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July 26, 2006

Remember the rule of three

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of your time trying to simplify complex issues: turning a 45-slide PowerPoint on the corporate strategy into a few brief messages, summing up 37 changes to next year’s benefits into some bullet points, eradicating jargon and eliminating corporate speak.

It’s sometimes an uphill battle, but it’s always important work. Today more than ever, people just don’t have time for complexity—they need to get the point simply and quickly.

That’s why you should always remember the rule of three. Maybe you learned about the rule in math or writing class (or in comedy clubs)? If not, a recent issue of Search Insider eloquently sums up the power of the rule of three. As columnist Gord Hotchkiss writes, “We humans tend to think in triplets. Three is a good number to wrap our mind around, and we see it in all kinds of instances. We tend to remember points best when given in groups of three, we scan visual elements best when they come in threes, and we like to have three options to consider. Think how often three comes up in our society: three little pigs, three strikes, three doors on ‘Let's Make a Deal,’ three competitive quotes. It's a triordered world out there.”

What does this mean? Seven strategies is (four) too many to remember. Nine key messages won’t be retained. If you can’t recite your (three-point) key message in one breath, it’s probably too long.

The rule of three can help you create better communication, and it can also help you manage your stakeholders who want to convey every detail about their stuff. (Who can argue with a “rule”?)

And, once you get attuned to the rule of three, you find that it’s being used everywhere:

In speeches and plays
“Friends, Romans, Countrymen” - William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
“Blood, sweat and tears” - General George Patton

In slogans and titles
“Stop, look and listen”
“Sex, lies and videotape”

And even in comedy
As John Kinde writes on his website, humorpower.com, the rule of three is particularly useful in comedy writing because “a funny line . . . is like a train wreck. You know where the train has been, you think you know where it’s going, but then you’re surprised when it goes off track.” So the rule of three sets up the joke and makes it memorable. Like the tee-shirt that reads, “World Class Cities: Paris. Rome. Fargo” The third thing is the kicker that creates the joke.

So, to sum up, here are three things to remember about the rule of three: It creates simplicity, aids recall and makes your job easier. What could be better?

Posted by Alison Davis at 03:33 PM | Comments (1)

July 13, 2006

Your personal communication plan

You’re very effective at communicating about the company and its programs, but how well do you communicate about yourself?

Unfortunately, too often the answer is “not too effective.” In my experience, even the most savvy professionals are reticent about “promoting” their talent, expertise or even accomplishments—they’re such team players (as in “there is no I in . . .”) that they find it unseemly to “market” themselves.

But it’s a tough world out there. And people (including your most valuable stakeholders) are too busy and overloaded to notice the subtle ways you make a contribution every day. You simply can’t afford to assume that people know how smart and hard-working you are. You’ve got to find ways to let them know.

That’s why you should read this MarketingProfs.com article: Creating Your Personal Communications Plan. It’s aimed at marketing professionals, but it’s got lots of good advice for all of us who hope to be recognized and rewarded for the value we bring.

Hope it inspires you.

Posted by Alison Davis at 08:19 AM

July 06, 2006

Get out to find great ideas

Stuck in the summer doldrums? Feel like your job is the very definition of insanity, because you keep doing things the same way and hoping for a different result?

You need to climb out of that box, break out of your cubicle/office, and get the heck out of corporate headquarters. It’s the only way you’ll be able to shake up your thinking and get new ideas that will help you reach and engage employees.

Call it research, call it brainstorming, call it a sick day—whatever it takes, just do it. Here are five places to find great ideas:

Visit a mall, a supermarket or a big box store (like Target, Lowes, Bed Bath & Beyond). The whole idea of these establishments is to get you to buy. So they’re masters at creating messages, using visuals, and even positioning merchandise so you’ll pick up that product and put it in your cart. Observe not only the store’s techniques, but what customers do in response. For example, the other day I noticed that the kid-friendly fruity snacks were located at a five-year-old’s eye level. And a five-year-old was picking up a package and saying, “Mommy? Can I have this?” Coincidence? I think not. Ask yourself: “Could I apply some of these practices in my environment?”

Talk to young people aged 10 to 18. Better yet, text-message them. This generation is absolutely growing up on new media and cool gadgets; chances are, they’re using a cell phone right now to do things you’ve never even imagined. Ask them what they watch on TV, what they read (yeah, right!), what they do for fun. Think about how their preferences relate to how your organization’s young workers want to be communicated with.

Browse a newsstand and look at magazines you’d ordinarily never read (or some you would but never admit it). Notice particularly how the following categories of publications handle visuals and copy:

See how dominant photographs and visual images have become? How little copy is being used? How dynamic and fast-paced the editorial is? Consider how to use these techniques in your own print publications.

Go to Times Square in New York City or The Strip in Las Vegas. (I’m sure your boss will understand; it’s on-the-job research.) Notice how video has hit the streets. In Times Square, guys who used to don sandwich-board signs now wear video monitors advertising everything from soft drinks to cruises. See how stores (Macy’s) and casino hotels (Tropicana) are using giant flat screens to play commercials to catch pedestrians’ attention as they pass by. Think about how you could use video in your lobbies, elevators or cafeterias.

Board a plane (You need to get home from Las Vegas or New York, anyway). Watch how people spend their time in flight or waiting in the airport. A few might be reading Anna Karenina, but most are probably doing something a little less intellectual: Listening to an iPod, watching a movie on a laptop, playing video solitaire, flipping through a magazine, talking on a cell phone. Consider how people’s pass-the-time preferences relate (or don’t relate) to the ways your organization communicates.

There are lots of other places you could visit for inspiration, including an amusement park (which lines are longest?), an electronics store (what’s the hot product?), or an ethnic neighborhood (how are the signs and products different?). You get the point: Inspiration is rarely found in the carpeted halls of headquarters; you need to get out to find it.

See you at the mall.

Posted by Alison Davis at 10:22 AM