There are lots of absolutes in life and talking to the hand is one of them. When a communication isn’t relevant or interesting, up goes the hand, off goes the comms-switch and flick — your important message heads to the rubbish-bin.

Too technical, too convoluted, too unbelievable, too much self interest about you and your products or services — these are all absolutes for the hand treatment.

Fortunately, business to business communication rarely gets that bad — but it often gets flicked.

No matter what business you’re in, there’s no stronger recommendation for your offering than word of mouth. We’re all like that – we prefer getting a recommendation from someone when it comes to making a purchase decision. When you think about it, this is equally true whether you’re choosing a car, movie, superannuation fund or computer system. Advertising can point us in a direction, but in the end most of us would like a personal recommendation.

Have a look at the Internet – most sites carry customer reviews or testimonials. They are powerful sales tools.

Are you using word of mouth tactics for your company? We have lots of experience in interviewing business clients about their experience with products and services and then writing it up – either as short and strong statements for website use or as full length case studies. We can help you extract the right information and turn it into compelling testimonials.

Have a look at our website for information on how to make the most of case studies. We’ve also provided a briefing document for copywriting should you need one.

To say Apple Computer’s iconic Chiat/Day Superbowl commercial ‘1984’ created attention is an understatement. To this day it remains a watershed event, one of the all-time greats and a masterpiece in advertising. Since then Apple has shown at least two other Superbowl ads that I’m aware of. One in 1985 ‘Lemmings’ and the most recent in 1999 ‘Hal 2000’, at least I think that’s what it was called.

So what, you ask?

For me, the interesting thing about these three commercials is how only one of them is widely remembered. ‘1984’ was the only one with a positive message. It focused on possibility, sold hope and a break from traditional thought and conditioned responses. It sold the opposite to the all pervasive FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) synonymous with the year 2000 bug and beyond.

We write FUD sometimes, but recently I have been wondering about this form of communication. Many of the messages that are winning through today, eg from the likes of Barack Obama and to a similar extent Kevin Rudd, are also a break from tradition. They are ostensibly positive, suggestive of hope and a renewed world view, as opposed to the same-old fear and uncertainty stuff.

There may be a place for FUD, but what seems to be cutting through right now is a more optimistic and upbeat vision of the world. Maybe we’ve all had enough of pessimism and cynicism for a while.

Apple Computer’s iconic Chiat/Day Superbowl commercial ‘1984’

…and who is John Holman? A freelance writer, frustrated wannabe author and resident at the beach geek. He is currently reading ‘Out Stealing Horses’ by Per Petterson and his techo toy of the month is an Asus Eee-PC Netbook running Linux Ubuntu.

This is a bit of a warning. We recently saw the movie What Just Happened and I was inspired to comment on it. I found it a pretty self-indulgent film, full of inside jokes and self-importance — just like a poorly communicating organisation that loves talking in ‘execubabble’.

In fact, I looked up ‘execubabble’ and this is one definition:

Execubabble – Verbal executive communication in broad, vague terms that rise above normal speak. Characterised by an excessive use of executive words such as robust, paradigm, and drill down. Those on the receiving end of execubabble are no better informed after the speech than when it began.

Question: “How is the company doing?
Answer: “We are entering a quarter in which we expect robust growth. Paradigms are shifting, but the team has drilled down to the heart of the challenge.”

This is a pretty mild example, but you get my drift. It’s silly. It makes you hard to understand. And your customers don’t like it, so my advice is: don’t use this kind of language in your ads or on your website unless you want people to turn off.

And if you have a copywriter writing that sort of tripe then give us a call.

Is that not the same thing, you ask? Ah, therein lies the crux of many a debate, but today the answer would increasingly be ‘no’. There was a time, not very long ago either, when grammar and ‘correct’ writing were key criteria for good copy. I’m reminded of this because the writer’s bible The Elements of Style is now 50 years old. The authors, Strunk and White, came up with a simple set of rules for the use of language and how to express yourself well in writing, all in less than 100 pages.

What has changed since then is that informal grammar has become acceptable and writing more colloquial in style. Such as starting a sentence with And or creating sentences without regard to noun, verb and object being present. And doesn’t it help make the copy flow? Easier to read. More like spoken language.

Today, the key rules for written communication are:

• simplicity (people don’t have a lot of time to read),
• relevance (talk to your readers’ needs) and
• interest (try to be engaging).

But it’s still important to know the rules because it helps you communicate better. As the great author, Dorothy Parker, said: “If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second-greatest favour you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first-greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.”