Kathy Magrino – The Write Way, LLC

We need to be good at doing BOTH: working alone and working in teams. Successful teamwork is based on good communication skills — the ability to effectively express our thoughts, and the ability to interact with others.

Lately, I’ve noticed that some of my students are uncomfortable with teamwork and they resist team-building activities. In one of my classes, several students have either talked to me after class or emailed me about the “issues” they’re having with their teams. In each of these instances, I’ve noticed (and pointed out to them) that the issues are being caused by a lack of communication with their teammates. The solution is simple: better communication, especially via face-to-face interaction.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately: Maybe “face-to-face” communication is now becoming a neglected form of communication? Many younger students (approximately 20 years old) don’t want to, or prefer not to, work in teams. Is this a new trend?…

Are we becoming too reliant on texting, postings and emails? Are we creating a society of people who have become too comfortable “hiding behind” their computers and devices? Yes, we need to work independently, but we also need to know how to work with others…What’s happening to us?… And do you agree that face-to-face communication (or at least a phone call where we hear each other’s voice) is becoming a lost art or neglected activity?

I’m curious to hear your ideas about this… Maybe we can team up to brainstorm some solutions? … Or maybe we should Skype — taking advantage of the newest form of face-to-face communication? Please let me know what you think by posting your comments here. Thanks!

Until next time,

Kathy

This semester, my students at Rider University have been doing lots of presentations in our classes. I’ll be sharing these tips for preparing presentations with them, so I thought I’d share them with you, too:

1. Know your audience! Before you start writing, try to “get inside the heads” of the people you’ll be presenting to — your audience. Know their likes and dislikes — and try to know what will grab their attention.

2. Don’t forget that you’re writing for an AUDIENCE, not for readers! (Generally, readers have the luxury of taking their time with words and concepts…) An audience likes to be “entertained.”

3. Use repetition. Don’t be afraid to repeat key messsages, concepts and benefits to hammer home the messages you want to convey.

4. Be organized. Follow a logical progression — I usually create an outline or “map” for a presentation’s journey, from start to finish.

5. Be consistent. Use the same writing style and the same design throughout the entire presentation — everything should match. Sometimes, this is difficult when several people are working on the same presentation. Make sure you get together beforehand to merge your parts into one cohesive presentation.

Follow these tips, and you’ll be on your way to a good, professional presentation!

Until next time,

Kathy Magrino

I definitely have spring fever (a little early) this year! Warmer temperatures, longer days, blooming plants, baseball spring training, plans for my summer vegetable garden — these are some of the things I especially like about spring.

But, this spring, I’m also planning an exciting new beginning: the launch of a new business adventure with Alex Blom (@AlexBlom on Twitter — Twitter is where we first “met”), a super-savvy entrepreneur and business communication student from Australia who’s currently living in Hamilton, Canada and finishing his degree at McMaster University.

We’re still “planting the seeds and fertilizing” our ideas, anxiously preparing for the launch of our new adventure. I can’t share more info with you right now. I can only share my anticipation and excitement!! But, I promise to share more details here as our plans unfold and grow over the next few weeks. So, stay tuned — and bring on the spring fever!

Kathy Magrino

Trying to decide what to write about today, I came across this post from Mark McGuinness: Creative Block #5: Being Disorganised. It arrived in my email inbox this morning — right on time! I realized that a lot of my frustration and overwhelming feelings this past week have been caused by the piles of papers, books and textbooks currently surrounding my workspace. (I’d share a photo with you, but I’m too embarrassed to show you the MESS!)

Today, I’m going to find some time to “clean up my act” and get organized so that I can approach the rest of my week with more clarity and a better sense of direction. I recognize that I’ve been “blocked” by my disorganization and I needed this reminder that disorganization is a creative stop sign! (Thanks, Mark!)

Until next time, let’s adopt some organizational and time management skills from our more left-brain oriented friends and unblock our creativity! If you’ve got some tips to share about this topic, please let us know by adding your comments here. Thanks!

Kathy Magrino

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

Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, “Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” I definitely share a similar perspective, and I love the “thrill of creative effort”! That’s why I’m always trying to inject creativity into all parts of my life: at home and in my work, including the classes I teach each semester at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ.

We start a new semester at Rider today — an opportunity to inject some creativity into the learning process for 14 weeks of fun and learning! I’m teaching COM107 Persuasive Writing for the Media and COM105 Mass Media Communication this semester. I’ve taught COM107 many times before, but each semester I “change it up” to reflect what’s happening in the real world and to help prepare my students for potential careers as writers in the business world.

I’m teaching Mass Media for the first time — and I’ve designed the semester as a TV-inspired,  Survivor-like game. Hopefully, this will keep the creative juices flowing for everyone!

Wish us luck as we embark on 14 weeks of creativity, fun and learning in both of my classes… and I hope you, too, have the opportunity to experience “the thrill of creative effort” in your efforts in the coming weeks, too! Go for it!

Kathy Magrino

Purpose. Audience. Style. Tone. (Easy to remember as “P-A-S-T,” an acronym I share with my students…) Whatever you’re writing, by considering these elements, you’ll be able to organize your thoughts and kick-start your writing efforts.

Purpose – Ask yourself, “What are my objectives for writing this piece?” Your answer will help you outline a path to reach your goals and determine your purpose.

Audience – If I could have figured out an acronym that started with an “A,” I definitely would put “A” for “audience” first. In my opinion, knowing your audience — the people you want to reach or connect with through your writing — makes the whole writing process much easier. Pretend you’re talking to this person or these people. In your writing, “talk” directly to your audience, using words like “you” and “your” and other conversational words and phrases, which brings us to the “S” in “PAST”..

Style — To be effective, the style and structure of your writing piece needs to meet your audience’s expectations — or it needs to cleverly attract their attention. At times, a conversational style is appropriate, but sometimes it’s not.

• If you’re writing a news release to send to journalists and editors, they’ll expect you to structure your news in an “inverted pyramid style,” where the most important news and information appears in your lead paragraphs, followed by the less important information. Also, news releases should be written in the objective third-person (without “you” or “your”…).
• If you’re writing a page for your website, it’s good to be conversational, but you’ll also want to use a “chunk” style with quick headings and sub-heads and bullet-point information.
• Sometimes an “unexpected” and creative style or structure will get more attention for your writing. On BusinessWeek.com, the authors of Social Media Will Change Your Business structured the article as a series of blog entries, which the authors were writing about in addition to other social media.

Tone — Determine how formal or informal your writing needs to be, depending on the audience and purpose. This is the “tone” you should use in your writing. If appropriate, don’t be afraid to use a casual, conversational tone, one that “talks” directly to your audience. Also, it’s okay to use technical words and acronyms if you’re sure your audience will understand — but only if your audience will understand what you’re saying!

Consider the “P-A-S-T” and move forward with your ideas and writing efforts. If you have any other considerations that help you kick-start your writing, please share them with us by responding below. Thanks for reading this post. Until next time, take care!

Kathy Magrino

That’s how viewers read the content on your website — and their eyes move in an “F-pattern” across the page. In a research study that I always quote to my students each semester, website-usability guru Jakob Nielsen found, “Eyetracking visualizations show that users often read Web pages in an F-shaped pattern: two horizontal stripes followed by a vertical stripe.” The study also revealed, “F is for fast. That’s how users read your precious content. In a few seconds, their eyes move at amazing speeds across your website’s words in a pattern that’s very different from what you learned in school.”

To see “heatmaps” from the eye-tracking study, go here. This information can help all of us as we write, design and prepare content to be read on computer screens. In this instance, getting the “F” concept is a good thing!

Until next time,

Kathy Magrino