Repository of advice for science and technology PR/marketing pros. This blog began in 2009 and has since moved to www.writeculture.com
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
How to gain relevance with your target audience
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Magic unveiled: To edit well, turn off brain
- Instead of learning proofreading and grammar, Eagle Eyes learn the "brain off" and "hot zone" techniques, which attack root causes of errors.
- Training includes "muscle memory" exercises in which trainees learn to enter the right mindset on demand.
I call this special brand of magic the "brain off" and "hot zone" techniques. I'll describe one now and save the other for a later post.
"Turn my brain off? Where's the switch?"
Notice that you can understand what's below even though it's rife with errors.
To keeep up wth th wolrd and the ecnomy, innoavtion ins't enoguh; creatviity is aslo rquired, he says. "Innovtaion is suvrival in the prceivd wrold--maikng somtheing new in the exstng sistym. To be creativ is to thnik abuot a neew systim," said Luc de Brabandere, athuor of "The Forgtten Half of Chnage: Acheeving Graeter Craetviity Thourgh Cheanges in Percption" (Dearborn Trade Pubilshnig, May 2005). Anti-lock breaks stem from inovation. The comptr muose and Stabruck's and Coka-Cola's use of ther bradns to get into muzik sales come from creativity.
Now have a look at this link. It's about Betty Edwards' "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain." In Eagle Eye class, I ask trainees questions about pictures from this book.
My point: Our brain is designed to keep us from seeing things as they really are. It "fixes" what's wrong so that we can smoothly absorb the gist without getting hung up on glitches.
It's not your fault; DNA conspires against you
This means we are born to be really bad proofreaders. It's genetic. We can't help it. All of us are bad.
To counter this, we need to find our brain's "off" switch and commandeer it.
In the first couple weeks of Eagle Eye classes (twice a week, an hour each time), I give trainees exercises that teach them to "turn their brain off" so that they can see things as they really are. Visual artists do this all the time. Proofreaders must do it, too, but most people don't know that.
Sit-ups, push-ups for "brain off" decathletes
The exercises include reading things backward and circling subsets of letters in paragraphs of gibberish. Immediately on the first day, trainees feel the sensation. It's a lot like driving on autopilot -- you know, where you zone out and don't remember the last couple of miles. Through practice, trainees learn to commandeer the on/off switch and keep it off even though it keeps trying to pop back on again.
There's more, but we'll save it for another post.
Become an Eagle Eye fan
The next training session begins July 22. Check out our Facebook fan page to find out what some of the veterans are telling the new recruits.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Calling all Eagle Eyes! Got advice and encouragement for new recruits?
- What do you wish you'd known from the start?
- How is the program different from what you initially expected?
- How has EE experience altered your career path or relationships with team members?
- What surprised you?
- What's the biggest misconception about Eagle Eyes?
- What was more fun than you thought it would be? What was harder?
- What else is on your mind?