Story or ?

Seth has some good points. Short and to the point even. (which seems to state that he writes this for strangers.)

This isn't just for marketing. This is for everyone. I had the interesting experience this morning of talking with someone in another department about my work. I explained some things I am doing to help familiarize coworkers with various computer tips and tricks. This seems to be a particularly well received aspect of my contribution to the department. I have become the person who can explain things in "real English." I gave several examples of things I was doing and the goal I am working toward. She said you definitely need to talk to them about...you could do that this week! I loved her enthusiasm. It was a great idea but...baby steps. Baby steps. Gradual spoon feeding wins out every time.

I tend to ramble. I know you are all shocked by this tidbit. I really can't excuse my rambling. Fortunately, I tend to ramble with a plot, a story, something...entertaining as I share information. I would love to say this is a Mister Rogers thing, but I am afraid I tend to be more like Sesame Street. Unfortunately, this rambling can kill the whole clear, concise thing altogether. Darn it! I have learned to make nice short active sentences. I can write a killer PowerPoint. But sometimes, a story...well that is the best way to go.

Quitters never win is a great slogan. Mountain climbers make great visuals for perseverence. But when it comes down to it, those are just visual or verbal cues to remind you of the lengthy story you learned once upon a time about the little train that could.

Still, most of the time you need to just remind. Provide the takeaways and get involved in the dialogue to get the luxury to ramble. So, yep, if I have to give rules of thumb, they would be Seth's points. Don't be surprised though when I ramble and break all of them, three paragraph rule or no.

marketing, perseverence, storytelling, ramble, writing