B2B communications

I’m often asked, “What’s the biggest mistake people make when they write?” The answer? They simply start writing – and fail to do their best thinking first. Here’s a fix: Before you start to write anything, always take a moment to answer these six questions: WHAT is the point? WHO will be interested in this? […]

1. Circle every weak “to be” verb: be, am, is, are, was, were. Rewrite as many as you can using action verbs. 2. Make two sentences out of one long sentence. 3. Circle every pronoun: he, she, it, we, they, them. Which ones confuse? Rewrite those sentences. 4. Highlight every general statement. Which can you replace with something colorful […]

Have you ever attended an event with a cadre of amazing speakers – one after the next – that still felt a bit stilted? Disjointed? Disorganized? Even downright awkward? Maybe that’s because the emcee was far less than exceptional. As a speechwriter, speech coach and author, I’ve been asked more than once to emcee professional […]

Have you ever heard a public speaker say these things? “Look at this chart on the screen. You probably can’t read it, but …” Or how about this? “I’m a numbers guy, so I apologize now if this seems a little complicated.” Or this? “I’ll be throwing a lot of data at you, so get […]

Hammered hard into my head during journalism school was the Write Tight mantra.  Back then paper didn’t stretch; the online world didn’t exist. So your story had to fit the space on the page.  Only seven column inches? Then maybe you had 250 words. Not 300 words. Not 350 words. Just 250. So Write Tight […]

Do you rely on electronic communication as your “first touch” when marketing to prospective customers or clients? If so, consider applying Robert Cialdini’s Six Principles of Influence when crafting your message, and see if you get better results. Every day HR pros around the country recruit “passive” candidates by sending targeted emails and LinkedIn messages […]

I’m often asked, “What are the most common errors you see people make when they write?” Here are the top three I’ve run across repeatedly this week. Goof 1: Writing “it’s” when you really mean “its” (or vice versa) Remember: The word “it’s” is a contraction for “it is.” And the word “its” is the […]

My colleague and I left a bit exuberant after a three-hour meeting with a client Friday. We’d wanted to map out an initial strategy for this year’s direct-mail campaign – and we left with that in hand and much more. It was one of those meetings where idea after idea came flowing, and each person’s […]