This is not about losing yourself amongst the aisles of B&Q and Homebase. (Oh, the horror.) This is about using drawings to make your message clearly understood and memorable, the first time round. That’s what I said. The first time round. Imagine never having to repeat yourself because your colleagues or your clients get… Read more
Are beautiful body snatchers depriving you of leads?
Imagine cutting a photo of a model out of a magazine. He or she looks good in front of the camera, with a dazzling smile. The angle is right, the lighting is perfect, the figure is poised in a way that draws you in. You snip it out carefully and then you turn to your… Read more
Get your company noticed. Bring a new perspective.
When you take an audience by surprise, you grab their attention. Challenging assumptions is a good way of getting your business noticed. A couple of caveats: be sincere in your opinions and, if they are particularly controversial, make sure you can back them up. Here’s an example of how a conversation gave me a new… 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
Help yourself. I find it invaluable. You will too.
In the course of a normal working day, I get through a hell of a lot of words. Some I write myself; others I read. I’ve been stockpiling countless books and articles about the best way to communicate. Now I’m in ‘New Term Decluttering’ mode and you’ll benefit. As I clear out my hard drive… 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
Yes, images can speak a thousand words. But you need the right photographer.
They’re used to being parachuted into any situation. They size it up in seconds and take shots that quickly capture the story. There’s no fuss. There’s no wavering. Blink and you’ll miss them – although they miss nothing, of course. Reading this back, I make them sound like a creative version of the SAS. And… 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
Bookkeeping. It’s better than surfing.
(How I made my peace with numbers, thanks to a two minute story.) The stories told by my interviewees often change my own attitudes. And they do it in a matter of seconds. Sometimes it’s because of what they say; an arresting image or intriguing fact. Sometimes it’s how they say it; the feelings behind… Read more
