhance the quality of the legal experience,
improving client outcomes while helping law firms generate new revenue streams. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Good Law accomplishes this feat through its
acclaimed </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Find Legal Help Fast
platform, which </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">uses
natural-language-analysis software and other technology to index lower-cost but
recurring legal questions and offers authoritative assistance to a myriad of
people at once.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Please let me know if you’d like to
speak to Dante about the increasingly complex legal landscape and how Good
Law’s solutions are improving customer experiences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Best,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sam<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Better version:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Hi [Reporter's Name],<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Even if a
bookstore, library or online information warehouse has answers to legal
questions, families still need to search – sometimes unproductively – for the
right information and put it in perspective for own their situation and understand their own
state’s legal wrinkles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">That's a lot of work, right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Unfortunately,
many families go without legal counsel. Longtime services like [Famous Company] are
still excellent, but now software and automation advances are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">finally </i>coming to the legal industry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I’d like to introduce you to my client, a
startup called Good Law Inc., which </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">uses technology to index lower-cost but recurring legal questions.
Good Law offers authoritative assistance to many families at
once, while creating a new revenue stream for law firms. Already 100 firms have
signed up to participate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I added useful statistics below my
signature. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Meanwhile, shall we set up a time to talk?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Dante Williams, a Good Law executive,
is an expert on what’s ahead for families who used to go without, and for the
firms now embracing a new business model.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Dante is usually available on
Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Which is better for you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Best,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sam<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Many
attorneys charge $300 an hour, compared to an average American family’s
earnings of $22 an hour. Many ask for a $5,000 retainer, which is 70 percent
higher than an average family’s average monthly income of $3,500. (<u><span style="color: #3366ff;">Source: Legal Inc. survey, June 2014</span></u>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The Good Law app, available on iOS
and Android devices, has been downloaded more than 1 million times by families,
small businesses and individuals who can now benefit from advice tailored for
37 states. Three more state-specific rollouts are scheduled for summer, with
all 50 expected to be complete by mid-2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 13.85pt;">The Find Legal Help Fast platform builds client communities around issues such as small claims, family law,
personal injury, landlord-tenant relations and other cases that – once
aggregated – offer economies of scale that benefit both firms and clients.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 13.85pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">Or:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">Hi [Reporter's Name],<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18.466667175293px;">I’d like to introduce you to a startup founded by the guy who invented [xyz] and sold it to [Famous Company] in 2006 for $1.5 billion. Dante Williams is now helping low- to middle-income families get otherwise costly legal help through a new automated platform (patent pending).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18.466667175293px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18.466667175293px;">Already, 100 firms have signed up to participate because the platform also provides them with a new revenue stream by aggregating lower-cost cases. The new company is called Good Law.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">If you're interested, please let me know what days are best for you. Meanwhile, I copied relevant statistics below my signature.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">If you need a "time element" to hang this on, I believe a verdict is due as early as next week in the [Famous Case], which involves a landlord dispute arising from the [Famous Company] squatter case. Click <span style="color: blue;"><u>here</u></span> to see Good Law advice that could have prevented this. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">Dante can also help you pull out some of the larger issues raised by this case, if you or one of your colleagues needs that, as well as generally offer third-party commentary as issues arise in the future.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">Best,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">Sam</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">Many attorneys charge $300 an hour, compared to an average American family’s earnings of $22 an hour. Many ask for a $5,000 retainer, which is 70 percent higher than an average family’s average monthly income of $3,500. (<u><span style="color: #3366ff;">Source: Legal Inc. survey, June 2014</span></u>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">The Good Law app, available on iOS and Android devices, has been downloaded more than 1 million times by families, small businesses and individuals who can now benefit from advice tailored for 37 states. Three more state-specific rollouts are scheduled for summer, with all 50 expected to be complete by mid-2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 13.85pt;">The Find Legal Help Fast platform builds client communities around issues such as small claims, family law, personal injury, landlord-tenant relations and other cases that – once aggregated – offer economies of scale that benefit both firms and clients.</span></div>
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<br />Lauren Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07496513902186580259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-9437791200926840222014-05-13T10:29:00.001-07:002014-05-13T12:13:06.864-07:00How to format a media alert? Well, ...<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">... there's no <i>one</i> correct way, but here’s one I like:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/bobcraw/example-media-alert"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://www.slideshare.net/bobcraw/example-media-alert</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpGL28d8rIo/U3Jrv_qXynI/AAAAAAAAAgw/Jjbe1ROVJxM/s1600/Untitled+copy.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpGL28d8rIo/U3Jrv_qXynI/AAAAAAAAAgw/Jjbe1ROVJxM/s1600/Untitled+copy.tiff" height="320" width="286" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It's visual, not text-heavy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">An alert is meant to make room on a reporter's calendar. It's a
"save the date." The little text there is should help the reporter
see why it matters, from the reporter's perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Honestly, reporters don't care about format. They will
appreciate a message in crayon on the back of a napkin if it's relevant to
their work on deadline.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The sample above is from Bob Crawshaw, a PR pro in Australia.
Here’s <a href="https://plus.google.com/+BobCrawshaw/posts">his full profile on
Google Plus</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobcrawshaw">here he
is on LinkedIn</a>. I found him while scanning for less than 20 seconds on <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=media+alert+examples&client=firefox-a&hs=dBc&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=qUtyU8OCH4jJoATe0IHABQ&ved=0CCgQsAQ&biw=1440&bih=723">this
array of images in a Google search</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I didn’t scrutinize the text for news value. I chose this sample
for its visual clarity and ease of use. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If you want to know about AP style for formatting in general,
here are a few suggestions:</span></div>
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<ol>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Sentence case for headlines (Bob’s example is all caps, though.)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">New rule this year: Spell out rather than abbreviate state names</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Single quotes if you need to use quote marks in a headline (or for a quote within a quote)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">VP is OK in a headline, but vice president is AP style in body of text</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Abbreviate months other than March, April, May, June and July
when they are with a date, but spell out all months if they stand alone or with
a year only.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Capitalize the R in Room 2.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">11 a.m., not 11:00 a.m.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">a.m., not AM</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">noon or midnight, not 12 p.m. or 12 a.m.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri;">AP style on time zones is difficult because it requires you to
know whether it’s standard or daylight-saving time, and different regions do it
differently.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri;">I suggest using a service
like </span><a href="http://www.worldtimebuddy.com/est-to-pst-converter" style="font-family: Calibri;">http://www.worldtimebuddy.com/est-to-pst-converter</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri;">
to make sure you’ve got it right. AP style is EST, EDT, etc.</span></span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">If you are using a media alert as a "mini press release," rather than a "save the date," consider using a blog post or email instead. Or write a short press release -- there's nothing wrong with brevity!</span></div>
<br />
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<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment-->Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-42981419215401282952014-05-10T09:17:00.003-07:002014-09-29T12:49:14.656-07:00Startup PR: When not to write a ‘momentum release’<div class="MsoNormal">
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Journalists may be laughing -- in a mean way -- about your client's momentum release, especially if your client is a startup.<br />
<br />
Below, I gently lead you toward a more effective approach that a journalist might even consider using as source material for a news story. Perhaps my advice is *too* gentle.<br />
<br />
When I go slow to create a how-to piece that you can follow step by step like a recipe, my emphasis is on the positive -- as in what you can do to succeed, not how you should feel when judged by others who don't have your back.<br />
<br />
When I suggest that journalists are being snarky, I'm not just surmising. I've seen it and heard it, and I know why they are doing it. And I agree with them. But it's my job to get people out of trouble, not laugh at them when they are in it.<br />
<br />
So, if you have startup clients and are assigned a "momentum release," please patiently read on and follow the advice. (Or, just <b><span style="color: blue;">scroll down to the before/after example</span></b>. You'll get the gist.)<br />
<br />
It's not quick reading or easy to absorb. You have to <i>do</i> it to <i>get</i> it.<br />
<br />
But there is a payoff of<b> higher credibility and more press coverage</b>.<br />
<br />
I write this for you, PR friends. There's no benefit for me.<br />
<br />
I don't like watching smart, well-intentioned, hard-working people fail when they could succeed if only they knew about a few good tweaks.<br />
<br />
The picture above is from an article in which a <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20140128/14225826029/t-mobile-writes-best-press-release-youll-ever-see-phone-company.shtml">technology publication praises a press release</a>. Your startup client probably doesn't have the moxie to do this, but ... maybe someday.<br />
<br />
Note that the opening line is, "Our general rule is that we ignore press releases ..." <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/user/mmasnick">Mike Masnick</a> goes on to say why he didn't ignore "the best press release you'll ever see from a phone company."<br />
<br />
***<br />
<br />
Consider <b><span style="color: blue;">making your startup client a <i>proof point</i> in a “pain point” release</span></b>, <i><span style="color: grey; mso-themecolor: background1; mso-themeshade: 128;">not the main point</span></i><span style="color: grey;"> in a “momentum release</span>.”</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Advice on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how to do
that</i> is below, but first a few words on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">why</i>:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Eventually, you may be able to do a classic momentum release
for your startup client, but perhaps not quite yet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What’s a momentum
release?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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A “momentum release,” in PR jargon, is a press release that
depicts a company’s momentum along a successful business trajectory. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/playstation4-ps4-sales-surpass-70-million-units-worldwide-255558241.html">Here’s
a recent example from a famous international brand.</a> And a really good one
from <a href="http://www.xero.com/media/814933/sharemarket_release_interim_report.pdf">a
publicly traded New Zealand company that has since successfully broken into the
U.S. market.</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Usually, it lists things like the number of units sold,
number of customers won, types of industries served, percentage of revenue
growth and other milestones, including perhaps a new strategic direction or the
launch of a next phase.<o:p></o:p></div>
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You and your client may feel celebratory and want the world
to know that you are successfully doing what you said you would do when you
first began, back when there were still a lot of questions and maybe even a few
doubters.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKAfb9XCxo7fKab6hxSaMDovckd5k57oezjf3qrqa9nKBsx_U4Hcb_SHAgQyhP3DokEwKQL24k3aAUncVZfzpQeqmI0SLWQO_51W6c-jHaFo2eLSFnvUz71NSfu71Af6g9dQlAVVs7k_9q/s1600/@laurenedwardssv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKAfb9XCxo7fKab6hxSaMDovckd5k57oezjf3qrqa9nKBsx_U4Hcb_SHAgQyhP3DokEwKQL24k3aAUncVZfzpQeqmI0SLWQO_51W6c-jHaFo2eLSFnvUz71NSfu71Af6g9dQlAVVs7k_9q/s1600/@laurenedwardssv.jpg" height="320" width="286" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Why does it turn
journalists off?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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However, this kind of announcement is “anti-news” that may
turn journalists off. Even the ones who are enthusiastic about your company may
be forced to all but ignore this press release because …<o:p></o:p></div>
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(cue ominous music) … it’s not about the reader. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What is “real news”?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Contrary to popular belief in some circles, journalists
don’t care about companies and products; they care about stories and characters,
usually those that either surprise readers or help them make decisions in their
own lives. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Good news for you: Readers and customers overlap quite a
bit, so if you write primarily for and about your customers, journalists can
join in and help you tell your story (but in ways that conform to the rules of
journalism).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">When a momentum
release is OK<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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A momentum release might be OK if you are – for example – <a href="http://electroiq.com/blog/2012/04/2011-semiconductor-sales-rankings/">one
of the top-performing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">public</i>
companies on a list like this one</a>. Why? Whatever you do affects an entire
market and in turn the markets of your customers’ customers, so <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_reporting">beat reporters</a> are paying
attention to your inner workings and hoping to foresee trends that will affect large
numbers of people, including investors.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Or it might be OK if you are a young <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">but established</i> company in a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">market
that is being redefined</i> by technological advances, a market covered by beat
reporters specifically assigned to watch that market’s ongoing developments. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Well-received
momentum releases<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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For example, remember Palm Inc? It was the first company to
successfully sell meaningful numbers of what became known as the smartphone. It
created and shaped a market that eventually attracted RIM, Motorola, Nokia, Apple
and Samsung, among many others. The first devices – digital assistants, not
phones – came out in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, this was a fast-changing industry
that continually needed new labels and standards for comparison. It created new
vocabulary and launched ancillary markets.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Palm’s PR teams wrote <a href="http://gl.access-company.com/news_event/palmsource/091003_chineseed/">momentum
releases like this one</a>. It made sense because Palm was a bellwether for an
entire industry. In fact, it was so symbolic of the industry itself that <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/5/3062611/palm-webos-hp-inside-story-pre-postmortem">its
demise warranted this in-depth story, which is in fact a story about the
industry, not just Palm</a>. In this article, Palm is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">character</i>, not just a company, and its <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">story</i> offers <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lessons for
companies everywhere</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How reporters use
momentum releases<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Nowadays, what used to be a <a href="http://news.xbox.com/2014/04/xbox-one-march-npd">momentum release is
often a blog post instead, like this one for Xbox</a>, which got picked up by
news outlets, most of which <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">combined</i>
it with info from the <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/playstation4-ps4-sales-surpass-70-million-units-worldwide-255558241.html">above-mentioned
Sony momentum release.</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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You can write a momentum release if a journalist will use it
as fodder for a story about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">an entire
market that is in flux</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Reality check for
tiny startups<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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But otherwise, if there’s no “market” yet, there’s no story.
One company does not a market make. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And a tiny company in a crowded market that is dominated by
big-name companies also won’t make a news splash – not even with a superlative
momentum release – because a tiny albeit super-fantastic-and-worthy company <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">doesn’t affect enough readers yet</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, if this is your client – either too tiny or too unlike
what’s being covered as a regular news beat – then I recommend this other kind
of press release instead.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Opt for the ‘pain
point’ release<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I call it the “pain point” press release because it’s about
the pain that society feels while suffering from the lack of your client’s
solution. Your client and its successes can serve as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">proof points about the pain point</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This inverse approach is more likely to get coverage because
it’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">about readers for readers</i>. Write
about the readers’ pain. This is what sells your client’s solution, indirectly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Caveat: There’s no
such term</b> as “pain point release” as far as I know. I’m sure PR people will
continue to say momentum release in conversations with clients. But I offer it
as a stealthy insider’s term to help PR people <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">conceive</i> a better press release.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue;">In concrete specifics, here’s what I suggest: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sell ‘headaches,’ not
‘aspirin’<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Your client’s customers may be living with discomfort
because they don’t realize there’s a solution. Sell the discomfort. Make them
aware of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is news, as journalists define it, because <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so many people</i> experience the
discomfort. Remember: News is<u>n’t</u> whatever’s “new.” Rather, it’s
information that either <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">surprises
readers</b> or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">relates to their decision-making</b>.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If so many people/companies signed up for your client’s
fantastic new product or service, it‘s probably because they are the clever
forerunners in an inevitable shift who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">realized</i>
they had a headache and decided to get rid of it. Now your client’s solution is
a data point in a story about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">readers overcoming
obstacles</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Now co-starring:
readers’ obstacles<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Put a few connotative details about The Problem in the lead,
in the CEO’s quote and in the middle of the release. If you have a customer
quote, let the focus be The Problem. Often, just a phrase in each place is
enough. No need to overdo it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Real-life examples<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Here’s an example of a <a href="http://www.fuelquest.com/en/news-events/press-releases/266-new-survey-reveals-fuel-invoicing-accuracy-now-a-greater-concern-among-fleets">problem-centric
press release</a>, and where it <a href="http://bulktransporter.com/trends/fuelquest-survey-reveals-growing-fleet-concerns-over-fuel-invoicing-accuracy">got
picked up by an important trade publication</a> for that industry.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20050802005398/en/Wireless-Noise-Hampers-DefCon-Impact-Non-Wi-Fi-Interference#.U2pgma1dUqs">one
of my favorite examples ever</a>, and <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/when-networking-wirelessly-beware-the-microwave/d/d-id/1034877?">where
it got picked up</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s <a href="http://ir.shutterfly.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=810209">a charming
one</a> that I believe would have been picked up had it been released a couple
of weeks earlier. <span style="color: grey; mso-themecolor: background1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Blend ‘momentum’ with
‘problem’<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Sure, include your company’s name and milestones – of
course! But don’t make them the centerpiece. Treat them as attribution or data serving
a larger theme.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What journalists do<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Notice on this Web page that the <a href="http://www.nuance.com/company/news-room/index.htm">press release headlines
on the left are about the company and its solutions, and the stories on the
right – which news reporters wrote</a> for wide audiences – are about problems.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s OK to write press releases about companies and solutions,
but keep in mind that, ideally, they will also include material that reporters <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can actually use for stories</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Fictional bad example<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Not so good, though people do it:</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SAN JOSE, California – May 8, 2014 –</b> Good Law Inc., the <span style="background: silver; mso-highlight: silver;">leading provider of mobile
solutions</span> for the legal services industry, today <span style="background: aqua; mso-highlight: aqua;">announced that it has signed more than 100 customers</span>
for its breakthrough Find Legal Help Fast outreach platform for law firms and
other companies in the litigation, mediation, arbitration and advocacy industries,
demonstrating its momentum in the quickly changing landscape for digital legal
services. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Good Law’s <span style="background: aqua; mso-highlight: aqua;"><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/31/an-open-letter-to-all-companies-who-grew-revenue-by-200-last-year/">600
percent revenue growth</a> </span>and its achievement in surpassing the<span style="background: aqua; mso-highlight: aqua;"> 1-million-mark</span> in apps
downloaded nationwide as of April 14 are further evidence that Good Law’s <span style="background: aqua; mso-highlight: aqua;">innovative solutions are driving a revolution</span>
in the legal services industry.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
“We are <span style="background: aqua; mso-highlight: aqua;">pleased to announce that Good Law has achieved a key
milestone</span> in its commitment to law firms and clients alike,” said Good
Law founder and CEO Dante Williams. “<span style="background: aqua; mso-highlight: aqua;">Our mission</span> is to aggregate and curate legal discussions
to enhance the quality of the legal experience, improving client outcomes
while helping law firms create new revenue streams.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Fictional good
example<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue;">Better:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SAN JOSE, California – May 7, 2014 – </b>Good Law Inc., a <span style="background: silver; mso-highlight: silver;">network of well-qualified legal
experts bringing authoritative advice to mobile devices</span>, is <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">helping Americans</span> <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">avoid high legal fees while giving
law firms </span>new software tools for aggregating the management of
smaller-scale cases. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
“The cost of private counsel is <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">prohibitively high</span> for
many litigants,” said Good Law founder and CEO Dante Williams. “Many attorneys
charge over $300 per hour and ask for a $5,000 retainer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">Meanwhile, the average American family earns $22 per hour, or about $3,500
per month.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Good Law’s Get Legal Help Fast platform
uses patent-pending natural-language analysis software and other technology to index
and analyze small-scale but recurring legal problems and offer authoritative
assistance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
The Good Law app, available on iOS
and Android devices, has been downloaded more than <span style="background: aqua; mso-highlight: aqua;">1 million times</span> by families, small businesses
and individuals who can now benefit from advice tailored for 37 states. Three
more state-specific rollouts are scheduled for summer, with all 50 expected to
be complete by mid-2015. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Already, more than <span style="background: aqua; mso-highlight: aqua;">100 law firms</span> are using the
Find Legal Help Fast platform to build client communities around issues such as
small claims, family law, personal injury, landlord-tenant relations and other cases
that – once aggregated – offer economies of scale that benefit both firms and
clients.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Both the bad and better versions include the 100 customers and
1 million downloads, but the <span style="background: aqua; mso-highlight: aqua;">bad
example is about the company</span> and the <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">better example is about society’s need for help.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">More examples<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Notice the second paragraph in this <a href="http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/grand-rounds-launches-office-visits-service-enabling-people-find-precisely-right-doctor-1897190.htm">startup’s
press release: “… time consuming and tedious, but also dangerous … more than
$1.3 billion wasted trying to fix the 4,000 surgical errors and ...”</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The same startup’s <a href="https://www.grandroundshealth.com/knowledge/employer/benefits-2014-employees-expect-see/">blog
post is about the needs of one of its key audiences. </a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Check out the second paragraph in another <a href="http://www.mulesoft.com/press-center/50-million-funding">startup’s funding
announcement: “… $500 billion per year integrating disparate systems and
technologies, primarily by writing point-to-point code, which is a highly
inefficient process.”</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also note the
description in the same press release’s <a href="http://www.mulesoft.com/press-center/50-million-funding">fourth paragraph</a>.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another nice one: <a href="http://repairpal.com/RepairPal-New-Service-Brings-A-to-Repair-into-the-21st-Century">the
second paragraph</a> here that says, “… roughly 2 million visits to an
automotive service facility every day, … no better informed about these major
expenses than they were 20, 30 or even 40 years ago.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-46133433180207322782014-03-12T13:36:00.001-07:002014-03-12T13:56:02.825-07:00WSJ & Forbes on email strife, & how I resolve it for you<span style="font-size: large;">Bosses and employees can avoid the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304704504579433233994478174" target="_blank">email strife described in today's Wall Street Journal</a> by taking my 2.5-hour email workshop.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks, WSJ, for the inadvertent commercial. The article sprinkles tips from writing coaches in among anecdotes about office miscommunication and hurt feelings.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Two tips missed: how to write one email for all (regardless of personality type) and how to make it easy for your boss to reply in a single (well understood) word.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C6Ts3vgXt3w/UyDGrLuuylI/AAAAAAAAAeo/k8fF57llHqo/s1600/email+wkbk+excerpt+as+art.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C6Ts3vgXt3w/UyDGrLuuylI/AAAAAAAAAeo/k8fF57llHqo/s1600/email+wkbk+excerpt+as+art.tiff" height="162" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Excerpt from workbook cheat sheet</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Now composed with thumbs and read on 4.5-inch screens, emails have gotten trickier. And they were <i>always </i>tricky, right?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I gave my first email class in 2003, when people had to be cautioned to step back from the keyboard when angry. <a href="http://www.netmanners.com/38/flaming-e-mails/" target="_blank">Flame mail</a> is not as big a problem as it used to be, and I don't even mention it in my workshops anymore.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Now the emphasis is on how your email can survive the triage process as managers in particular are forced to filter <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2013/10/15/5-ways-email-makes-your-employees-miserable/" target="_blank">too much email (Forbes)</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My suggestions center on restructuring your email -- same info, different order. The WSJ article touches on that a bit. If you take my class, you'll get help overcoming the psychological block that <i>keeps people from doing</i> what they've already been told is the right thing to do. And more ... a lot more.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304704504579433233994478174">http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304704504579433233994478174</a></span><br />
<br />Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-28320005291840001062014-02-05T11:58:00.001-08:002014-02-05T12:10:37.151-08:00Why I recommend a 2012-or-later-edition AP Stylebook<br />
Here's a page from my workbook on AP style for tech PR. It describes why I like stylebooks that are 2012 or later (I <i>used</i> to say, "Earlier editions are fine.") There's good information here for <b>citizen journalists</b>, as well as PR types.<br />
<br />
***<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333399; font-size: 18.0pt;">What’s new, if you’re old<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>;-)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 2009, the AP began making noteworthy stylebook changes
that reflect the digital age. For the West Coast and Silicon Valley in
particular, that felt like nine years too late. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Internally, members of the AP’s worldwide nonprofit co-op
(newspapers, radio and TV stations) were getting updates via the AP’s own satellite-based
wire services, but outsiders – including PR agencies – were still seeing the
ink-on-paper stylebook. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The 2012 edition brought the entire citizenry up to date and
went beyond the usual nitty-gritty. New sections include explicit advice on how
to vet information, which is especially meaningful for citizen journalists
(bloggers, Facebookers) who are filling in gaps as professional news outlets
reduce the depth and breadth of their coverage. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Previously, I advised writers that, as long as they used
this handout, it would be no problem if their stylebook was a few years old.
Not anymore. It’s time to buy a new one. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue;">The 2012 version represented the most complete and
thoughtful overhaul in my professional lifetime. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’ve been a student of AP style for more than 10 years,
the following entries may be among those that are <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue;">different from what you originally learned:</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Now OK on first reference:
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">CEO</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">MBA</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">U.S.</b> as a
noun (not just as an adjective)<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Lowercase, one word, no
hyphen: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">website</b> (2010 revision)
and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">email</b> (2011)<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">The apostrophe was moved
to a more intuitive place in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">do’s
and don’ts<o:p></o:p></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Yahoo </b>doesn’t get a punctuation mark in its name, even though
it wants one<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hopefully </b>is acceptable for<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>“it’s hoped” or “we hope” <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Whew!
We all talk that way, right?!)</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Notice that’s not a lot of differences. One of the dynamics
that makes the AP Stylebook a reliable and enduring resource is its editors’ refusal
to flip-flop with the times. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The 2012 edition doesn’t flip-flop, either. But it better
explains exceptions, simplifies controversial guidance and includes a lot of
really helpful new information. This edition coincides with a branding overhaul,
complete with a new logo unveiled in February 2012. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Amazingly, <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">while newspapers reduced staff or folded, <span style="color: blue;">annual
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">sales</b> of AP stylebooks <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">doubled</b></span> between 2004 and 2008</span>,
from 30,000 to 60,000 (Poynter Institute, 2009). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And since then, the AP has continued to modernize its
delivery mechanisms and continue its ubiquity. You probably know about the new auto-correct
software for Microsoft Word (2011), mobile apps (2008), online stylebook and Ask
the Editor blog.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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You can find AP style on Twitter at @apstylebook and on
Facebook at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/apstylebook">www.facebook.com/apstylebook</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-38385452845663484582013-09-10T21:10:00.003-07:002014-07-01T11:48:20.456-07:00Quotes for titles? AP style on TV shows, video games, apps<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fQPOTNOe0SE/Ui_saVlTO0I/AAAAAAAAAWU/4bG5Z4o76zk/s1600/ap-style.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fQPOTNOe0SE/Ui_saVlTO0I/AAAAAAAAAWU/4bG5Z4o76zk/s320/ap-style.jpg" height="195" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from http://blog.ap.org/</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you write PR coverage reports, this post is for you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following example uses correct AP style:</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">In an article titled “The Big Picture: Megapixel Race at
Milestone 8” in Dante Holly’s Feb. 24 State of the Game column in the New York Times, CEO Jaden Gilbert said he loves playing "Farmville" on Facebook.</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt;">Notice:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt;">quotation marks on article titles and computer game titles but not on column names or publication names </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt;"><i>titled</i>, not <i>entitled</i></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt;">abbreviate month when it's with a date</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt;">no italics</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt;">no underlines</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More examples:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a) <span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>Software names</b></span><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> such as </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Word</span> and <span style="color: blue;">Excel</span> </span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-indent: -0.15in;"><span style="line-height: normal;">b) </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">..<span style="background-color: white;">. </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-indent: -0.15in;">in hi</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-indent: -0.15in;">s </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-indent: -0.15in;"><span style="color: blue;">Digital Tools </span><b>column</b> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-indent: -0.15in;">i</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-indent: -0.15in;">n <span style="color: blue;">Top Dollar</span> <b>magazine</b>.</span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-indent: -0.15in;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><b>c) TV shows</b> such as </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-indent: -0.15in;">ABC-TV’s <span style="color: blue;">“Dancing With the Stars” </span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">d) ... in a New York Times <b>article</b> titled <span style="color: blue;">"Don't Try This at Home."</span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">e) <span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">... the <b>video game</b> <span style="color: blue;">“World of Warcraft.”</span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12pt; margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: -0.15in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">f)<span style="line-height: normal;"> ...</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-indent: -0.15in;"> the <b>computer game app</b> <span style="color: blue;">"Farmville"</span> on <span style="color: blue;">Facebook</span>.</span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12pt; margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: -0.15in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">g) ... <b>websites and apps</b> like <span style="color: blue;">Facebook</span> and <span style="color: blue;">Foursquare</span>.</span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">h)<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>The dictionary is my
<span style="color: blue;">bible</span>.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">i)<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>He left his <span style="color: blue;">Bible</span> on the
chair.</i></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">j)<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->… the <b>book</b> titled <span style="color: blue;">“<span itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;">And the Mountains Echoed"</span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;"> </span></span><span class="by smallText" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-indent: 0px;">by</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;"> </span><span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;"><span itemprop="name">Khaled Hosseini.</span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;">I offer explanations below. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;">But for many of you, examples are easier than rules, so this would be a good place to stop reading if you've already got what you need.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;">(BTW, <i>app</i> is acceptable on first reference.)</span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;">***</span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;"><span itemprop="name"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;"><span itemprop="name"> If you want more, check out the explanations below. I put <span style="color: #274e13;">"no quotes" explanations </span>in forest green and <span style="color: #660000;">"yes quotes" explanations</span> in brick red, to give you some extra reinforcement in a visual manner.</span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="line-height: 12.0pt; margin-left: .4in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .4in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0px;"><span itemprop="name"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Here's a fake-logic "rule"</b> to help you remember which items <b>do<u>n't</u> get quotation marks</b>. If a name recurs every day/week/month -- as in a newspaper name, magazine name, software name, website name or app name -- <b>think of it as a proper noun</b> (a name) like John Smith or Spain. No matter <i>which day</i> you happen to pick up a periodical and look at it, the name is the same.</span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">But if the "name" changes -- that is, if the specific title of an article that appears on that day and no other -- <b>think of it as a title</b> or, as the AP Stylebook says, a "composition title." Other examples of "compositions" in AP-speak are poems, lectures and songs. They all get quotes.</span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="color: #274e13;">My fake-logic rule (Asking, "Does it recur?")</span> </b>is helpful but not consistent. It falls apart for </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #660000;">TV show names, which take quotation marks, even though "Dancing With the Stars" is always called "Dancing With the Stars." In fake-logic, think of it this way: Broadcast is different from print. </span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>What gets quotes? Think of artistry, entertainment and a plot line.</b> By plot line, I mean a sequence of events in which characters overcome obstacles. A play, a novel, a movie, an opera and even a video game usually have plot lines, and their purpose is usually entertainment. Once you think about plays, novels and video games, it's not a big leap to also add other artistic items to the list: poem titles and song titles. These all get quotes.</span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>AP's omission</b></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">The AP Stylebook does <i>not </i>specifically state that <b>column names</b> in periodicals are uppercase without quotation marks. However, at one point in time, I looked at the style used in Associated Press stories and saw that this was the case in actual use.</span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>The Chicago Manual of Style, however,</b> (which differs from AP style in some instances) specifically states that column names in periodicals are uppercase, without quotes and not in italics (as in the example I gave you at the beginning).</span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">It used to be that you couldn't look up "software titles" in the A-Z section of the AP Stylebook. Instead, you had to look at "composition titles," which is an archaic term. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Nowadays, you can find "software titles" under S as well as under "composition titles."</span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">But you still can't find "video game titles" under V or any reference at all to column names. So I offer the above list and these examples for quick reference.</span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>Lauren's tips & the 2012 edition</b></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">I hope this helps. Some of my AP style tips and tricks are original (sometimes involving what I call "fake logic"). They were created to fill in gaps in the guidance given by the AP itself, which never intended to become the de facto standard for industries outside of the news business. The AP Stylebook originally wasn't meant for the masses. </span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">However, it has since become the de facto standard for the PR industry and lately also other industries. And as of the 2012 edition, the stylebook is more reader-friendly, seemingly in recognition of its increasing popularity. Bravo, AP! </span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody" style="margin-left: 0.4in; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">If you don't have a 2012 or 2013 edition, I suggest you buy one now. I used to advise that a several-years-old stylebook is fine because very little changes from one year to the next. But the 2012 edition has a thousand and one improvements throughout, <b>plus new sections that offer really great counsel to citizen journalists</b>. I highly recommend you read the new "The Statement of News Values" and "Social Media Guidelines" sections.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">The 2013 edition is similar to the 2012. Both are good.</span></div>
Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-73204298361815209582013-08-26T14:20:00.001-07:002013-08-26T14:34:38.168-07:00What Katy Perry can teach technology PR writers<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Punchy
writing includes a seldom-taught ingredient called </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://examples.yourdictionary.com/assonance-examples.html"><span style="color: blue;"><b>assonance</b></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">. Technology PR writers who
make themselves aware of this subtlety are more likely to get compliments such
as “She makes copy sparkle” and “His copy really sings.”</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X5AGFC0DUFA/UhvJ3QvgahI/AAAAAAAAAS0/Tk4XUXADYPA/s1600/katy+perry+roar2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X5AGFC0DUFA/UhvJ3QvgahI/AAAAAAAAAS0/Tk4XUXADYPA/s320/katy+perry+roar2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large; line-height: 13.9pt;">The
usual reasons for compliments like these are shorter and more five-senses-oriented
words, sentence lengths that average 16 words, and audience-centric content
that surprises or helps with decision-making.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">But assonance
-- which includes “vowel rhyme” and is greatly helped by parallel structure --
is another reason, though it’s rarely taught.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Katy Perry uses assonance in “Roar,” </span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">as do many artists on your
favorite pop channel. For example, notice that the highlighted words don’t
rhyme but do share the same vowel sound. (This placement of assonance at the
end of the sentence is called “</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb01/articles/lyric.asp"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">vowel rhyme</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">.”)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I used to bite my tongue and
hold my <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">br<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>ea</u></b>th</span><br />
Scared to rock the boat and make a <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">m<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>e</u></b>ss</span><br />
So I sat quietly, agreed politely<br />
I guess that I forgot I had a <span style="background: lime; mso-highlight: lime;">ch<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>oi</u></b><u>c</u>e</span><br />
I let you push me past the breaking <span style="background: lime; mso-highlight: lime;">p<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>oi</u></b>nt</span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Here’s
a similar example you might find on a website:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“…<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">makes<span style="color: #666666;"> </span><u><span style="color: blue;">our job more enjoyable</span></u> and<u><span style="color: blue;"> your company more profitable</span></u>.”<span style="color: #666666;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">First, notice that both sides of the “and” are parallel in
structure</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">pronoun + noun + adverb + adjective
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">our/your + jobs/companies +
more/more + enjoyable/profitable <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Then,
notice the vowel sounds. In addition to the “uhl” sound that ends each phrase,
notice the many “O” sounds. This is assonance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
following sentence is not as easy on the ear because the two phrases aren’t
parallel or assonant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“…
makes<span style="color: #666666;"> </span><u><span style="color: blue;">tasks fun</span></u>
and <u><span style="color: blue;">our clients look great</span></u><span style="color: #666666;">.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">noun + adjective (tasks fun
– two syllables)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">pronoun + noun + verb +
adjective (our clients look great – five syllables)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
vowels are mixed: <u>A, Uh</u> and <u>Ow, “I,” Eh, oo-uh, Eh</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Even
the following sentence might be better (depending on the tone required for the
situation) because each phrase at least begins with the same two parts of
speech.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“… <u>makes
us</u> smile and <u>brings you</u> success.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">verb pronoun</span></u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> verb<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">and</span></u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">verb pronoun</span></u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> noun<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Still
more parallel: “…<u> </u>puts<span style="color: #666666;"> </span><u><span style="color: blue;">smil</span>es on our faces</u> and <u><span style="color: blue;">doll</span>ars in your pocket</u>.” Both sides have these
parts of speech in this order:<span style="color: #666666;"> </span><span style="color: blue;">noun, preposition, pronoun, noun</span><span style="color: #666666;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Notice
that “smiles” and “dollars” are both stressed on the first syllable, share an
“uhl” sound, and are the first words on each side. (Notice that spelling
doesn’t help you; it’s all in the ear.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Katy Perry
also uses parallel structure in “Roar.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: fuchsia; color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-highlight: fuchsia;">I stood for</span></b><span style="background: fuchsia; color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-highlight: fuchsia;"> nothing, so<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> I fell for</b> everything</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">– parallel contrast<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Similarly,
count the syllables in the second halves of the first two lines of her song,
and notice they each start with the same structure: [and] [verb] …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“…<u> and hold</u> my
breath.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“… <u>and make</u> a mess.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I’ve
got more examples of assonance and parallel structure to share with you, if you
like. But if you’ve got the gist, this would be a good place to stop reading.
My bottom-line advice is: <span style="color: blue;">Listen to vowels and aim for
parallel structure.</span><span style="color: #666666;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>Caveat: </b>Don't get carried away. It's nice if people say your copy really sings, but not if they say it's sing-song-y. ;-)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">***<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Here’s
an example of sounds that are at odds, albeit in a subtle way that an attuned
ear can pick up but is otherwise denotatively fine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“…
mistakes ac<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ti</b>vities for res<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ults.”<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The writer’s
goal was to contrast “activities” with “results,” but the vowels in the contrasting
words are a bit too dissimilar to go down perfectly smoothly – different number
of syllables, different sounds, different stress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Act<u>i</u>v<u>i</u>t<u>y</u>
versus res<u>ul</u>ts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>[xxx]-<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ih</b>-ih-ee
versus [xx]-<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">uhl</b>-[tz] <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">They
fight each other. The sounds “ih” and “ee” don’t go well with “uh.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Notice
the following sentence is a bit better, even though it’s not perfectly parallel
and doesn’t have really fabulous assonance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“… ch<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>a</u></b>nge your business <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">outcomes</b>, not just r<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>ai</u></b>se your<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> profile”</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In
poetry (not our goal in tech PR), vowels help create the mood, and the “ee” and
“ih” sounds often help create a harsh mood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"If
I bleat when I speak it's because I just got . . . fleeced" <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Deadwood" by Al
Swearengen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"Strips of tinfoil winking like people" <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"The Bee Meeting" by Sylvia Plath<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“Without me, without me, without me-ee-ee-ee-ee”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I Knew You Were
Trouble” by Taylor Swift<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">You don’t necessarily need assonance. </span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I don’t recommend that you
aim for it every time you write a sentence. But raising your awareness may help
you begin adding secret sauce to your writing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Personally,
I don’t strive for it, either. But I noticed recently that it serendipitously appears
and sounds pretty good. Clients of mine seem to notice that something nice is
going on, but they can’t put their finger on exactly what.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.9pt; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Even
if you choose not to pursue assonance, I recommend you aim for parallel
structure, especially in lists at the ends of sentences. For example:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“… tames
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“… gives
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">“…
gives you faster results, fosters better relationships, and <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #f79646; mso-themecolor: accent6;">catches mistakes</span></span>.”</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #666666;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-92137675689744699892013-08-23T09:02:00.002-07:002013-08-23T09:21:41.825-07:00How to approach a dreaded writing project<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i>Here's an excerpt from a note I recently sent to a colleague of a colleague who asked for writing advice. </i></span></div>
<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i>She was working in a field I normally don't help with and on a document type that's also outside my expertise. I free-associated a response that I thought might help her. </i></span></div>
<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i>The essence of her question was: <b>"How can I get started on a big writing project that intimidates me? I have a lot of knowledge, but I don't know how to channel my efforts. I feel lost."</b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><b>Top three tips</b></span></span></div>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ViUj-tsX-UY/UheL8-_9UKI/AAAAAAAAASg/gpT6HFD1K2c/s1600/messy-desk-sipress.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ViUj-tsX-UY/UheL8-_9UKI/AAAAAAAAASg/gpT6HFD1K2c/s320/messy-desk-sipress.gif" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">1. <b>Look for "turning points" </b>in the content in front of you. Comb though your initial "brain dump" and look for new decisions, rejected options, shifts in perspective, forks in the road, or the place in your story where you didn't know what would happen next (or still don't know). </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Usually, that's where you'll find </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">insights rather than a mere sequence of facts or observations. Pay the most attention to content at this point in your chronology, and dig deeper for more detail, facts and understanding of what's at stake and why it matters. Answer these questions: "Why did it matter?" and "How did I know that was true?"</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">2. <b>Look for obstacles overcome</b> and lessons learned. Show the journey from Point A to Point B, but not in chronological order. Start with the lesson learned or outcome achieved, and contrast it with the obstacles overcome, all in the same paragraph or -- when possible -- in the same sentence.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">3. <b>Make the first three words</b> in each paragraph the most "to the point" or the most 'visual, memorable, active ..." The first three to five words are where skimmers' eyes will fall, and you may be able to lure them in and glue their eyes to the page if you deliver something good from the get-go. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>About process</b></span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">4. <b>Be messy.</b> Dump your thoughts in a sloppy pile onto the page. Don't "write well." Just dump. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="color: blue;">Fragments. Ramblings. Lists.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Brainstorm questions "the audience" might be asking themselves. Don't judge. Don't fix. Allow typos. Allow wrong vocabulary and tone. The first step is to generate what I delicately spell in make-believe French as "crappe." Write crap. Let it stay crap. Don't worry --- yet. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">5. <b>Step back </b>from your brain-dump. Make a hard copy and add circles, arrows and notes in the margin as you begin to discern some order in the chaos. Then determine a structure -- as in three main points that back up your central premise. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">6. <b>Then look for holes</b>, gaps, things you *wish* you knew. Reflect. Go get more info. Add. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">7. <b>Draft. </b>Now and only now <i>begin</i> to smooth over your sentences and "write well." This is where you fix the typo and search for the most precise word. Then, after a break, delete words and shorten sentences. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">8. <b>For an ending, </b>look at your beginning. Come full circle by picking up something from the start and repurposing it for use at the end. But spend time making it short, visual, emotional, catchy -- good stuff like that. Journalists use the term "kicker." In a great feature article that is likely to be read to the end, they sometimes use their second-best quotation as an ending. Something resonant and memorable that feels good to the ear. Notice, this is not like a conclusion in an essay; instead, move your conclusion to the intro ("get to the point fast") and let your ending instead be very sensory.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>The big picture</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">9. <b>Help others.</b> I always advise looking at an organization's own long-term aspirations. Where does your organization want to be in the future, like in three to five years? How can you help it get there? I would keep those things in mind while doing the brain dump, and look for details and themes that dovetail with the organization's overarching goals.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">10. <b>Read current events.</b> Spend time developing your own thoughts about data and current events in your field. Read a lot of articles and notice your response. Look for trends, contrasts and surprises. Repeat the arrows-and-circles process, paying most attention to insights that pop out, not necessarily the facts you gather.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>Deepen, then forget.</b> Those last two -- No. 9 and No. 10 -- can help you deepen your content. But don't dwell on your findings overly much so that you're writing *about* them. Just let them prime you, ready you, inspire you, coax you into exploring your own thoughts. Then "forget" about all of that and refocus on the question you've been asked.</span>Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-36546643583204396612013-07-09T10:42:00.001-07:002013-07-10T21:27:54.235-07:00Psst, this is for you, graduates of my workshops<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f4k7U4k-nlI/UdxatIYEnmI/AAAAAAAAARA/VSEkeYLVwKo/s1600/wsj.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f4k7U4k-nlI/UdxatIYEnmI/AAAAAAAAARA/VSEkeYLVwKo/s200/wsj.tiff" width="200" /></a>If you’ve taken my classes or had one-on-one sessions with me at
your office, you’ve probably heard me talk about “the best use of best real
estate” and “the kicker.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here’s a <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324867904578592180482641220.html">fantastic
example in action</a>, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, still my favorite
icon of clear, relevant, audience-centric writing after 25 years of almost
daily reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My detailed notes are below, starting with the words "two things."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324867904578592180482641220.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324867904578592180482641220.html</a></span></span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">July 7,
2013</span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why the San Francisco Plane Crash
Wasn't More Deadly</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Quick-Thinking
Heroics, Air-Safety Gains Kept Death Toll Low</span></i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">By REBECCA SMITH, <span style="letter-spacing: .75pt; text-transform: uppercase;">JON OSTROWER</span>, </span><span style="letter-spacing: .75pt; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ANDY PASZTOR</span></span></span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Two things:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. Best real estate<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Notice that you can read just the first six words of each
paragraph – which I’ve listed for you just below -- and know what the story is
about. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You can also skim this article productively based on the “sign posts”
that let you skip directly to details about, for example, how regulatory
changes helped save lives, how the captain reacted, or how this crash compares
with others in recent history – or whatever else you want to find.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you take it down to just the first three words, most of the
“fast starts” still meet the criteria I’ve given you in my class called
“Creating Compelling Content.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here’s the list of the first six words of each paragraph. Below that you’ll find my observations about “the
kicker.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">A diminutive flight</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
attendant carried injured …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Such quick-thinking</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> heroics
in the …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">The crash left</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: yellow;"> </span>pieces
of the …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">The crash occurred</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> with
little warning …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> <span style="background-color: yellow;">
</span></span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">"We hit hard</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: yellow;"> </span>and
bounced up. …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Mr. Rah noticed</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: yellow;"> </span>that an
evacuation …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">The captain soon</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> started
screaming on …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> <span style="background-color: yellow;">
</span></span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">"She was a</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
hero," he said. …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Meanwhile, San Francisco</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
police officers at …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Aviation-safety experts</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: yellow;">
</span>said the human …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">11.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">The Asiana crash</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: yellow;"> </span>"is
the culmination …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">12.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Regulators in the</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> late
1980s mandated …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">13.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Before the advent</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> of such
stronger …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">14.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Mr. Hiatt also</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> said
improved fire-…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">15.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Enhanced crew training</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> also has
made …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">16.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Other factors helped</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> limit
the toll …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">17.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">Other high-profile</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> crashes
in recent …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">18.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">In San Francisco,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: yellow;">
</span>"everyone was fortunate …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">19.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: yellow; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;">"I'm just grateful</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I
survived," said …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. The kicker<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first person we hear from in the story is Eugene Anthony Rah,
an eyewitness of people’s reactions during the crash.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He is also the last person we hear from. And that’s my point. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"The kicker" is a resonant last line in a story that circles back to the top of the story. </span>The kicker is usually emotional, visual, catchy, repeatable, parallel in structure or involving a sharply juxtaposed contrast – usually one or more of these.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This WSJ story comes full circle by reaching back to
Mr. Rah for its ending. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Journalists sometimes debate whether their best quote for a long
feature article should be the first quote or the last quote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First human voice in the story:<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The crash occurred with
little warning for passengers. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">Eugene Anthony Rah</span></b>, a
frequent flier on Asiana who was sitting in business class, <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">said he noticed</span> the plane
was approaching too low over San Francisco Bay, then he heard an engine noise
that made him think the pilot was trying to gain elevation.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11.0pt;">"We hit
hard and bounced up. People were screaming,"</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">he recalled.</span> The plane
seemed to careen out of control, skidding sideways, before stopping. Then there
was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"total silence," </b>he
said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Last paragraph in the story:<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11.0pt;">"I'm
just grateful I survived,"</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">said Mr. Rah, the passenger.</span> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"I was 99.9% sure I was going to die. I was hoping for a 0.1%
miracle, and I got it."<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In PR, your contributed article doesn’t need to end in a quote,
but the advice is the same: Reach to the top of your story for a main point,
make it image-rich or otherwise punchy and memorable, and let that be the
ending for your article.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Four more (quick) things:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sentence length:</span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The sentences in the quotations are five or fewer words in most cases.
The longest is 11 words. The longest full quotation (the kicker, in this case)
is just 25 words in total, taking up less than two lines across the page. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pbuLsr_DkN4/UdxbO0V6VzI/AAAAAAAAARI/JQq66ZVCobQ/s1600/wsj2.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pbuLsr_DkN4/UdxbO0V6VzI/AAAAAAAAARI/JQq66ZVCobQ/s400/wsj2.tiff" width="250" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Contrast that with most press releases, Quotes are usually 80
words long, and each sentence alone often takes up two lines across the page.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why:</span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The central premise of the story answers the question “why,” which you’ve
heard me say is the most important question of all questions (why, why it matters, why care, why now, so what) -- certainly leaps and bounds more
important than <i>who, what, where, when </i>and <i>how</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Starts in the middle:</span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The first line is a hook (see just below) that meets almost all of the criteria
in the Compelling Content class. It starts in the middle of the action, not
with the chronological beginning, an introduction or background.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the first three words, bam! You are already smack-dab in
the heart of the story before you’ve even finished reading the first line across the
page.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Nut graf”:</span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The second paragraph
wraps everything up in a nut shell and answers the question: “Why read this
story and why read it now?” </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You could stop after the second graf, walk away
without finishing, accurately know the gist and purpose of the article, and be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">well enough</i> informed to join the conversation when the topic comes up during your lunch break.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11.0pt;">A diminutive flight attendant
carried injured passengers piggyback to safety while two passengers worked to
free another flight attendant pinned by an inflated emergency slide, all racing
to escape <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=020560.SE"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Asiana Airlines</span></a> Flight
214 minutes before it burst into flames.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Such quick-thinking heroics
in the minutes after the plane's spectacular crash at San Francisco
International Airport, combined with technological enhancements in recent years
that have made jetliner accidents more survivable, likely prevented Saturday's
disaster from being far more deadly, experts said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>The full article is below for your convenience. </b>Or <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324867904578592180482641220.html">click
on this link to read it at WSJ</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">****<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324867904578592180482641220.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324867904578592180482641220.html</a></span><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">July 7, 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h1 style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Why the
San Francisco Plane Crash Wasn't More Deadly</span><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 3.0pt;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Quick-Thinking Heroics, Air-Safety Gains Kept
Death Toll Low<o:p></o:p></span></i></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; border-left: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border: none; line-height: 12.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By REBECCA SMITH, <span style="letter-spacing: .75pt; text-transform: uppercase;">JON OSTROWER</span>, <span style="letter-spacing: .75pt; text-transform: uppercase;">ANDY PASZTOR</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-indent: -15.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
diminutive flight attendant carried injured passengers piggyback to safety
while two passengers worked to free another flight attendant pinned by an
inflated emergency slide, all racing to escape <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=020560.SE"><span style="color: #093d72;">Asiana Airlines</span></a> Flight 214 minutes before
it burst into flames.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Such
quick-thinking heroics in the minutes after the plane's spectacular crash at
San Francisco International Airport, combined with technological enhancements
in recent years that have made jetliner accidents more survivable, likely
prevented Saturday's disaster from being far more deadly, experts said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Broken Landing</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
crash left pieces of the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=BA"><span style="color: #093d72;">Boeing</span></a><a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=BA?mod=inlineTicker"><span style="background: #EAFAEA; border: solid #009900 1.0pt; color: #009900; mso-border-alt: solid #009900 .75pt; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">BA</span><span style="background: #EAFAEA; border: solid #009900 1.0pt; color: #009900; mso-border-alt: solid #009900 .75pt; padding: 0in;"> </span><span style="background: #EAFAEA; border: solid #009900 1.0pt; color: #009900; mso-border-alt: solid #009900 .75pt; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">+0.23%</span></a> 777
strewn about the airfield and triggered a fire that burned away much of the
plane's roof. Of the 307 passengers and crew aboard the flight from Seoul, two
died, both 16-year-old girls from among a Chinese group of students and
teachers headed to the U.S. for precollege exchange programs. More than 180
others were taken to hospitals with injuries. Two local hospitals listed 30
people still admitted as of Sunday afternoon, eight of which were in critical
condition and two paralyzed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
crash occurred with little warning for passengers. Eugene Anthony Rah, a
frequent flier on Asiana who was sitting in business class, said he noticed the
plane was approaching too low over San Francisco Bay, then he heard an engine
noise that made him think the pilot was trying to gain elevation.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"We
hit hard and bounced up. People were screaming," he recalled. The plane
seemed to careen out of control, skidding sideways, before stopping. Then there
was "total silence," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mr.
Rah noticed that an evacuation slide had inflated inside the plane, pinning a
flight attendant against the interior cabin wall. He and another passenger
tried to free the attendant, looking for something sharp with which to puncture
the slide. Another passenger eventually found a way to let the air out of the
slide. Mr. Rah said he has been in touch with the flight attendant's husband,
who said she sustained serious injuries but is improving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
captain soon started screaming on the loudspeaker for everyone to evacuate. As
other passengers began exiting the plane and emergency crews arrived, Mr. Rah
saw another flight attendant, whose name he gave as Jiyeon Kim, carrying
injured passengers down the aisle to get them off the plane.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7806755121945406765" name="U902006627566FGG"></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"She was a hero,"
he said. "This tiny, little girl was carrying people piggyback, running
everywhere, with tears running down her face. She was crying, but she was still
so calm and helping people."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Meanwhile,
San Francisco police officers at the scene had entered the plane from near the
back and made their way to the front, amid worsening smoke, said Lyn Tomioka,
deputy chief at the San Francisco Police Department. When they got to the
front, male crew members trying to help passengers called out for knives, and
the officers tossed their own knives to the men to help them cut seat belts off
passengers who were struggling to get out, Ms. Tomioka said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Aviation-safety
experts said the human toll of the crash was almost certainly reduced by
efforts of jet makers, airlines and regulators to reduce the deadliness of air
accidents—from the use of flame-retardant materials and new seats designed to
withstand tremendous force, to changes in areas such as crew training.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Asiana crash "is the culmination of what has been done over more than 20
years to help more and more passengers survive crashes," according to
Kevin Hiatt, president and chief executive of the Flight Safety Foundation, a
nonprofit group in Alexandria, Va., that advocates for safety improvements
world-wide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Regulators
in the late 1980s mandated all-new passenger planes must have seats able to
withstand stronger impacts than in the past—practices that the Federal Aviation
Administration ordered in 2005 be applied to nearly all passenger planes by
October 2009. As part of those rules, seats on jetliners must be able in tests
to survive collisions that slam them forward at 16 times the force of gravity,
or 16g, to ensure the seats don't collapse or detach from the floor. A Boeing
spokesman said the company has been delivering all its jets with 16g-rated
seats since 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before
the advent of such stronger seats, Mr. Hiatt said, the intense vertical and
horizontal force generated by a crash like Saturday's "would have caused
many more seats to break free and pancake into each other, probably blocking
exit paths."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mr.
Hiatt also said improved fire-resistant materials used on seats and other parts
of the cabin "likely helped the fire from intensifying so quickly."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7806755121945406765" name="U902006627566MZ"></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Enhanced crew training also has made a significant difference.
Cabin crews train to evacuate passengers in chaotic and unpredictable
circumstances, including being unsure which exits are safe to use. Airplanes
are designed to be evacuated in just 90 seconds, even when half the doors and
escape slides are inoperative or unavailable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Other
factors helped limit the toll of Saturday's accident. Because the plane was
landing, its speed was relatively slow, reducing the force with which it
crashed. Rescue crews used cutting-edge nozzles, equipped with cameras,
attached to the end of hoses. Firefighters were able to maneuver those nozzles
directly inside the cabin and aim the spray at the most dangerous hot spots. In
addition, some crews had equipment able to pierce the plane's aluminum fuselage
to gain better access to the fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Other
high-profile crashes in recent years have also seen many passengers escape
alive. Everyone survived a 2008 Continental Airlines flight that veered off a
Denver runway in high winds, splitting the body of the jet in two. Two
passengers died in August 2010 when an Aires Boeing 737 landed short in bad
weather at a Caribbean island, also splitting the passenger cabin into pieces.
In April, a newly delivered Lion Air Boeing 737 crashed in poor visibility
short of a runway in Bali, Indonesia; all 108 people aboard survived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
San Francisco, "everyone was fortunate that the fire didn't start
immediately, so it gave passengers time to scramble out of the plane,"
said Michael Barr, who teaches air-safety courses at the University of Southern
California.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"I'm
just grateful I survived," said Mr. Rah, the passenger. "I was 99.9%
sure I was going to die. I was hoping for a 0.1% miracle, and I got it."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—Vauhini Vara, Daniel Michaels, Ben Kesling and William
Harless contributed to this article.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Write to </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rebecca Smith
at <a href="mailto:rebecca.smith@wsj.com"><span style="color: #093d72;">rebecca.smith@wsj.com</span></a>,
Jon Ostrower at<a href="mailto:jon.ostrower@wsj.com"><span style="color: #093d72;">jon.ostrower@wsj.com</span></a> and
Andy Pasztor at <a href="mailto:andy.pasztor@wsj.com"><span style="color: #093d72;">andy.pasztor@wsj.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #7e7e7e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A version of this article appeared July 8, 2013, on page A6 in
the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Heroics and
Air-Safety Gains Kept Toll Low.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-64497741844949784212013-06-16T19:51:00.000-07:002013-06-16T19:54:29.501-07:00How to use a trademark symbol in a press release<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">
If your client is asking for guidance on the use of the trademark symbol in a press release, you are in a gray area where there's no definitive answer. </div>
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The compromise that I like is the one recommended in this <a href="http://petecodella.com/using-trademarks-in-public-relations-writing-1000565.htm" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">blog by Pete Codella, a PR consultant from Salt Lake City</a> whose post I happened upon during an open-ended Google search. </div>
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Pete cites this passage from the <a href="http://www.inta.org/Pages/Home.aspx" target="_blank"><b>International Trademark Association</b></a>: </div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">"</span><span style="color: #727272; font-family: 'Trebuchet Ms', Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The ™, SM or ® symbol </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet Ms', Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><b><i><span style="color: blue;">need only appear in the first or most prominent mention</span></i></b></span><span style="color: #727272; font-family: 'Trebuchet Ms', Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> of the mark. Omission of the ™, SM or ® symbol does not invalidate or compromise a trademark owner’s rights in a trademark. Its purpose is to alert the public to the ownership of the mark, and it is one of the primary ways to affirmatively protect a mark."</span></div>
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In my reading of this guidance, the important part is "or most prominent mention," which is open to interpretation. <span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Is the most prominent mention the headline? Or should the symbol wait for the body of the release where details are explained? You get to choose. There's no rule. Personally, I like headlines that are short and clutter-free, so I'd refrain from using the symbol there, but that's just my personal preference. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Note that you don't need the symbol at all, anywhere: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">"Omission ... does not invalidate ... rights," says the ITA.</span></div>
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Does the trademark symbol interfere with SEO? In an open-ended Google search, I couldn't find any evidence that it does, and I found a lot of anecdotal evidence that it doesn't.</div>
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I encourage you to <a href="http://petecodella.com/using-trademarks-in-public-relations-writing-1000565.htm" target="_blank"><b>read the rest of Pete's 2009 post</b></a>, which includes his informal survey of PR pros via Twitter, a conversation he had with a lawyer and what the AP Stylebook says, as well as the ITA citation above.</div>
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From personal experience as a reporter with The Associated Press, I know that in<b style="font-size: small;"> AP style</b><span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">(the PR industry's adopted style), you <b>capitalize</b> a trademarked name </span><b><i>without a TM</i></b><b><i>, SM or R symbol</i></b>.<span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"> For example, if the word "Kleenex" was used to mean "facial tissue" in a quote, it would be capitalized, even if the speaker wasn't talking about a Kleenex brand tissue. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Likewise, you Google something (with a capital G) even though you aren't talking about the company but the act of searching. In some parts of the country, people say Coke instead of soda or pop, and the term is capitalized because it's trademarked, even if they are referring to generic soda. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Those two iconic brands -- <b>Kleenex and Coke -- <i>don't</i> use TM or R symbols in their press releases</b>, by the way. I just checked a variety of releases on Business Wire and PR Newswire. However, you will <b><a href="http://www.staples.com/Facial-Tissue/cat_CL141828" target="_blank">find the R symbol on commercial websites that<i> sell</i> Kleenex and Coke</a>.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Here's what the <a href="http://www.uspto.gov/faq/trademarks.jsp#_Toc275426681" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">U.S. Trademark and Patent Office's website says</a><b> </b>about the benefits of having a registered trademark. It <b style="font-style: italic;">doesn't say how or when</b> to use the symbols, just that they "put people on notice" that you are claiming rights.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7806755121945406765" id="_Toc275426681" name="_Toc275426681" style="border: 0px; color: #031d4e; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"What are the benefits of federal trademark registration?</a></h2>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Owning a federal trademark registration on the Principal Register provides several advantages, including:</span></span><br />
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<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: disc outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Public notice of your claim of ownership of the mark;</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: disc outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A legal presumption of your ownership of the mark and your exclusive right to use the mark nationwide on or in connection with the goods/services listed in the registration;</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: disc outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court;</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: disc outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The use of the U.S. registration as a basis to obtain registration in foreign countries;</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: disc outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The ability to record the U.S. registration with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods;</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: disc outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The right to use the federal registration symbol ®; and</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: disc outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Listing in the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s online databases."</span></li>
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Speaking for myself only, I can add another thought related to the nuanced difference between marketing and PR. It borders on the philosophical, so most of you will want to stop reading here.</div>
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***</div>
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<b>The delineation between marketing communications and PR i</b>s debatable. </div>
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But I think of PR as an effort to generate third-party conversation among people who filter information through their own lenses, thereby lending credibility to information in a way that advertising and brochures cannot. </div>
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Credibility comes from the fact that these third parties don't stand to profit or otherwise benefit from an endorsement. No vested interest. I think people tend to listen with their guards down when listening to third parties, whereas they may be more guarded with a speaker who stands to profit from the outcome.</div>
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In marketing communications (ads, brochures, company Twitter streams, etc.), it's known that the profiting party is also the source of the information, so "buyer beware." Do I expect a company to volunteer information about a product feature it doesn't offer? No. Brag about bad customer service? No. Reveal hefty repair costs? No.</div>
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A TM symbol, in my mind, is the mark of a profiting party. Journalist don't use it. Friends writing to friends don't use it. Only a company with a legal interest in protecting turf uses it. </div>
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So you might leave it out of communications where you are encouraging a guards-down conversation.</div>
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Press releases fall into the category of marketing communications, not PR, even though it's usually the PR team that drafts and circulates them. A press release goes directly from the company to the public, without first being filtered by a third party. It's like an ad, brochure or company Twitter stream, so "buyer beware." </div>
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If I see a TM symbol, my "buyer beware" warning light comes on, even if it was previously off.</div>
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My question is this: If a company wants to use a press release to build its relationships with customers and prospective customers, is there any benefit to including the TM symbol? Readers don't find it elucidating or comforting; rather, it may be an annoyance or serve to remind them of the company's self-interest -- guards up!</div>
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However, if the press release is meant to be a formal stake in the ground, designating legal territory and excluding competitors, I see the benefit to including a TM symbol. It puts people on notice, as the ITA says. In this case, the primary audience would appear to be competitors and channel or retail partners, not customers.</div>
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If the decision were mine, I'd leave trademark symbols out of press releases. But I'm a former journalist, and my opinion may not be representative of the general public's. Maybe people regard the symbol as a mark of authority that boosts their faith in the product -- I don't know. </div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Either way, I'm comfortable with the ITA's "first or most prominent mention" compromise.</span></div>
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Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-33386629028729486062013-02-26T17:20:00.002-08:002014-09-16T20:40:33.666-07:00PR Workshop: Creating Compelling Content<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Here's one of the two half-day workshops I often recommend to companies and agencies hiring me for the first time. The other of the two is called <a href="http://laurenedwardssv.blogspot.com/2013/02/workshop-be-your-own-best-editor.html" target="_blank">"Being Your Own Best Editor."</a></span><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;">“Create Compelling Content” <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This class comes in three parts, with each part spiraling up to fuel the next, resulting in a powerful new point of view that makes it easier to find the best content and present it in the most compelling way.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span></b> <b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;">How to be <span style="color: blue;">newsworthy</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Two hours including 15-minute break</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What to bring</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bring your <i>own</i></span><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> team’s </span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">collateral, <i>no matter who wrote it</i>. We’ll use it as source material during the workshop. Each person should bring different information, but it’s also OK if there’s some overlap. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Best choices: <b>PR pitches, speaker abstracts, </b>case studies,<b> </b>contributed articles,<b> </b>press releases, executive memos and fact sheets.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AdYBBMD7KJs/US1e9tp7FaI/AAAAAAAAAOk/wwOVWd_P-Cg/s1600/IMG_0787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AdYBBMD7KJs/US1e9tp7FaI/AAAAAAAAAOk/wwOVWd_P-Cg/s320/IMG_0787.JPG" height="197" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Biggest takeaway</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in -13.5pt 0.0001pt 4.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What’s the internal landscape of a journalist’s mind when he or she is assessing a situation and choosing which information to lead with? How does that same framework apply to an executive's decision-making process?Participants will learn to package information for greater usefulness and higher appeal, even when a first glance suggests it might be bit of a yawner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In this session, we'll:</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Process information the way an experienced journalist does on deadline</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0in -13.5pt 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Make faster decisions about what nuggets to move up and which to bump down or leave out altogether</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recognize hidden opportunities <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">2. </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri;">How to be </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">compelling</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;">90 minutes including a 10-minute break</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;"></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What to bring</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Similar to the recommendations above in that you don't have to be the author (though that's often best, when possible). But in this case, it's best to bring somewhat longer, more complex PR documents. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Best choices: <b>award entries</b>, <b>contributed articles, NAPS releases, blog posts</b>, op-eds and pitches.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Biggest Takeaway</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What are the seven elements that glue a reader’s eyes to the page? How can they help you radically reduce word count while boosting appeal?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In this session, we'll:</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Objectively identify the seven elements</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Discover what’s missing and how to go get it</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rearrange information for higher impact</span><br />
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;"><b>3. </b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-weight: bold;">How to be </span></span><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">relevant</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;">Half hour</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What five questions will keep you on track and help you gain traction?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In this session, we'll discuss:</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Turning excessive back<i>ground</i> into as-needed back<i>story</i></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Balancing your agenda with readers’ “north star”</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Breaking old habits and using new tools in future work</span></div>
Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-37897378738091698752013-02-26T16:56:00.000-08:002014-09-16T20:41:00.670-07:00Workshop: Being Your Own Best Editor<br />
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<span class="s1">Here's one of the two half-day workshops I often recommend to companies and agencies hiring me for the first time. The other of the two is called <a href="http://laurenedwardssv.blogspot.com/2013/02/tech-pr-workshop-create-compelling.html" target="_blank">"Creating Compelling Content."</a></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>"Be Your Own Best Editor"</b></span></div>
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Writers learn to clean, tighten and brighten their own copy and reduce the need for further editing. They develop the self-awareness needed to diagnose their own challenges and make their own choices about how to improve. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eCRLRGSmfm4/US1ZddaiyjI/AAAAAAAAAOU/IgnduXWEi7s/s1600/IMG_0814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eCRLRGSmfm4/US1ZddaiyjI/AAAAAAAAAOU/IgnduXWEi7s/s320/IMG_0814.JPG" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
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The emphasis is on process. Participants find out why they sometimes write for an hour and still have nothing on the page, why proofreading is <i>even</i> harder than they realized, and ways to prevent those and other problems in the future.</div>
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<b>Best to bring:</b> <span class="s2"><i>early drafts</i> </span>of contributed articles, speaker abstracts, award submissions, media pitches, press releases, blog posts and case studies.</div>
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<b>Part 1: Self-diagnosis </b>– 2 hours, includes 10-minute break</div>
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Rewrites with feedback are part of the self-discovery process.</div>
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Assessment covers: </div>
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<span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>construction (verb quality, sentence shape, etc.)</div>
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</div>
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<span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>energy (news value, subtle tension, relevance) – <i>See also CCC class</i></div>
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<span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>structure (skimmers v. listeners, use of best “real estate”) – <i>See also CCC class</i></div>
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<span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>voice (tone, vocabulary, gatekeeper preferences) </div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Part 2: Mechanics </b>– 1 hour, includes 5-minute break</div>
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Find out the most common grammar and usage mistakes unknowingly committed by experienced business professionals, with emphasis on clearing up confusion.</div>
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Topics include: <span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>Commas are <i>not </i>pauses <span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>The two – Count ‘em! Only two! – rules of capitalization <span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>Semicolons: Don’t use them unless you have a license issued by Lauren ;-) <span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>Home v. hone, flesh v. flush, pique v. peak, which v. that, etc. <span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>British v. American English</div>
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<b>Part 3: Process </b>– 1 hour, includes 5-minute break</div>
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Learn to be both messy and tidy, as needed, in the right places at the right times. For best results, writers and editors need a keen awareness of “who’s driving” during specific phases of the process – their inner creator or their inner censor.</div>
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Topics include:</div>
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<span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>Why humans are bad proofreaders and what to do about it </div>
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<span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>When to apply voice preferences </div>
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<span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>Tightening tips </div>
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<span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>How to bust through writer’s block </div>
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<span class="s3">•<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span>What steps to emphasize when the deadline is near</div>
Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-86027552190731280902012-12-05T22:32:00.003-08:002013-01-29T21:26:51.227-08:00Tell the story out of order -- here's why & howHere's an oldie but goodie -- a page from one of my earliest workshop handouts.<br />
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I heard from someone today who had taken a class from me in the early- to mid-2000s. He said he kept some of my handout pages pinned up for regular inspiration but now can't find them.<br />
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I rummaged a bit in my digital archives and uncovered this advice for telling stories out of order. Move up what's compelling, and bump down the backstory and introduction.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l_AKAxTTQ1E/UQiu6E4DBjI/AAAAAAAAAOE/UWZbSq_D61g/s1600/di.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l_AKAxTTQ1E/UQiu6E4DBjI/AAAAAAAAAOE/UWZbSq_D61g/s640/di.jpg" width="633" /></a></div>
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<br />Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-79727343577127514632012-04-30T18:49:00.002-07:002012-12-13T11:25:00.588-08:00For PR pros: How to read a journalist<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal;">Occasionally yelled at and hung up on by journalists
on deadline, PR professionals know there are right and wrong ways to persist in
pursuit of a news reporter’s attention.</span></strong></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PPlMqIekgMw/T59D3XA_DRI/AAAAAAAAAI4/ssHk0J_rWtY/s1600/press+pic.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PPlMqIekgMw/T59D3XA_DRI/AAAAAAAAAI4/ssHk0J_rWtY/s200/press+pic.png" width="164" /></a><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal;">Most mentors tell you to read several of a reporter’s
previous articles before making contact. But they rarely tell you what, in
particular, to look for while reading</span></strong><i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal;">I suggest you ask these questions while doing your research.</span></strong><i><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">(1)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">How many sources did the reporter use?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">(2)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">What’s in motion?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">(3)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">What remains to be seen?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">(4)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">What kinds of words did the reporter choose?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;">1. How many sources did
the reporter use?</span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">This question helps you determine whether
the reporter poured his (or her) heart into a story. If not, don’t spend a lot
of time studying it. Reporters quickly tap out some stories just to get them
out of the way. Signs of this: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">cites just one or two sources (compared to six or so for a good
story)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">lists but doesn't interpret statistics<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">fails to add colorful or emotive language, instead offering facts
without anecdote or narrative</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><u>Advice:</u> Pay less attention to
stories that the reporter himself paid less attention to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;">2. What's in motion?</span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Look for words like "on
the rise," “becoming _____er” and “shifting.” Look for depictions of
anything that is changing character, shape or approach, or getting bigger or
smaller.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">For example, an article on phishing (luring Internet
users to bogus websites where they will give up passwords) noted that big banks
have long been top targets, <em>but lately</em> smaller banks are being
targeted, too. Another article said phishers were <em>becoming harder</em> to
detect. Another said the approach was <em>shifting</em> from scattershot to
precisely targeted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<u style="font-size: 15px;">Advice:</u><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> Pay closer attention to whatever is changing –
the topics that are in motion – than to static factoids. Change is inherently more newsy and likely to remain of interest in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;">3. What remains to be
seen?</span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> (This is the really
important one.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Pay extra attention to where
the reporter has raised questions, identified obstacles or said something like
“only time will tell,” “no one knows if …” or “it remains to be seen whether …”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><b>Look for the edge of the
cliff,</b> so to speak, the place where the reporter can no longer acquire more
knowledge because there isn’t any, or so he thinks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">For example, one article said
IM and peer-to-peer networks <span style="background-color: yellow;"><i>might</i> supplant
email as the </span><i><span style="background-color: yellow;">next major </span>vehicles</i>
for phishers. Another said efforts to fold phishing security into spam security
<i style="background-color: yellow;">might not work because </i>spam
filters mostly look for previously blacklisted URLs, and phishers
dismantle bogus sites within hours or days of putting them up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">When these articles
were published (a while ago, I confess), <span style="background-color: yellow;"><i>the
reporter didn’t know</i> </span>for sure whether there’d be an explosion of phishing
via IM and peer-to-peer networks – that remained to be seen. The reporter <i>didn’t know</i> whether new security efforts
would work.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span><br />
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Addendum (12/13/12): </b></span>Here's more recent <b><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324296604578175701069249008.html?mod=djemMM_t" target="_blank">example from a WSJ story</a>.</b> </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="font-size: medium;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="background-color: yellow;">What happens next remains unclear. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Some of the industry's top bankers, executives and analysts are </span><span style="background-color: yellow;">puzzling </span><span style="background-color: white;">over Mr. Ergen's next move. Dish said Tuesday it will "consider its strategic options and the optimal approach to put this spectrum to use.</span></i></span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Mr. Ergen's next move will be closely watched by the reporters who wrote this story. This is the edge of their cliff. They don't know what will happen next, but the moment they do, they will write about it.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Similarly, keep your eye out
for what is <i>anecdotally becoming evident</i>
but is <i>not yet backed</i> by a body of
supporting statistics or expert confirmation. Look for what's still fuzzy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Does your client have anything
that could help a reporter <i>connect these
fuzzy dots</i>?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">For example, if your client is an authority on <em>digital
signatures</em> and if the "how" behind that technology is an answer
to the security shortcomings of simply blacklisting URLs (as in the previous example above), then these details <em><span style="font-style: normal;">might</span></em><i> </i>be a good hook for the first line of your pitch. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<u style="font-size: 15px;">Advice:</u><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> Start your
conversation in the middle. The first line of your pitch can pick up where the
reporter left off.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;">4. What kinds of words
did the reporter choose?</span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Look for discretionary
vocabulary that reveals the writer's "ear," or literary and
syntactic preferences. Jot down examples and listen to how they sound. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">For example, one reporter liked <em>bogus, dump, lure</em>
and <em>dupe</em>. He could just as easily have written <em>false or counterfeit
</em>instead of bogus,<em> jettison or dispose </em>in place of dump,<em> attract or entice </em>in
place of lure, or <em>mislead or deceive </em>instead of dupe. But he didn’t
-- this writer liked the style and sound of the first list. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Listing these preferred words when you notice them
helps you see similarities and patterns that can help you adopt a comparable
voice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<em><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><b><u>Caveat:</u></b></span></em><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><b> </b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">It's
always best to be yourself and write in a style you can consistently maintain</span>
throughout your dialogue. Genuine is better than clever, but if you can be
both, go for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<u style="font-size: 15px;">Advice:</u><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> Notice how his words sound and, when sensible,
use words with a similar tone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;">What next? How to use
what you discovered <o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The first question (“number
of sources/poured heart out”) helps you filter out stories less helpful to your
research on a particular reporter. Skip over those.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The second and third
questions (“motion” and “unknown”) show you the reporter’s own agenda, the
places where he may appreciate your client’s help <i>moving a story forward</i>. Start your email abruptly with those
specifics. No need for background or chit-chat. Hook him first with data or
observations you retrieved from what he thought was the gulf beyond the edge of
the cliff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The fourth question helps you
in the final stage of polishing your email and, to a lesser degree, in the
early draft phase. Appealing to a reporter’s own ear may help put him at ease,
leaving him slightly more receptive to your thoughtful assistance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">You still need to meet all
the usual criteria for a good pitch. But you’re more likely to entice a
reporter if you’ve mapped yourself to his agenda, rather than dumped
information helter-skelter onto his desk in hopes he will sift through and recognize
something of value.</span></div>
Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-15632450468446724032012-03-11T14:26:00.028-07:002012-05-31T14:40:38.715-07:00Peek Behind Curtain at Workshop in Session<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e_hFPKadC58/T2J_72r8B2I/AAAAAAAAAIM/2fVly4ZDDqw/s1600/IMG_0787.JPG" style="font-weight: normal;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720275142982764386" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e_hFPKadC58/T2J_72r8B2I/AAAAAAAAAIM/2fVly4ZDDqw/s320/IMG_0787.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 198px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">
<b>Lively and hands-on</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">, my writing and editing workshops for PR writers, engineers and others in the high-technology industry involve very little lecture. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">There's no critiquing; I don't even own a red pen. I've got something more effective: tools that I created, refined and updated over 12 years to help already-capable business professionals </span><b>break old habits</b> and <b>speed their creation</b> of anything from blogs to reports for executives.<br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #c0504d; font-family: Georgia;">Your work, not "make-work"</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #c0504d; font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></b></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The focus is on </span><b>process</b>, yours. Attendees bring in their own source material -- usually PR pitches, online news articles, award submissions, case studies or reports. This means you are doing work that is <b>practical and relevant</b>, not "taking a class."</div>
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<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">People hire me so their agency or company can </span><b>make more money or promote a cause</b>. My workshops help you advance your own business goals, gain traction with customers and save time.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">
<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #c0504d; font-family: Georgia;">By Popular Demand</span></b> </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The outline below describes what has </span><b>emerged as my most popular</b> four-hour workshop. I cut and pasted it from a document that I sent to a new client just this afternoon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%;">
<span style="font-size: 100%;">I pride myself on <b>customizing</b> classes to suit your team's specific challenges, but this particular class has turned out to be <b>universally effective</b>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 100%;">The emphasis is on identifying the best content and moving it to the right place in your document, or recognizing what "compelling" is so that you can go get the right stuff in the first place. But the techniques also dramatically reduce word count, so they are excellent editing tools as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenedwardssv">Check me out on LinkedIn</a></b> to see some of the <b style="font-weight: normal;">other classes</b> I created, all in response to actual business problems.</span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: #b2a1c7; font-family: Georgia;">*******************</span><span style="color: #b2a1c7; font-family: Times; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">“Creating Compelling Content” – detailed workshop outline<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">All three of the workshop sections described below are interactive and include examples. Each builds upon the next; that is, the newsworthiness section is required for the compelling content section, and both are required for the final section on relevance. Similarly, the second section is not complete until the third section has been completed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">In each section, writers will use the tools and criteria described below to arrive at better decisions in their own writing process, while using agency and client documents as source material. Each person will write several times throughout the workshop and receive feedback. The emphasis is on striving for new standards and breaking old habits, not critiques of past work or make-work.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">1.</span></b><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">How to be </span></b><b><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">newsworthy</span></b><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">: Use </span></b><b><span style="background-color: white; color: green; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">“binoculars”</span></b><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;"> and </span></b><b><span style="background-color: white; color: green; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">“PDAs”</span></b><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., including a 10-minute break after the first hour</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">What to bring</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Attendees should </span><b><span style="color: red; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">bring <i>their own</i></span></b><i><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;"> team’s </span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">collateral with them, <i>no matter who wrote it</i>. We’ll use it as source material. Each person can bring different information, but it’s OK if there’s some overlap. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Best choices: <b>PR pitches, speaker abstracts, </b>case studies,<b> </b>contributed articles,<b> </b>press releases, executive memos and fact sheets.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Biggest takeaway</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">What’s the internal landscape of a journalist’s mind when he or she is assessing a situation and choosing which information to lead with? What can we borrow from that kind of thinking to better promote our own causes in writing? How can we package information for high appeal, even if at first glance it doesn’t look compelling or like “news,” without resorting to hype or giving a false impression?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">In this session, attendees will learn and practice:</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Processing information the way an experienced journalist does</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Making faster decisions about what nuggets to move up and which to bump down or leave out altogether</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11.5pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Recognizing hidden opportunities in your material<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">2. </span><span style="font-size: 100%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">How to be </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">compelling</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">: Use </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: green; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">seven criteria</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;"> to “pan for gold”</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">10:55 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., including a 10-minute break<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
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<b style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">What to bring</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Attendees should bring <i>their own team’s </i>collateral with them, <i>no matter who wrote it</i>. We’ll use it as source material. Each person can bring different information, but it’s OK if there’s some overlap. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Best choices: <b>award entries</b>, <b>contributed articles, NAPS releases, blog posts</b>, op-eds and pitches.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Biggest Takeaway</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">What are the seven elements that glue a reader’s eyes to the page? How can they help us radically reduce word count while boosting appeal?</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">In this session, attendees will learn and practice:</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Objectively identifying the seven elements</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Discovering what’s missing and how to go get it</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Rearranging information for higher impact</span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;"><b>3. </b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt; font-weight: bold;">How to be </span></span><b style="font-size: 100%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">relevant</span></b><b style="font-size: 100%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">: </span></b><b style="font-size: 100%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: green; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;">Five questions</span></b><b style="font-size: 100%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt;"> home in on your audience</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">What five questions will keep you on track and help you gain traction?</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">In this session, attendees will practice:</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Turning excessive back<i>ground</i> into as-needed back<i>story</i></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Balancing your agenda with readers’ “north star”</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.5pt;">Breaking old habits and using new tools in future work </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
</div>Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-32551597111087347852011-12-25T19:00:00.000-08:002011-12-25T20:13:17.497-08:00What to do when you have writer's block<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GS1904e0Wkc/Tvfwt2YA5aI/AAAAAAAAAHs/2Jd2RE2kH4M/s1600/calvin.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 296px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GS1904e0Wkc/Tvfwt2YA5aI/AAAAAAAAAHs/2Jd2RE2kH4M/s320/calvin.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690281324686927266" /></a><br /><div>Writer's block?</div><div><br /></div><div>Please allow me to suggest a couple of remedies. In my 10 years as a corporate writing coach, I've seen hundreds of people get unstuck using both of these approaches.</div><div><br /></div><div>(1) List questions from the audience's perspective.</div><div><br /></div><div>(2) List your ideas as fragments rather than full sentences.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Why list questions</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Writer's block often comes from failing to adequately "pre-write" -- that is, to think critically and do research before settling in to begin composing. If you pause to imagine yourself in your audience's shoes and think from <i>their</i> perspective about your topic, it can be helpful to simply list questions that you think the audience might ask. This can jump-start an effective pre-writing effort that, once initiated, is likely to flow readily and will feel to you like intuition. </div><div><br /></div><div>It could be that you have writer's block because you simply weren't ready to begin.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Why write fragments</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Another common reason for writer's block is self-censoring too early in your writing process. Have you ever typed eight words across the page, then backspaced to delete three of them, typed two more, then backspaced over five, and so on? You can work for a half-hour like this and end up with a grand total of four words on the page.</div><div><br /></div><div>We've all been there at some time or another, right?</div><div><br /></div><div>Or worse still, you sit there just staring, unable to compose a first sentence while your mind races, unproductively creating and rejecting possibilities in rapid succession.</div><div><br /></div><div>In these cases, try writing in fragments instead of sentences. This will release your over-active censor. Misspelled word? Fine. Wrong tone? No prob. Incomplete thought? All of these are OK while listing your ideas as fragments. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>When bad is in fact good</b></div><div><br /></div><div>No need to make a pretty sentence ... yet. Really, it's too early for that. You should be in "free-writing" mode, not "re-writing" mode. Free-writing means slapping it all down without finessing the details. In this phase, you have permission to write what I delicately spell in make-believe French as "crappe." Let me say it again: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bird-Some-Instructions-Writing-Life/dp/0385480016">You have permission to write "crappe."</a> (wink wink)</div><div><br /></div><div>The act of listing your ideas as fragments breaks the unhelpful brainwave pattern that comes with editing/censoring/rewriting. Instead, you'll slip without noticing into a different brainwave pattern conducive to creating rather than polishing. Again, as with Remedy No. 1 above, you'll find yourself in the flow and enjoying a feeling of writing intuitively.</div><div><br /></div><div>These tips are like diving boards. Once you rise up and break the surface with either of these deliberate acts, you will find your natural buoyancy and enjoy new momentum and freedom.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you want examples, check out this <a href="http://laurenedwardssv.blogspot.com/2009/11/qt-no-1-dont-write-in-full-sentences.html"><b>previous related post</b></a>.</div><div><br /></div>Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-84335481725985332132011-11-12T09:02:00.000-08:002011-11-12T23:05:34.597-08:00Commas are *not* pauses<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_RZHPllYdm0/Tr6oUyYbQnI/AAAAAAAAAGs/zVMR0EfGK_A/s1600/BOOK.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_RZHPllYdm0/Tr6oUyYbQnI/AAAAAAAAAGs/zVMR0EfGK_A/s200/BOOK.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674157655608476274" /></a>This <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Associated-Press-Guide-Punctuation/dp/0738207853/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321118059&sr=1-1">$10.95 book by René Jacques Cappon of The Associated Press</a> is neither remedial nor scholarly. It's a slim, practical, example-filled, in-between sort of book that business professionals and other writers can quickly skim.<br /><br /><b>Second-grade teacher's good intentions gone awry</b><div><br /></div><div>The chapter on commas alone is well worth the price of the book and then some. I'm not exaggerating when I say this chapter will change your professional life.<b><br /></b><div><br /></div><div>Here's why: Many of us learned in first or second grade that a comma is a pause. Our teacher fed us this fallacy because we were new to the written word and, while scrawling our first sentences in unsteady handwriting, we had to be reminded incessantly to apply a period, a space and then a capital letter. (I have volunteered in elementary schools for several years now, so it's fresh in my mind how much children struggle to remember those seemingly arbitrary details.)<br /><br />Then, after we get the period-space-capital pattern down, our teacher throws a new form of punctuation at us, the comma. We're startled and we feel betrayed. Our teacher kindly explains, "The period is a full stop and the comma is a pause." We relax a bit and obediently try to apply the new punctuation mark.<br /><br /><b>Hence, the willy-nilly application of commas</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, that's the last time most of us hear anything about commas. Consequently, as grownups now writing professional documents, we apply commas willy-nilly whenever the voice inside our own head hears what could be identified as a pause.<br /><br />Nooooo!<br /><br />Every comma has a reason for being. Commas are not subjective. They are not pauses.<br /><br />What makes the elementary-school fallacy particularly destructive is the fact that we don't all hear pauses in the same places. We each have our own syntax, usually without being aware of it. The <a href="http://laurenedwardssv.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-not-to-channel-your-inner-henry.html">typical rookie editor</a> tampers with other people's commas, forcing them into spots where they hear a pause and removing them from places where they don't. This is a waste of your company's time and demoralizing to the person whose work you're editing.<br /><br /><b>Top students use this book</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This book, "The Associated Press Guide to Punctuation," will clarify things for you, primarily through examples. Hooray! *Finally*, your ambivalence and errors can be put to rest.<div><br />I create and give writing and critical-thinking workshops, including a few different kinds of classes related to copy editing. I use this book only with <a href="http://laurenedwardssv.blogspot.com/2010/08/dont-edit-for-error-edit-for.html">my top copy-editing students</a>.<br /><br /><b>Disclosure/clarification: </b>I worked for the AP in the early to mid-1990s, but I <span style="font-weight:bold;">don't </span>make any money from the sale of this book. In fact, it was published in 2003, about seven years after I left The AP (and three years after I had already become a writing coach in Silicon Valley.)</div></div></div>Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806755121945406765.post-70403859902281993752011-11-03T19:10:00.000-07:002011-11-12T11:12:44.977-08:00Press releases: A necessary evil & how to use them<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XhLrqz4fA0k/TrN-cZtot4I/AAAAAAAAAGc/PaUwFbeZ79Y/s1600/press_release.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 127px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XhLrqz4fA0k/TrN-cZtot4I/AAAAAAAAAGc/PaUwFbeZ79Y/s200/press_release.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671015382193321858" /></a><br />Corporate press releases -- <span style="font-weight:bold;">ugh</span>. Raise your hand if you agree.<br /><br />Let's face it, most corporate press releases aren't newsworthy, compelling or relevant to readers, often because <a href="http://laurenedwardssv.blogspot.com/2009/12/press-releases-fix-your-broken-approval.html">the approval process is excessive</a>.<br /><br />Unsurprisingly, surveys repeatedly have shown that top-notch news media hardly ever use press releases for sourcing stories.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">That said, press releases do in fact have great value for corporations</span> -- internally, that is. They may trigger the start of an internal process involving multiple departments, catalyzing people in a variety of functions and aligning them around common business objectives. Once the approval process for a press release is complete, there's consensus. And if there isn't consensus, there's a new awareness of divisive issues or not-well-thought-out questions that may not have come to light so quickly.<br /><br />A press release is a stake in the ground. It's a public statement of what a company does, believes or intends, with the help of which partners and for whom. It's useful for archiving. You can look at press releases posted on a company's website to see where it's been.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">If you work in PR, I suggest writing an email pitch </span>tailored to a specific news reporter, emphasizing information that your own research tells you will be useful to that particular news reporter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">In the last line, include a link to the press release</span>, inviting the reporter to have a look at it for further information. It's unlikely the press release alone will be of interest, so I recommend including it but not relying on it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Caveat: Earnings releases and other financially relevant </span>announcements are the exception. These have external news value because they influence the decisions of people outside the company who buy and sell stocks, as well as help the company fulfill SEC requirements for proper disclosure.Lauren Edwards of Silicon Valleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01989042483719059591noreply@blogger.com