“An actor entering through the door, you’ve got nothing. But if he enters through the window, you’ve got a situation.” – Billy Wilder, Born Jun. 22, 1906. This is the secret of telling a seductive story that uses curiosity to suck the audience in like a cross between a vacuum cleaner and a blowjob metaphor…. Read More →
How To Never Write Yourself Into a Dead End or Blind Alley
“I am a big proponent of writing a great outline. That way you can avoid hitting a roadblock. There is no worse feeling than writing yourself into a corner but if you’ve figured it all out in the outline then you won’t have that problem.” – Michael Showalter, Born Jun. 17, 1970. Showalter is talking… Read More →
Show Prospects What You Stand Against, and They Presume You Stand For Them
“I learned early in life that you get places by having the right enemies.” – John Shelby Spong, Born Jun. 16, 1931. Who or what do you hate? What will you absolutely not stand for? What are you sick of? What grinds your gears? What gets your goat? What gags your giraffe?… Not in general,… Read More →
Chimpanzees In Shoes: Or Why This Job Is So Easy…
“I think those who object to my characterizing man as simple want somehow to retain a deep mystery at his core.” – Herbert A. Simon, Born Jun. 15, 1916. You are a chimpanzee in shoes. Your “self” is a hallucination being had by a computer made of meat. Civilization is a byproduct of… Read More →
Turn Your Pitch Into Gossip, and People Lean in Closely
“Gossip is essentially storytelling: storytelling about people whom we know.” – Mona Simpson, Born Jun. 14, 1957. I think gossip – as a tone – is an under-appreciated angle when it comes to persuasion and influence. *leans in to closer* Listen… Gossip isn’t just a story about people we know – it can be the… Read More →
The Gamepocalypse Already Happened and It’s All a Game Now
“I jokingly call this convergence of games into reality the ‘Gamepocalypse:’ the moment when every moment of life is actually a game.” – Jesse Schell, Born Jun. 13, 1970. Did you know that you can already do this now? Basically you can gamify your own life. It makes a lot of the dull bits of… Read More →
Be a Renaissance Person and Find Your Patrons
“I call myself a teacher because they want me to call myself a teacher, but actually, what I’m doing is I’m studying.” – Chick Corea, Born Jun. 12, 1941. Back in Renaissance times, artists and musicians used to strive to get patronage. That’s when some rich dude basically pays you to do nothing but pursue… Read More →
Any Message That Isn’t Deliberately Persuasive Is Wasted
“If language did not affect behavior, it could have no meaning.” – Kenneth L. Pike, Born Jun. 9, 1912. There are a buncha idiots out there who frown upon the use of language for deliberate persuasive aim. You know them. They hate commercials. They think marketing is evil. They probably brag about not owning a… Read More →
Being “Different” is Better (And Easier) Than Struggling to Be “Original”
“I don’t ever try to make a song better than my last song. I just try to make it different from my last one.” – Fetty Wap, Born Jun. 7, 1990. This one hit me like a ton of bricks, y’all. Or like a ton of feathers. Heavy either way. You’re probably pretty talented. You’re… Read More →
The Territory Is Not The Map (Except When It Is)
“Two important characteristics of maps should be noticed. A map is not the territory it represents, but, if correct, it has a similar structure to the territory, which accounts for its usefulness.” – Alfred Korzybski, Born Jun. 3, 1879. Consider that the human mind is basically a really detailed map of the universe you live… Read More →
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