.: Robert F. Abbott Profile and Articles
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1). How to Write ChecklistsThere are a number of strategic reasons for using checklists, a writing format which helps you make your point(s) by writing at least some of your document in lists, rather than all in standard paragraphs. For example, checklists may convey the idea that you have carefully analyzed a situation, that a sequence should be followed, or that you are a well-organized person.
2). Employee Newsletters for Small Companies
A newsletter for 60 employees?
A visitor to the Manager═s Guide Web site asked for about buying content for a newsletter that would serve a group of 60 professionals; the department responsible would not have time to write a complete newsletter.
I emailed the following response (slightly edited):
You have asked a good question. With 60 employees, your staff is big enough to need a newsletter, but not big enough to make a major spending commitment.
3). 6 Ways To Use Customer & Sales Newsletters
Sell More Higher-Margin Products
Businesses that find they're not earning much profit, despite strong sales, may have allowed low-margin products to become their mainstay.
A newsletter can emphasize higher margin products, among both customers and employees. For employees, reiterate the benefits (for them and the company) of selling a product or set of products with a higher profit margin.
4). Branding and Employee Communication
In the I-HR newsletter, moderator Beth N. Carvin asked if the idea of branding could be used effectively to improve productivity and retention. This is an expanded version of my response to her question:
Yes, I think you can use the idea of branding as a tool for improving employee productivity and retention.
Let's approach it from the perspective of a manager communicating with his or her subordinates.
5). How to Create a Better News Release
Many organizations and businesses want media coverage of their activities, and at the same time many newsrooms are looking for local (or even national and international) topics to cover. If you're belong to an organization that wants coverage, you can increase the odds of getting it by following a few simple news release (or press release) conventions.
6). Communication & Corporate Social Responsibility
In the past few years, the anti-corporate movement (including those opposed to globalization) has gained a bit of steam.
What many people in the movement promote now is called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the idea that corporations should be responsible to all of society and the environment, as well as to shareholders.
It's a shame they've gained momentum.
7). Two-Step Your Communication
Ever use someone else to get your message out?For example, big, multi-location companies sometimes make important announcements through local
8). How to Create a Newsletter Name
What's in a name, a newsletter name?
When I wrote a plan for my e-mail newsletter, developing a name was a critical part of the planning process.
To develop it, I used a strategic approach. In other words, worked backward from my objectives to produce a newsletter name that would help me achieve those objectives. Of course, you might also consider other methods.
9). Write in Chunks to Write Effectively
Professional writers are often admired or envied for the end products they create. Yet, few look at the process of writing as an exciting career choice. And, for good reason. It can be difficult to sit for hour after hour, putting words onto pages.
But, few professional writers actually spend all their time writing – instead they get a few words or paragraphs down, take a break or write about something else, then return to the initial project.
10). Write and Speak(?) for the Ear
You and I may not aspire to write great books or make great speeches. But almost all of us want something to happen when we write or speak. And, the more we tailor our words for the ears of readers and listeners, the greater our chances of getting the results we want.
By writing for the ear, I mean that spoken words can have more power than written words.
11). Does It Summarize?
I go through an interesting writing exercise regularly: I take magazine articles and write abstracts of them for a newsletter client.
The challenge involves taking an article, one that normally ranges from 1,000 to 3,000 words, and condensing it into a few hundred words. That means I need to get the essence of the article squarely in my sights and to write about it in my own words.
12). The Power of 'because...'
"Do it!", "Do it now!", or "Do it because..."
Which of these commands is most likely to get the response you want?
13). Communicating with Offsite Workers
How do you, or would you, communicate with employees who work offsite?Perhaps you have telecommuters reporting to you, or sales reps who work
14). Why Communicate When Nothing Happens?
Not long ago, after consultations with others in an association I represent, I made a partnership pitch to another organization with similar interests. If the idea had been accepted, it would have radically changed our organizations.
So, you can imagine my impatience when I didn't hear back from the person to whom I'd made the proposal. She had welcomed the idea, but a decision would be made by a council within her organization.
15). Communicating CEOs
I see a PR firm has done a survey on the amount of time Canadian CEOs spend on communication. According to the survey, CEOs spend almost half of their time on communication.
I think we're supposed to be impressed that CEOs spend that much time on communication. But, quite frankly, what else does a CEO do? And, if you consider both direct and indirect communication, wouldn't that be more like 90%?
So, what do CEOs do, and how much of that involves communication of one kind or another?
Well, they make decisions.
16). To Hype or Not to Hype?
One of the discussion lists I follow had quite an exchange of messages about the place of hype in writing.
Hype, of course, generates emotion, and we see it used extensively in sales copy. But it also turns up in some employee communication, and especially in staff newsletters when the wrong people get involved.
But getting back to the discussion; as it evolved it became clear that hype comes in two kinds, a good kind and bad kind.
17). Strategic Checklists
I've been through a couple of checklists in the past few days, and it's reaffirmed my faith in their effectiveness as a communication tool.
Now, there are at least a couple of ways we can look at checklists: in the strategic and tactical senses. You'll probably recognize the tactical advantages of using checklists: a clear and logical, as well as economical, way to write.
18). Get Speaking
On a recent Sunday evening, I watched a friend 'graduate' from a beginner's class for stand-up comedians.Needless to say, I saw
19). Contrarian Marketing at Benetton's
Perhaps, with apologies to Dale Carnegie, we should call this article: "How to make enemies AND influence people."
The subject: United Colors
20). Technology & Communication
A study a couple of years ago found that 63% of executives were making fewer business trips because of technology.Instead of a plane trip, fac
21). Email Newsletter Templates: Text
Thinking about an email newsletter or an online newsletter, and wondering about a template? In the case of a text newsletter, creating or finding a template is quite straightforward.
It's the basic approach to email newsletters, and easy for just about anyone who can type (even with just two fingers).
This approach works well for newsletters that emphasize content.
22). Email Newsletter Templates: HTML
Looking for free HTML newsletter templates to send by email?
If you can find one that works for you, it's a great idea. You'll save time and money, and perhaps get a better design than you would if you created your own.
A number of online sites do offer free HTML email templates, and to find them just type in the phrase "free templates" or variations at any major search engine or directory.
23). Why Bosses Don't Get All the News
Not long ago, a friend who works in television complained that the industry has no interest in real business stories. And, I have to agree with him, since we don't see much on television that doesn't involve stock prices or some sort of scandal.
Well, with one exception, perhaps. The British Broadcasting Corporation and PBS in the USA aired a popular business show called "Back to the Floor.
24). Take Your Good Idea One Step Further
Whether you're an executive, manager, professional, or entrepreneur, you need to think ahead. When you do it in a formal sense, it's called it planning, when you do it informally it's something like speculating.
Whether you're planning or speculating, the exercise rep- resents just the tip of the iceberg. For the plans or scenarios to amount to something, they have to be implemented.
25). A 'Four Square' Statement
Here's a quick and simple way to develop a strategic plan for any written document. And while it doesn't require much actual writing, it will help you focus your attention and get a better response to your message.
Take a sheet of paper and divide it into about four equal parts by drawing a horizontal line across the page and a vertical line down the page.
26). Lower the Volume for Emphasis
I'm something of a political junkie, someone who enjoys watching politicians speak. And, among their speeches I find leadership convention speeches among the most interesting. As the commentators and pundits so relentlessly tell us, leadership races can be won or lost on the content and delivery of those speeches.
Let's talk about delivery, and one technique that good speakers use.
27). Speak. Stop. Start Speaking Again.
Early on, while working in radio stations, I learned that 'dead air' is a bad thing.
Dead air means silence, unintentional silence, that is. So, if I happened to be standing in the hall, for instance, and heard no music or voice for more than a couple of seconds, I would quickly check to see what had happened in the announcer's booth or the news booth.
28). Mind Mapping
Ever been on a project where you had trouble keeping all the 'if' questions straight? "If this happens," you say, "we'll do one thing. B
29). Better Internal Proposals
A colleague of mine has a problem. We belong to the same association and he's been trying for quite some time, without success, to get support for one
30). Reference Books Reviewed: Associated Press Stylebook
When you write, you likely find yourself wrestling with questions. I certainly do, everything from the proper form of abbreviations to the placement of apostrophes. Ideally, you want to get past those questions quickly, so you can focus on the message, not the writing.
Among the tools that helps us answer questions quickly and consistently are stylebooks: those manuals that recommend certain styles or usage.
31). Get Evaluations to Grow
You're speaking, so you know what you're saying. But, do you know what your audience is hearing?
Or perhaps you're writing. Do you know what your audience is reading?
I know many speakers who've been surprised when they discovered the distance between the message they sent and the message the audience received. That's not really unexpected. After all, we really can't gauge how our content or delivery comes across to others unless we've had the evaluations of others.
32). Business Ownership & Labor Day
33). A New Look at Labor Day
A day to reflect on the accomplishments of working people: That's been the proud tradition since the first, unofficial, Labor Day
34). What Makes A Good Media Story?
Media relations can be difficult, but also rewarding. And the lessons we learn from working with newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and online