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Today I found a little black dress.
There it was hanging on the clearance rack, all unassuming, half-dangling from the hanger, slotted in the wrong size, looking plain, simple and even a bit forlorn.
In my desperation to get a dress – any dress – for an upcoming special occasion, I grabbed it, raced to the fitting room, threw it on, tugged it down, double-checked the ridiculously low price and declared that it was “fine.”
As a woman, there’s almost nothing worse than looking “fine.” Now “fine” is not bad. But, trust me, “fine” is not good.
More importantly, “fine” is not “wow.”
Not by a long shot.
Fortunately, I tried the dress on once again; this time at home, accompanied by the appropriate unmentionables and my most spectacular bejeweled necklace.
Wow.
What a difference a little polish and finesse makes.
I look great.
Not the dress.
Not the accessories.
Me.
I look and feel amazing.
And so it is with your presentation.
A presentation that’s “fine” will probably help you get the gist of your message across. It may even have a humorous anecdote or an interesting tidbit. It may be well received by the audience in the moment. It may even have been your best effort to date. But a “fine” presentation will lack a crucial element — the wow factor.
To guarantee a wow factor you must create a total presentation package that includes:
- An idea worth sharing
- An opening hook that shocks, surprises, invites, cajoles or otherwise instantly engages the audience
- A cohesive story threaded together with rich examples and vibrant stories
- A well-practiced, natural presentation style that transcends venue, circumstance or audience bias
- Visual and verbal presence
- A provocative or thought-provoking ending
Get presentation help here.
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I woke up with a gigantic zit on my chin.
My high school reunion is just a couple of weeks away and I knew if I left that monstrosity alone it would end up getting even bigger. Big enough, in fact, to warrant its own ZIP code.
I needed to get an early start today on some work but, seriously, this huge-o zit just wouldn’t let me focus. It hurt, darn it.
So I popped it. (Ewww.)
Blessed relief.
Sometimes you just gotta get the junk out before things can get back to normal.
And so it is with writing.
If you’ve struggled (even a bit) with formulating your ideas, finishing (or starting) a project, or nailing the copy, perhaps there’s some junk you need to get out before you can move on.
Junk can be circumstantial, such as a cluttered desk or disorganized office, or it can be situational, such as dealing with a family emergency or work crisis.
While I don’t believe in becoming too distracted from our productive work, sometimes it helps to deal with the thing that’s bugging us the most so we can get back to the task at hand or, better yet, break through to new ideas.
Here’s a plan for clearing out the junk and making way for good ideas and great copy:
- Take 5 minutes to decide what’s niggling you. It may be more than one thing so make a list if you have to.
- Decide one action you can take right now to eliminate it — and do it.
- Make a list of other actions to take (if necessary) and plan for them in your day or on your calendar.
- Focus for 15-60 minutes on idea generation, brainstorming or writing.
- If the “thing” is still niggling at you, take another action or two or three, but limit your dealing of it to one hour.
That’s it. That should free up your mind and energy at least in the short term. Repeat as often as necessary.
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My schedule got all wonky today. An old/new client postponed a meeting and a rush project came to a screeching halt (for the moment). I don’t mind. I always have plenty of projects going on and appreciate the opportunity to pick the one I feel like working on vs. the one on deadline.
While working a bit on my home-study web content/copywriting course, I got to the part about generating ideas. That led me to start a blog post about finding content in the everyday, which led me to thinking about blogs I like and why, which led me to revising my original post to the one you’re reading now.
Whew. A bit circuitous, but that’s how ideas work most times.
And it proves my point, which is that by writing about something very ordinary that happened to me (working a blog post), I can share an idea that may prove helpful to you (write about your everyday life no matter who you are or what your blog is about).
My favorite bloggers do just that. Leo Babauta, Brian Clark and Alaina Sheer continually, constantly and consistently write stuff worth reading because they write about their lives and how it relates to you and to me.
Business and political blogs, on the other hand, have a tendency to slog, drone and drag their way through post after post with a self-serving agenda.
Who wants to read that?
So I propose a business and political blog revolution.
I propose that business and political bloggers (CEOs, politicians, their ghostwriters and the like) stop writing about their business or agenda — and start writing about their life and the application of it to the rest of us.
Wouldn’t it be more interesting to read about Carly Fiorina the woman on the campaign trail than to read a deadly, dull post that goes something like this: “During this morning’s event, Fiorina rode in a parade vehicle alongside Huntington Beach City Councilman Gil Coerper; Councilman Coerper’s son, Major Michael Coerper …”
Oh, joy and rapture. Carly road in a parade vehicle. (Who even talks like that?)
Instead, do what Carly doesn’t do and use your blog to let people live inside your world (at least part of it for a little while).
Tell us something personal and meaningful and then make a point about it.
Let us get to know you, the person with ideas — instead force-feeding us the prim, proper and staid persona you want to project.
Agree or disagree?
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In working with a new client on a direct mail piece, I was reminded of a tried-and-true creative technique for capturing the attention of your audience: the P.S.
Use the P.S. (literally postscript) to summarize your key point and call-to-action. This single sentence is your opportunity to restate your proposition in a way that will grab your reader’s attention.
And, more importantly, the P.S. will be read by up to 90 percent of those who open the mailing. Enough said.