Whether you’re writing creatively, for academia, or blogs, one of the most important aspects of writing is often overlooked: the ability to give and receive constructive criticism.
If you know providing such constructive feedback isn’t your forte, you’re not sure if you’re doing it well, or you just want a refresher, you’re in luck! I have some tips and examples for you.
Giving Constructive Criticism
- Please never just say “it’s good” or “I liked it.” Okay, I’m glad… but what made it good? Why did you like it? I need a little bit more feedback. And that includes what you didn’t like. In fact…
- What you don’t like is probably the most valuable information. What is it about this piece that you don’t like? For example, “the voice didn’t seem very authentic,” or “I just don’t feel like this part fits in with the rest of the post.” Help me see where I can improve. That’s important, so let me say it again.
- Help the writer see where he or she can improve. There is no such thing as a perfect first draft. Even thoroughly edited final drafts are often not without their faults. Speak up and let the writer know what you think.
Receiving Constructive Criticism
- Remember that you are not your work. Just because I don’t like your outfit or your taste in music doesn’t mean that I don’t like you as a person. Likewise, just because someone doesn’t like something you’ve written, it doesn’t mean they don’t like you.
- Prompt the critic. When you ask for someone’s opinion, they might not always know how to give constructive criticism. If they say something like, “that’s good,” ask them why they liked it. Ask them where they think you can improve or what they found confusing. The more you prompt them, the more likely you’ll get the information you need (and the more likely they are to provide this information to you up front in the future since they know what you’re looking for).
- Remember that you are the author. In the end, it’s your work. You need to be happy with it. So while you can consider all of the feedback and constructive criticism you receive, you’re ultimately the one who decides whether or not to accept it.
Can’t tell a joke? No problem. Use simple types of humor that don’t require any special comic ability. There are lots of them available – analogies, quotes, definitions, one-liners. They’re so short that they don’t require comic delivery. Anyone can use them successfully.
As always, the key to success is analogizing your humor to a point. Funny analogies are perfect because they’re automatically relevant. (Otherwise they wouldn’t be analogies). And they’re so short, they don’t require comic delivery. They’re easy to deliver and highly effective.
For example, let’s say you want to make the point that some proposed course of action is illogical. You might say that the proposal doesn’t make sense. It’s like the fellow who heard that 90% of accidents occur within ten miles of home so he moved twenty miles away.
Anyone can deliver that line. It’s not hysterical, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s mildly amusing and it highlights a point. Remember, the goal is simply to communicate the fact that you have a sense of humor.
Funny quotes also provide a simple way to add humor to a presentation. They are easy to find. They gain immediate attention. And, if selected with panache, they make you sound quite erudite.
For example, let’s work with a quote from one of America’s most famous astronauts:
I believe it was Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, who was asked if he had been nervous before he went into space. He said, “Of course, who wouldn’t be? There I was sitting on top of 9,999 parts and bits — each of which had been made by the lowest bidder.”
This is excellent for client presentations explaining the justification for premium pricing — the old you get what you pay for argument. You could also use it to make points about quality, government spending, pessimism and bravery. But that list just scratches the surface. You can analogize the Armstrong quote to almost any point if you think about it long enough. Most important, anyone can use the quote — it doesn’t require comic delivery.
Here are a few more examples.
Let’s say a rival is bragging that his just completed report is a classic. You might add: “Well as Mark Twain once said ‘A classic is something that everyone wants to have read and nobody wants to read.'”
Or your opponent, the windbag, has finally finished a long, flowery argument during a company meeting. You can say: “Will Rogers must have been thinking of that when he said ‘In some states they no longer hang murderers. They kill them by elocution.'”
Or some miscreant has the audacity to ask what you do for exercise. You affect your best
withering stare and say: “In the words of Fred Allen, ‘I like long walks — especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.'”
But you don’t have to wait for specific situations to arise. Many quotes can be easily dropped into casual conversations — particularly if you want to wax philosophic. Here are a few of my favorites:
Martin Buxbaum: “If you think you have someone eating out of your hand, it’s a good idea to count your fingers.”
Fulton J Sheen: “The big print giveth and the fine print taketh away.”
Woody Allen: “I think crime pays. The hours are good, you travel a lot.”
Lily Tomlin: “If truth is beauty, how come no one has their hair done in a library?”
Lucille Ball: “The secret to staying young is living honestly, eating slowly and lying about your age.”
Where can you find appropriate humorous quotes? Just go to http://www.museumofhumor.com and click on “Resources”. Under a heading titled “Material” you’ll find a list of simple types of humor including quotes, definitions and one-liners. Click on the type of material that you want and you’ll be taken to a goldmine of links. And that’s no joke!
Malcolm Kushner, “America’s Favorite Humor Consultant,” is an internationally acclaimed expert on humor and communication. A co-creator of the humor exhibit at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Kushner is the author of several books including Public Speaking For Dummies which has sold over 100,000 copies. He has been profiled in Time Magazine, USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post and numerous other publications. His television and radio appearances include CNN, National Public Radio, CNBC, “Voice of America” and “The Larry King Show.” Prior to becoming a humor consultant, he practiced law with a major San Francisco law firm. A popular speaker at corporate and association meetings, Kushner is based in Santa Cruz, California. For more information, and lots of humor you can use in your next presentation, check out http://www.museumofhumor.com.
Instead of checking email continuously and from multiple devices, schedule specific email time during the day while you are at your computer. All other time is email vacation time.
We are most efficient when we answer email in bulk at our computers. We move faster, can access files when we need them, and link more quickly and easily to other programs like our calendars. Also, when we sit down for the express purpose of doing emails, we have our email heads on. We are more focused, more driven, wasting no time in transition from one activity to another.
I bulk process my email three times a day in 30-minute increments, once in the morning, once mid-day, and once before shutting down my computer for the day. I use a timer and when it beeps, I close my email program.
Outside my designated email times I don’t access my email — from any device — until my next scheduled email session. I no longer use my phone for email unless I’m away from my computer all day.
When the urge to check arises — and it arises often — I take a deep breath and feel whatever feelings come up. And then I focus on whatever I’m doing, even if what I’m doing is waiting. I let my mind relax.
Here’s what I’ve found: I don’t miss a thing.
In fact, it’s the opposite. I gain presence throughout my day. I am focused on what’s around me in the moment, without distraction. I listen more attentively, notice people’s subtle reactions I would otherwise overlook, and come up with more ideas as my mind wanders. I’m more productive, more sensitive, more creative, and happier.
Humor is a powerful communication tool. It can gain attention, create rapport, and make ideas more memorable. It can also relieve tension and put things in perspective. In today’s ultra-competitive, high-pressure workplace, a sense of humor is an indispensable tool for success.
Scoring Points With Humor
Your first step in harnessing the power of humor is to use it for a purpose. Irrelevant humor is usually perceived as a distraction and time-waster. Whether you’re speaking to one person or one hundred, humor is more effective if it makes a point.
A good example comes from Robert Clarke, a former U.S. comptroller of the currency. Speaking to the National Council of Savings Institutions, he discussed how regulatory tools could be used to promote a sound banking system.
A friend of mine, an honors graduate of Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University, an “aggie,” spent the first half of the 1980s lusting for a car phone. Finally, he convinced himself that it was a necessity, not a luxury, so he bought one. The day he bought it, he called me from his car to tell me the news. And I didn’t hear from him again for about a month. Finally I saw him on the street and he seemed really down in the dumps. I asked him what was wrong and he said it was the car phone. “What do you mean?” I asked, “You wanted that phone more than anything you ever did.” And he said: “Yeah, but it’s wearing me down having to run to the garage every time it rings.”
Regulations — like telephones — are instruments. They can be used effectively. They can be used adequately. Or they can be misused….
The story is effective because it illustrates a key point — that regulations are merely tools. But note that the story could illustrate other ideas. It would be equally effective for making points about office automation, productivity and training. In fact, the story can be used to illustrate any point to which you can analogize it. The process is only limited by your imagination.
Is it worth taking a few minutes to analogize your humor to a point? Absolutely. The biggest cause of “bombing” is starting a presentation with a joke that has nothing to do with anything.
Here’s why: Relevance reduces resistance. A basic tenet of audience psychology holds that people resist humor if they think you’re trying to be humorous. They put a comedy chip on their shoulders. Think of the last time you saw a comedian stride up to a microphone. Your first thought was probably “You think you’re funny — prove it!”
When humor is used to make a point our reactions are quite different. We recognize that the speaker is using humor primarily to make a point and only secondarily to be funny. We’re more open to accepting the humor. Most important, even if we don’t think it’s funny, the humor still makes a point and moves the presentation forward. The speaker isn’t left in the embarrassing limbo called “bombing.”
Create a Positive Image
Managers, executives and professionals who use humor in presentations with clients and colleagues come across as more approachable. Numerous social science studies verify this effect — a little humor can increase your likeability a lot. And it’s easier to maintain morale and enthusiasm by showing you have a good sense of humor.
This is particularly true of self-effacing humor. Staff workers, as well as clients, are delighted when executives poke fun at themselves. They’re also astounded because it’s such a rare occurrence. That’s why it’s so effective. In a world of big egos, posturing, pompousness and arrogance, poking a little fun at yourself is a competitive advantage. It reflects confidence and security. It also creates rapport with your audience who enjoy learning that you’re not a stuffed shirt.
We would all do well to imitate the example set by the late Fred Hoar. A veteran Silicon Valley advertising and public relations executive, Hoar knows that his name has an unfortunate connotation — particularly when linked with his profession. In order to counter the negative meaning and show his sense of humor, he made fun of the situation. He begins his presentations by saying, “My name is Fred Hoar. That’s spelled F, R, E, D.” His audience was instantly won over.
One caveat: Don’t go overboard with self-effacing humor. If you use it too often or make it too personal, then you will appear neurotic. No one wants to hear you barrage yourself with putdowns about your weight or other physical traits. Your quips should be designed to put people at ease, not to make them uncomfortable.
Anyone Can Use Humor
What if you can’t tell a joke? What if you’re not “naturally” funny? Are you sentenced to life imprisonment in the lawyer stereotype — cold, gray and heartless. Not at all. In fact, you can parole yourself at any time.
You don’t have to be a professional comedian to use humor successfully. If you can’t tell a joke, you can still slip a light remark into a speech or conversation. Fred Hoar’s line about his name is a perfect example. It’s not a joke per se. So it doesn’t require comic delivery. Anyone could deliver that line effectively. (OK, anyone who’s name is Hoar.)
My point is that there’s a big difference between being funny and communicating a sense of humor. No one expects you to be hilarious. And it’s not professionally desirable to emulate Bozo the Clown. Your goal should simply be to show that you possess a sense of humor. It’s a trait that is universally admired.
Start Today
There’s an old joke about a managing partner who hated procrastination. So he hung up a sign that said: “Do It Now.” Within 24 hours, his paralegal quit, his secretary took a vacation, and his junior partner stole the firm’s biggest client.
Despite these risks, I’m going to advise you to “do it now” — start communicating your sense of humor today. Hang a cartoon on your office wall. Tell a joke that makes a point. Start looking for opportunities to institutionalize humor in your workplace.
Make humor a habit. It will make you a more effective professional. And that’s no joke!
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Malcolm Kushner, “America’s Favorite Humor Consultant,” is an internationally acclaimed expert on humor and communication. A co-creator of the humor exhibit at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Kushner is the author of several books including Public Speaking For Dummies which has sold over 100,000 copies. He has been profiled in Time Magazine, USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post and numerous other publications. His television and radio appearances include CNN, National Public Radio, CNBC, “Voice of America” and “The Larry King Show.” Prior to becoming a humor consultant, he practiced law with a major San Francisco law firm. A popular speaker at corporate and association meetings, Kushner is based in Santa Cruz, California. For more information, and lots of humor you can use in your next presentation, check out http://www.museumofhumor.com.
How are you gathering data and intelligence from your employees, peers and bosses to make smart decisions?
In other words, how well do you listen?
It’s a skill all of us can work on. Once you’ve mastered the fundamentals, there are a number ways to raise the bar. Follow these steps to become a better listener:
- Approach each dialogue with the goal to learn something. Think, “This person can teach me something.”
- Stop talking and focus closely on the speaker. Suppress the urge to multitask or think about what you are going to say next.
- Open and guide the conversation with broad, open-ended questions such as “How do you envision…” or “Help me understand how you’re thinking about this.”
- Then, drill down to the details, where needed, by asking direct, specific questions that focus the conversation, such as “Tell me more about…,” “How would this work?” or “What challenges might we face?”
AT WORK:
Send concise, work related emails; call if matter is urgent, needs discussion/input with a quick resolution; or if best way to reach someone.
NEVER send long, unnecessarily wordy emails;
NEVER send chain emails.
And you DON’T always need to copy everyone on every email – use your judgement.
PERSONAL:
Call if matter is urgent and recipient may not see it in time; if matter needs discussion/input with a quick decision; and again, if it’s the preferred communication channel.
Don’t send chain emails and jokes unless recipient confirms they like them;
DON’T facebook or email messages of condolence, congratulations, birthday and other special greetings UNLESS you supplement them with a call. Your family, friends, and relatives deserve that much!!
Read full article via Fast Company
The first step to listening better is to recognize the fact that you don’t. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you really hearing what others are saying? Or are you only passively listening?
- Are you focused on their words? Or are you thinking about what you will say next?
- Are you putting yourself in the shoes of the other person? Or are you only interested in meeting your own objectives?
- Do you ask a lot of questions? Or are you doing all of the talking?
- Are you hearing what they are really saying? Or are you too colored by your own perceptions, judgments and filters?
This last question is critical. If you are honest, you will most likely begin to see that your filters are getting in the way of communication. By recognizing that you even possess these filters, you can become more aware when they begin to color your interpretations. This allows you the choice to set them aside so you can create an effective opening to listen.
I was flying from the Midwest to Seattle. She was my seatmate. And she was clearly in meltdown mode.
“I’m a recruiter,” she said, naming a well-known technology company. “And I spend my life dealing with email. I shouldn’t even take the time to talk with you.” She seemed like a nice person – but frazzled to the max.
She spent most of our four-hour flight doing two things – typing with furious abandon on her laptop, and pouring out her heart to me. She told me the flow of email was relentless. “On a quiet afternoon,” more than 200 messages dropped into her in-box. For her, there was no escape – not even at 31,000 feet.
At age 39, she was seriously thinking of fleeing her job in order to preserve her sanity.
“I’m usually a positive person,” she said. “I don’t like what this job has done to me. It’s a job I wanted, but I may need to leave it so I can get back to who I am.”
I wanted to share some “best practices.” I wanted to give her five easy steps to making things OK. But the fact is, we’re still catching up when it comes to how to use email.
Microsoft – whose software is used to send and receive more emails than anyone else’s – has come up with some useful technical tools. The latest version of Outlook, with its vertical message pane and colorful flags – is an improvement on what’s come before.
Microsoft Marketeer John Porcaro recently posted a colorful look at the company’s email culture, along with his favorite email tips. Microsoft itself has some well-intended advice on better emailing – but it’s on the simplistic side, and way too difficult to find and access.
And when I called Microsoft’s “Crabby Office Lady” (whose columns are actually pretty good) to ask about best practices . . . let’s just say she lived up to her name.
David Allen – author of the best-selling “Getting Things Done” – has come up with an Outlook “add-in” that allows you to delegate a message, create a task for yourself, hit the “snooze” button (the email will reappear after a certain number of days), and several other options. Business author Chuck Martin has weighed in with “Seven Tips for Getting Control of Email.”
All these are somewhat helpful – yet all are woefully incomplete. Where is the team of psychologists, anthropologists, information designers and technologists who can assemble a comprehensive approach to email that will truly help individual and corporate productivity?
There’s a golden opportunity here for the folks in Redmond to take the lead on this. They could contribute to crafting some holistic – not just technological – solutions to the problems their technology has helped create. Not only would it earn them the gratitude of companies worldwide, it would advance Microsoft’s cause of “Trustworthy Computing” – and they could probably monetize it.
And, on a future airplane flight, my seatmate might be able to open a John Grisham novel instead of her laptop.
I’ve always considered myself a public relations professional by trade. Even when the general perception of PR isn’t all that good, I still try to advocate for stronger ethics, better measures and more honorable tactics than those that give the industry an iffy reputation. But despite the last several years of trying to help many of my colleagues better understand that blasting and lists and impersonal communications is not only generally not effective but under certain conditions illegal, too many still don’t get it.
So let’s review … and this time pay attention:
- If you email a blogger, media member or otherwise individual with a pulse and they do not know you and didn’t ask you to email them, you are — at most — introducing yourself. If you do anything more than that, you are spamming them.
- If you email anyone for a commercial purpose — and outreach on behalf of a company or organization is for a commercial purpose — your email and company or firm is subject to the CAN-SPAM act. As such, among other things, your email has to have a “clear and conspicuous” explanation of how to to opt-out of your emails. By the way, you also have to clearly identify the communication as advertising. And if you think PR isn’t advertising in this case, roll the dice. I’m sure a judge won’t agree with your COM 204 professor’s definition. And PRSA is understandably nut-less, all but endorsing email spam, when it comes to their official reaction to this notion. (Thank you for prodding them, Josh.)
- Media database companies cannot possibly update tens of thousands of media member’s contact information or preferences to the extent you can rely on them to not get you in trouble with a blogger who agrees with the first two points. Automation, even using companies claiming to have awesome data to drive it, is not cool.
- Yes, this makes scaling your media outreach next to impossible. But that’s a good thing. Your “list” is supposed to be a list of personal contact information for people you know and have some sort of professional relationship or contact with. They should be glad to open your emails. Any list that is more than that is one that should comply to No. 2.
Yeah, I know it sucks. I used to think PR was easy, too. I’d download my list of 400 outlets that qualified under my target parameters, copy and paste my press release and hope like hell for some pick up. I’d follow up and call about 15 key media outlets and develop the relationship part, maybe get 5-6 of them to bite on the story, along with the 2-3 dozen small town newspapers that were so starved for content they copy-pasted my release, and made my clients or bosses happy.
You’re in the communications business. Communications wasn’t meant to be one to many. It’s unnatural.
Ask any journalist and they can tell you about the 5 Ws and an H. Any solid news story covers those six basic ingredients. The same is true for communicating with others.
Want to ensure you don’t forget a critical detail in your communications? Think 5 Ws and an H to ensure you’re not missing an important detail, sharing the all-important context, and making it relevant for your audience.
What
What’s the decision? What does it mean? What should I know? What’s in it for me?
Why
Why is it the right decision? Why now? Why is it important?
Where
Where is this decision coming from? Where/what locations will it affect? Where can I get more information?
When
When is this happening?
Thy landing page shalt have but one goal, and the number of the goals shall be one. Not two, not zero, but one.
If thy landing page hath zero goals, it is a “branding” page, and such vanities shall bear no fruit.
If thy landing page hath more than one goal, thou shalt confuse thy visitor, who shall leave thy site in disgust and anger.
Thy copy shalt not be divided amongst more than one goal, for such shall surely drive thy visitor to lamentation and thy copywriter to madness.
There are many wonderful people living the Gospel of the One-Pager that we can all learn from. A few examples:Strategy to Performance Dashboard Downloadable, this SlideShare tool from BlueOcean gives you 9 pages of templates to fill in.One Page Business Plan from lifehacker.comOne Page Job Proposal for getting a new job
Build a One Page WebsiteTo find more on your own, simply Google “one page (fill in the blank)” for whatever you’re seeking. Somebody out there has created a one-pager for just about everything!Don’t Just Copy the Templates: Develop a One-Pager Skillset
To truly live the Gospel of the One-Pager, don’t just search for specific one-pagers. Look across all that you find for patterns:• What do all these one-pagers have in common?• How do the get to the crucial stuff while editing out the noise?• How are they packaged?• etc.Among other things, you’re likely to find:
• They all have one key point, and no more!
• Everything else is compelling storytelling to support that key point
• They target the audience’s head (thinking), heart (feelings), and hands (action)Once you begin to practice what most one-pagers have in common, you will have forever harnessed the Power of the One-Pager. And that’s a superpower that will serve you well, everywhere!
Why are we putty in a storyteller’s hands? The psychologists Melanie Green and Tim Brock argue that entering fictional worlds “radically alters the way information is processed.” Green and Brock’s studies shows that the more absorbed readers are in a story, the more the story changes them. Highly absorbed readers also detected significantly fewer “false notes” in stories–inaccuracies, missteps–than less transported readers. Importantly, it is not just that highly absorbed readers detected the false notes and didn’t care about them (as when we watch a pleasurably idiotic action film). They were unable to detect the false notes in the first place.
And, in this, there is an important lesson about the molding power of story. When we read dry, factual arguments, we read with our dukes up. We are critical and skeptical. But when we are absorbed in a story we drop our intellectual guard. We are moved emotionally and this seems to leave us defenseless.
Is busyness bad for business?
The answer isn’t a simple “yes” or “no”. While Kreider argues that we need bout of idleness to get inspired and work more effectively, there is evidence that workers benefit from busyness. Take one experiment conducted in 2010 by professor Christopher Hsee at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Hsee’s team found that people who kept themselves occupied rather than waiting idly after a test felt happier. Interestingly, participants in the study were not likely to busy themselves unless they could justify the activity; they weren’t interested in what Hsee and his colleagues call “futile busyness”. But the results showed that even futile busyness is better than idleness.
In my organization’s own recent research with a global firm, we discovered that a common characteristic among the company’s great leaders was their recognition of the importance of busyness. They knew idle employees would suffer, and so pushed to instead create a stimulating work environment. For example, one leader responded to a downturn in work by encouraging team members to look for novel projects that interested them and might generate opportunities. Not only did this keep the group engaged, but some of the projects also eventually bore fruit. This wasn’t futile busyness, of course. “Creative busyness” might be more appropriate.
Indeed, busyness seems to be most productive when the tasks we busy ourselves with are also meaningful. In a 2008 MIT study, researchers investigated meaning by asking participants to build Lego models. Finished models were either kept, or they were disassembled in front of the participant and handed back for rebuilding. (This was called the “Sisyphus condition”, after the mythical figure condemned to repeatedly push a boulder up a mountain only to watch it roll back down again). Even though the two conditions involved exactly the same type of work, participants in the “meaningful” condition were willing to produce more models (and built them more efficiently, for a lower median wage) than those who mimicked Sisyphus. Surely Michael, who attends one meeting only to have another scheduled, and completes one spreadsheet only to be presented with new figures, is starting to feel like he’s pushing that boulder.
Perhaps we are not so much caught in a “busy trap”, as a “meaning trap”. A meaningful life involves pursuing what we truly value, a sense of contribution in our work, as well as time outside of work to relax, enjoy hobbies, and spend time with loved ones. It’s perhaps no surprise that the great leaders in our study were also expert at modeling work-life integration; they valued not only busyness but also meaning. How did their emphasis on both impact the bottom line? Positively. Their teams were more engaged, their revenues were higher and their turnover was lower than other groups’.
In this interview, Paul talks about how to use storytelling as a leadership tool, ways that storytelling can make leaders more effective, why storytelling it important, and more.
How do companies make storytelling part of their leadership practices?
Some of the most successful companies in the world use storytelling very intentionally as a leadership tool. Organizations like Microsoft, Motorola, Berkshire Hathaway, Saatchi & Saatchi, Procter & Gamble, NASA, and the World Bank are among them. They do this in several ways.
Some have a high level corporate storyteller who’s job it is to capture and share their most important stories. At Nike, in fact, all the senior executives are designated corporate storytellers.
Other companies teach storytelling skills to their executives (because they certainly aren’t learning it in business school). Kimberly-Clark, for example, provides two-day seminars to teach its 13-step program for crafting stories and giving presentations with them. 3M banned bullet points and replaced them with a process of writing “strategic narratives.” P&G has hired Hollywood movie directors to teach its senior executives how to lead better with storytelling. And some of the storytellers at Motorola belong to outside improvisational or theater groups to hone their story skills.
In what ways can storytelling help leaders be more effective?
The short answer is that storytelling is useful in far more situations than most leaders realize. The five most commonly used are probably these: inspiring the organization, setting a vision, teaching important lessons, defining culture and values, and explaining who you are and what you believe.
But there are so many more. In my research for the book, I interviewed over 75 CEOs and executives at dozens of companies around the world and found them using stories in a much wider range of leadership challenges than I ever expected. For example, storytelling is useful when heavy influence is required like leading change, or making recommendations to the boss. But it’s also good for delicate issues like managing diversity and inclusion, or giving people coaching and feedback in a way that will be received as a welcome gift. It can help bring out more of people’s creativity, or help them rekindle the passion for their work. In all, I identified 21 common leadership challenges where storytelling can help.
So you don’t think I’m naïve or overzealous about the topic, I’m not suggesting storytelling should be used in every situation. For example, if you’re trying to decide what your five-year strategy should be, what you need is a good strategist. Or if you’re trying to decide how much money to pay to acquire your biggest competitor, what you need is a good financial advisor.
But once you’ve decided what your five-year strategy is going to be, and you need the 15,000 people that work at your company to line up behind it and deliver it, now you need a good story. Or once you’ve acquired your biggest competitor, and you need the 5,000 people that work there to stay, and not quit, now you need a good story. In short, storytelling isn’t always the right tool to help you manage things; but it’s exceptional at helping you lead people.
You can complain “I don’t have any leverage; I can’t change the cubicles, I can’t rewrite the reward system. And the answer is “No you can’t; don’t even try.” But simply through your own thinking, and getting other people to think differently as well, you can have enormous impact without changing any of that stuff even if you are not a member of the board.
The simple fact is “smart is smart,” and we’re talking about you offering up an additional way of viewing problems. You’ll never get in real trouble for doing that, especially if you do it gently by saying “can we think about this in another way?”
With that throat clearing complete, here are seven proven steps you can take in introducing new ideas in your, or any, organization:
1. Link what you want to do to a business imperative. This is just about always fatal if it is overlooked—and it generally is. That’s a shame since it is so easily addressed. Yes, of course, the idea of the rocket backpack that will allow us to fly to work is exciting, but if you work for a company that makes ball bearings it is hard to see the fit. You want to begin the conversation by being able to say something like, “you know, the organization has the business goals of A, B, and C. (You can talk about organizational goals—such as improving team work—as well, but odds are you will find a more receptive audience if you start with business goals.) I’ve got an idea that I think will fit perfectly.”
2. Produce obvious, “local” business results. Don’t focus on organizational or cultural change. Prove the efficacy of your idea in the vocabulary and currency of your organization. Sure, it would be nice if you could change your organization into “the next Google” overnight, a firm that is willing to go wherever the market takes it. But if your boss’ goal is to have the highest performing region in the company, that (a la point number 1) is the place to focus your attention.
3. Make sure there is sufficient autonomy. The unit(s) or individuals working on the new idea must have enough freedom to be different and protected from the “restorative forces” the organization will impose (even in spite of itself.) What this means for you and your project is this. Don’t worry about getting everyone committed. You don’t need to! There are four postures people can adopt: keep it from happening, let it happen, help it happen and make it happen. Obviously, you don’t want anyone in the “keep it from happening mode” if you can avoid it. But most people simply have to “let it happen.” You and (and maybe a few others) have to “make it happen.” Your boss (and maybe a few others) have to “help it happen” and create a buffer around you. So, rather than asking “how do I get everybody committed to my idea” keep asking yourself: “What is the least amount of commitment I need to move forward.”
If you want to be a better communicator, take a moment to consider these five tips, then give them a try.
1.) Be Concise: Don’t use 100 words to say something you can say in 50 words. It’s easy to become enamored of your own voice, which may cause you to drone on and lessen your effectiveness as a communicator. I’ll leave it at that.
2.) Have A Point: Don’t speak for the sake of speaking. Have a point, especially when you’re trying to be persuasive or explain something. It’s one thing if you’re having a coffee or a beer with a friend; the importance of having a point in such a scenario is diminished. In a business or teaching situation on the other hand, it’s very important to have a point in mind before you start talking.
3.) Don’t Have Too Many Points: It’s tough for most people to remember long lists. It’s even tougher if the list is comprised of complex points. Many memory experts say stick to a list of seven or fewer points, if you want your audience to remember them. Based on my experience, I’d suggest having a maximum of three key points you’d like your audience to remember. Better yet, have just one and hit it from a bunch of different angles. Obviously, this is not one size fits all, but in most instances, you’ll want to stick to a small number key points, or you will confuse your audience.
4.) Use Words And Metaphors That Will Resonate With Your Audience: If you’re speaking to a Board of Directors, a CEO group, or a bunch of Marketing Vice Presidents, the words you’ll use will be completely different than those you’ll use when speaking to a group of politicians or museum curators. This is true if you are speaking to individual people from groups such as these as well. Each audience has its own buzzwords and hot buttons. It’s key to use examples, phrasing and metaphors that resonate with your audience. If not, you will not pass the Ethos, Pathos, Logos test and you will be far less likely to effectively get your point across.
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No, you won’t do better work by procrastinating. And you will not have more time next week. In fact, leaving things unfinished makes you stupid. Here’s what works:
- Make specific plans. Just setting a date and a time when you’re going to do something makes you more likely to follow through. Or write down the steps necessary to do the work.
- Use short, painless dashes of effort. Just have at it for five minutes and feel free to watch the clock. Chances are you’ll realize it’s not so bad.
- Rewarding yourself for doing things you don’t want to do can be a powerful motivator.
- Use “precommitment devices” to make sure you follow through. Stickk is a good one.
- Asking yourself whether you intend on doing something is a more powerful motivator than telling yourself you will do it.
- Understand the secrets to willpower, breaking bad habits, productivity, and achieving goals.
Little things can make a difference:
- Play music with positive lyrics.
- Clean smells and the odor of cookies both make you behave better.
- Keep the area warm.
- Get outside in nature.
- Read fiction,
Several weeks ago I was listening to a This American Life podcast in which their host, Ira Glass, took an inside look one of the editorial meetings at the The Onion. I was fascinated to learn that for every 16 stories in their bi-weekly paper, they brainstorm 600 headlines. While this level of editing isn’t feasible for most B2B content marketers, there is a lot we can learn from The Onion’s editorial process. (Hat tip to The Beaverton Style Guide for this nice set of articles directly related to this.)
How the process works
First, here’s a great explanation of the general process from Joe Randazzo, the Editor-in-chief at the The Onion:
Basically the way it works is on Monday everybody pitches 15 headlines. We have about 10 people on staff, plus about 20 contributing writers who also pitch 15 headlines. If two people in the room vote on it, it goes on the to the next list. So we narrow them down from about 600 headlines to about 100 to 125, and we talk about them at another meeting on Tuesday.
From those, we choose the 16 or so headlines that make up the whole issue. We assign them and brainstorm what the stories will look like. When we put together every issue, we are trying to find a good balance of stories that are national and international in scale along with local or smaller things, or observational humor. We spend about an hour or so brainstorming those stories on Tuesday afternoon, the writers spend Wednesday writing them, and then we have draft meeting Thursday where we go through first drafts and rip them apart. Then they write second drafts on Friday, which the editors go through on [the following] Monday, and we go through a first round of editing, make notes, there are rewrites and then a second round of editing. On Friday, I’ll go through [the] final issue and make a last pass. I usually don’t have to make too many changes, but I might punch up something that needs it.
As content marketers, what can we take from this?
Turn it on and off. The most vexing aspect of using BCC in modern versions of Outlook is that it’s not even visible by default, and figuring out how to get to it is challenging. To see the BCC line in a new email, open a blank new message and click the Options tab in the ribbon. Then click BCC. The BCC field is now on for all new messages until you turn it off again in the same way.
Figure out who you BCC’d. As you know, recipients can’t tell who you included in the BCC field, or even if you used the BCC field at all. But that doesn’t mean you can’t. To see who you BCC’d in a previous email, just open the Sent mail folder and open the message. You’ll see the BCC field preserved for future reference.
Never violate the trust. Being included in the BCC field of an email is a sacred trust. If you’re a manager, for example, and one of your employees BCC’s you on an email about an overdue project, the last thing you should do is click Reply All and jump into the conversation, admonishing the recipient for being late. If you do that, the jig is up, and everyone knows that the sender was secretly informing you about the email thread. This can have a seriously draining effect on productivity and morale. Bottom line: Never, ever reply-all to a message for which you’re in the BCC line.