Spread the word like Sagmeister & Walsh
For a show at the contemporary art gallery Deitch Projects in 2008, designer Stefan Sagmeister stacked 10,000 bananas against a wall.… Read the full article
Program planning
Bad news works in safety communications
Tell employees how close they are to killing someone
In 1931, a man named Herbert William Heinrich noticed something odd about accidents.
Heinrich’s Law
An inspector for Travelers Insurance Company, Heinrich spent his days looking at clients’ accident rates and found a ratio.… Read the full article
Bring on the bad news
Overly optimistic communication makes employees nervous
Some 84% of executives say their communication is intentionally “optimistic.” That’s a mistake.
Withholding bad news makes employees feel uncertain.… Read the full article
Avoid ‘brilliant images of fuzzy concepts’
Visitors tune out superfluous pictures
When BNSF Railroad put a photo of a train on its homepage, visitors ignored it.
Moreover, they had trouble finding the top stories they were looking for.… Read the full article
Do they see what you see?
Put like things together to avoid online tunnel vision
Web visitors don’t see things that are right on the screen. Selective attention makes them overlook elements that are outside their focus of interest.… Read the full article
I only have eyes for you
Magazines dominate usage 85% of the time
You might talk on the phone while reading online, but when you read a magazine, you read a magazine.… Read the full article
Print’s best for understanding
Present long, complex or new information on paper
Headlines in communication journals moan and whimper:
- “Is Print Obsolete?”
- “If Print Is Obsolete, Why Won’t It Go Away?”
- “Print Still King”
- “They’re Finally Killing Print”
- “Reports Of Print’s Death May Be Greatly Exaggerated”
- “Is The Employee Publication Extinct?”
- “In Rousing Defense Of Print”
And, my favorite:
- “Dead Papers Walking”
But don’t kill off paper yet.… Read the full article
News flash: You’re not a news bureau
Your job is to change behavior, not to report news
Might I rant for a moment?
Right this minute, all over the world, communicators are knocking themselves out to deliver organizational news that nobody wants or needs.… Read the full article
Mission impossible?
Tighten your mission statement
A friend was tapped to help craft his company’s mission statement. After months at the table — arguing over arcane jargon; taking out commas, then putting them back in; and debating whether “that” or “which” was the right word to use in the sixth sentence — the job was finally done.… Read the full article
Revitalize your publication
A step-by-step look at one magazine makeover
Publications that delight their readers — those that offer fresh information in unique editorial and design packages — are the ones that stand out in this crowded marketplace.… Read the full article