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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