Human interest helps fight the 7 dreary P's Call them the seven dreary P's: programs, plans, policies, procedures, protocols, positions and products. Bring these mind-numbing topics to life by turning them into an eighth P: people. That's what graduates of our most recent Master the Art of the Storyteller Master Class did. Let people stand for protocols. For … [Read more...] about Turn policies and procedures into people
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Features work for emails too
Concrete details make great invitation leads When I teach the feature-style story structure, communicators nod. It seems reasonable that readers would prefer concrete, creative stories to a hierarchical blurtation of facts. BUT — and as Pee-Wee Herman said, there's always a big but — they wonder, is the feature-style story structure for everything? Even … [Read more...] about Features work for emails too
Use the magic word
'You' gets the story started in media relations pieces It's counterintuitive, but true: The product is never the topic. The program is never the topic. The plan is never the topic. The topic is never the topic. The reader is always the topic. Here's how six PR pros made the reader the topic in their PRSA 2014 Silver Anvil Award-winning campaigns. Use the 'Y … [Read more...] about Use the magic word
Avoid the suitcase lead
Try a bikini lead instead Some folks write "suitcase leads": They try to cram all of the story elements into the top. Instead, make yours a bikini lead, and cover just the most interesting essentials. Remember: It's not the job of the first paragraph to tell the whole story. It's the job of the first paragraph to get people to read the second paragraph. So target … [Read more...] about Avoid the suitcase lead
Take your lead from meh to masterpiece
Master Class graduates nail the feature intro Too many writers have married the inverted pyramid and made a lot of triangular babies. Problem is, the traditional news structure doesn't work well with humans. But at our Master the Art of the Storyteller Master Class in San Francisco in July, writers started flirting around with other structures. Here are three of … [Read more...] about Take your lead from meh to masterpiece