At a conference I attended last week, I paid close attention to all the presenters and the audience’s reactions. Some of the presenters engaged the audience and clearly captured their attention. Here’s what I noticed about those speakers: They used the word “you” frequently, so the audience knew the content was about them. They had … Continue reading "Presenting? See what great presenters have in common" The post Presenting? See what great presenters have in common appeared first on...| Crystal Clear Communications
Are you busy? I’m busy. Almost everyone I know is busy. As busy people, we don’t have the time or patience for long-winded speakers. In every meeting I attend, I hope the speakers will be concise. Yet most of them aren’t. Many of them take 5-6 sentences to state what could be explained in 1 … Continue reading "Are you as concise as you could be?" The post Are you as concise as you could be? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Perhaps you’ve heard journalists and influencers asking tricky questions that politicians struggle to answer. What can marketers learn from politicians about answering tricky questions? Marketers face tricky questions in times of crisis If you’re a spokesperson for your company or brand, here are seven tips to help you prepare to answer even the toughest questions. Rehearse … Continue reading "7 tips on handling tricky questions" The post 7 tips on handling tricky questions appeared fi...| Crystal Clear Communications
I received a request last week. It was in the middle of a long email and didn’t feel like a direct request. In fact, there wasn’t a single question mark in the email. Almost halfway through the email, the sender wrote, “I wanted to ask how you feel about (project X). I know how I … Continue reading "Are your communications getting through?" The post Are your communications getting through? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
“Confused clients don’t write checks.” One of my mentors used to say that sentence often in his workshops. It’s true. How do you feel when you read confusing marketing content? I’m betting it doesn’t persuade you to purchase from the company that published it. I asked several marketers why they sometimes publish confusing content, and … Continue reading "Marketers: Is your content confusing your audience?" The post Marketers: Is your content confusing your audience? appeared fir...| Crystal Clear Communications
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place,” said the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Leaders, presenters and managers often find this to be true: what you meant to say is not what the audience took away. For your message to land with audiences, it must be: Clear, even … Continue reading "Seeing through the illusions of communications" The post Seeing through the illusions of communications appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Employees are your best brand ambassadors. It’s critical that they understand and engage with your message, so they can clearly tell your story. But how do you train your employees on your message in a way that it sticks? Simply making a Message Map and showing it to your employees is not enough. Research suggests … Continue reading "Are your employees on message?" The post Are your employees on message? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
I recommend a new book about marketing and positioning your brand, called The Brand Benefits Playbook: Why Customers Aren’t Buying What You’re Selling – And What to Do About It. Written by marketing professors Allen Weiss, Ph.D., and Debbie J. MacInnis, Ph.D., the book is chock full of marketing zingers that too often ring true: … Continue reading "Marketers Focus on Benefits to Position Brands" The post Marketers Focus on Benefits to Position Brands appeared first on Crystal Clear Co...| Crystal Clear Communications
Conventional marketing wisdom says: repeat your main message three times so the audience gets it. The saying goes: Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Then tell them. Then tell them what you told them. In her insightful new book, Made You Look, cognitive neuroscientist Carmen Simon, Ph. D., decided to test this idea … Continue reading "Do you repeat your main message enough for people to get it?" The post Do you repeat your main message enough for people to get it? appeared first on...| Crystal Clear Communications
Once again, I didn’t set out to write a blog about presenters while watching an episode of the YouTube talk show Hot Ones. (My previous blog inspired by the show is here.) All I wanted to do was watch the host interview Conan O’Brien as he ate a series of hotter and hotter chicken wings. … Continue reading "Presenters: Don’t let the audience in on your doubts" The post Presenters: Don’t let the audience in on your doubts appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
People in your audience can absorb only one message at a time. That’s why your Message Map needs to build around one main message, the heart of your message. The heart of your message is the one thing you want people to know about your brand, your best answer to their question: What’s in it … Continue reading "Three ideas for your marketing message" The post Three ideas for your marketing message appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
In my last blog, I wrote about how talking to your customers directly about their information and research habits helps you discover the best way to market to them. In speaking with many business-to-business (B2B) buyers across several industries, one thing is clear regardless of industry and title: Marketers must personalize content. Every single person … Continue reading "Marketers: If you want to reach your buyers, you must personalize your content" The post Marketers: If you want to rea...| Crystal Clear Communications
To break through to everyone in your audience, use Message Maps to simplify your message. Your messages are most powerful when you speak heart to heart. That’s because people make most decisions emotionally – including buying decisions – whether or not they recognize that. Serving up facts and reasons alone won’t change people’s minds. Marketing … Continue reading "Speak heart to heart" The post Speak heart to heart appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Here’s a hard question marketers need to ask: What’s the one thing your brand wants to be known for? People will remember only one thing about you. When I first ask marketers this question, most respond with a short list of attributes that make them different from competitors. Marketers want to be known for unique … Continue reading "What do you want to be known for?" The post What do you want to be known for? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
I do. If you write, you do. Writers need editors. This blog answers two entwined questions about writers and editors: How can writers become even more effective when working with editors? How can editors work with writers better? Ideally, great writers and editors team up and pull together, instead of working at cross-purposes. Great writers … Continue reading "Who needs an editor?" The post Who needs an editor? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
When you deliver your brand message consistently, it breaks through and gets remembered by people in your audience. That’s because consistent messages land in your audience’s hearts and minds. It’s especially true when your message maximizes reward and minimizes effort for the audience. Consistency creates a path to credibility To get audiences to trust your … Continue reading "Consistent messages create credibility" The post Consistent messages create credibility appeared first on ...| Crystal Clear Communications
I’m willing to bet that most of you create a company or product/service message, often in the form of a Message Map. But are you taking the critical next step and testing your message before using it in marketing content and campaigns? Since you only get one chance to make a first impression on your … Continue reading "Marketers: Are you testing your message before using it?" The post Marketers: Are you testing your message before using it? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Thank you for being among thousands of marketers who read our blogs. Your reading habits revealed which topics you’re most interested in this year. These are the blogs you read most: our top 10 from 2023. Our book review and summary of Carmine Gallo’s book The Storyteller’s Secret help you create persuasive messages. “Ideas that … Continue reading "Marketers Prove Curious about Messaging, Content, and Presentations in 2023" The post Marketers Prove Curious about Messaging, Content, ...| Crystal Clear Communications
It happens to all of us. You’re in a meeting, and the time to make your point is coming soon. You’ve made your Message Map and feel prepared. And then you see a text message on your phone, a bug on the meeting room floor, or an executive in running shorts out the window, who … Continue reading "How do you stay on message when you’re distracted?" The post How do you stay on message when you’re distracted? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Is your organization the same today as it was a few years ago? The answer is probably no. All companies evolve over time. So it’s only natural that you should evolve your message too. Whether you’ve added new features to your solutions and services, expanded to serve a new audience or market, or changed the … Continue reading "Your company evolves. Should you evolve your message too?" The post Your company evolves. Should you evolve your message too? appeared first on Crystal Clear Comm...| Crystal Clear Communications
Even when you have a clear, compelling message that will resonate with your audience, you can still prevent it from getting heard. Why? Because you’re human. And humans have habits. Whether you’re giving a presentation, participating in a meeting, or simply having a conversation with a coworker, you may have habits that prevent you from … Continue reading "Are you sabotaging your message?" The post Are you sabotaging your message? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Regardless of your organization, good internal communications are essential. Why? Because employees are your most important asset. When engaged and informed, employees are your best brand ambassadors. And if they’re not, they can be brand detractors, slow your productivity, and increase your turnover rate. Yet many organizations struggle to provide internal communications that engage and … Continue reading "Are your internal communications boring?" The post Are your internal communication...| Crystal Clear Communications
My business partner George Stenitzer and I write frequently about how Message Maps can help your organization get its story heard. In fact, George recently wrote a blog that talks about the many different ways a Message Map can help your company. But did you know that Message Maps can also help you outside your … Continue reading "How to use a Message Map to succeed in everything" The post How to use a Message Map to succeed in everything appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
I didn’t set out to write a blog on how actress and producer Viola Davis can help you reach your audience. I set out to watch an episode of the YouTube talk show Hot Ones. If you’re not familiar with the show, the host interviews celebrities as they eat a series of hotter and hotter … Continue reading "Viola Davis on how to reach your audience" The post Viola Davis on how to reach your audience appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
One of Marketing’s key jobs is to help Sales sell. But companies, and therefore marketers, have different attitudes and approaches to where marketing ends, and sales enablement begins. I’ve written before about providing Sales with a toolkit. I believe marketers in organizations that lack a sales enablement function may need to take a few extra … Continue reading "Marketers: Are you enabling your sellers?" The post Marketers: Are you enabling your sellers? appeared first on Crystal Clea...| Crystal Clear Communications
A client in a workshop asked, “Once you co-create your Message Map, what to do next?” Delivering the right message for your brand is crucial. It helps you connect with people so they listen to your brand’s story. You hook audiences with your message in 7 seconds by using Message Maps. Co-create to achieve the … Continue reading "Spread your message to succeed" The post Spread your message to succeed appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
The field of marketing analytics has been around for years, yet many marketers I speak with still feel they’re not getting the most out of their data. How do they know if their Message Map is working? Why aren’t there more conversions on their website? How do they get more engagement on social media? I … Continue reading "Marketers: Are you getting value out of your analytics?" The post Marketers: Are you getting value out of your analytics? appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Too many companies’ messages use abstract words that don’t paint a picture in customers’ minds. The problem is: abstract messages fall flat with customers. For example, a service rep might say, “We’re shipping your order.” Or “We’re shipping your pants.” Or “We’re shipping your new black Levi’s jeans.” Guess which message resonates best with customers? … Continue reading "Your message probably is not concrete enough" The post Your message probably is not concrete e...| Crystal Clear Communications
Does your audience buy into your message – emotionally? Do people find your message compelling enough to recall and act on at decision time? Here’s how to get to yes. Always answer your audience’s first question first, “What’s in it for me?” Why? Because humans choose what’s in their self-interest. People don’t care about you, … Continue reading "Your message is probably not compelling" The post Your message is probably not compelling appeared first on Crystal Clear Communic...| Crystal Clear Communications
To hook your audience, you need a message you can deliver fast. There’s little time to grab your audience’s attention. That’s why it’s crucial to make your message concise. Create your 7-second message I recommend that you create a message for your company or brand that’s 7 seconds or 23 words long. Since this is the … Continue reading "Your message is probably not concise" The post Your message is probably not concise appeared first on Crystal Clear Communications.| Crystal Clear Communications
Marketing and public relations pros know: inconsistent messages are an ever-present nemesis. A CEO says one thing, the head of Sales another. Employee communications say one thing, but the website contradicts that. Inconsistent messages are taboo – for every brand. They confuse people, and they waste your precious marketing and communications dollars. Make sure that … Continue reading "Your message is probably inconsistent" The post Your message is probably inconsistent appeared first on ...| Crystal Clear Communications
Your message is probably unclear to someone in your audience A great message reflects a deep understanding of the people in your audience. The better you know the people in your audience, the easier it is to write well for them. You can literally speak your audience’s language. But chances are that your message sails right … Continue reading "To enlighten your audience, use a clear message" The post To enlighten your audience, use a clear message appeared first on Crystal Clear Communica...| Crystal Clear Communications