Get it Write!Jerry Brown, APRPublic Relations Counsel

© 2009 Jerry Brown

“Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money. “ -- Moliere

Heard, Understood, Remembered

Be Heard• Grab my attention• Tell me a story• Make it about me

Be understood• Make it simple

Be remembered• Refrigerator-magnet test• “Sticky” messages

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Get Your Story Heard

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Grab my attention• Surprise me• Break a pattern• Arouse my curiosity• Pose a mystery

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Tell me a story . . .

© 2009 Jerry Brown

. . . make it about me

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Me, the Storyteller

DENVER – XYZ Systems Inc., a leading developer of integrated, rapidly deployable workflow and document management solutions, today announced its strategic alliance with Hyperbolic Technology Corporation (HTC) and its participation in HTC’s Dynamic Software Partner (DSP) program.

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Me, the Storyteller

DENVER – XYZ Systems Inc., a leading developer of integrated, rapidly deployable workflow and document management solutions, today announced its strategic alliance with Hyperbolic Technology Corporation (HTC) and its participation in HTC’s Dynamic Software Partner (DSP) program.

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Me, the Audience

DENVER – Two leading business-software developers have joined forces to help software engineers easily find, track and manage all the information they need for complex projects.

The lack of good information-management tools is the number one complaint . . .

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Colorado Hepatitis C Coalition LaunchesStatewide Awareness Campaign

Collaborative Approach to “Silent Epidemic” Reaches All Regions of Colorado

DENVER – Colorado health care and community officials today launched a broad-based campaign to raise awareness of hepatitis C, a looming public health crisis that may impact more than 168,000 Coloradans, at a press conference here this morning. Coalition members announced their intention to provide the Colorado public with information about hepatitis C, and encourage screening for people at risk. “It is important for Colorado residents to know the potential risk of hepatitis C and how to prevent it,” said Dr. So and So. “I am pleased to be a part of this grassroots coalition in order to raise awareness of this disease.”

Me, the Storyteller

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Me, the Storyteller

Colorado Hepatitis C Coalition LaunchesStatewide Awareness Campaign

Collaborative Approach to “Silent Epidemic” Reaches All Regions of Colorado

DENVER – Colorado health care and community officials today launched a broad-based campaign to raise awareness of hepatitis C, a looming public health crisis that may impact more than 168,000 Coloradans, at a press conference here this morning. Coalition members announced their intention to provide the Colorado public with information about hepatitis C, and encourage screening for people at risk. “It is important for Colorado residents to know the potential risk of hepatitis C and how to prevent it,” said Dr. So and So. “I am pleased to be a part of this grassroots coalition in order to raise awareness of this disease.”

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Me, the Storyteller

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus of the liver that, if left untreated, can progress to advanced liver disease (i.e., liver cancer, cirrhosis) and, in some cases, death. Approximately 4 million Americans (1.8% of the population) are believed to be infected with the disease, which is four times the number of people infected with HIV. Hepatitis C has been called the “silent epidemic” because it is estimated that only five percent of the people with the disease are aware of their infection. Symptoms can remain dormant for up to 20 years as Hepatitis C progresses into advanced liver disease. Hepatitis C has become the largest cause of liver transplants in the United States.

Yada yada yada (4 paragraphs worth)

Hepatitis C disproportionately impacts baby boomers, communities of color, people infected with HIV, veterans and incarcerated populations. Risk factors include injection drug use, receipt of a blood transfusion, unsafe sexual practices, organ or tissue transplant prior to 1990, and people who may have received a tattoo or body piercing in unsterile conditions.

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Me, the Storyteller

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus of the liver that, if left untreated, can progress to advanced liver disease (i.e., liver cancer, cirrhosis) and, in some cases, death. Approximately 4 million Americans (1.8% of the population) are believed to be infected with the disease, which is four times the number of people infected with HIV. Hepatitis C has been called the “silent epidemic” because it is estimated that only five percent of the people with the disease are aware of their infection. Symptoms can remain dormant for up to 20 years as Hepatitis C progresses into advanced liver disease. Hepatitis C has become the largest cause of liver transplants in the United States.

Yada yada yada (4 paragraphs worth)

Hepatitis C disproportionately impacts baby boomers, communities of color, people infected with HIV, veterans and incarcerated populations. Risk factors include injection drug use, receipt of a blood transfusion, unsafe sexual practices, organ or tissue transplant prior to 1990, and people who may have received a tattoo or body piercing in unsterile conditions.

Me, the Audience

DENVER – You may have a killer virus flowing through your veins and not know it.

You’re particularly susceptible if you’re between the ages of 45 and 64, a person of color, a military veteran, infected with HIV or if you’ve been in jail or prison.

Risk factors include blood transfusions, unprotected sex, tattoos, body piercing, organ or tissue transplants before 1990 and taking drugs with a needle.

The disease is Hepatitis C. Health officials say one out of every 50 Americans has it and only one out of every 20 people infected know it.

“Hepatitis C is a ticking time bomb,” said Dr. So and So, Impressive Title. “It kills people. And it’s the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States.”

Health officials call it a “silent epidemic” because Hepatitis C can remain dormant in your blood for up to 20 years, showing no symptoms until it causes serious liver damage.

“Hepatitis C can be treated,” Dr. So and So said. “But you have to be tested. Many people don’t have any symptoms until it’s too late to prevent serious liver disease.”

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Get Your Story Understood

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Keep it simple

Don’t let facts get in the way

• Anecdotes• Analogies• Examples

Edit, Edit, Edit!

Clear Words

Short Sentences

Active Voice

Who?

What?

Where?

When?

Why?

Who?

What?

Where?

When?

Why?

What about me?

So what?

What about here?

How?

Why?

Setting your Agenda

1. Objective?

2. Audience?

3. Headline?

4. Other Messages?

5. Messages to avoid?

Setting Your Agenda

1. Objective?

2. Audience?

3. Headline?

4. Other Messages?

5. Messages to avoid?

What’s the one thing you want your audience to hear, understand and remember?

Setting Your Agenda

1. Objective?

2. Audience?

3. Headline?

4. Other Messages?

5. Messages to avoid?

What’s the one thing you want your audience to hear, understand and remember?

What’s the Headline?

• Announcement from Kenneth L. Peters, principal of Beverly Hills High School:

–The entire faculty of the school will travel to Sacramento next Thursday for a colloquium in new teaching methods

–Speakers will include:– Comedian Bill Cosby– Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust– California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Source: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

© 2009 Jerry Brown

The Seven Nevers

• Never begin a sentence with “and” or “but”

• Never use contractions• Never refer to the reader as you• Never use the first person

pronoun I• Never end a sentence with a

preposition• Never split an infinitive• Never write a paragraph

containing only a single sentence

Source: Plain English at WorkEdward P. Bailey

© 2009 Jerry Brown

The Seven Nevers

• Never begin a sentence with “and” or “but”

• Never use contractions• Never refer to the reader as you• Never use the first person

pronoun I• Never end a sentence with a

preposition• Never split an infinitive• Never write a paragraph

containing only a single sentence

Source: Plain English at WorkEdward P. Bailey© 2009 Jerry Brown

Truth. Justice. And the American way.

Rule of 3’s

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Get Your Story Remembered

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Refrigerator-Magnet Test

• Buy it• Tell friends• Save it

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Refrigerator-Magnet Test

• Buy it• Tell friends• Save it

Give me a reason to care:• Make it relevant• Make it useful• Make it interesting• Touch my emotions

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Six Principles of Stickiness

1. Simplicity

2. Unexpectedness

3. Concreteness

4. Credibility

5. Emotions

6. Stories

© 2009 Jerry Brown

10 Rules of Effective Language

1. Simplicity: Use small words.

2. Brevity: Use short sentences.

3. Credibility is as important as philosophy.

4. Consistency matters.

5. Novelty: Offer something new.

6. Sound and texture matter.

7. Speak aspirationally.

8. Visualize.

9. Ask a question.

10. Provide context and explain relevance.

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Writer’s Block

• Are you ready to write?

• Talk your way through it

• Write your way through it

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Extra Life

EXTRA LIFE PREVENTS “REFRIGERATOR HORROR SHOW” We all know the disappointment, and yes, sometimes even the horror. Looking forward to a healthy, crispy salad, you open the vegetable crisper in the fridge to discover the fresh lettuce and tomatoes purchased only days before now resemble the cast of a ’50’s science fiction thriller. Across the country, this amounts to some big money and an incredible waste of food. A report released this month by the United States Department of Agriculture says Americans throw out more than 20 billion pounds of fruits and vegetables annually. But a unique, inexpensive little device can be dropped into your crisper drawer and add extra life to fruits and vegetables. In fact, . . .

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Extra Life

© 2009 Jerry Brown

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Extra Life

Homework

Made to Stick Words That Work

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Get it Write!Jerry Brown, APRPublic Relations Counseljerry@pr-impact.com | 303-781-8787

© 2009 Jerry Brown

Where were you when the page was blank?