Greetings. Great to see you again. I could do with cheering up and some company. Forgive me if my wit this week fails to spark.
I don’t know if you have noticed but I have lost a devotee recently. One of my followers has decided that he, or she, has learnt enough and has moved on. I am sure he or she will be back when he or she realises that this is the hottest place to be on the blogosphere. And I can assure you that you will be welcomed back with open arms.
I hope you are enjoying this week’s episode of global warming. Perhaps the eco mentalists are right after all. Let’s wait and see, shall we? It is summer after all. It is meant to be hot and sunny. Though it is Wimbledon fortnight and before global warming was invented, we used to get rain and Cliff Richard. Given this maybe global warming is a price worth paying.
I was cycling across town the other day to my top secret State bunker and while jousting with the bendy buses I was feeling a tad overwhelmed by the business challenges myself and my team were facing. It is not easy trying to protect the public 24x7. I would love to share with you the range of marketing programmes we are developing but too much information at this stage would be a threat to national security and so I must continue to shoulder my burden alone.
I am sure that there will have been times when you too will have been faced with a challenge which at first glance seems large, overwhelming and intimidating. It will seem of such a scale that you will not know where to start. This was my dilemma. The answer came to me while I was dressed in my Speedos. And I want to share my solution with you, though it is not necessary to don Speedos to participate.
At least once a week, when the State can spare me, I like to don my Speedos and go for a swim. It is a vain attempt to keep fit, slim and lithe. I am not one for splashing around but commit to trying doing 30 lengths. And while it is getting easier to swim that distance when you start every session 30 lengths does seem like a very large number, a very long way. The trick is not to think of it as 30 lengths but to break it down into much smaller chunks and aim to complete these chunks. It is also worth remembering and focusing on how much you have done, not far you still have to go.
I have a similar technique when I go for a run, which I do do from time to time. You will now be getting the impression that my body is well toned, muscular and lean. You are close but that is not the point I want to make. This is not about me. When running you can again be overwhelmed by the distance to go. I don’t focus on that. Instead I quite literally focus on finding something on the road about 20 yards in front of me and when I reach that I find something else and so on. My focus is not on running 5 miles but on running the next 20 yards. In that way for me the run is so much easier. My strategy is to run 5 miles. My tactics are to run it in 20 yard chunks. And for the record I would like to point out that I do not stop every 20 yards to take a breather.
Do you see what I am saying and how it might be applied day to day in your business? If my approach to my sporting career can be applied to the work place, and I believe it can, then that challenge you are facing will no longer seem as challenging or as intimidating or as overwhelming as you first thought. The key is breaking it up into small, manageable and bite size chunks and focusing on dealing with it chunk by chunk, celebrating success as you go along and recognising to yourself and to those around you, how far you have come, the progress that is being made, not on how far you still have to go, what still has to be achieved.
In business, in life, in the pool, big challenges are only a series of very small challenges. I don’t know about you but when faced with the choice of sink or swim, I know what choice I am always going to make. And that is why I am now going to make sure that while understanding the big picture, my 5 mile run, I will also make sure I understand the pieces that make up the jigsaw, my 20 yard focus. And no Speedos or running shoes required.
Is it only me?
Have you noticed how the way people walk has changed? Look carefully. People no longer walk like they used to, purposefully and single mindedly to their destination. Nowadays people walk and talk or walk and blackberry, their attention somewhere else. Instead of striding they drift. Pavements get clogged with people chatting, texting or whatever, getting in the way and slowing down the traffic around them. And it is even worse if they are doing this while toting a trolley dolly behind them.
Walking really is becoming a health hazard, especially around tube stations when people will suddenly stop at the top of the escalators to pick up messages and texts unreceivable below ground, causing a commuter tail back. And this is compounded by those stopping suddenly to light up just as they reach the fresh air. An irony in itself.
I would like to suggest that to relieve the problem special lanes are set up to separate those who dawdle while preoccupied with their mobile devices from those who want to walk with purpose and focus, just like the slow and fast lanes you get in the swimming pools or at supermarkets. I do think the self appointed guardians of our health and safety should investigate before an accident happens.
What do you think?
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
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Saturday, 27 June 2009
Sunday, 21 June 2009
A winning mind
Salve.
Some weeks are good, some are middling, some could have gone better. Last week for Cicero could have been better but Cicero is not going to dwell here on what happened. Instead he will focus yet again on providing you with intelligent wit and keen insight. As always I hope it helps.
I read a book this week. Now don’t all cheer at once, I can and do read the learning from others if I think it might help and stretch my mind. I know it’s unlikely but from time to time I do come across a book that does. This one did and I thought I would share some of my new found learning with you.
The book I read, and it was in normal sized print, with a long and complex sentence construction and with no pictures, was written by a leading sportsman and set out to explore the parallels between training for a major sporting competition or running a business, big or small. And I feel inspired.
At the heart of the book is the need to ensure that we all have a vision for ourselves and for those around us. And this is what to cling onto for dear life, even when the going gets especially difficult. Stay true to the vision, unhindered by other’s expectations or limitations, and success will follow.
I was struck by this and if you think about it the vision is not about the how but the why and is what will motivate us and our teams to succeed. As the book points out, the London 2012 bid was not won by the hows of great project management or commercial management (fortunately) but what kept the team working day and night, at times against ferocious odds, was the opportunity to change and enhance the lives of future generations.
There is no need for a corporate claptrap kind of vision full of grandiose and nihilistic eloquence. Try something simple for you and those around you. Something that works for you and your people. As I have said previously try making fun the most fun you can have with your clothes on. As good a vision as anything else I have read in my so called professional career.
In addition to having a vision, there are also a number of key measures to be applied to ensure the development of a winning mind in sport or in our business lives.
Firstly set your goals and ensure early attention to detail. But always remember that human error tends to be the norm. An effective leader will be aware of this and will anticipate that problems will occur.
Secondly assume the worst will happen, plan accordingly and ensure you remain in control.
Thirdly great leaders listen to not only what is being said but also to what is not being said. They can intuitively tune in to and read the sub text. And how I wish I could do that?
In any endeavour there are no guarantees to success but it is clear that if we start from a winning position with a winning mind we and our teams will be far more likely to achieve our aims, our goals, great business results, however we choose to define those.
For me it was very enlightening to learn that success comes from set back and failure as much as anything else and given the setbacks and failures I encounter, there must be hope for me yet. The advice of the book is to make sure we understand and absorb the lessons life throws at us, to remain focused on our goals and vision, to ensure we continually challenge ourselves, and no matter how insurmountable the odds or difficulties, to commit fully, for the results may surprise us. I am going to try this.
And a final quote from my new found mentor and guru, for even I need one of those:
‘Those with a winning mentality are often more prepared to listen to criticism and to do things in a new way….to keep driving forward’.
Cicero now resolves to take the bucket loads of criticism he receives, and I am sure that my surprise you, and to apply such feedback in a new and positive way. For Cicero feedback will be the fuel to propel him to reach the stars. Time for you to put Cicero to the test on this and watch him go.
By the way the author of the book and the owner of the winning mind is Seb Coe. Not a bad example and inspiration for us all, even me.
Is it only me?
Did you hear about the latest attempted absurdity from our health and safety gauleiters? Complaints have been made about an ad for Diet Coke in which Duffy, the greatest Welsh singing sensation since Max Boyce, cycles through a shop. Seemingly the bike had no lights and she was not wearing reflective clothing. It’s an ad, for God’s sake. It is about the promotion of an image, a dream, an aspiration. It requires us to suspend our imagination. Are the health and safety obsessives incapable of suspending reality for the duration of a 30 second TV ad? Is not possible for those suffering from H&S OCD to get a life? Can they not get out more?
On this occasion common sense triumphed and the complaints, for there was more than one, indeed there were more than 20 suffering from the same level of obsessive and compulsive behaviour, were thrown out but I don’t doubt similar nonsense will be back. We were lucky this time but the H&S police need only be lucky once and our way of life will be gone forever. Whatever happened to common sense?
It might just be me but personally I don’t in any way support cycling through shops, even if you are wearing reflective clothing, a hard hat and on a bike festooned with more lights than the Trafalgar Sq Xmas tree. Even I recognise that’s a threat to health and safety. I feel a complaint coming on.
Have a great week
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
Some weeks are good, some are middling, some could have gone better. Last week for Cicero could have been better but Cicero is not going to dwell here on what happened. Instead he will focus yet again on providing you with intelligent wit and keen insight. As always I hope it helps.
I read a book this week. Now don’t all cheer at once, I can and do read the learning from others if I think it might help and stretch my mind. I know it’s unlikely but from time to time I do come across a book that does. This one did and I thought I would share some of my new found learning with you.
The book I read, and it was in normal sized print, with a long and complex sentence construction and with no pictures, was written by a leading sportsman and set out to explore the parallels between training for a major sporting competition or running a business, big or small. And I feel inspired.
At the heart of the book is the need to ensure that we all have a vision for ourselves and for those around us. And this is what to cling onto for dear life, even when the going gets especially difficult. Stay true to the vision, unhindered by other’s expectations or limitations, and success will follow.
I was struck by this and if you think about it the vision is not about the how but the why and is what will motivate us and our teams to succeed. As the book points out, the London 2012 bid was not won by the hows of great project management or commercial management (fortunately) but what kept the team working day and night, at times against ferocious odds, was the opportunity to change and enhance the lives of future generations.
There is no need for a corporate claptrap kind of vision full of grandiose and nihilistic eloquence. Try something simple for you and those around you. Something that works for you and your people. As I have said previously try making fun the most fun you can have with your clothes on. As good a vision as anything else I have read in my so called professional career.
In addition to having a vision, there are also a number of key measures to be applied to ensure the development of a winning mind in sport or in our business lives.
Firstly set your goals and ensure early attention to detail. But always remember that human error tends to be the norm. An effective leader will be aware of this and will anticipate that problems will occur.
Secondly assume the worst will happen, plan accordingly and ensure you remain in control.
Thirdly great leaders listen to not only what is being said but also to what is not being said. They can intuitively tune in to and read the sub text. And how I wish I could do that?
In any endeavour there are no guarantees to success but it is clear that if we start from a winning position with a winning mind we and our teams will be far more likely to achieve our aims, our goals, great business results, however we choose to define those.
For me it was very enlightening to learn that success comes from set back and failure as much as anything else and given the setbacks and failures I encounter, there must be hope for me yet. The advice of the book is to make sure we understand and absorb the lessons life throws at us, to remain focused on our goals and vision, to ensure we continually challenge ourselves, and no matter how insurmountable the odds or difficulties, to commit fully, for the results may surprise us. I am going to try this.
And a final quote from my new found mentor and guru, for even I need one of those:
‘Those with a winning mentality are often more prepared to listen to criticism and to do things in a new way….to keep driving forward’.
Cicero now resolves to take the bucket loads of criticism he receives, and I am sure that my surprise you, and to apply such feedback in a new and positive way. For Cicero feedback will be the fuel to propel him to reach the stars. Time for you to put Cicero to the test on this and watch him go.
By the way the author of the book and the owner of the winning mind is Seb Coe. Not a bad example and inspiration for us all, even me.
Is it only me?
Did you hear about the latest attempted absurdity from our health and safety gauleiters? Complaints have been made about an ad for Diet Coke in which Duffy, the greatest Welsh singing sensation since Max Boyce, cycles through a shop. Seemingly the bike had no lights and she was not wearing reflective clothing. It’s an ad, for God’s sake. It is about the promotion of an image, a dream, an aspiration. It requires us to suspend our imagination. Are the health and safety obsessives incapable of suspending reality for the duration of a 30 second TV ad? Is not possible for those suffering from H&S OCD to get a life? Can they not get out more?
On this occasion common sense triumphed and the complaints, for there was more than one, indeed there were more than 20 suffering from the same level of obsessive and compulsive behaviour, were thrown out but I don’t doubt similar nonsense will be back. We were lucky this time but the H&S police need only be lucky once and our way of life will be gone forever. Whatever happened to common sense?
It might just be me but personally I don’t in any way support cycling through shops, even if you are wearing reflective clothing, a hard hat and on a bike festooned with more lights than the Trafalgar Sq Xmas tree. Even I recognise that’s a threat to health and safety. I feel a complaint coming on.
Have a great week
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
Saturday, 13 June 2009
The joy of tight briefs
Welcome back and good to see you yet again. I hope your time since we last spoke has been as fabulous as mine.
This week I want to talk to you about the joy of tight briefs. I am sure we all know how lovely tight briefs are and for those of us in the marketing profession it is even more important. It is Cicero’s humble opinion that the brief is the most important document a marketer is ever going to write and so good brief writing is a skill we must master to be successful marketers.
The brief is your instruction to your creative agencies. It encapsulates and crystallises your thinking, your insight and your business challenge to allow them to weave their creative magic. It also acts as your agreement with your agency and if their response bears little relationship to the brief you can ask them to start again. Without a brief in place, how are you going to judge the work when it comes back to you? And finally a good well written brief allows you as the marketer to ensure you have obtained the engagement of the business.
You would not spend millions of pounds on a new computer system or new premises without a detailed specification so why would you not do the same for your advertising or your communications? It is only your brand we are talking about.
Now hopefully you are starting to understand why tight briefs are so important. Indeed the better brief the better and more accurate the results. The GIGO principle of garbage in, garbage out also applies in marketing.
This is not the time and place to enter into a detailed master class into brief writing but instead Cicero will leave you as always with 4 key principles to aid enlightenment and understanding.
My first principle is that the brief should be in writing. Not only does this avoid any misunderstanding later but it also forces you as the client to consider deeply and thoroughly what you are asking for. The brief is not a form to be filled in at the last minute but a strategic document based on deep rigour and analysis. As someone far better than me once said:
‘Ultimately the point of communications is to get people to do things. Which people? What things? The basis of a great brief is right there. Everything else is detail’.
My second principle of a great brief should demonstrate great and focused clarity of thinking. The job of the brief is to simplify and tighten up thinking and the key to effective briefing is to provide a simple insight that will enthuse and inspire the creative team to dramatise memorably. This clarity should be a concentration of current thinking, should contain key nuggets of information and insight, and should focus on setting out the objectives of your product or service to be delivered through effective and memorable communications.
Thirdly make sure your objectives are crystal clear with a clear and focused understanding of how the creative and the communications programme will be measured and evaluated. The more concrete the measure, the tighter the brief, the better. Contrary to popular belief marketers want to help solve business problems and it is a great frustration for all involved in the process when there is no clear and credible problem to solve.
And finally a great brief is well brief. The clue is in the name. A good brief is not the longest or the most detailed. It’s the one whose clarity and focus creates the platform for a great strategic and creative leap, a blinding customer insight and an effective solution. Briefs are a summation and a crystallisation of your thinking. As Blaise Pascal put it in 1657
‘I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter’.
Clearly a man ahead of his time. But it is so true. Too much information and detail can fog and obscure the process. If you need more than 2 pages to produce a brief, you have missed the point.
And so there you have it. It’s official. Marketers prefer tight briefs to big briefs.
Is it only me?
Scarred by the accusation from one of my more forthright devotees that Cicero has been demonstrating and developing misogynistic tendencies and attitudes, I hope that careful note has been taken of my recent criticisms of the male gender. Cicero would also like to point out that he is above gender politics and point scoring.
But this week Cicero would like to ask what is it about men that means they seem reluctant to allow women to drive for them? Each morning as Cicero begins his daily schlep to his top secret State bunker, he sees cars and couples arriving at the station. Inevitably it is the male species driving and being dropped off and there is then the ritual of both getting out, swapping seats, bags and trolley dolly briefcases being collected, kisses and pecks exchanged and mirrors and seat positions being adjusted as the distaff driver takes over. I presume though am not sure that the reverse happens in the evening.
Is it only me but would it not make more sense and be more efficient for the distaff driver to do the driving to mitigate the need for all the exchange kerfuffle? It all seems very strange to me. Are men that loathe allowing themselves to be seen being driven by their driving distaff partner? Only wondering. Perhaps you might be able to explain this to me. Let me know.
And finally joy has this week broken out across government. Our lift is working and has remained in operation for a week now. I have it on good authority it has been out of order for 8 months. Tax receipts must be good this week.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
This week I want to talk to you about the joy of tight briefs. I am sure we all know how lovely tight briefs are and for those of us in the marketing profession it is even more important. It is Cicero’s humble opinion that the brief is the most important document a marketer is ever going to write and so good brief writing is a skill we must master to be successful marketers.
The brief is your instruction to your creative agencies. It encapsulates and crystallises your thinking, your insight and your business challenge to allow them to weave their creative magic. It also acts as your agreement with your agency and if their response bears little relationship to the brief you can ask them to start again. Without a brief in place, how are you going to judge the work when it comes back to you? And finally a good well written brief allows you as the marketer to ensure you have obtained the engagement of the business.
You would not spend millions of pounds on a new computer system or new premises without a detailed specification so why would you not do the same for your advertising or your communications? It is only your brand we are talking about.
Now hopefully you are starting to understand why tight briefs are so important. Indeed the better brief the better and more accurate the results. The GIGO principle of garbage in, garbage out also applies in marketing.
This is not the time and place to enter into a detailed master class into brief writing but instead Cicero will leave you as always with 4 key principles to aid enlightenment and understanding.
My first principle is that the brief should be in writing. Not only does this avoid any misunderstanding later but it also forces you as the client to consider deeply and thoroughly what you are asking for. The brief is not a form to be filled in at the last minute but a strategic document based on deep rigour and analysis. As someone far better than me once said:
‘Ultimately the point of communications is to get people to do things. Which people? What things? The basis of a great brief is right there. Everything else is detail’.
My second principle of a great brief should demonstrate great and focused clarity of thinking. The job of the brief is to simplify and tighten up thinking and the key to effective briefing is to provide a simple insight that will enthuse and inspire the creative team to dramatise memorably. This clarity should be a concentration of current thinking, should contain key nuggets of information and insight, and should focus on setting out the objectives of your product or service to be delivered through effective and memorable communications.
Thirdly make sure your objectives are crystal clear with a clear and focused understanding of how the creative and the communications programme will be measured and evaluated. The more concrete the measure, the tighter the brief, the better. Contrary to popular belief marketers want to help solve business problems and it is a great frustration for all involved in the process when there is no clear and credible problem to solve.
And finally a great brief is well brief. The clue is in the name. A good brief is not the longest or the most detailed. It’s the one whose clarity and focus creates the platform for a great strategic and creative leap, a blinding customer insight and an effective solution. Briefs are a summation and a crystallisation of your thinking. As Blaise Pascal put it in 1657
‘I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter’.
Clearly a man ahead of his time. But it is so true. Too much information and detail can fog and obscure the process. If you need more than 2 pages to produce a brief, you have missed the point.
And so there you have it. It’s official. Marketers prefer tight briefs to big briefs.
Is it only me?
Scarred by the accusation from one of my more forthright devotees that Cicero has been demonstrating and developing misogynistic tendencies and attitudes, I hope that careful note has been taken of my recent criticisms of the male gender. Cicero would also like to point out that he is above gender politics and point scoring.
But this week Cicero would like to ask what is it about men that means they seem reluctant to allow women to drive for them? Each morning as Cicero begins his daily schlep to his top secret State bunker, he sees cars and couples arriving at the station. Inevitably it is the male species driving and being dropped off and there is then the ritual of both getting out, swapping seats, bags and trolley dolly briefcases being collected, kisses and pecks exchanged and mirrors and seat positions being adjusted as the distaff driver takes over. I presume though am not sure that the reverse happens in the evening.
Is it only me but would it not make more sense and be more efficient for the distaff driver to do the driving to mitigate the need for all the exchange kerfuffle? It all seems very strange to me. Are men that loathe allowing themselves to be seen being driven by their driving distaff partner? Only wondering. Perhaps you might be able to explain this to me. Let me know.
And finally joy has this week broken out across government. Our lift is working and has remained in operation for a week now. I have it on good authority it has been out of order for 8 months. Tax receipts must be good this week.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Death by PowerPoint
Ave atque salve.
Cicero’s remarks last week on the meaning of marketing seem to have gone down well, judging by the feedback received. Cicero is glad to be of service and to show believers such as your good self the path to true, enriching and sustainable marketing and business enlightenment. And you can’t ask for more from a free resource. All I ask is your time.
And now for this week’s lesson.
I now want talk about a capability that all in business must possess but few are able to do well and most of us fear with dread. The ability to present, the ability to avoid death by PowerPoint.
And I bring you enlightenment, education and entertainment on this critical topic because I was discussing this with one of my star pupils a week or so back who credited me with some skill and understanding on this issue. And so I thought I would share my learning with you. As always I hope you like and find as interesting and relevant as all my previous musings.
The say that information is power. I have no idea who ‘they’ is in this instance but for now just go along with me. OK? But with information now at everyone’s finger tips and only a mouse click away, real power now comes from the ability to engage and influence. Information without influence is just data.
And so the ability to engage and influence is critical to us all. But get it wrong and you are very exposed. Nothing else can have such a direct impact on how you are perceived by others and in consequence your career ambitions. PowerPoint presentations should be seen as an advert for you and your personal brand.
The first thing to remember is that the success of any presentation has nothing to do with how great your slides might look. Your audience is not easily fooled by bullet points that might give the neat impression that there is order behind the chaos. Nor by colourful themed backdrops or by flying words or by sound effects.
No, successful presentations are down to you and your ability to engage with and hold an audience. Trust me you don’t need the crutch of PowerPoint as provided by Mr Gates.
So here are three things I want to encourage all Cicero devotees to think about and adopt to avoid death by PowerPoint. I hope this helps.
My first rule of great presenting is making sure you have a clear purpose. It is no different from the secret of great communications-Remember the Reader and the Result, my 3 R’s of great communications.
Be clear from the outset what you want your audience to do or think or feel. Don’t expect them to work it for themselves. If the purpose is simply to impart information there are cheaper ways of doing this, sending your slides to the audience by e-mail for example. And once you have worked out what you want them to do after listening to you for 30 minutes or so, make sure you include and repeat this instruction half a dozen times in the course of your time in the spotlight.
My second rule of great presentations is be single minded. Remember we can only catch a few tennis balls at a time so we can only retain and our audience can only retain a limited number of points. So be clear about the points we want to communicate and repeat these points. As Goebbels said, and he knew a thing or two about engaging presentations without the need for PowerPoint, ‘truth is merely repeated propaganda’.
And my third rule. Practice, practice, practice.
Practice to avoid reading direct from the slides. Again if you are going to do this, just mail the slides. Practice body language, tone, pacing and eye contact with the audience to strengthen rapport, engagement and presence. Practice the use of use of stories and analogies to make the information come to life and stick. Practice presentation structure to make it easy for your audience to follow. Practice your use of the space you have to magnify your presence and stature in the eyes of your audience.
And one final tip. Before standing up know exactly what you are going to say first. Believe me the rest will follow naturally once you get off to the perfect start.
And that is all there is to it. All there is to avoiding death by PowerPoint. All there is to you becoming as powerful as me. Good luck. And let me know how you get on.
Is it only me?
Given the sudden rise in temperature and the widespread appearance of the sun last week Cicero might be forced to apologise to the environmentalists and admit they were right. Global warming may be happening after all. But it is June after all and now officially summer so this weather is surely expected. So I would ask the eco-mentalists to keep the organic and low carbon footprint champagne on ice for a bit until we have more conclusive proof.
But is it only me who thinks that the warm weather is manifestly unfair on men? Women look cool in summer frocks and in their summer finery while we men continue to look hot and bothered in our all weather suits which are great in winter but not the best for the dry warm summer months. It is time we had summer wardrobes like women and were able to not only have a professional summer wardrobe but also a summer dress code to help keep us cool yet business like. Women get away with murder when it comes to a summer dress code.
What do you think?
And finally. Nope.Still not fixed.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
Cicero’s remarks last week on the meaning of marketing seem to have gone down well, judging by the feedback received. Cicero is glad to be of service and to show believers such as your good self the path to true, enriching and sustainable marketing and business enlightenment. And you can’t ask for more from a free resource. All I ask is your time.
And now for this week’s lesson.
I now want talk about a capability that all in business must possess but few are able to do well and most of us fear with dread. The ability to present, the ability to avoid death by PowerPoint.
And I bring you enlightenment, education and entertainment on this critical topic because I was discussing this with one of my star pupils a week or so back who credited me with some skill and understanding on this issue. And so I thought I would share my learning with you. As always I hope you like and find as interesting and relevant as all my previous musings.
The say that information is power. I have no idea who ‘they’ is in this instance but for now just go along with me. OK? But with information now at everyone’s finger tips and only a mouse click away, real power now comes from the ability to engage and influence. Information without influence is just data.
And so the ability to engage and influence is critical to us all. But get it wrong and you are very exposed. Nothing else can have such a direct impact on how you are perceived by others and in consequence your career ambitions. PowerPoint presentations should be seen as an advert for you and your personal brand.
The first thing to remember is that the success of any presentation has nothing to do with how great your slides might look. Your audience is not easily fooled by bullet points that might give the neat impression that there is order behind the chaos. Nor by colourful themed backdrops or by flying words or by sound effects.
No, successful presentations are down to you and your ability to engage with and hold an audience. Trust me you don’t need the crutch of PowerPoint as provided by Mr Gates.
So here are three things I want to encourage all Cicero devotees to think about and adopt to avoid death by PowerPoint. I hope this helps.
My first rule of great presenting is making sure you have a clear purpose. It is no different from the secret of great communications-Remember the Reader and the Result, my 3 R’s of great communications.
Be clear from the outset what you want your audience to do or think or feel. Don’t expect them to work it for themselves. If the purpose is simply to impart information there are cheaper ways of doing this, sending your slides to the audience by e-mail for example. And once you have worked out what you want them to do after listening to you for 30 minutes or so, make sure you include and repeat this instruction half a dozen times in the course of your time in the spotlight.
My second rule of great presentations is be single minded. Remember we can only catch a few tennis balls at a time so we can only retain and our audience can only retain a limited number of points. So be clear about the points we want to communicate and repeat these points. As Goebbels said, and he knew a thing or two about engaging presentations without the need for PowerPoint, ‘truth is merely repeated propaganda’.
And my third rule. Practice, practice, practice.
Practice to avoid reading direct from the slides. Again if you are going to do this, just mail the slides. Practice body language, tone, pacing and eye contact with the audience to strengthen rapport, engagement and presence. Practice the use of use of stories and analogies to make the information come to life and stick. Practice presentation structure to make it easy for your audience to follow. Practice your use of the space you have to magnify your presence and stature in the eyes of your audience.
And one final tip. Before standing up know exactly what you are going to say first. Believe me the rest will follow naturally once you get off to the perfect start.
And that is all there is to it. All there is to avoiding death by PowerPoint. All there is to you becoming as powerful as me. Good luck. And let me know how you get on.
Is it only me?
Given the sudden rise in temperature and the widespread appearance of the sun last week Cicero might be forced to apologise to the environmentalists and admit they were right. Global warming may be happening after all. But it is June after all and now officially summer so this weather is surely expected. So I would ask the eco-mentalists to keep the organic and low carbon footprint champagne on ice for a bit until we have more conclusive proof.
But is it only me who thinks that the warm weather is manifestly unfair on men? Women look cool in summer frocks and in their summer finery while we men continue to look hot and bothered in our all weather suits which are great in winter but not the best for the dry warm summer months. It is time we had summer wardrobes like women and were able to not only have a professional summer wardrobe but also a summer dress code to help keep us cool yet business like. Women get away with murder when it comes to a summer dress code.
What do you think?
And finally. Nope.Still not fixed.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
Sunday, 31 May 2009
The meaning of life and evrything else
This week Cicero is suitably chastised.
It seems that my comments last week on women who do their make up in full view of the commuting world, have upset the distaff side of my devoted readership. Cicero shall in future make every attempt to avoid such misogynistic remarks. I would hate to offend though I would point out that based on this week’s commuting experience, not too much heed has been paid to my remarks, misogynistic or otherwise. And in my defence I would claim that I am sure I speak for most men.
However if it is ok with everyone, Cicero would now like to put the past behind and move on.
During the course of my week I was asked a very interesting question. It was so interesting that I thought I would share it with you. Not because the question itself was interesting but as a keen business and marketing student, I am sure you will find the answer even more interesting. And if you don’t, then I wonder why you are here.
Anyway, I am sure you are desperate to know this question which was……drum roll……how do you define marketing?
A very good question, I am sure you will agree, and one that arose from a misunderstanding of my musings that marketing is all about communications. As I have said before all communications are marketing but marketing is not just about communications. This is the logic that says that if dogs have four legs then a cat is a dog. Work it out!
So if marketing is not about communications then what the heck is marketing?
The classical definition of marketing is ‘to understand and profitably satisfy customer needs’. For Cicero this is too simplistic who eschews, as you would expect, conventional text book definitions, to develop his own unique definition based on a lifetime of study and deep thinking.
So what is wrong with a definition that for many has stood the test of time? Now that is a very question.
For one, not everyone is concerned with profit. If you work in the marketing department of one of our large banks, for example, profit is not your benchmark of success. More seriously though if you work in the public sector, the value you add, and as I now know and contrary to public belief, marketers here do add immense value but it is not measured in terms of profit. And nor do marketers working in the third sector, charities in old money, think in terms of profit. So the focus on profit is wrong.
I also think that the classic definition of my noble profession defines the ‘what’ and not say enough about the ‘how’ of marketing. Nor does it say too much about how to succeed in a competitive world. And all businesses, no matter the sector, operate in a competitive world. Competing for share of wallet, for share of voice in a clutter of communications, for share of attention.
By now I am sure you will be nodding in agreement with my usual insightful analysis but waiting for my solution.
For me marketing must be about enabling a business or enterprise to deliver its business objectives or business strategies by satisfying identified customer needs based on delivering a proposition that is different and/or better than anything else available, by aligning the assets and resources of the business to deliver that point of difference and by persuading the consumer that your proposition is different.
And there you have it, the meaning of life, marketing and everything else. As my great friend Pliny would say, quod erat demonstrandum. Anyone care to comment?
Is it only me?
The more astute among you will have noticed that in recent weeks the eco-mentalists and health and safety gaulieters have been spared my ire. And once again you can breathe a sigh of relief.
Today I want to ask why it is that no one these days is able to calculate change without resorting to a lot of button pushing and an electronic abacus. Are we losing the ancient art of arithmetic? Are words like subtraction, addition, multiplication and division becoming as extinct as conversational Latin, Classical Greek and Anglo-Saxon?
I only ask because the other day I had to shop, not a pastime I find relaxing and refreshing. My bill came to £4.71 and I handed over £5. The till calculated my change to be 29p, a calculation I did in my head marginally slower than the electronic calculator. In a bid to avoid a pocketful of change I found an additional 21p lurking in the recesses of my pocket. I now expected 50p back, again a sum I was easily able to calculate in my head. However this was beyond the brain cells of the shop assistant. Clearly it was no longer possible to use the electronic abacus to do the calculation and so I had the ludicrous sight of a search for pen and paper to do the sum. Ridiculous. Yet more evidence that we as a nation are losing the ability to think for ourselves. I despair. Is it only me?
And finally. You will no doubt not be surprised to learn that the lift is my State bunker remains unfixed. I hope I am not breaking state secrets when I tell you this. I hope you appreciate how well your tax pounds are husbanded.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
It seems that my comments last week on women who do their make up in full view of the commuting world, have upset the distaff side of my devoted readership. Cicero shall in future make every attempt to avoid such misogynistic remarks. I would hate to offend though I would point out that based on this week’s commuting experience, not too much heed has been paid to my remarks, misogynistic or otherwise. And in my defence I would claim that I am sure I speak for most men.
However if it is ok with everyone, Cicero would now like to put the past behind and move on.
During the course of my week I was asked a very interesting question. It was so interesting that I thought I would share it with you. Not because the question itself was interesting but as a keen business and marketing student, I am sure you will find the answer even more interesting. And if you don’t, then I wonder why you are here.
Anyway, I am sure you are desperate to know this question which was……drum roll……how do you define marketing?
A very good question, I am sure you will agree, and one that arose from a misunderstanding of my musings that marketing is all about communications. As I have said before all communications are marketing but marketing is not just about communications. This is the logic that says that if dogs have four legs then a cat is a dog. Work it out!
So if marketing is not about communications then what the heck is marketing?
The classical definition of marketing is ‘to understand and profitably satisfy customer needs’. For Cicero this is too simplistic who eschews, as you would expect, conventional text book definitions, to develop his own unique definition based on a lifetime of study and deep thinking.
So what is wrong with a definition that for many has stood the test of time? Now that is a very question.
For one, not everyone is concerned with profit. If you work in the marketing department of one of our large banks, for example, profit is not your benchmark of success. More seriously though if you work in the public sector, the value you add, and as I now know and contrary to public belief, marketers here do add immense value but it is not measured in terms of profit. And nor do marketers working in the third sector, charities in old money, think in terms of profit. So the focus on profit is wrong.
I also think that the classic definition of my noble profession defines the ‘what’ and not say enough about the ‘how’ of marketing. Nor does it say too much about how to succeed in a competitive world. And all businesses, no matter the sector, operate in a competitive world. Competing for share of wallet, for share of voice in a clutter of communications, for share of attention.
By now I am sure you will be nodding in agreement with my usual insightful analysis but waiting for my solution.
For me marketing must be about enabling a business or enterprise to deliver its business objectives or business strategies by satisfying identified customer needs based on delivering a proposition that is different and/or better than anything else available, by aligning the assets and resources of the business to deliver that point of difference and by persuading the consumer that your proposition is different.
And there you have it, the meaning of life, marketing and everything else. As my great friend Pliny would say, quod erat demonstrandum. Anyone care to comment?
Is it only me?
The more astute among you will have noticed that in recent weeks the eco-mentalists and health and safety gaulieters have been spared my ire. And once again you can breathe a sigh of relief.
Today I want to ask why it is that no one these days is able to calculate change without resorting to a lot of button pushing and an electronic abacus. Are we losing the ancient art of arithmetic? Are words like subtraction, addition, multiplication and division becoming as extinct as conversational Latin, Classical Greek and Anglo-Saxon?
I only ask because the other day I had to shop, not a pastime I find relaxing and refreshing. My bill came to £4.71 and I handed over £5. The till calculated my change to be 29p, a calculation I did in my head marginally slower than the electronic calculator. In a bid to avoid a pocketful of change I found an additional 21p lurking in the recesses of my pocket. I now expected 50p back, again a sum I was easily able to calculate in my head. However this was beyond the brain cells of the shop assistant. Clearly it was no longer possible to use the electronic abacus to do the calculation and so I had the ludicrous sight of a search for pen and paper to do the sum. Ridiculous. Yet more evidence that we as a nation are losing the ability to think for ourselves. I despair. Is it only me?
And finally. You will no doubt not be surprised to learn that the lift is my State bunker remains unfixed. I hope I am not breaking state secrets when I tell you this. I hope you appreciate how well your tax pounds are husbanded.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
Monday, 25 May 2009
Size does matter
Welcome back.
And I can guarantee that this remote corner of the blogosphere will provide a safe haven for all those seeking relief from reading about MPs expenses. This is not a subject of interest to Cicero who will always remain above the grubby subject of money and dedicated to providing business and marketing wisdom to his devoted followers
Last week you will recall I posed the question ‘what was the greatest thing since sliced bread?’ One very devoted follower of Cicero, with far too much time on her hands, has told me that the phrase derives from a 1930s ad campaign for ‘Wonder Bread’, the first mass-marketer of sliced bread as a product. Well now we know. Time must pass very slowly in the Yorkshire Dales.
Moving on.
Since I am not going to be talking to you this week about MPs and their expenses I would like to talk to you about size and to prove to you that no matter what men might like to think, size does indeed matter. More specifically I want to talk to you about scale and stature in business.
I think scale and stature are two very important qualities in any business whether you are in private, public or third sectors (and for those of you not totally au fait with the latest evolution of our language, the third sector used to be called charities.
Customers like to think that they are with a brand big enough to cater for and meet their needs and to service their business. Sure we all like the idea of being given the highly personal treatment that goes with a small business but we also like the assurance of a business of scale, of pedigree, of longevity, of stature. The businesses, the brands, we deal with and buy are a reflection of who we are and how we think of ourselves. And hands up if you want to be thought of as small and insignificant. Thought not.
And on basis of my constant marketing principle that everything communicates there are lots of small steps we can take to help build scale and stature into our brand.
In a previous role with relatively small sums of marketing investment at my disposal, I always tried to find ways for my brand to punch above its weight, to look bigger that we were. On one occasion I ran an ad on the largest poster site in Europe. It blew the marketing budget and we had no right to be there as such sites are usually reserved by the likes of BA, Sony, Apple, mega global brands all. But, boy, were we noticed.
And closer to home I have a friend with his own business. It is just him but he sought to convey the impression of an international business of scale and stature. His web site address was .com. He registered for VAT even though he did not need to in order to convey a business of a certain size. And the first invoice he ever issued was not numbered one as you might expect but 601. He did not want his first customer to know they were his first.
And then there was story, not apocryphal, of a leading London ad agency in its early days who pitched for a major account. They had to hire premises by the hour as they did not have their own offices. And they filled their rented offices with resting actors and students to convince the client they had staff. I think they got away with it but imagine the panic when the client asked to come back in to the offices to see them again. But they did convey a serious level of scale and stature. They did communicate that they had the size to handle the work.
So look around you. Do it now. And think hard. On a scale of 1-10 what is the level of scale and stature your business is projecting? What ideas do you have to move it up a notch? And go on, make them happen. You can do it. You know you can.
Is it only me?
You may know that I spend a lot of my time travelling backwards and forwards to my State bunker and this gives me plenty of time to watch and stay in touch with the State’s subjects. And, as I peregrinate through the realm, one thing puzzles me-why do women put their make up on in full view of everyone else while they are travelling?
Personally I am not sure I want to watch as the raw product is transformed from duckling to swan. Bismarck, the great German statesmen said that there were two things you did not want to understand how they were made-sausages and laws. I would like to add a third. I am sure no woman wants to watch me shave on their daily commute. I do wish women would follow my maxim for a happy life-if it can’t be fixed with a comb then it’s not worth bothering about. And that way we might all be spared having to watch the application of foundation, mascara and lip gloss. Can anyone explain to me while you must do it in full view? I can’t wait to hear if anyone dares to rise to the challenge.
And finally. If you still wondering, or even care, the lift in my State bunker is still not working. Maybe too much is being spent on MPs expenses and no money left over for lift repairs.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
And I can guarantee that this remote corner of the blogosphere will provide a safe haven for all those seeking relief from reading about MPs expenses. This is not a subject of interest to Cicero who will always remain above the grubby subject of money and dedicated to providing business and marketing wisdom to his devoted followers
Last week you will recall I posed the question ‘what was the greatest thing since sliced bread?’ One very devoted follower of Cicero, with far too much time on her hands, has told me that the phrase derives from a 1930s ad campaign for ‘Wonder Bread’, the first mass-marketer of sliced bread as a product. Well now we know. Time must pass very slowly in the Yorkshire Dales.
Moving on.
Since I am not going to be talking to you this week about MPs and their expenses I would like to talk to you about size and to prove to you that no matter what men might like to think, size does indeed matter. More specifically I want to talk to you about scale and stature in business.
I think scale and stature are two very important qualities in any business whether you are in private, public or third sectors (and for those of you not totally au fait with the latest evolution of our language, the third sector used to be called charities.
Customers like to think that they are with a brand big enough to cater for and meet their needs and to service their business. Sure we all like the idea of being given the highly personal treatment that goes with a small business but we also like the assurance of a business of scale, of pedigree, of longevity, of stature. The businesses, the brands, we deal with and buy are a reflection of who we are and how we think of ourselves. And hands up if you want to be thought of as small and insignificant. Thought not.
And on basis of my constant marketing principle that everything communicates there are lots of small steps we can take to help build scale and stature into our brand.
In a previous role with relatively small sums of marketing investment at my disposal, I always tried to find ways for my brand to punch above its weight, to look bigger that we were. On one occasion I ran an ad on the largest poster site in Europe. It blew the marketing budget and we had no right to be there as such sites are usually reserved by the likes of BA, Sony, Apple, mega global brands all. But, boy, were we noticed.
And closer to home I have a friend with his own business. It is just him but he sought to convey the impression of an international business of scale and stature. His web site address was .com. He registered for VAT even though he did not need to in order to convey a business of a certain size. And the first invoice he ever issued was not numbered one as you might expect but 601. He did not want his first customer to know they were his first.
And then there was story, not apocryphal, of a leading London ad agency in its early days who pitched for a major account. They had to hire premises by the hour as they did not have their own offices. And they filled their rented offices with resting actors and students to convince the client they had staff. I think they got away with it but imagine the panic when the client asked to come back in to the offices to see them again. But they did convey a serious level of scale and stature. They did communicate that they had the size to handle the work.
So look around you. Do it now. And think hard. On a scale of 1-10 what is the level of scale and stature your business is projecting? What ideas do you have to move it up a notch? And go on, make them happen. You can do it. You know you can.
Is it only me?
You may know that I spend a lot of my time travelling backwards and forwards to my State bunker and this gives me plenty of time to watch and stay in touch with the State’s subjects. And, as I peregrinate through the realm, one thing puzzles me-why do women put their make up on in full view of everyone else while they are travelling?
Personally I am not sure I want to watch as the raw product is transformed from duckling to swan. Bismarck, the great German statesmen said that there were two things you did not want to understand how they were made-sausages and laws. I would like to add a third. I am sure no woman wants to watch me shave on their daily commute. I do wish women would follow my maxim for a happy life-if it can’t be fixed with a comb then it’s not worth bothering about. And that way we might all be spared having to watch the application of foundation, mascara and lip gloss. Can anyone explain to me while you must do it in full view? I can’t wait to hear if anyone dares to rise to the challenge.
And finally. If you still wondering, or even care, the lift in my State bunker is still not working. Maybe too much is being spent on MPs expenses and no money left over for lift repairs.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
Saturday, 16 May 2009
Please don't speak to me like that!
I would like to start this week with two apologies.
I think I have over-estimated Cicero’s power to move mountains. Yes, the lift in my State Bunker is out of order again. I will keep you posted. I was a tad premature with my celebrations.
And I would also like to apologise to those of you who tuned in last week for my wit and wisdom. I was away refreshing my batteries. It’s a tough life working ceaselessly and selflessly to protect and maintain State security. Thanks to the many of you who wrote in checking I was alright. It’s nice to be missed. And many thanks to the person who sent me an electronic Get Well Card, obviously fearing the worst. You will all be pleased to know that it was pleasure and not swine flu that had torn me away from my duties to you and to the State.
The last time I was here I spoke about cows and the need for businesses to be like farmers who named their cows, sheep and pigs and to get personal with their customers to optimise yield. Again a few of you were kind enough to show interest in this topic and wanted to learn more. And so today Cicero, as always happy to oblige, is going to expand and say more on what I call a brand’s tone of voice.
So what do I mean by tone of voice?
Your customer’s opinions of your business will be formed through your communications. According to psychologists, who are very clever people, 70% of the messages we receive are through are eyes so the messages we take in through our eyes are of paramount importance. It’s therefore essential that the personality and values of your business come through in the words it uses and the way it writes to its customers through letters, brochures and the like. If your messages don’t do this or if your tone is inconsistent then you will not be delivering the personal and customer focused touch that I am guessing your business wants to communicate consistently and across all written touch points. Having a set of tone of voice guidelines to help all who write for and in your business is not an option but a necessity.
And to have a great tone of voice in your business, here are my top ten tips. But please remember that no two businesses, no two brands, are the same and it will be up to you take Cicero’s principles and apply them to help you find your own distinctive voice.
#1 Always use the customer’s title and name in any correspondence, not his account number or reference number or any other sort of number. Do you really want your customer to be thought of as a number? A name is the most personal thing we as customers have, so use it.
#2 Sign your letters. It always amazes and saddens me how many organisations end their letter with a corporate squiggle, no name or anything. I am sure that you do not want to be seen as a faceless soulless organisation so do as much as you can to make your communications as personal as possible.
#3 Avoid jargon, acronyms and technical terms. You might know what it means but will your customer? You want your business to be seen as accessible and easy to do business with but using a different language to the one your customer uses does not convey these thoughts.
#4 Try to be as conversational as possible. Look to use personal pronouns and contractions as much as feels natural. We say ‘you’re’, ‘I’ll’ and ‘it’s’ when we speak so why not when we write for our business. But please make sure you know where to put the apostrophe if you want to avoid a deluge of correspondence from the grammar purists and pedants.
#5 Only be colloquial and use slang if your brand can support this. Most brands want to be seen as authoritative and expert but friendly and accessible and lapsing into colloquialisms means your brand might be closer to the customer than the customer wants you to be. Authentic youth brands might get away with it but it would be difficult for banks and other brands that depend on a degree of stature and distance to go there.
#6 Use active and not passive verbs to heighten that personal feeling. Better to say ‘I’ve read your letter and considered the points you have raised’ rather than ‘Your letter has been read and its contents noted’. Which business would you like to receive a letter from?
#7 Even if drafting a standard letter template or mass market brochure for your business, remember who you are writing for and visualise it being read. Always write for an audience of one. It all helps to make it feel more personal. Cicero always tries to write for an audience of one even though I know there are three of you.
#8 Avoid footnotes, asterisks and caveats. These can if excessively used cause mistrust and will look like you are trying to hide something.
#9 Be clear about what you write to make it easy for your customers to follow what you are trying to say. Write in short sentences and paragraphs, no more than say 15 words per sentence, with everyday words and phrases to help make it sound authentic and genuine.
#10 And finally read your words out loud in your natural voice. If it flows well and sounds like what you would say without cringing, congratulations, you now have an effective personal tone of voice for your business. If it sounds stiff, formal, bureaucratic, clichéd and unauthentic, re-read 1-9 above.
I hope that helped.
Is it only me?
Am I the only one out there who devotes brain cells to pondering the strange things we say? I was having a conversation last week with someone who mentioned that something they had bought was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Does anyone know and can anyone tell me what was the best thing before sliced bread was invented? I am also left scratching my head when people say we need to get our ducks in a row. Why ducks? And are ducks the only fowl we need to get in a row? And does anyone know if a duck has ever been asked if it wants to get in a row? Has some duckologist ever been given a research grant to find out if a duck in a row is a happy duck? I think I need to get out more.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
I think I have over-estimated Cicero’s power to move mountains. Yes, the lift in my State Bunker is out of order again. I will keep you posted. I was a tad premature with my celebrations.
And I would also like to apologise to those of you who tuned in last week for my wit and wisdom. I was away refreshing my batteries. It’s a tough life working ceaselessly and selflessly to protect and maintain State security. Thanks to the many of you who wrote in checking I was alright. It’s nice to be missed. And many thanks to the person who sent me an electronic Get Well Card, obviously fearing the worst. You will all be pleased to know that it was pleasure and not swine flu that had torn me away from my duties to you and to the State.
The last time I was here I spoke about cows and the need for businesses to be like farmers who named their cows, sheep and pigs and to get personal with their customers to optimise yield. Again a few of you were kind enough to show interest in this topic and wanted to learn more. And so today Cicero, as always happy to oblige, is going to expand and say more on what I call a brand’s tone of voice.
So what do I mean by tone of voice?
Your customer’s opinions of your business will be formed through your communications. According to psychologists, who are very clever people, 70% of the messages we receive are through are eyes so the messages we take in through our eyes are of paramount importance. It’s therefore essential that the personality and values of your business come through in the words it uses and the way it writes to its customers through letters, brochures and the like. If your messages don’t do this or if your tone is inconsistent then you will not be delivering the personal and customer focused touch that I am guessing your business wants to communicate consistently and across all written touch points. Having a set of tone of voice guidelines to help all who write for and in your business is not an option but a necessity.
And to have a great tone of voice in your business, here are my top ten tips. But please remember that no two businesses, no two brands, are the same and it will be up to you take Cicero’s principles and apply them to help you find your own distinctive voice.
#1 Always use the customer’s title and name in any correspondence, not his account number or reference number or any other sort of number. Do you really want your customer to be thought of as a number? A name is the most personal thing we as customers have, so use it.
#2 Sign your letters. It always amazes and saddens me how many organisations end their letter with a corporate squiggle, no name or anything. I am sure that you do not want to be seen as a faceless soulless organisation so do as much as you can to make your communications as personal as possible.
#3 Avoid jargon, acronyms and technical terms. You might know what it means but will your customer? You want your business to be seen as accessible and easy to do business with but using a different language to the one your customer uses does not convey these thoughts.
#4 Try to be as conversational as possible. Look to use personal pronouns and contractions as much as feels natural. We say ‘you’re’, ‘I’ll’ and ‘it’s’ when we speak so why not when we write for our business. But please make sure you know where to put the apostrophe if you want to avoid a deluge of correspondence from the grammar purists and pedants.
#5 Only be colloquial and use slang if your brand can support this. Most brands want to be seen as authoritative and expert but friendly and accessible and lapsing into colloquialisms means your brand might be closer to the customer than the customer wants you to be. Authentic youth brands might get away with it but it would be difficult for banks and other brands that depend on a degree of stature and distance to go there.
#6 Use active and not passive verbs to heighten that personal feeling. Better to say ‘I’ve read your letter and considered the points you have raised’ rather than ‘Your letter has been read and its contents noted’. Which business would you like to receive a letter from?
#7 Even if drafting a standard letter template or mass market brochure for your business, remember who you are writing for and visualise it being read. Always write for an audience of one. It all helps to make it feel more personal. Cicero always tries to write for an audience of one even though I know there are three of you.
#8 Avoid footnotes, asterisks and caveats. These can if excessively used cause mistrust and will look like you are trying to hide something.
#9 Be clear about what you write to make it easy for your customers to follow what you are trying to say. Write in short sentences and paragraphs, no more than say 15 words per sentence, with everyday words and phrases to help make it sound authentic and genuine.
#10 And finally read your words out loud in your natural voice. If it flows well and sounds like what you would say without cringing, congratulations, you now have an effective personal tone of voice for your business. If it sounds stiff, formal, bureaucratic, clichéd and unauthentic, re-read 1-9 above.
I hope that helped.
Is it only me?
Am I the only one out there who devotes brain cells to pondering the strange things we say? I was having a conversation last week with someone who mentioned that something they had bought was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Does anyone know and can anyone tell me what was the best thing before sliced bread was invented? I am also left scratching my head when people say we need to get our ducks in a row. Why ducks? And are ducks the only fowl we need to get in a row? And does anyone know if a duck has ever been asked if it wants to get in a row? Has some duckologist ever been given a research grant to find out if a duck in a row is a happy duck? I think I need to get out more.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
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