Blog
What Does Customer 💗 Look Like?
(If you like cheesy 1980’s music, put on this song while reading.) Last Monday night, my wife and I were tired following an active weekend of camping and hiking and then a full day of work. Because we had not gotten to our usual weekend tasks, we were planning an...
10 Tips for a Great Business Email
How long do you take to decide whether to open an email? Probably not long—recent research reports that it takes as little as three seconds for us to determine it’s okay to ignore an email and move on. Some emails get opened because of who sent them—your boss, a...
When to Stop Selling (Hint: Don’t)
Why did the PolitcalWire blog run an article in mid-March this year called "Joe Biden's 2021 Campaign"? What's he running for? Here are my take and the lesson that business communicators should draw from it. The COVID-19 relief bill that passed the House and the...
What’s Sexy about Business Writing?
Good business writing is seductive. It pleases the eye. It begins by hinting at something good to come, then strategically draws the reader to the parts that most need attention. Good writing is clear about what it wants; it makes offers and demands. It is attentive...
This Time It’s Personal
Remember the British politician whose kids barged into his study while he was on a video interview with the BBC? Try not to laugh when his daughter marches in like she owns the place. And that was *before* the pandemic when we’ve all risked—or welcomed—blending our...
Opening Possibilities
Last week, Sharon and I were watching a rom-com to unwind after a long workday. The hapless lead, eyeing an attractive target across the room at a party, fumbled the pickup line. “Is that your opening?” was the scornful reply from the object of the poorly-delivered...
Tips for Communicating with Press or Analysts
In the words often attributed to (apparently wrongly) to U.S. President Harry Truman, “If you want a friend [in Washington], get a dog.” If Give ’Em Hell Harry ever said that, in my imagination he was thinking at least in part about the press. And of course, with 24/7...
Insights: Guy Kawasaki – Leading Through the Tech Revolution
Last week, I had the great pleasure of attending the SPU 2019 Downtown Business Breakfast with several clients and colleagues. We heard from successful entrepreneur and investor, Guy Kawasaki about how to breakthrough in the tech revolution. He worked on the original...
Word Choice Wednesday : Irrespective vs. Regardless
On the 15th episode of Word Choice Wednesday, we’re going back to the original model this week: comparing synonyms. This time we are looking at the words irrespective versus regardless. We are not touching “irregardless;” it is a real word, but chances are you are...
An economy of words: the secret to preventing eyes from glazing over
Have you ever asked someone a simple question and received a long, drawn-out answer? Did you feel your eyes glaze over at about 20 seconds in? Perhaps you’ve opened an email and decided not to read it because it was too long. How many social media videos do you watch...