Journaling for Success

   Most folks think that the ability to write is some sacred gift only granted to the few. Not so! Everyone can write and everyone can benefit from the act of writing. One simple way to develop your writing skills is to keep a journal. Not a journal filled with the tasks you accomplished or the errands you ran, but a journal of your thoughts, feelings and dreams.

   Don’t believe me? Go online and see how many pages about journaling pop up. When I did it there were over a million. Journaling helps personal development, raises creativity, lowers stress and gives you a place to vent frustrations or craft cherished soapbox diatribes, in precious privacy. Spiritual breakthroughs and greater physical/emotional health are also listed as benefits of regular journaling.

   What does all this have to do with your writing skills? We learn by doing.

   When we write, especially about topics we care for, our desire to express precisely, with emotion, grows. Suddenly, we recall words we haven’t used since the last time we read Charlotte’s Web. Just as a muscle grows when we lift weights, our vocabulary grows through the process of journaling.

   Write in your journal daily, even if only for an audience of one. Rewards include wisdom, understanding, empathy and the ability to express yourself in powerful, convincing language.

Writing your Memoir

Writing your memoir can be a wonderful exercise in self-discovery and family history. Here are “Notes to Self” that can make this experience enriching for you and enjoyable for others.

1          Tell the Whole Truth:  It’s human nature, especially when putting a life story into book form, to skew events. No one wants to take themselves to task, or see their words or actions through the eyes of those they have wounded. Yet, honestly, that is the best and finest course when recording your memoir. What wisdom do we gain from Swiss cheese memories? What insights enrich our readers if the stories we tell are more fiction than fact? So, meditate. Really think about your history and how you affected others, as well as what motivated you and what you learned. The result will be writing that moves a reader’s heart, not with awe, but with honesty.

2          Read Between the Lines:  Tremendous meaning can come to us as we recall our lives and choices. Wisdom, humility, a broader understanding of self and others, all these things are as close as putting pen to paper. We learn by doing. Writing a memoir filled with genuine feelings (including the feelings of others) is the harvest of a lifetime. So, sit down and write. What is communicated between the lines may be the most enriching part of all.

3          Try Something Funny: All this looking deep within can uncover gems of humor that are priceless, especially when the laugh is on you. I don’t mean cruel or disparaging jokes or remarks. Pointing a finger of scorn loses its charm after the Third Grade. But, when I tell a joke on myself, usually with a wink and a laugh, suddenly walls come down and everyone chuckles. Look for clean, happy, fun moments when you can share your awkward humanness. Starting the laughter lightens the load for others, as well as for yourself.

A Press Release that Really Works!

Writing up a press release is usually the job of a specialist, yet many small firms don’t have the funds to hire a talented copywriter, fulltime. That said releases written by amateurs usually don’t make it past the round file. Why? Because newspaper or magazine editors don’t see anything attractive to their readers in that kind of a release. Lacking polish, such releases make excellent paper airplanes for wastebasket target practice. Let the editorial “break” fun commence! 

Here are a few pointers on how to write press releases that really work and get the publicity you want and need.

1)     See the release from the editor’s point of view: No editor cares about what happens at your firm unless it is of interest to his or her readers. This means that your headlines, subheads and bullet points must attract them. A headline that says, We Won a Big Award will probably not get published, while a headline that says, Seven Secrets to Small Business Success, followed by a subhead like, We Won the Such-&-Such Award on a Shoestring and so Can You, will get top billing.

2)     Romance your facts: Every editor knows that a well-written story sells. Make your award, your new client or your rising profits, into a story. Suddenly, your success will get press, probably in the form of an article on the front page.

3)     Make the Call: Many people say that press releases no longer work. Not so. A well-written release that gets press is priceless, especially in an economy like ours, where almost no one rises above the advertorial horizon. Phone calls make the difference. Call the editor to tell him the release is coming. Call the editor to see if the release has been received. Call the editor to confirm that the publication will use the release and in which edition it will be listed.

Press releases with memorable headlines, subheads and eloquent writing are pretty rare in the industry, these days. Most PR veterans just plug in the facts and take a flock shot at the editors list. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot. Use these three suggestions and your PR exposure will soar!

How to Write a Great Speech

Sometime, somehow, somewhere, you’re going to have to give a speech. It may be at work, to support a charity event, at a wedding or to members of your church. The skills involved in writing a speech are simple yet require practice. Here are a few points to ponder.

First, go with your gut. Find a topic you feel passionately about that fits under the idea you’ve been assigned. (If you haven’t been assigned an idea, lucky you. This gives you even more latitude to leap up on your soapbox and rant).

Second, tout a single idea. Cluttering your talk with many concepts confuses your audience. Your goal should be to inform your listeners about your chosen topic so well that each person could tell another what you talk was about, in one word.

Third, get to the point. Don’t drone on and on, hoping that battering your listeners with words will win them to your viewpoint. In Mark Twain’s memoirs he mentions attending a meeting where the pastor spoke about the need for donations. After the first 45 minutes, Twain was eager to contribute. After three hours, he was tempted to steal coins from the collection plate.

Fourth, make it personal. The more personal your language the more emotional your audience. Feelings motivate actions and change ways of thinking, not logic. So, share touching stories, play upon their heartstrings. Remember, it’s easy to engage listeners when you are engaged, yourself.

Fifth, close it with a punch. Your ending must be as strong as your beginning. Closure should remind the audience of the points made in your speech. Revise your beginning and end, to a gemlike polish. Listeners may yawn during the middle of your talk, but they’ll always recall how you started and how you closed!