Americans average 16.5 minutes a day
The share of Americans who read for pleasure has fallen by more than 30% since 2004, according to the 2018 American Time Use Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.… Read the full article
communication
Avoid label headlines
Don’t just slap the topic on top of the story
Note to self: “Label headline” is not a headline.
Label headlines like Label headlines carry a double problem.… Read the full article
Why is storytelling important? [Research!]
‘Whoever tells the best story wins’
Here’s an argument for storytelling, if I’ve ever heard one: In a trial to determine whether the defendant, Johnson, was guilty of stabbing another man, Caldwell, to death in a barroom fight, it didn’t matter what evidence lawyers presented as much as how they presented it.… Read the full article
Neologisms: Find half-and-half words
Gain inspiration for portmanteau from WordSpy
Tracy Ousdahl and Paul Pinney have traveled the globe. But sometimes, instead of venturing out to a cool destination, they use their time off to visit their families.… Read the full article
‘Nearly all of them are far too long’
Churchill calls for shorter communications
Do your executives add words to every communication they review? Not so Winston Churchill. He called for shorter pieces to save staff time and energy.… Read the full article
No more excuses!
How to spot hidden measurement resources
By Angela Sinickas, ABC, Diva of Diagnostics
You may be putting off measuring the effectiveness of your communications for what seem like good reasons:
- No time.
Top 10 measurement mistakes
How to avoid these research problems
By Angela Sinickas, ABC, Diva of Diagnostics
Ready to measure your communication success? To avoid rookie measurement mistakes, don’t:
Here & there, now & then
3 ways to measure how your message changed behavior
By Angela Sinickas, ABC, Diva of Diagnostics
You send out a brochure, and widgets start flying off the shelves.… Read the full article
Don’t forget the cost of benefits
Communicating to employees? Measure the ‘invisible chunk’
When measuring the value of your employee communications, remember to include the cost of benefits.
Organizations pay most employees $15,000 in benefits on top of their salaries, says Gregg Kober, training consultant at AON Consulting.
… Read the full articleMeasure on a shoestring
Six free or cheap tools for tracking communication success
Focus groups and surveys can be expensive. But these tools can help you measure audience perceptions and message spread on a shoestring:
- Create free online surveys with Zoomerang, SurveyGizmo, or SurveyMonkey.