Once upon a time, when I was a student at Virginia Tech, some people stopped by our campus and said they were filming a movie at nearby Mountain Lake. They were looking for extras and thought they’d approach some of us in the Communications School. My friend, Bill, thought it sounded “totally cool” and jumped at the chance. I asked him if he knew...
Read MoreOnce upon a time in the 2020s, businesses found it harder than ever to stand out in a world overloaded with content and data. And every day, they struggled to break through the noise. And the noise was so loud, businesses found it hard to connect with the audiences they wanted to reach. And even when they did connect, they found it difficult to ca...
Read MoreStorytelling has become a powerful approach to leadership, innovation, and design thinking. Stories can be a “superpower” that can help us achieve wonders. Storytelling is a proven method to transform a brand’s presence and identity. It can assist you in shaping how people view your brand, allowing you to connect with your target audience in bette...
Read MoreIn a world buzzing with new businesses every day, standing out with your business idea is not an easy task. It's becoming increasingly critical to bring in that human touch that helps you build a connection with your audience—a connection that is established, not just with your products and services but with the idea of your company—a story that re...
Read MoreBefore the pandemic hit and over the course of your career, you've probably been asked to represent your business or company at an industry conference or event. Chances are, you delivered the brand messages you were supposed to deliver. You talked about new products and services you've recently launched or have on the horizon. You may have deftly...
Read MoreAs you probably know, Lincoln was a lawyer by profession and really a country lawyer at that. He travelled a circuit in his home state of Illinois. He was widely known for his homespun humor and good stories.During Lincoln’s presidency, however, it was difficult to find humor in much of anything as the United States plunged into Civil War. But Linc...
Read More(Originally published during CES 2018) — This week much of the technological, digital, and electronics world has descended on Las Vegas, Nevada for #CES2018. On the gee-whiz-o-meter, CES is off the charts. This is where you want to be if you want to touch, feel, and experience the not-too-distant future…right now. Artificial intelligence, the Inte...
Read More400 tech conference speakers were recently surveyed about how they prepared their presentation slide decks. The findings were put together in a great infograph that you can find here. Speakers were asked questions about the prep time they put into developing their decks, how much text they used versus visuals, and whether they thought their decks w...
Read MoreI got this postcard in the mail the other day. And no, it wasn’t from my mom! It wasn’t a reminder from my dentist for a six-month check-up, either. It was a personal, handwritten postcard from the founders and a team member of a company called Atomic. Here’s the back story on how I came to receive this postcard from three strangers. This past fa...
Read MoreNarragansett, Rhode Island is on the Northeastern seaboard of the U.S. and is known primarily for its beautiful beaches and coastline. But Narragansett is also the name of a longstanding regional beer. Narragansett beer was founded in 1890. It dominated the New England beer market for a good part of the twentieth century. In fact, it owned two-thir...
Read More