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by
Pari Noskin Taichert
Bad Girls Press
 Words
are great. I love 'em. But when they're misused, abused and reduced to
gobbledygook, well, I just want to break down and cry.
When it comes to PR and Marketing, you'd better have your verbal act
together. Words are one of your primary tools for communication.
Today, let's look at those squiggles and see how to make them work better
for us.
A quick reminder:
The following rules apply
whether you're composing an advertisement, press release, sales letter,
flier or product tag line. They're also helpful in the spoken realm
of interviews, customer presentations, sales pitches and speeches.
1. If you've got something to say, say it.
We've all read paragraphs
that could have been cut to a sentence. And we've sat with someone
who can't get to the point. First our brains fall asleep, then our
legs. By the time the writer or speaker gets to the meat of the
matter, we're planning our 81st birthday bash. Don't lose your
audiences by falling in love with your words or the lilt of your own
voice.
2. Simple is smart, Pt. 1
I'd like to meet the
nincompoop who first decided the longer and more pompous the words he
used, the more intelligent he sounded. I'd sheath his pen and duct-tape
his mouth. Then I'd force him to listen to haiku until he realized
small, direct words have big meanings.
It's a shame simple declarative sentences are often shunned in favor of
frippery. But it's easy to understand how it happens. You think
losing weight is difficult? Try trimming your precious verbiage.
Usually when a person embraces the passive voice, uses 25 words in favor
of 10, and chooses "utilize" over "use," it's not a
display of intelligence. It's evidence of a small ego yearning to be
big. Professors may want erudite term papers; customers don't.
3. Simple is smart, Pt. 2
The simpler the message, the
easier it's understood. The easier it's understood, the better it
works for you. The better it works for you, the more money you
make. The more money you make, the bigger castle you can buy.
The bigger castle you buy, the more popular you'll be. You'll get scads
of babes or hunks. Your life will be perfect. Your legacy
will live on in the minds of adoring customers for centuries to come.
You get the picture.
I subscribe to the two R's in
communication with words:
Restraint
Use your words sparingly. Too much of a good thing can be lethal.
Respect
Have respect for your audience's time and intelligence. Express your ideas
with care. While words may be in endless supply, their meaning is
enhanced with brevity.
Pari
Noskin Taichert has worked in PR
for eons. Of course, she
considers waitressing, selling
textbooks, and belly dancing
part of her PR experience. Her
more traditional clients have
included corporations, small
businesses, nonprofit
organizations, writers and
artists.
Website: www.badgirlspress.com
Email: pari@badgirlspress.com
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