Another good word bites the dust...
Or so it seems. Having been virtually dropped now in modern parlance in favor of a closely related word that does not mean exactly the same thing, we are left again with a little less precision and a little more fog.
Read MoreIt's easy if you can count!
When it comes to correct word usage, the beautiful truth is that a few simple rules can go a long way toward developing your confidence in your writing and speaking. Why? Because if you commit to just a few simple rules, you’ll be right more of the time! Here’s one of those rules:
Read MoreMore about creating win-win relationships
Once you have a well crafted message about your organization and the specific marketing opportunity you’re promoting, the real fun begins: As you pitch the opportunity to your prospects, you will have a chance to learn about their business, including their strategic marketing goals.
Read MoreMaybe I should just get a life...
Recently I made a bold assertion to my friend with whom I often commiserate about the ills of the world, Citizens United, Seattle traffic, and the price of tea in China. I said something reckless like this: “You know, almost every commercial I see on TV is for a drug or medication – just one after another. It looks like big pharma owns the airwaves.” The next day I thought, Boy! Was that irresponsible! Do you know it to be true?
Read MoreIt simply can't be all about print collateral
Recently I was walking through a moderately sized expo hall with a wide variety of small exhibit spaces – tables, not booths. At one point my eye caught two tables, side by side (pure coincidence, I’m sure), just covered with stacks of literature. Each stack must have contained several hundred copies, and the piles competed with each other for the meager table space.
Read MoreGet attention and drive action
Isn’t it every marketing professional’s dream to write unforgettable copy that gets attention – real attention? Even if you have no aspirations to marketing fame (or even if you’re not a marketing professional but you’re just stuck “doing the marketing”) you want to write copy that will get attention and cause your readers to take action.
Read MoreIt's not begging; you're offering opportunities.
Successful fund development begins with the right attitude, based on a key principle: You, as the development representative, are not begging; you are offering opportunities. Making that philosophical leap involves no magic, no mystery, no proprietary secrets. Believe it or not, once you’ve seen the job done successfully by one who embraces the challenge and enjoys the exchange, you will want to play an active role in fund development for your organization. My own introduction into the art of fund development might illustrate that.
Read MoreWell, if you are, who could blame you?
I have found these three words confounding to just about everybody. Recently an organization asked me to review their web site content. I found all three of those “sure” words on one page; one of them was used correctly. It’s no wonder people have trouble. The words are so similar in spelling and pronunciation and even in meaning, and they’re all just ordinary, useful words that find their way, appropriately, into our daily vocabulary.
Read More. . . but How Much Communication?
Recently I was riding a Seattle metro bus along with a friend who visits this Speakeasy regularly and follows the conversation. Shortly after we boarded, the bus stopped to admit a bevy of eight young teenage girls, immediately effecting a complete change in the volume within the bus. Oh, the streaming! Oh, the volume! The cacophony!
Read MoreI suggested this a few days ago, and so I feel obligated (and enthusiastically so) to return to that assertion to expand and clarify. So, can we have too much communication? You know, we probably can’t. Human communication probably cannot ever be excessive, but that assumes that communication is actually taking place. And I think the “exchange” and the “streaming” far exceed the sum total of actual communication. Permit me to explain.
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