Creative Streak

Life Without a Back-Space Key

December 7 (Pearl Harbour Day in the U.S.) made me stop and think about milestones. Some days of importance are tragic, others historic, But the profound ones changed how we live.

For hundreds of thousands of years, man's life was dictated by two key factors: the rise and fall of the sun, and his own cycadian rhythms. That ended on 4 September 1882 when Thomas Edison threw the switch on the first electrical power distribution system. It changed everything – from our waking and working hours, to our at-home entertainment, to the general organization of the home. Another one: on 18 October 1952, music became portable with the launch of the first transistor radio – the Regency TR-1. We now were controlling our music, taking it with us wherever we wanted.

I believe human creativity changed – for better, for worse – on an unnamed day in April 1973 when IBM unveiled its Correcting Selectric II typewriter. An improvement from the original IBM Selectric launched in the early 1960s, this advanced machine had a new and ground-breaking key, one which allowed the typist to back-space and then overstrike the previous character, thereby erasing it.

This is a milestone?

Creativity On The Go

Liz Massey, author of the blog Creative Liberty, interviewed me by e-mail over the past month about travel and creativity. I've enjoyed reading her posts over the past few years, so it was a thrill to be the subject of one. Here's a link to the post.

Liz Massey is a writer, editor, media producer and a creative agent provocateur. Experienced in artistic disciplines as diverse as music, photography, filmmaking and journalism, Liz has a deep hunger to understand how the creative process works. She began Creative Liberty in 2007 as a way to share what she’d learned about developing and maintainingcreative momentum.

The Secret of a Good Presenter

At dinner last night with some old colleagues, someone asked if the years had taught me the "best secret" to being a good presenter. I don't often give away secrets for free, but lean in kids, here's my best tip:

Make sure you're prepared.

Disappointed? Alas, many people are. Too simple. Not sexy. Needs to be an anagram or some other psychobabble marketing term.

That's not a secret? It is to a lot of people. Thankfully, otherwise most of us wouldn't have a consulting business.

I'm wrong? You say "rehearsal" is the best secret? I disagree. If the speaker hasn't linked the communications to both objectives and outcomes, considered the expectations and mindset of the audience, clarified and simplified the message to make it relevant and compelling, then all the rehearsal in the world will not help.

I've written a post previously on the importance of a creative brief, but it's name relegates it to brainstorms. The basic elements of a brief - adapted slightly - are as invaluable to anyone facing an important communications to a key audience.

Here are the six essential questions of a creative brief adapted for communications.

Quality vs. Conciseness

From Fast Company, here's an article about Shortmail.com, an e-mail system which limits messages to 500 characters. 

Says a company spokesperson: "[The] length limit on messages is long enough to express most coherent points or ask a colleague a question, while filtering out much spam, newsletters, promotions, and dissertations. Thus [Shortmail] becomes the place for the to-the-point messages in sizes and quantity you can digest and respond to quickly."

I'm not sure if I'm irked at the concept, or hoping they find a better PR person to re-position their product. I'm all for people being more succinct when they talk, but wouldn't it be better to suggest the service forces people to think more intelligently about what they're trying to communicate, not just say it in less words?

In other words, shouldn't quality first, conciseness second be more valued/valuable than simply using less words?

From Typewriters to Twitter: Good Rules of Writing

Good principles of communications stick around, no matter the channel. In March 1982, I wrote these notes from Introduction to Journalism Writing – a class taught by John Bennett, my favourite college professor, at the University of Iowa.

Begin with the end in mind. What’s the purpose of your business writing? What are you trying to achieve?

Know your topic. Use respectable research. When you’re not sure, consult an expert.

Always give credit where credit is due.

Never assume. If you aren’t sure, read more.

Once you’re clear on purpose and content, have something to say.

Have an opinion when it warrants an opinion.

As much as your writing focuses on a specific subject, it’s still your writing. It should be a reflection of you.

Because it’s a reflection of you, your writing should use language, syntax, grammar and spelling.

Be proud of your writing.

Never add anything – background, details, humour, personal information – at the expense of clarity.

Mies van der Rohe was right: Less is always more.

I’ve been waiting to use these old lecture notes for a post ... and then last week, I came across 40 Tried And Tested Twitter Tips For Newbies, Apprentices And Pros by Shea Bennett. A great overview of Twitter, lots of helpful tips ... and evidence that what everything old is new again.

Organising Your Thoughts, Harry Potter Style

The Film website reported last week how author J.K. Rowling organised her book with nothing more than a pen, notebook paper and a grid system. You can see how she plotted it out by chapter, title, section, plot movement, etc. (Go to the link above if you want to see the full-size version.)

I used this as an impromptu “show and tell” item in a workshop on Friday to show people the value of organising their thoughts in advance of a significant presentation or conversation. Even after we had a good conversation about how it demonstrated Rowling’s well-documented (obsessive) attention to detail, a few people in the group still doubted the need to plan out what they want to say.

Overused Buzzwords and Marketing Speak in Press Releases

My good friend Suzanne Ross of The Aerie Company sent this link to me a few days ago. (Sorry, I've been off on holidays for five weeks, and just now getting back to a keyboard.)

As background, Adam Sherk - a search and PR strategist for Define Search Strategies (owned by The New York Times Company) - analysed the number of words used in press releases archived on PRWeb over the past four years. "Leader" and "leading" were the two most used words. I've included the top 20 words below, or click on the link above to see the entire list.

Used together, the words really do repel the reader. ("As the leader of our industry, we at Acme are leading yet again by producing the best and most unique solution from the most innovative team of innovators with award winning exclusive technology.")

It reminds me of something that John Bennett (my first journalism teacher at the University of Iowa) said in one the early classes: "It's easy to select a word to use, but far more difficult to select one with impact."

1. Leader
2. Leading
3. Best
4. Top
5. Unique
6. Great
7. Solution
8. Largest
9. Innovative
10. Innovator
11. Award winning
12. Exclusive
13. Premier
14. Extensive
15. Leading provider
16. Innovation
17. Real-time
18. Fastest
19. Easy to use
20. Dynamic

The brilliant comic is by Drew & Natalie Dee and . Go here to see to their website and BUY SOMETHING. (I have heaps of their T-shirts.)

Framing the Problem

The process of creating ideas begins with a specific objective: what do you want the idea to accomplish?

I was reminded (again) of its importance after conducting and/or participating in a number of brainstorms during the past week. At one meeting in particular, the person (facilitating their own brainstorm – eek!) announced with a sigh at the beginning of the brainstorm, “Well, here we go again. I’m sure we’ll get the same ideas as last time.”

Indeed. Despite the inappropriateness of launching a brainstorm with a broad slap of a negativity brush, 'Mr. Optimism' was right, going so far as to admit afterward that the reality was much his own doing. Why?

The majority of most brainstorms in public relations and communications begin with the same two hoary* objectives:

• Generate (traditional/social) media
• Generate awareness

There lies the problem. Why would you generate any new idea if you always start at the same place and take the same route? Worse, the client in this specific case fell into their weekly routine:

• The same meeting tactics (always at 10 am, the same horrifying conference room, no food, the same people)
• The same agenda (no ice-breaker, no creative warm-ups, no brief, Mr. Optimism virtually started with "Achtung!  Who has any ideas?)
• The same product background (men, aged 1 to 99 who live in Australia and breathe at least once a daily basis).

The Best Writing Tips for Business

When I taught a class in public relations at Columbia College in Chicago (circa 1987), a colleague shared with me Frank Visco’s original list of tips for good writing, entitled How to Write Good.

Over the years, I read additional points. Similar lists began to surface. I threw everything in a folder until last month, when I culled the list for a Business Writing workshop for a client in Melbourne.

I'm a clearly a word geek. This list always makes me chuckle.

• A writer should not shift your point of view.
• Alors!  Why use words from another language?
• Always avoid alliteration.
• Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
• As you know, don’t repeat what the audience already understands.
• Avoid &s and abbrev., etc.
• Avoid clichés like the plague. They’re old hat.
• Be careful of commas, that, are not, necessary.
• Be more or less specific.
• Choose words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
• Do not use hyperbole.  Only one in a million can do it effectively.

A Brief on Creative Briefs

Successful communications programs of any type have one consistent element: at the beginning of the program's development, someone sat down and wrote a creative brief.

This person might not have called it a "creative brief," but the purpose was the same: to articulate the program's objectives, to outline the problems and opportunities the program will face in the hearts and mind of the intended target audience, and to consider the program's strategic direction.

The name changes depending upon where it's developed. Agencies often call them a strategy brief or client brief. Internal communications departments use slightly more generic names, like strategic plan or planning guide. At MasterCard, we used to call them "OST Plans" (objective + strategy +tactic). A colleague in Sydney doesn't have a name for his department's document per se, but his explanation certainly suggests one: "Our team sits down together and decides what the hell we're going to do before we waste time and money."