Here’s another installment in my continuing my series on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Communicators.

HABIT 4: THINK WIN-WIN
Covey says win-win is “a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit.” In the case of effective communication, that means keeping the other person in mind. Note that the habit says speak to the mutual benefit. That’s what writers call the “what” and the “so what.” What do you want to say? And so what does it mean to your audience?

How to incorporate it:
Communicating your point fearlessly but with consideration takes practice. Find someone you admire who does it well and become a student of their communication habits. Also, always put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Take a moment to consider an alternate angle, an unarticulated need or an opposing viewpoint. Make a list of win-win words and phrases that are mutually respectful. If you look closely you’ll see that I use words like “many” and “some” instead of “all” or “none.” Sometimes it just takes softening the tone, swapping exclusive words for inclusive ones, or leading with a more benefit-driven message.

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After a short spring break, I’m back today to continue my series on relevant content.

Let’s take a closer look at the second of my four characteristics of relevant content: timely.

There are plenty among us who subscribe to the belief that, when it comes to content, “once done, always done.” By this I mean they seem to think that creating content and posting it for all eternity is a good idea. I suspect that’s because they think of content as a one-time investment.

Wrong. I’m here to debunk that myth.

In order for content to be relevant (remember that relevant means meaningful, memorable and useful), it also must be fluid. It must change and grow and expand and shrink and live and breathe and … well, you get the idea. As I’ve said, people change and so should the content that’s geared toward those very same people.

Even content that’s relatively “static” — meaning the facts don’t really change – should still get a refresh now and then. Trust me, there’s more than one way to tell your “About Us” story.  A good writer can write it 15 or 100 different ways.

So, for the sake of argument, let’s just say that there is no need to keep content timely. What might that look like to a site visitor?

Well, a first-time visitor will likely not notice anything. But a repeat visitor, well, that’s a different animal altogether. They will notice same-old, same-old content. And because they look to you to be the expert in whatever field, industry or service you provide, you’ll look like a yam-head if you don’t. (And nobody wants that!)

By not refreshing your content, you’re essentially telling your site visitors that you know all there is to know and that there’s absolutely nothing new to know — or to share. That kind of thinking, I believe, is dangerous. It leads to your customers and potential customers thinking you’re out of touch or worse, not credible.

Blogs and social media are so popular, in part, because they provide fresh and TIMELY information. Not only do people want the latest and greatest news, product information, opinions and more, they EXPECT and DEMAND it.

Now it’s up to you to give it to them.

How, then, do you keep your content timely? Here’s my 3-step plan:

1. Dedicate resources. Everyone in the company ought to be charged with keeping up with trends and writing about them. Have an in-house or freelance writer/editor use their findings to create web copy, sales literature, marcom, etc.

2. Create a content strategy. Decide who does what, when, and why. How will you manage content, archive it and how often and when will you update it? All of this should be part of your content strategy.

3. Although this is an extension of my point above, I want to call it out special just in case you skip step #2. Conduct a yearly audit and refresh (minimum). Schedule time for your dedicated resource(s) to review content and revise it. Create a timeline and stick to it.

Remember, timely content is relevant content and it’s part of what will keep you relevant to your customers, readers, clients, whomever. It’s an opportunity to differentiate, to serve and to lead.

P.S. Here’s a link to a related post on making a commitment to your copy: http://www.janodaniel.com/blog/2009/01/old-new/.

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I love Dr. Phil. I find his common-sense approach appealing. In fact, one of my favorite “Dr. Phil-isms” is this:

You can’t fix what you don’t acknowledge.

That works for pretty much everything. Including writing.

Which is why I ask my coaching clients to complete a SWOT analysis of their writing.

If writing is a part of your job in any way, I encourage you to take stock of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. In addition to being pleasantly reminded (I hope) of your skills, talents and capabilities, you’ll have some insight into which qualities you can use to their best advantage, and which areas need improvement.

Here’s an example of a SWOT analysis to help you complete your own:

One of my personal weaknesses is overuse of cliches. But because I know I have that tendency I’m vigilant to watch for them and rework my copy accordingly.

Spend time taking an honest look at your writing abilities, then look for tips, ideas, blog posts, articles, ezines, books, coaching opportunities and workshops that help you address your specific areas.

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I really like a Starbucks Mocha Lite Frappucino from time to time. I really do. And I don’t even drink coffee other than those. Ever.

But one thing I really don’t like is a lot of the writing I see on Starbucks.com. In fact, I often use Starbucks in my workshops as an example of what not to do.

While I won’t give a full critique of their site, I will tell you that in addition to being very self-centric vs. customer-centric, they use passive voice to their detriment. In most instances, passive voice is difficult to read, hard to understand and nearly impossible to enjoy.

Now I know the subject of passive voice can make even the most astute grammar student’s eyes glaze over, so I’d like to address the issue in a way that’s easy to understand and remember. And, just for fun, I’ll use Starbucks to help in our little lesson today.

First, passive voice simply means this: The subject of the sentence is acted upon instead of taking the action.

Starbucks BEFORE: “A live webcast will be available the day of the meeting.”

My AFTER: “Watch the live webcast the day of the meeting.”

In the Starbucks “before” example, the copywriter writes in passive voice that:

• Uses more words than necessary
• Creates a formal tone
• Confuses the reader about what is happening when

In my “after” example, I use active voice to:

• Use just enough words to make the point
• Make it easy to quickly understand the information
• Tell the reader what to do

Words to watch for that hint of passive voice include: will be, am, is, was, were, are or been.

P.S. Thanks @natashaF8 for this idea on Twitter. Follow me on Twitter @getgreatcopy.

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