This is adapted from a LinkedIn post. When my boss, Ben, signed into our Teams meeting yesterday, he didn’t see me. He saw a limited edition RuPaul teddy bear (thank you Build-A-Bear) sitting where I should be. He cracked up. I moved the bear. Being gay men, we were legally obligated to discuss this season …
It pains me to write this post because I consider myself a funny guy.1 I inherited a great sense of humor from my dad, and I have never passed up an opportunity to make a pun. I love to make people laugh. And If quoting the Simpsons were an Olympic sport, I would have won several …
As an ACLU of Florida volunteer, one of my favorite things to do is to get out in the community, explain our mission, and advocate for change. I got to do that twice recently. Last weekend, I participated in a talkback session at “When the Righteous Triumph” at Stageworks Theatre. A few days ago, I spoke to the …
Fire up your word processor. Open a blank document. Press Shift-7. Do you see a little squiggly symbol that looks like a squashed g-clef? That’s called the ampersand, and it means “and.” An ampersand is a lot like a tuxedo. It’s quite fancy. In some places, it’s a requirement. But you wouldn’t wear a tuxedo …
I recently wrote this brief introduction to personas for a freshman-level Introduction to Business class. A buyer persona (sometimes called a customer persona) is a description of an imaginary person that represents a target customer or user. A well-written persona typically will include: B2B personas typically also include: Each persona should have a name. Be …
I recently finished Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle Is the Way,” a popular book in business circles. It’s a good book — I highlighted many passages that seemed written expressly for me — but the basic premise leaves me cold. The author seems to say that the path to success requires us to bypass emotions. In fact, …
At least once a day, a stranger approaches me in the street and says, “You look like an English major! Help me capitalize this title, headline, or section heading now!” I’m exaggerating, of course, but this topic comes up a lot. And the answer is rarely as difficult as you think. First, find out if …
Like the body of an iceberg, your audience goes deeper than you can imagine. It’s very easy to see who’s at the tip of the iceberg — those people reading your social media posts, responding to emails, scheduling discussions, downloading white papers, and so on. But underneath them, there’s a huge collection of additional stakeholders …
When it comes to B2B writing, your readers are busy people bombarded by information. Put yourself in their shoes. Do you think they have the time and energy to curl up with a long treatise or academic paper? Or would they prefer something concise and helpful? If you answered “long treatise or academic paper,” thanks …
B2B Readers are Busy. Here’s How to Write for Them Read More »
I’m not a big fan of the term “best practices.” The basic concept behind a best practice is admirable: Learn what works well for others and adapt it for your organization. But when people start proposing all kinds of ideas and calling them best practices, my Spidey-Sense tingles. When you hear the term “best practice” …
