“Everybody’s like everybody else, and everybody’s different from everybody else.” – Harvey Pekar, Born Oct. 8, 1939. As a professional person expert, I can tell you that the second part of that quote is what people believe is true about themselves. “I am unique. I am special. I am different. I stand apart.” And note,… Read More →
Say it. Then say it again differently. And yet again, but not the same, and Etc…
“The average voter has to hear a point seven times before it registers.” – Paul Weyrich, Born Oct. 7, 1942. Repetition is key. Repetition is key. If you want your message to be received… Repetition. Is. Key. Here is the rub. The trick to making this work is that you can’t just say the same… Read More →
Decide What You Want To Be and Then Tell Everyone All the Time
“In America, the race goes to the loud, the solemn, the hustler. If you think you’re a great writer, you must say that you are.” – Gore Vidal, Born Oct. 3, 1925. If you write copy for a living, this is something you should know. The people hiring you don’t know if your copy is… Read More →
Become Skilled at Winging It, and Outshine Every Over-Scripted Try-Hard in Your Niche
“Reciting lines is hard; making stuff up is much, much easier.” – Zach Galifianakis, Born Oct. 1, 1969. The most valuable skill you can start developing now is performing. As in, being comfortable on stage or on camera. And that can be intimidating. I hated it. It was scary when I was first starting out…. Read More →
Stuff You Choose Today Must Bear Fruit in the Future (Or Else Don’t Waste Time)
“I started doing ’30 Rock’ and started writing ‘Mystery Team’ at the beginning of that. While I was doing ‘Mystery Team,’ I started practicing stand-up. While I was doing stand up, I got ‘Community.’ It’s like I planted trees six years ago, and now they have fruit.” – Donald Glover, Born Sep. 25, 1983. Here… Read More →
No Message Stands Alone – All Communication is CONVERSATION
“An artist carries on throughout his life a mysterious, uninterrupted conversation with his public.” – Maurice Chevalier, Born Sep. 12, 1888. A business has a conversation with the market, and with its prospects, and with its customers. That’s what marketing and advertising and selling IS: a conversation. Social media and Internet-based marketing in general has… Read More →
How to Tell Stories That Sell (Without Going All Blah Blah Blah)
“You can’t tell any kind of a story without having some kind of a theme, something to say between the lines.” – Robert Wise, Born Sep. 10, 1914. “Storytelling” has been a buzzword in marketing for a few years now. I’ve taught two courses myself, focused on using story to sell. But this is something… Read More →
How To Talk to People So They Feel Like You’re Instantly Friends (And Then Sell Them Stuff)
“Candor is a compliment; it implies equality. It’s how true friends talk.” – Peggy Noonan, Born Sep. 7, 1950. In times past, social interaction required a facade of formality. Especially in a business context. Gentlemen wore suits of clothes, and exchanged handshakes and cards and engaged in small talk, followed by queries and responses about… Read More →
Your Memories Are Imaginary (And Easily Altered With This One Trick…)
“Recalling a memory is not like playing a tape recorder. It’s a creative process.” – Susumu Tonegawa, Born Sep. 6, 1939. This little secret Susumu shared above is one reason why persuading and influencing people like we do can be so dangerous. See, when you recall a memory, you’re not accessing a permanent record. You… Read More →
You Already Have a Built-in USP – You’re Just Suffocating It
“I have a different constitution. I have a different brain; I have a different heart; I got tiger blood, man.” – Charlie Sheen, Born Sep. 3, 1965. How are you different from every other boring jerk out there? What makes you unique? Your history? Your style? Your point of view? You need to know. Because… Read More →