Several attendees at my First Friday talk on The Power of the Word have asked for bullet points they can use to make more impact and boost their business.
I’m delighted to help. Here’s my synopsis of The Secrets of Great Communication:
*Unearth your golden nugget. What’s your story? What makes your business different? How can you grab attention?
*Know your market: angle your message so it hits a nerve with your customers, appealing to their core values.
*Get promo placement right. Put your best stuff where it will catch the eye and consign dull details to the left-hand-page ‘graveyard.’
*Newspapers and magazines are crying out for stories – all you need is a snappy, interesting, well-targetted press release.
*Make the extra effort. Don’t sign off on any publicity project, including your website, until the words and pictures are exactly right.
*Keep control of your message: make sure everything you publish, on paper or online, shows you at your best – and tells your story.
*Care about what you write – down to the last word.
*Make sure you and your audience are speaking the same language – not everyone will be an expert in your field.
*Keep things clear and simple. Brevity can be a virtue and often works better than an overload of facts.
*Dress up your message with case studies and factboxes: real-life examples and sparky bullet points will put your case with verve.
Lesley Hussell
