Say it Better

Become More Frequently-Quoted

Increase the chances that others will talk about what you do, write and say. Craft vivid and unexpected comparisons.

Financial heavy-hitters covet tickets to the high stakes J.P. Morgan Healthcare investors’ conference. That’s where investors and venture capitalists hear 20-minute talks by CEOs of start-ups and public companies who seek funding or favorable stock analysts’ reports. The tension is high and the schedule packed. Presenters speak fast, using a mix of highly technical scientific and finance language.

Treat Your Body Like a Billboard for Your message

When it was his turn to speak, the CEO of bio-tech firm Amgen, strode past the podium to the center of the stage, then turned and smiled at the audience. He pulled up one suit sleeve, rolled back the underlying shirt sleeve to bare his raised forearm and pointed at a patch on it. He began, saying, " You will feel the effects of this medical patch faster than it takes a Porsche to go from zero to 90.”

Make Favorable Comparisons With Familiar, Admired Objects

Few methods create greater credibility and memorability. Especially if a respected third party offers that side-by-side verbal or visual picture. But don’t wait for someone else to label you or your product.

A publisher describes Peter Greenberg’s book, The Complete Travel Detective Bible as the “ultimate ‘physician's desk reference’ for travelers.” This potent alignment with a familiar object in a different world (travel and medical) positions the book in our mind as the top-of-mind choice in its category.

The tiny firm, Turnstone touts this slogan, “The Mini Cooper of office furniture.”

“Air bag for your computer” is the description of backup software for a computer’s hard drive.

Hijack a Famous Slogan to Use in a New Way

After a company has spent millions to make a slick slogan well-known, twist it in a new direction for your intended meaning. Redwood Hospital in Northern California used this billboard variation of the popular milk slogan to ask for blood donations: “Got blood?”

Be Brief

"Writing is like water, because you have to let it flow."

Suggestion: Say it so they can see it in their mind's eye. When people in your work world are immersed in jargon, your remarks can stand out from others, when you make a comparison with a well-liked product, person or situation from outside your profession or industry.

Tips on Quotablity

You know you’re in the hands of a pro when the former speech writer for the founder of Sun Microsystems is interviewing you. Ian Griffin retains his English accent, dry wit and curiosity. As a former journalist I enjoyed trading roles to answer his questions on ways to become quotable. Ian and his wife Sandra drove over from Castro Valley to share ideas on podcasting and Sandra's new venture with me and my dear friend Don Weil at my home in Sausalito.

We sat at my kitchen table looking out a big window over to Richardson Bay as the fog crawled over us to Angel Island. Ever on the edge of user-friendly technology, Ian pulled out his “trusty” Olympus DS-330 for the interview. He transformed it into a podcast the same day.

Last year he became a roving reporter at meetings of NSA and the local chapter here, NSA/NC. Want fresh ideas to improve your communication or public speaking skills? Download some of his short, lively and idea-packed clips. To find other speakers’ tips, see their blogs listed on Ian’s blog roll. One of my favorites is by the author of Thank You for Arguing, “Figaro.”

Warmthiness

First Stephen Colbert delivered his mock outrage styling of Bill O'Reilly's "talking points" - speaking on truthiness.

Now, James Wolcott writes of warmthiness. In the September issue of Vanity Fair find this excerpt from his article, comparing life in the White House today to the Paris Hilton/Nicole Ritchie reality TV show called "The Simple Life" (thanks Tama for tip), dubbing the presidency as The Simple Life: White House Edition:
"Lillian Ross's memoir of The New Yorker editor William Shawn was titled Here But Not Here; Laura Bush's presence alongside her husband could be called There But Not There. Through some strange optical illusion or Jedi mind trick she manages to recede into the foreground or project into the background--it's hard to decide which. Either way, she hasn't been supplying the warmthiness that every presidency and reality-TV series requires and desires as a sweetener."

Yet, despite what some say, she's not receding from the public stage regarding Burma (aka Myanmar). Putting that kind of courageous warmthiness in the foreground is heartening to me. Who knows what comes next? Integrityness? Maybe that can become the word of the year in 2008.

Technorati Profile

“I just don't want to end up

...like Katie Couric. I want people to take me seriously," Miss USA Rachel Smith said last week when speaking to the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network.

In the same talk she mentioned she wanted to do “some serious news” … “but some modeling too." That’s probably why her first comment when she was interviewed about the importance of winning the title was describing what she wore, “"I was wearing, like, a hot pink Rocawear sweatsuit and paraded around my room at the Waldorf, just dancing with my crown!"

No room for parody here.

Katie Couric’s pr spokesperson offered this comment, “"If she continues to offer such profound insight, she will not have to worry about anyone taking her seriously." Hint, when someone insults you, respond by elevating the conversation rather than getting down in the mud too.

When you throw mud you get dirty.

By the way, one of my favorite comparisons is witty, seemingly going negative yet ends on a note of admiration - a positive comparision – all packed into one pithy sentence.

Back in 1931 Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein drove down a street together. Pedestrians waved and cheered. Chaplin explained the scene this way:
"The people are applauding you
because none of them understands you,
and applauding me, because
everybody understands me."

What do Bono, Sergey Brin, Ayn Rand and Monty Python now share?

Why, they’ve been SquidWhoed. That’s the wildly popular new way to quickly create a fan page, using Seth Godin’s Squidoo. And these often quirky pages, dotted with photos and commentary are more fun (albeit shallow) to read than the somber Wikipedia pages.

Who do you want to honor and make more well-known? Your grandmother? Favorite college professor? Best friend? Spouse? Mentor? It is quick and easy to do.

Some of my favorite fan pages on Today's Hot 100 are JK Rowling's, written by a high school math teacher; Pema Chodron's, written by a freelance writer and tinkerer; and Jimmy Buffett's, written (of course) by a parrothead.

Thanks Jackie Huba for that tip.

Assmosis + the tendency for a new razor blade to inflict knicks

Because you need to know: Rick Fulmer discovered that assmosis is "The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard."

Here's a catchy list of more words that should be - from a mysterious source I cannot track down (can you?) ....

cutharsis — The tendency for a new razor blade to inflict knicks.

naihilism — The propensity for a clipped toenail to fly off into deep shag carpet.

coffation — The nerve in the ear that prompts coughing when touched by a q-tip.

lashinoma — The condition of an eyelash getting caught under the eyelid.

hummation — The first second of room tone you hear when you get some one's answering machine before they start talking.

You may be reading this right now because you need a break. if so go voer and seem a well-selected group of very funny advertisements. You'll go back to work refreshed. I promise.

What's Your Six-Word Story?

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn." That's my favorite short story by Hemingway.

There seems to be a mini-revival of mini-tales. Bloggers Virginia Backaitis and Robert McEvily seek very short stories ("What can you say in six sentences?"). Some of the sentences in the contributions there are very long. And many of the topics tilt towards the physical. Mat Honen offers one-sentence treasures, one per page.

Wired Magazine was even more stringent in its rules. (Reminds me of the winners' word limit at The Webbys.) It invited some novelists to try their hands at six-word science fiction. Some of my favorites:

It’s behind you! Hurry before it
- Rockne S. O’Bannon

Longed for him. Got him. Shit.
- Margaret Atwood

With bloody hands, I say good-bye.
- Frank Miller

Wasted day. Wasted life. Dessert, please.
- Steven Meretzky

K.I.A. Baghdad, Aged 18 - Closed Casket
- Richard K. Morgan

Starlet sex scandal. Giant squid involved.
- Margaret Atwood

"Like NetFlix for baby clothes"

That's how Pamela Slim describes a new rental service for parents in Germany that provides everything from clothes to layettes for a fixed price per month. See more "what's new" tips at Springwise.

You, too, can make your idea, product, service or cause more memorable by creating striking comparisons. Here's some examples to get your creative juices flowing.

• Musician Jon Hendricks is the father of vocalese, the art of setting lyrics to jazz instrumental standards and then having voices sing the instruments' parts. That's why Time Magazine dubbed him the "James Joyce of Jive."

• “The Mini Cooper of office furniture,” is the apt tag line of the tiny firm, Turnstone.

• The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship is called the Davos of social entrepreneurship.

• 30 years ago, H. Rap Brown said, "Violence is as American as cherry pie."

• A woman in the Midwest uses WD-40 to keep squirrels from shimmying up her birdfeeder. WD-40 CEO Garry Ridge can now boast "More people use WD-40 every day than use dental floss."

• "Criticizing a political satirist for being unfair is like criticizing a nose guard for being physical," wrote political cartoonist, Garry Trudeau.

• Redwood Hospital in Northern California used this billboard variation of the popular milk slogan to ask for blood donations:  “Got blood?”

• “Mimicking spider silk properties has been the holy grail of materials science for a long time,” says Jeffrey Turner, president of Nexia Biotechnologies, a Montreal biotech company that produces spider silk on a commerical scale with goats that have been genetically engineered to secrete silk proteins in their milk. Why is this valuable?  Because the silk fibers they produce can be used for everythingfrom sutures for microsurgery and fishing lines to bullet-proof body armor as tough as Kevlar.

Spider silk is a flexible and lightweight fiber, that, by weight, is five times stronger than steel.

• Robert Kosberg, a Hollywood producer convinced a studio to make the 1993 pets -gone-wrong movie "Man's Best Friend." His pitch was “Jaws on Paws.”

Make Attention-Grabbing Comparisons

Always be on the lookout for credible images and words to associate with your idea, product, cause – or yourself. Here’s three ways to anchor your words in their minds.

1. Hijack a familiar slogan to use in a new way.

After a company has spent millions to make a slick slogan well-known twist it in a new direction for your intended meaning.
Example:
Redwood Hospital in Northern California used this billboard variation of the popular milk slogan to ask for blood donations: “Got blood?”

2. Be provocative, by comparision.

Know your audience then take your chances.

Example:
In a review of the uplifting memoir by Terry Ryan, centered on her mother, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less, Jennifer Foote Sweeney wrote, "I (have) accepted Evelyn Ryan as my personal savior."

3. Use “The/Of” Rule

Fill in the blanks in this sentence: The ___ of ___ .

Examples:
Musician Jon Hendricks is the father of vocalese. That’s the art of setting lyrics to jazz instrumental standards and then having voices sing the instruments' parts. That's why Time Magazine dubbed him the "James Joyce of Jive."

The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship is called the Davos of social entrepreneurship.

“The Mini Cooper of office furniture,” is the apt tag line of the tiny firm, Turnstone. Their elaboration: “Leveraging parent Steelcase's technology and distribution channels, we offer small businesses great style for less, with big-business speed.”

From Work to Love

Here’s some new sayings ….

…from work…

"I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over."
- Warren Buffett

"A vision without the ability to execute is a hallucination."
- Steve Case

…to love.

Love is when the heart loses its mind.

To love and be loved is to feel the sunshine from both sides.