The richness of our language allows the same word to have different meanings. (Of course, this also makes English a bit of a nightmare if you’re learning it as a second language!) The E3 Recruit poster (and photo illustration above) seen in a window I passed recently forced me to think, then smile (and take … Continue reading The beauty of a multiple meaning message
Category Archives: punchline
“You’ve got to tell a story” is heard so often it’s almost a cliche. Such an exhortation is more often than not heavily directed at science and science policy storytelling. But no one ever tells you how. Well, here’s a (summarised) how – based on a ‘science of stories’ – written by Michael D Jones … Continue reading How to write a scientific narrative
Whether you find Donald Trump appealing or appalling, there’s no way you can sit on the fence in your opinion of the world’s greatest liar. (Check out The Washington Post science article about ‘Why liars lie’). One aspect of language the Twitterer in Chief has mastered though – surely as a byproduct of his low-level … Continue reading From a metaphor POV at least, here is someone to (partly) emulate
Your first story must Ring true; unearth an aha. Use a metaphor.
Imagine a world without metaphors. In fact don’t even try…because it is impossible. We simply cannot function in a world without the power of description and understanding provided by metaphors. To remind us, a metaphor is a word or phrase that is used to describe something else to emphasise their similar qualities. A metaphor is … Continue reading A metaphor is a knot that ties a word to an image
We have seven words to propose an idea according to Andrew O’Keefe of Hardwired Humans. 7±2 words is about two seconds – which is our brain’s working memory with information says the Sydney based people-strategies- design author and consultant. Our human instinct when we propose an idea, delegate a task or make a request is … Continue reading Hardwired humans…first seven words
If your story is on point, it effectively is also your strategy. That’s because clarity of both story and strategy is mutually reinforcing, and essentially the same thing. Australian Irishwoman Bernadette Jiwa runs a highly successful business and blog called ‘The Story of Telling’ (don’t I wish I’d thought of such a clever reversing of … Continue reading Ten benefits of strategy as story
Naturally we’d like everyone to read all of our stories all the way through. But what encourages readers to keep on engaging, hang in there until the end? A fascinating study by Jonah Berger, Wendy Mae and David Schweider has unearthed that not all emotion is created equal when it comes to encouraging extended online … Continue reading How to get longer reads of your online content
Is it simple? Could your staff quickly, accurately (and perhaps poetically) tell a stranger what the business does? Do they immediately demonstrate they understand the business and who its products and services appeal to? Or would they stumble around with variations of “we do lots of things?” You owe it to those working in the … Continue reading Do your staff a favour – have a simple first story
Knowing the framework around which you’re going to build a house, or a website, make construction so much easier. The alternative is to start building, see what happens…and then have to change it all completely. Getting that framework right is the difficult bit. But once you have it, you’re filling in the gaps. For a … Continue reading The five-vital-pieces framework for website copy