Where do bad words come from?
People say “world class” when they haven’t the energy or the courage to find and use a word that actually means something There are a lot of bad words out there. And most of them can be found inside companies, where good people use bad words for the wrong reasons. You hear words and sentences in …
Do your internal communications match your external brand?
They should, and the only way to find out if they are is to get out and have conversations with the people you’re trying to reach You have a kick-ass website that really resonates with your target audience. It reflects your brand: cool, hip, a bit irreverent and modern. In fact your marketing efforts have …
Great Writing is built on specificity
Great writing is built on specificity By Steve Crescenzo Organizational leaders love to talk about “the big picture.” They love to talk about “the view from 30,000 feet.” Why? Because that’s where they live. They sit up there on the corporate version of Mount Olympus, and hurl communication thunderbolts down upon the masses in the …
Bar Charts don’t equal an infographic
Sigh … it seems that too often, left to themselves organizations will always create bad, boring content. In our Creative Communications case study in this issue, we showed you how an infographic can be a creative and powerful way to tackle a complicated topic. But, that’s because it was well thought out and designed. Just …
What is the communicator’s role in engagement?
While some companies spend thousands of dollars on useless “engagement surveys” smart communicators do their own thing to drive employee engagement This month, I’m giving a speech in Warsaw, Poland on the communicator’s role in employee engagement. And make no mistake: I believe a strategic, creative communications team do a lot to drive employee engagement. …
Infographics are a great way to get the attention of people who have no attention spans anymore
A lot of information in a small package Infographics are a great way to get the attention of people who have no attention spans anymore Infographics are taking the corporate communication world by storm. As attention spans get smaller and smaller, communicators are struggling with how to present complex information in easy-to-digest formats. And a good …
Maybe the worst approval process ever
Can you guess what this diagram describes? Is it: A) The blueprint for building a top-secret new generation of predator drones. B) The process for completely revamping a major manufacturing company’s supply chain system. C) A map for navigating Obamacare D) The approval process for an organization’s employee publication. If you answered, D, you’re right! …
Which Facebook posts annoy you the most?
Mine is the “Schoolyard Bully Post” There are all kinds of annoying Facebook posts. And I’m sure everyone has their favorite least favorite ones. Maybe you hate the “Random Song Lyric” post. Or maybe the “Passive Aggressive Plea for Pity” posts do it for you (you know, the ones that just say something like, “Sigh.”) …