Even in the age of cyber marketing, doing the occasional event – a presentation, speech, workshop – in front of an audience of real human beings, is a good way to promote you and your work. But it has to be worth all the effort – the thinking time, the rehearsal and the nerves. You… Read more
Be better understood. What school lessons can teach your website.
I was a demanding member of the audience in physics and chemistry lessons. I wanted the materials to put on a spectacle for me. And unless the teachers were good narrators, things like Einstein’s special theory of relativity would glance off my brain, never to be seen again. It’s science show time. So the stars… Read more
How to start your blog post so that your reader stays with you.
“It drives my wife mad.” Your ears have pricked up, haven’t they? What exactly drives her mad? And why is the narrator being so open about it? Honesty and a hint of drama. You’re probably reading this because: you sense there is some sort of dilemma. You’re human and you want to get to the… Read more
Snapshot stories. The Community Chef.
Every time I interview someone, I come away with a ‘snapshot story’. It’s a vivid mental image, created by their words and feelings. It can hang around in my head for weeks, even months. Snapshot stories make you memorable. So if you want a message to stay with your audience, try illustrating it with an… Read more
Obama was my warm up act. No pressure then.
Interviewing Sir David Attenborough about his brother, Lord (Richard) Attenborough, for the University of Sussex. Richard Attenborough was an Oscar-winning director and versatile actor who appeared in more than a hundred films. Perhaps less well known is his long and fond association with the University of Sussex. It began in 1968, when he was directing… Read more
Hit home with your message. Get an ‘oooh’ from your audience.
I was shopping and I saw this display in a chemist’s window: “Good grief!” I thought. “Is that how much sugar is in a pot of yoghurt? I had no idea”. Well, I did have an idea. I’d probably skimmed over the ingredients countless times. But the facts only made an impact when I saw… Read more
Daphne Todd: the Big Painting Challenge and why boilers and bricks deserve their moment of fame.
Daphne Todd has come to the nation’s attention as one of the judges on BBC1’s The Big Painting Challenge. There was also a flurry of headlines when Daphne revealed she’d secretly painted horns beneath a portrait of one of her sitters. People were a bit surprised that a former President of the Royal Society of… Read more
January Retrospective. Things that have caught my eye and stayed in my head in the last four weeks.
A few random thoughts on how to give your message staying power. Or, to quote Chip and Dan Heath, how to make your ideas ‘stick’. 1 – The Homeless CEO. Day by day these striking photos create a vivid picture of the life of itinerant company director, Cillin Perera. You can find them all on… Read more
Nail the bedtime story and you know you’re a great communicator.
(Put it another way. If you can grab and keep the attention of a distracted six year old, then everyone else is a breeze.) The excitement. I remember my mum driving me to school and, when an ambulance or fire engine siren went past, she would immediately divert from the school journey to follow it…. Read more
Brilliant Storytelling. Be Yourself
Whether they’re your clients or shareholders, colleagues or volunteers, audiences spot insincerity very quickly. If you worry that ‘being yourself’ means letting your guard down and forgetting the party line, don’t. Your audience will warm to you, and your organisation, when they see you speaking from the heart. Forget scripts. Be spontaneous. Tell a story… Read more
