What Is Your Headline and Does It Tell Your Story?

Almost no one (except my true and loyal friends) read my blog last week. In case you don't remember it (because you probably didn't read it), here was the headline: "Brand DNA Curated Through Bespoke Ideation."  

It was very intentional, and I didn't expect that many would read past the headline. Why? Because it had absolutely no meaning. Yes, it had buzzwords. Individually those words are being used a lot. Together, they made no sense. Yet in every presentation I see those words repeated over and over again. Getting to the point, why would I want to illustrate uselessness?

Because if you don't understand someone's point in a blog, you don't read it. And the headline is the first announcement of what the "story" is all about. Words are to be used intentionally and should be easily understood. In writing, and while spoken. Of course it's hard to evaluate why people stop reading, but it's very observable when they stop listening. And if they don't understand what you are saying, they definitely stop listening.

As a child I was brought up in a household of non-English speaking immigrants. Their friends were from all over the world, and they, too, didn't speak English. Or, at least at first. So me, going to school in the U.S. did speak English, but I learned that to communicate with my parents and their friends, I had to speak slowly and clearly and use words that were easily understandable. Notice I didn't say speak more loudly, which always amuses me, as people tend to think that being loud they can be more easily understood. 

Back to the point and fast forward many years. I have the opportunity to speak to many international audiences, and those lessons serve me well. I speak slowly and carefully, and I speak in first, headlines and then I tell stories. By doing that, I am easily understood. I give the non-English speaking person time to listen and absorb first the headline, then the story. Because, everyone, it is not all about what you want to say. It's about what you want "them" to understand.

Now that works when everyone speaks the same language, too. My tips:

• Always speak slowly.
• Always have a headline.
• Always use words that anyone can understand.
• Stop and give some pause-and-reflect time, even if only for seconds.
• Don't use useless and meaningless words of no substance or no one will read your blog either.

Andrea Michaels is the founder and president of Extraordinary Events, a Los Angeles-based, international event agency, and the author of Reflections of a Successful Wallflower: Lessons in Business; Lessons in Life.  Andrea may be contacted via amichaels@extraordinaryevents.com

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BRAND DNA CURATED THROUGH BESPOKE IDEATION

So you are probably reading this title and asking yourself "what the heck does she mean?" AHA! Mission accomplished. I have no clue what this means yet every piece of marketing material and every presentation (live or in print) uses many of these words and most mean nothing. That's my point.

Clear communication with words that everyone can define and understand along with a good story or examples that support that story is all that matters. So let me give you two examples:

1. Live presentation that I was a part of with a PP accompanying it. "We understand your brand's DNA." WHAT? It was for an automotive company. The vehicle does not have DNA. Living organisms have DNA. Later in the presentation: "Bespoke offerings"... WHAT?

2. Another live presentation that also had visual support: "We want to understand what your company (or organization) wants to achieve with this project; be clear on your expected outcomes; and hear the message you want to deliver." With those clear statements, we can respond and can give clear examples of similar projects, stories that exhibit experience and challenges, and how they were met. In clear and simple words.

I have often seen a client pretending to understand the first presentation, but reading their faces knew they were mystified yet had to pretend to understand a slew of overused and pretentious words in order not to seem uneducated in the terminology. It also led to few questions as no one knew what to ask.

So what's my point? If you write, write specifically. "Beautiful stage set" means nothing. "Fabulous speaker" means nothing. Who and what and always, ALWAYS why.

Your thoughts?

Andrea Michaels is the founder and president of Extraordinary Events, a Los Angeles-based, international event agency, and the author of Reflections of a Successful Wallflower: Lessons in Business; Lessons in Life.  Andrea may be contacted via amichaels@extraordinaryevents.com