by Ken Krause | Sep 20, 2017 | Blog
Having worked across a number of industries during my career, I feel pretty safe in saying no industry loves it jargon (and acronyms) like healthcare. The general technology industry probably comes in a close second, but for pure technical mumbo-jumbo you can’t beat healthcare.
Part of it, I think, is that the healthcare industry is filled with a lot of smart people. Because of that, everyone feels like they have to sound like the infamous “smartest person in the room.” So they load up their content or their speeches or even their everyday conversations with a lot of jargon designed to give that impression.
Nowhere does that become more apparent than when I go to check the website of a new client or prospect to start familiarizing myself with their business. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come away after reading page upon page asking “But what do you do?”
Yes, you’re open and interoperable. Yes you follow evidence-based best practices. Yes, your methodology is transformative and sustainable. Yes, your subject matter experts have a wealth of experience in solving the toughest problems facing the industry. But again, what do you do?
If I, who has an employment-based incentive for comprehending your inscrutable jargon can’t figure out what you’re trying to say, what do you think happens to the typical prospect doing a fly-by? They see a bunch of words and terms they’ve heard 100 times before. They try to determine if they’re in the right place, looking at the right company.
But if it doesn’t come to them immediately, odds are they just move on. You lose.
Keep it simple
You’ve probably heard this quote, often erroneously attributed to Albert Einstein: If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. Ol Al may not have said it, but there is a lot of truth to it nonetheless.
I know this from personal experience. Thanks to my work here at Amendola Communications, I have had the opportunity to speak with some incredibly smart, accomplished people. They are the kind of people who are leading all of healthcare toward amazing new discoveries and ways of working.
While they come from different backgrounds and have expertise in very different areas, the one trait they all had in common was their ability to get their point across in a way that the average person could understand.
Some were talking about advanced analytics and machine learning. Some were talking about the nuances of health insurance. Some were literally talking about curing cancer. But you never walked away from the conversation wonder what the H-E-double hockey sticks they were talking about.
Instead, you walked away energized and inspired. Not to mention excited about the possibilities for the future and how their companies were creating them.
Learning to speak/write plainly
Becoming a clear communicator like that isn’t easy. It actually takes a lot of work to make your communication sound effortless yet on-target.
The first step, quite honestly, is not being afraid that people won’t think you’re smart if you don’t pack your content or your spoken words with industry jargon. In business there are no points awarded simply because you sound “smarter” than everyone else. The money goes to the people who show they understand the problem and how to solve it.
Once you’ve bought into that philosophy, start looking through your current content, perhaps with a Business Buzzwords Bingo card in hand. If you find you are winning within the first three
paragraphs of a piece of content, especially your company website, you know you have some work to do.
Now listen to speeches from great communicators or read materials from a technically sophisticated consumer product. Whether you were a fan of Ronald Reagan’s or not, the man knew how to sell an entire nation on a concept. Is what you’re doing any different? Or as my colleague Michelle Noteboom points out, see how Donald Trump approaches the same challenge. You may not like what he says, but you must admit he has a way of stating his positions simply.
Car companies, especially the high-end ones, offer a great example of plain speaking. Even when they’re talking technical specs, they do it in a way that focuses on why you should care.
Apple has always had a good handle on that as well. While everyone else in the industry was talking about jitter rates and Hz-related info, they were telling how you could get 1,000 songs in your pocket. Everyone can understand that.
There’s the key. It’s not about the bells and whistles in your product. No one cares how much effort you had to go through to develop it. That’s your problem.
What they want to know is what’s in it for them. The easier you make it to understand that, the more intrigued they will be.
Read my lips: no more jargon
Well, very little anyway. It is healthcare, after all, and there are technical terms that must be used at times. But if you try to ensure that any jargon you use is essential to explaining your position, and that there’s no other way to say it, you’ll likely find prospects staying longer and going deeper on your website. And more willing to engage with you all the way to a sale.
by Todd Stein | Sep 6, 2017 | Blog
Most of us are our own worst critics. It’s easy to understand why. After all, no one knows us better than us. Who better to uncover and critique all our foibles, follies and failures than our own inner critic?
There’s a fine line, of course, between self-criticism and self-awareness. Maturity requires that we view ourselves with objectivity and correct those faults that can be corrected. The kind of criticism that comes of self-awareness and that leads to self-improvement is a prerequisite for happiness and love.
But when it comes to work, self-criticism can be crippling. Carl Richards, a certified financial planner, author, and regular New York Times contributor, makes that point in his fine article for the Times, “Free Yourself of Your Harshest Critic, and Plow Ahead.” Richards argues that we accomplish much of our best work when we stop critiquing and just do it.
“Think of how liberating it would be to free yourself from the role of being your own harshest critic,” he writes. What might happen if you took all the energy that goes in to judging your work and put it right back into the wellspring of creating the work instead?”
Writer’s Block
Richards article mainly concerns writing, and the common experience of writer’s block. But he notes that letting go of your inner critic is good advice for “anything meaningful you do. Singing, painting, entrepreneurship, giving financial advice, museum curating, boat building, skiing, whatever.”
Like Richards, my own experience with the shadow side of criticism concerns writing. I was a journalist for 15 years before tackling PR. Most days, my livelihood, to say nothing of my self-esteem, depended on my ability to crank out large amounts of decent copy on deadline. As a newspaper reporter with daily deadlines you either get over writer’s block or you get out. There’s no time for self-criticism when they’re holding the front page for your story.
It was after I left newspapers to become a freelance magazine writer that my self-criticism blossomed. I blame my editors. I learned shortly after starting to freelance that deadlines mean something very different for magazine editors than for newspaper editors. Magazine editors give their freelancers early deadlines, days or weeks before they intend to actually edit the article. They do that to guard against precisely the sort of writer’s block that often crippled me.
Yet, ironically, it was because I knew that my deadlines were fake and therefor moveable that my self-criticism could work its evil. With several days to write, no beginning was ever clever enough. Writing is rewriting, as every good writer knows. But when you reach the hundredth rewrite of your lede, you know you’re in trouble.
The Godfather of Gonzo
I’m reminded of the story of Rolling Stone Books editor Alan Rinzler who, in trying to wrangle the manuscript for Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail out of legendary procrastinator Hunter S. Thompson, ended up chasing the godfather of gonzo journalism around a hotel room for 48 hours with a tape recorder in hand. Unable to write, Thompson literally dictated the bestseller.
I never reached that point. What saved me, every time, was a deadline. Faced with no alternative but to produce, the words flowed. In the end, I simply lowered my standards and trusted that what came out of my experience and craft would be good enough.
In his article, Richards quotes a letter from reader Chip Scanlon. Scanlon, a writer himself, recounted how he overcame writer’s block: “I do my best to not have any standards at all. I abandon my standards. I urge myself to write badly, and once I do that my fingers begin to fly, and the inner critic is powerless.”
Does your inner critic ever keep you from completing work? How do you overcome it?
by admin | Jul 5, 2017 | Blog
Thought leadership is arguably one of the most powerful assets in an organization’s or individual’s public relations strategy. Yet relatively few companies go after the thought leader mantle, even if they have articulate, charismatic, true believers leading their organizations.
Often these potential thought leaders are kept preoccupied managing the present or near-future, while others who have an eye on the longer-term are hesitant to put their true thoughts out there, especially in the buttoned up world of business. And so, intriguing perspectives never see the light of day, including those that could establish a company or person as an industry player to watch.
By contrast, if you do a fair amount of thinking about the future, are amenable to investing time and effort into building your thought leadership profile and you’re willing to shake things up in your industry–then yes, you have the makings of a thought leader.
So where do you go from here? First, decide on what you want to be known for. Then decide on a correlating cause to champion. Let’s look at a well-known role model who has this approach down cold.
Thought leadership, Elon Musk-style
He’s extraordinarily rich, has a tempestuous romantic life and an unusual name. But above all, Elon Musk is an entrepreneurial futurist. That’s what people think first about Elon Musk, and that’s no accident.
I’ve long studied Musk’s thought leadership mode of operation and have distilled it to a simple pattern. First, he warns of a dire likelihood if humanity doesn’t get its act together. This generates significant buzz and fear. After a suitable amount of time has passed, Musk then follows up with a proposed solution.
Example: society will collapse when we run out of fossil fuels. Solution: Hyperloops that transport us at 700+ miles per hour.
Another example: society will collapse if artificial intelligence takes over the earth. Solution: merge human brains with artificial intelligence.
It’s all very calculated and strategic, and potential thought leaders should take note. Because it’s also undeniably effective. (By the way, Musk’s ideas have actual potential, fantastical as they seem. Take note of that, as well.)
How to find your thought leadership mojo
Here at Amendola I’ve developed a list of questions to provoke thought leadership thinking. I’ll share some of them here; for the full list, and more info about how Amendola builds and promotes thought leadership profiles; email me.
Question #1: If you could sound one alarm in your industry, what would it be?
Question #2: Do you have a minority and under-reported view of an industry topic that is significantly at odds with the widely held and established view?
Question #3: If you could rally your industry with one inspiring message or goal, what would it be?
These questions will likely prompt some interesting thinking, which leads to the next step what to do with these profound thoughts. In brief, you should put them into blog posts, articles, interviews, presentations and more, with a solid PR strategy to help promote your thought leadership message.
Thought leader-in-training
Another piece of advice: if you have the makings of a thought leader, start building your profile now. It’s not an overnight process, at all. In fact, it takes time to nail down your message in quote-friendly language, and to cultivate a media-favorite persona. My colleague Marcia Rhodes gives some good tips on the latter in her post “Be a Media Darling.”
Consider investing in media training, as well. In addition to our writing and PR services for thought leaders, Amendola offers in-depth media training, facilitated by experts with years of media experience in television, radio, newspapers and the internet.
It covers a lot, including:
- Body language and verbal best practices
- Tips for devising a memorable interview message
- Tips for assuring your quote gets published
- How to steer the interview back to your core messages when the interview meanders
And much more. The media training can be as short as one hour to longer, depending on your needs. We typically offer this training as a core component of our PR programs.
Don’t forget another time-tested public speaking strategy: joining Toastmasters.
In her post “Public Speaking Tips for the Timid and the Talented,” my colleague Michelle Noteboom details how participation in Toastmasters has upped her speaking game and given her newfound confidence.
Here is how Michelle recounts it: “Almost a year ago, one of my Amendola mentors encouraged me to join Toastmasters to further hone my speaking skills. While I was initially skeptical would everyone be a nerd? Or shy introverts with no personality? Perhaps retirees with nothing better to do? I have been pleasantly surprised by the mix of people in my club. It includes a variety of professionals in diverse careers, all of whom are fun and dedicated to self-improvement.”
She adds, “Toastmasters has given me the opportunity to deliver prepared speeches once or twice a month, as well as speak extemporaneously on random subjects. It’s provided an excellent forum for practicing speech organization and delivery, and for receiving feedback that pushes me to strive for continuous improvement.”
So there you have it a formula for success as a thought leader: an interest in the longer term, a willingness to shake things up in your industry, a solid PR plan, and a plan to practice until you’re close to perfect in your message delivery.
That’s really what it takes to be a thought leader. All that’s left is for you to take the leap and start becoming one.
by Lisa Chernikoff | Jun 21, 2017 | Blog
Here’s a valuable lesson for anyone involved in content marketing.Recently, I was chatting with a small group of guests at a party. Then, the other partygoers gracefully exited the conversation and suddenly, I was trapped. I looked right. I looked left. But my efforts were futile. I was officially stuck in a never-ending conversation. Yes, I had entered the dreaded Party Vortex, which is similar to the Polar Vortex but much less cold and much more dangerous.
But the real problem, and what made the circumstances so precarious, is that the never-ending conversation wasn’t a conversation at all. It was a monologue without audience participation. It was a soliloquy but far less articulate. It was all about my new acquaintance, who would most certainly not make the cut to be called a friend. As he continued to talk at me for 20 minutes, which felt like 20 hours, I smiled and nodded but secretly plotted my escape. Yet, despite my best Party Ninja skills, there was no way.
Spoiler alert: I survived this party trauma and lived to tell the tale. But sadly, this blog is not about party etiquette. It’s about content marketing because my Party Vortex nightmare is undeniably similar to the experience that potential customers might be having with your content right now.
While content marketing missteps are many and frequent, the biggest, most overarching mistake is that your content is all about you. It’s all about your company and your solutions. It’s all about your technology saving the world. This is the sort of content that not so subtly shouts “buy this.” After all, isn’t that your end goal?
However, touting the features and functionality of your newest product under the guise of a white paper often fails to make an impact especially as healthcare professionals becomes savvier to the idea that they’re being sold to everyday. It falls short because it doesn’t take readers, your potential customers, into account. It doesn’t address what readers really want to know and what will compel them to take action. It leaves readers hanging, and then what happens?
Rather than completing a “contact us form” on your website to learn more, they’re lost to you. They may have simply decided that it’s not the right time to buy or that your company isn’t the right partner. They may have even gasp moved on to one of your competitors.
From company-focused to customer-focused
When developing a content marketing strategy and crafting each piece of content to support that plan, it’s critical to keep your future customers top-of-mind. Remember that every decision-maker or influencer that engages with your content could be your newest client, smartest super user, or most reliable reference.
How can you better connect with your audience? It’s simple but shockingly hard to do. Write what they want to hear about, rather than writing what you want to say. Write what they are hungry to learn about, rather than what you’re desperate to teach them. It’s a small change in perspective that makes a big difference. And while that may seem obvious, it’s not abundantly clear to many marketing and PR professionals unless they’re just doing it wrong.
Effective, customer-focused content prompts an “aha moment,” by sharing new ideas or even the same old ideas in a new way. This matters because encouraging readers to think differently is the first step to being seen as a thought leader in their minds and then as the ideal strategic partner.
These new perspectives aren’t necessarily earth-shattering but they draw readers in. Customer-focused content addresses the problem you’re solving, not just the solution.
It also doesn’t oversimplify the solution by presenting painless and perfect success stories of IT solutions that were seamlessly implemented and quickly gained adoption by all end users. Further, it provides insights on process improvements, change management, and other tactics that readers can put into action, aside from just buying your technology.
Real-world tips and lessons learned are valuable takeaways that readers appreciate much more than a bulleted list of your product’s bells and whistles.
Your new customer-focused content will not only satisfy readers but also help turn more potential customers into actual ones. Even more importantly, we know that your new, improved content will ensure that you’re invited back to the party. And isn’t being invited back to the party the ultimate goal of any marketing?
by Tara Stultz | Nov 16, 2016 | Blog
All languages employ idioms, or phrases that have a figurative meaning that goes beyond the literal use of the words and English is no different. In fact, the English language includes an estimated 25,000 idiomatic expressions such as “breath of fresh air” and “clean bill of health.”
We commonly use idioms in business and in marketing and public relations to emphasize a point or make it more memorable. Unfortunately, many idioms are often misused. So much so, that the incorrect usage of idioms in some cases has become more common than the correct use. As we know, though, impressions are everything when it comes to PR, so it’s important to get it right.
Here’s a refresher on commonly used and misused idioms that tend to come up frequently in PR:
- Flesh out that idea or proposal, don’t flush it out. When you flesh something out, you’re giving it more substance and building out the details. Flushing out refers to clearing something out like a sewer line or getting it out of hiding.
- Home in on your key messages, don’t hone in on them. To home in on something is to zero in on it, as a missile homes in on a target. Hone (which shouldn’t be used with in, in this way) means to sharpen. So you home in on your key messages, and then you hone them until they are razor sharp.
- You’re champing at the bit to get started on a project, not chomping. If you’re eager to get a new initiative going, you’re champing at the bit as a horse does when anxious to start a race. Although horses also chomp, or chew noisily, they do so when eating not when anticipating something. (Note: This is one of those idiomatic expressions that is so commonly misused, some dictionaries include both versions of the expression. But the Associated Press Stylebook, the go-to style guide for major media outlets, has spoken and AP still prefers the original usage of “champing.”)
- It’s for all intents and purposes, not for all intensive purposes. For all intents and purposes means “in effect,” or “practically speaking”: “For all intents and purposes, we have completed our crisis communication plan.” All intensive purposes is a misuse of the original phrase, which comes from British legal terminology originating in the 1500s.
As with “for all intents and purposes,” a number of idioms have “eggcorns,” which means a similar-sounding word or words are substituted for the original due to mishearing or misinterpreting the correct term. The word eggcorn is thought to be a playful descriptor based on a theoretical mishearing of the word “acorn.”
Since eggcorns most often occur with homophones, or words that sound the same to the ear, these idiomatic faux pas occur most frequently when writing a phrase after hearing it spoken.
Here are a few common eggcorns to keep in mind:
- You toe the line, you don’t tow it. Toeing the line means you conform; you do what you’re expected to do and follow the rules. This phrase comes from racers placing their toes at a start line before a race. You can use a line or cable to help tow something such as a boat, but the line does the towing not vice versa.
- You give people free rein, not free reign. When you give others free rein as you might with a horse you give them the freedom to do what they want. Reign refers to the act of a monarch ruling a nation or territory.
- When someone is strongly favored in a competition, he or she is a shoo-in not a shoe-in. This is another idiom related to horses are you sensing a pattern? If you think about “shooing” a fly, it’s moving in the direction you want it to. The same is the case with the horse/candidate/whomever you want to win some kind of race supporters cheer the candidate on, shooing him or her towards victory.
- A creative idea piques your interest, it doesn’t peak it. If your interest is piqued, you are excited or curious about something. Peak refers to a pointed end or a hilltop or mountaintop.
- It’s per se, not per say. Per se is Latin for “by itself”: “The correct use of idioms doesn’t make you a genius, per se, but it’s a point in your favor.” It’s surprising how often the incorrect “per say” appears in writing, and from some super-smart people. Likely a case of the error being repeated so often, it starts to look correct.
- You wait with bated breath, not baited breath. The adjective bated means “with great suspense,” and this phrase refers to waiting for something anxiously or excitedly. When something is baited, on the other hand, a predator is attempting to lure its prey.
So now that we’ve homed in on the most common incorrect usage of idioms, I know you’re champing at the bit to toe the line when it comes to proper usage. (Yes, I had to do it.)