Editor and Ghostwriter
I came across this helpful link when doing some research for a client:
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/index.html
Websites, blogs, magazines and books are great places to look for ideas and trends. And be sure to always give credit where credit is due.
To help you get into the minds of your clients, prospective clients and readers, I started to ponder what self-help readers want.
I used myself as an example (as an avid reader of self-help books, articles, websites and blogs), which I thought was a pretty good place to start……..
1. They want to feel at home. They want to see words they know and they want validation for some of the theories they’ve already come up with or accepted on their own.They want to have a pretty immediate grasp on the material – they’re not here to study, they’re here to learn.
Writing Prompt: Keep your language simple and straightforward. That will be far more impressive than an academic vocabulary.
2. They want a solution to their problem. They want their lives to improve, they want to get better, they want reassurance and hope that things won’t always be this way.
Writing Prompt: Tune into the unique, specific problems that your ideal customer wants to solve. Use the same language they would use to describe the problem and your solution.
3. They want to know they’re not alone. They want to hear you say that you’ve known and helped other people like them, maybe even that you were once like them and you found a way out.
Writing Prompt: Use examples, case studies and your own life stories. Balance theory with real-life experience.
4. They want to know that they haven’t wasted their money. They want to know this book isn’t like others they read and then shelved.
Writing Prompt: Provide lots of suggestions for real-life application of the solution, and follow-up options to get more support if they need it. Don’t leave them hanging.
5. They want to know, like, trust and interact with you. They want you to be an expert who is still approachable.
Writing Prompt: Offer a way for readers to interact with you, such as a blog or discussion forum. Invite comments and questions via your website and/or email. Share news about your new successes and offerings.
Last year I was fortunate to participate in several presentations, both as a speaker and as a listener. I came away with many examples of good and not-so-good presentation notes.
Here are my top 3 mistakes to avoid in your presentation notes:
1. Don't give away all of the answers. Keep some mystery alive, so that someone can't glean the entire message and value of your presentation just from the notes.
Lynda Robertson of the Sandler Sales Institute handled this brilliantly by using a quiz as her handout. As her presentation progressed, we answered the questions together and she expanded on each answer with many more details.
I've seen other presenters and tele-class leaders do this by providing point-form outlines only, with blank pages for attendees to write in their own notes.
2. Don't confuse your audience. Finalize your presentation early enough so that whatever you've submitted to the conference organizers matches the presentation you're actually delivering. I sat in on a presentation where this wasn't the case and it really distracted me!
Also, don't make your audience work too hard by giving them too much to read. Leave enough white space on the page so they can digest the information and fill in the details that they find most relevant.
3. Don't leave your audience empty-handed. Even if you weren't able to get presentation notes ready ahead of time, offer to email notes to anyone who's interested, or set up a special download page on your website. You can combine this with a special offer for attendees.
Don't forget to bundle this with a subscription to your email newsletter AS LONG AS you are upfront about it, and that you offer a no-hassle way to unsubscribe at any time.
Like any other piece of writing, presentation notes deserve your time and attention, because they'll be representing you long after your presentation is over.
Writing Prompt: Take a fresh look at your presentation notes and make sure you're not making any of these mistakes.
Introducing http://www.FreeRice.com, a website where you can expand your vocabulary while making a real difference.
Your writing will be more interesting and hungry people will get the food they need.
I've been donating via http://www.TheHungerSite.com for quite awhile, and now I've added http://www.FreeRice.com to my "Home" tabs that open up every morning when I start my computer and launch my web browser.
My only concern is that it's kind of addictive to see how many words I define correctly, and what my score is 😉
At Thursday's SOHO meeting, I heard Mark Bowden of Truth Plane speak about how to "Stand Out and Be Heard." And while he was talking specifically about how we could improve our "elevator pitch" and other presentations, I think that one of his points was also very relevant to our writing activities.
Someone in the audience asked Mark about how to create great content for a presentation. She said she always runs out of time with lots more she had planned to share. I could certainly relate, and I leaned in close to hear what Mark would say.
Turned out that Mark's message was very similar to what I shared in "Trying Write the Article of Lifetime?"
He suggests that we choose the ONE thing we want our audience to know about (and how to do it) and focus on just that one thing.
He used the example of the importance of building trust in order to make a sale. So if "trust" is the one thing you want to get across as your most important point, spend the entire time in your elevator pitch, speech, article or other communication talking about how trust is important, and how to get it.
So, make your point, support your point, and then repeat your point. Over and over. At the PWAC Toronto seminar earlier this month, John Watkis stated that your goal when you're speaking is to deliver a message that will be heard, remembered and shared. Isn't that our goal when writing, as well?
Quick Writing Prompt: In the piece of writing you're working on right now, what is the one key idea you want people to take away from it? How can you "de-clutter" your message so it hones in on that one thing?