Author: Jim Sweeney
-
Why Press Releases Should Tell Stories
Hey, want to hear an announcement from my company? Or, Hey, want to hear a story? Which got your attention? If you’re human, it was probably the latter. We are hardwired to listen to and learn from stories. From the earliest days of painting on cave walls through Aesop’s Fables and TEDx Talks, stories have…
-
Why Angry Arnold Should Handle Your Crisis PR
When looking for a company to illustrate bad PR, United Airlines is an easy choice. From 2009’s lesson in the power of viral video (“United Breaks Guitars”) to suffocating puppies, United can be counted upon to do the wrong thing and then make it worse through horrible PR. Perhaps its worst blunder came in 2017 when a bloodied…
-
How To Keep Zombie Sentences From Infecting Your Writing
I’ve previously warned of the dangers of writing with vampire words – those useless words and phrases that latch on to sentences and bleed them dry of meaning and vitality; bloodsuckers like “focus” and “prioritize” and “process.” In sticking with the horror theme, this post is about zombie sentences, those lifeless clumps of words that…
-
How Vampire Words Suck The Life Out Of Your Business Writing
Imagine your boss issues the following email at the end of the day: “I’m bringing in bagels tomorrow morning.” Yay, bagels! You make a mental note to skip breakfast tomorrow to make room for schmear. Then your boss emails: “I’m going to prioritize bringing in bagels tomorrow morning.” OK, a little less definite, but still…