Kathy Magrino - The Write Way, LLC

Creativity will always get you “bonus points” from me!… Earlier this month, students in my COM105 Mass Media Communication course at Rider University completed their first round of “Team Challenge” presentations. The three objectives for the assignment were:

1. Introduce each member of your team to our class.

2. Recognize and identify the mass media affecting your lives.

3. Creatively present your introductory info and media findings to our class.

“Team RUWS” created a video (now posted on YouTube and shared with you with my students’ permission — click here to view) and, despite a little bit of technical difficulty, they entertained our class and impressed me with their creative talents.

My students are currently presenting their second “team challenge” assignments this week, and I’m excited to see what they will share this time! I’ll keep you posted…

Until next time, take care (and be creative, if you can)!

Kathy Magrino

Last week, students in one of my classes at Rider University (COM105 Mass Media Communication) completed their first team challenge presentations. Evaluated by their peers, each team entertained and educated their audience (me and their classmates) for up to 10 minutes. Some presentations were entertaining. Some were not. Some were rehearsed, but others were not. The whole experience reminded me of a blog post from Seth Godin last April called “The Hierarchy of Presentations.”

The key takeaways from Seth Godin’s post are:

1. A presentation is a precious opportunity that shouldn’t be wasted.

2. The purpose of a presentation is to change minds — or, in our case, to inform and educate (and to persuade our audience to give us good evaluations and grades).

It’s obvious that some of my students already know what makes a presentation work, and they recognize the value of a presentation opportunity. But, I think it’s a good idea to remind all of us to consider our goals when we’re making presentations — and to make sure we’re communicating and really connecting with our audience in a professional manner. Otherwise, don’t waste your audience’s time.

Until next time, polish up your presentation skills and take care!

Kathy Magrino

My favorite persuasive writing techniques are comparisons — metaphors, similes and analogies — and addressing objections, but not in the long-winded way some direct marketing copywriters use. Actually, if you combine these and other techniques into good storytelling, that’s the most effective persuasive technique writers can use.

Joyfully jobless Barbara Winter (@joblessmuse on Twitter) says, “What skill can put you at ease in social situations, make your business memorable and keep your curiosity on high alert?…It is, quite simply, a universal connector that helps us understand each other and ourselves, makes us desire things, gives us a sense of possibility. This magical tool is storytelling and it belongs in every entrepreneur’s toolkit…” Barbara masters good storytelling in her monthly Winning Ways newsletter and in her Buon Viaggio blog.

How do you persuade when you write? Let us know and share your persuasive writing techniques by posting your thoughts and comments here. Thanks!

Until next time, write on!

Kathy Magrino