Happy
St. Patrick's Day!
Welcome
to another issue of Communication
Matters! In every issue, we will review topics that will help you grow
your business faster with cutting-edge communication skills.
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In this
issue:
Press
Release Basics
Networking:
Active Listening Skills
Creativity
Corner: Holistic Thinking
Press
Release Basics
Press Releases
are the best low cost advertising you can create for your business.
They do take some time and research to be successful, but getting your
business name in print is priceless for credibility in your marketplace.
In one
survey of editors, 45% of editors said they get more than thirty press
releases a day. About 20% said that they read more than 50% of the releases,
and a third said they scan them all. So at some publications, they do
actually look at them. They are scanning to see if the information is
appropriate for their audience.
Editors
suggest that you read their magazine or newspaper and send in custom-tailored
information.
Here are
some valuable tips on Press Releases for your business:
- Make
sure the information is newsworthy.
- Tell
the audience that the information is intended for them and why they
should continue to read it.
- Start
with a brief description of the news, then distinguish who announced
it, and not the other way around.
- Ask
yourself, "How are people going to relate to this and will
they be able to connect?"
- Make
sure the first 10 words of your release are effective, as they are
the most important.
- Avoid
excessive use of adjectives and fancy language.
- Deal
with the facts.
- Provide
as much Contact information as possible: Individual to Contact,
address, phone, fax, email, Web site address.
- Make
sure you wait until you have something with enough substance to
issue a release.
- Make
it as easy as possible for media representatives to do their jobs.
Here is
a standard press release for you to use:
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Headline
- Be creative. One sentence. Use proper title case, capitalizing
every word except for the following: of, it, the, a, an, from
…
City,
State (PRWEB) Month Day, Year - Grab their attention here. A
strong introductory paragraph should cover who, what, when,
where, why and how.
Put
the body of your press release here. Expound on the information
provided in your introductory paragraph. Include quotes from
key staff, customers or subject matter experts.
The
body of your press release should contain more than one paragraph.
The final paragraph should restate and summarize the key points
of your news release.
For
additional information (or sample, copy or demo), contact: (include
contact information here)
You
can include details on product availability, trademark acknowledgment
here.
About
XYZ Company
Include a short corporate back grounder.
CONTACT
INFORMATION:
Contact Person
XYZ Company
555-555-5555
555-555-4444
http://www.YourWebAddress.com (if applicable)
NOTE: Do not include e-mail address here.
Include
safe harbor statement (if applicable).
###
|
Writing
basics: Use the Inverted Pyramid.
In college,
aspiring writers learn about the Inverted Pyramid. Picture an upside
down pyramid with the base (the widest part) at the top. Then organize
your information so that the most important information is at the top--
the widest part of the Inverted Pyramid -- and, as you funnel down to
the narrowest point, the information becomes less important to convey.
If you use this formula and your press release is edited, then your
most important message will be stated first and usually your communication
will get to your audience.
Please
contact us at info@mason-works.com
if you need help with your Press Release creation, distribution and
follow-up. We would be glad to help you!
Networking:
Active Listening Skills
Anyone
that knows me, knows that I love to network with people. I enjoy learning
about what people do and how Mason Works might help them grow. I enjoy
putting people in touch with each other and making "matches".
Most people
prefer to do business with friends, companies refereed by friends, or
acquaintances. It is much easier and rewarding to do business with others
with whom we can build long term relationships. One of the best ways
to build relationships is to practice Active Listening Skills. These
skills enable you to know enough about the other business person to
be able to assist them.
Some
Active Listening Skills are:
- Face
the person speaking head-on.
- Pay
attention and hold eye contact.
- Lean
slightly toward them.
- Nod
and agree with them occasionally.
- Suspend
judgment about what they are saying.
- Don't
be preparing what you want to say. (That's a hard one for
me!)
- "Reflect"
what they say by saying " then you're saying that..."
- Mirror
some of their body language.
- Agree
when you can, don't say , "Yes, but..."
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If you
really want to know about the other person, be prepared to talk the
entire meeting about them and their business. If you don't get to talk
about your business, that's fine. You can meet again if you want to
educate them on what you have to offer.
Creativity
Corner: Holistic Thinking
Welcome
to another month of Creativity Corner. This creativity tool session
will be on Holistic Thinking. In our Communication
Matters past issues, we have covered Brainstorming, Mindmapping,
Forced Relationships, Guided Fantasies and Synectics as tools to develop
creative solutions for communication. Here we will describe another
method for developing new solutions.
| The
truly creative person is concerned about how things work together,
realizing how one thing affects everything else. This "whole
view" is called Holistic Thinking, where reviewing how systems
work together creates new effectiveness and efficiency. Holistic
thinking goes beyond the "why" to discover the "how"
and then to see what else results. |
 |
The truly
creative person is concerned about how things work together, realizing
how one thing affects everything else. This "whole view" is
called Holistic Thinking, where reviewing how systems work together
creates new effectiveness and efficiency. Holistic thinking goes beyond
the "why" to discover the "how" and then to see
what else results.
A holistic
thinker understands each and every aspect of the current system and
knows how its elements should be organized for maximum results as well
as any residual byproducts. They are able to project themselves to the
end of the solution within its context. They are open-minded and conscious
of their own thought patterns, being careful to not be swayed by their
own personal biases.
Creativity
is made by organizing existing elements into new and different solutions
or ideas. These ideas create changes that build on one another. Problems
are fluid: each change can create another problem. The holistic thinker
knows this will occur and adapts as situations change. Change is good!
We hope
that this tool helps your business create better solutions. Here's to
creative and more successful outcomes!
* * * * * * * * *
We hope
that you have enjoyed our March 2005 newsletter and will gain many
useful ideas from our experience to accelerate your business! Please
contact us if you do not want to receive future mailings. For more information,
email kathy@mason-works.com
or go to our website, www.mason-works.com.
The Mason Works Acceleration team looks forward to helping you grow
your business faster and more cost effectively.
Best wishes!
Kathy
Kathy Mason,
President
Mason Works,
LLC.
303-527-2978
