Say it Better

When is a Stultifying Speaking Style Helpful?

When you are delivering bad or - at best - ambiguous news to a powerful audience in a high-stakes situation, does it pay to “ah” and “um”?

Could it actually be beneficial to speak in an obfuscating fashion when you seek to:
1. Sidestep controversy?
2. Avoid being frequently-quoted?
3. Mitigate the impact of sometimes hostile questioning?
4. Prevent an “audience” from taking decisive action?

I am referring to the recent (not past) testimony on the hill by Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General Petraeus. It is difficult to be on the hot seat. Jargon and doublespeak are, too often, the norm in politics and in academic and corporate life.

Can it actually be smart to speak so that people do not understand what you mean and get tired of trying?

Even and especially in dire and/or controversial circumstances and with the four “avoidance” goals listed above, I’ll bet most communication experts would advise straight talk.

With his blunt and humorous response in The New York Times, Dick Cavett has stirred excellent commentary from Bert Decker and others. Bet Bob Sutton, Mark Halperin, Arch Lustberg, Peggy Noonan, David Brooks, and Dan and Chip Heath would concur.

For one thing, not speaking clearly and compellingly means your opponents' comments may become even more memorable in contrast. Rep. Ackerman noted, for example, that Petraeus was “pushing rocks uphill.”

The Art of Naming: How to Make it Positively Stand Out

Who “blew” it? How ironic. The widely reported prediction today, that Microsoft’s linchpin product is “in danger of collapsing,” comes on the heels of criticism for the corporate giant naming a beta product the “Blews.” Not a sunny Vista (sorry I couldn’t help myself) but a double whammy to give Microsoft the blues, again. The next irony? Blews is billed as the next step beyond “typical news-aggregation sites” to help readers of political blogs, “see the view from the other side.”

Are you about to name your new group, product, program, company, cause, or service? Worse yet, is a committee involved in crafting the name? If you are changing a well-known name, why? Refurbished image? Re-naming after a merger? From some adept naming pros, here’s some tips that may save you some public embarrassment or financial grief.

Success story: This spring, “a 16-year-old company that sells air to ground telecommunications equipment to airlines, will launch a broadband wireless service for twitchy airplane passengers who need their Internet fix at 40,000 feet.” Gleeful Igor, created for their client, Aircell, an apt name on the new service: Gogo.

Per Igor, a great name can:
• achieve separation from your competitors, reinforced, if possible, by a secondary meaning
• demonstrate to the world that you are different and unforgettable
• reinforce a unique positioning platform
• create positive and lasting engagement with your audience
• propel itself through the world on its own, becoming a no-cost, self-sustaining PR vehicle
• provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images
• be the genesis of a brand that rises above the goods and services you provide
• completely dominate a category

To set the right context for your brainstorming on a name, here's some criteria and ten questions to answer, from WriteExpress:
1. Who are my consumers?
2. What am I naming?
3. What type of a name do I want?
4. How long should the name be?
5. Do the sounds in the name have the right appeal?
6. What associations should the name evoke?
7. What are the foreign language implications of the name? Some clearly are.
8. How should I test the name?
9. How will the name appear in directories?
10. Can I trademark the name?

I'd add, will it lend itself to line extensions, such as Riverbed, with a product line Steelhead.

In each of ten categories of company names, brainstorm by your self and with others for several names in each area, provided by The Name Inspector, Christopher Johnson. Note the pros and cons in each category. Even if you aren’t seeking a name for your firm, these categories will help prime your creative “naming” pump.

1. Real words
Examples: Apple, Wink, Pandora,Gather

2. Compounds
Examples: Bubbleshare, Tailrank, Jumpcut, LaborFair

3. Phrases
Examples: StumbleUpon, Alltop, LinkedIn, DoorOne, Spoon Me 9double meaning there)

4. Blends or fusions
Examples: Technorati, Wikipedia, Brandscendence

5. Tweaked words
Examples: iPhone, eSnips

6. Affixed words
Examples: Dogster, PostSecret

7. Made up or obscure origin
Examples: Odeo, Spanx, Bebo, Zimbra

8. Puns
Examples: Farecast, LicketyShip, Tongue Fu, Consumating

9. People’s names (real or fictitious)
Examples: Ning, Bix, KikoKiko
Though witty to some, the Slate + Ben & Jerry’s “Yes, Pecan” campaign is another reminder: know ALL parts of your "market". Yet it did generate a heap of publicity.

10. Initials and acronyms
Examples: Guba, AOL

11. Whimsical or down right strange
Examples: Qoosa, TagTooga, Tandango and Fandango

12. Learn from past successes.
Examples: AltaVista is Spanish for high view.
Mozilla Foundation is a combination of Mosaic-Killer and Godzilla.

13. Use the right letter(s)
Examples: Want to sound high-tech? Go for lots of Z's and X's, such as Xanax, Xalatan, Zyban and Zostrix.
Want to sound poetic? Try Lyrica, Truvada and Femara. That’s what Indianapolis Star reporter, John Russell learned. Yet Guy Kawasaki (and I) adamantly disagree.

Now that you have some prospective names, review each, considering the criteria suggested by Intuit’s Laura Messerschmitt, writing at Biznik:

Is the name:
• memorable and distinctively different?
• easily spelled and pronounced?

Does it:
• suggest the products and services you offer?
• distinguish you from the competition?
• have the potential to be appropriate for new products and services you may offer later on?

Want to discover more on the anatomy of crafting a positively memorable name?

Now what's some of your favorite names for firms, products, non-profits, causes, services, or...?