Quotes & Links

From Dave Pollard at How to Save the World come these 10 tips on how to tell a better story:

I've written frequently on these pages about the value of stories as a context-rich means of persuasion and knowledge-sharing. And I've written about the structure of good stories. But despite my knowledge and respect for the medium, I've learned that I'm not yet a consistently good story-teller.

The two most obvious differences between my successful and unsuccessful story-telling experiences are (1) the amount of practice I get telling the story (the more practice, and the more re-tellings, the better the story gets), and (2) the veracity of the story (true stories from my personal experience work well, stories of other people's experiences and future state vision stories have been largely unsuccessful).

For the remainder of the listing follow the link.


From Jennifer Rice at What's Your Brand Mantra? comes this discussion on "customer":

Ok... I'm all for plain, honest language... but can someone give me a better option than 'customer'? Adrian says that we should call people who buy cooking products "chefs"... but I'm no chef. Yes, buyers of books are usually 'readers' but often they're just buying gifts for someone else. Yes, people who buy fishing equipment are usually fishermen (or fisherwomen). But if you're writing about all people who buy stuff in general, what are you going to call them? Buyers?That's cold. And am I supposed to say: "companies should focus their attention on the desires of the people who buy products and services from them."? Or just say "customer-centric?"

Buzzwords exist for a reason. They are phrases that communicate meaning. Buzzwords are short-hand for an idea.

Read the remainder of Jennifer's discussion, including the comment trail here.

From maidenmole at ?IC@TomorrowToday.Biz in her continuing series "Taking a step back..."

What is a word without its context? E.g. you might expect a quizzical look in 1850 when speaking of a “laptop”, however today the concept makes sense. This process also applies to words in isolation, as a word is contextualized by the words on either side of it. So, to understand a word in isolation is futile. I believe the same process applies when we consider diversity. In and of itself, diversity is meaningless. But when held up against its opposite conformity you begin to understand what diversity represents. So what can we learn about diversity when we consider conformity? Let’s see..

For the rest of this thought provoking post, follow the link.


From Andrew Taylor at The Artful Manager comes this analysis of the future for regional theaters due to the Vegas influence:

While both articles emphasize the impact of Vegas on Broadway, the real folks at risk are the performing arts centers and presenters scattered around the United States. These venues depend on blockbuster tours to keep their accounts in good standing, and to subsidize the rents of resident performing organizations (the symphony, the theater, the ballet, etc.). The positive economics of a Vegas venue, especially for established hits like Avenue Q, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia, Hairspray, and Blue Man Group make the idea of a long, national tour much less appealing.

For the remainder of this posting follow the link.

Enough catching up for now, I need to go running. I'll catch you later!