Is “fundraising” a dirty word?

Continuing yesterday’s thread, I think we might need a new job title.  “Fundraising” is stigmatized – it sounds transaction-y and narrow and kind of like something you don’t want to do.  (If there’s a job out there that no one can fill, then I probably don’t want it, right?)  “Development” is not so great either [...]

1-4-5-2-3

Here’s a reasonable-sounding process to go through when prepping for a big presentation:

Figure out what you want to say
Write this up in slides, with some combination of words, charts, and images
Refine those slides
Rehearse the presentation
Present

Unfortunately this doesn’t work.
What happens is [...]

David Weprin and the other 19

The other day on my way to work I passed a campaign volunteer for David Weprin, candidate for NYC Comptroller.   During the time I was within her earshot, I probably heard her say “Weprin for NYC Comptroller!!” about 10 times.  From what I observed, around 1 in 20 people stopped to get the flier [...]

Before iPod Genius, there was Shuffle…and it was good enough

One of the many clever iPod/iPhone features is “Genius,” which automatically creates a playlist of related songs based on a song that you pick. You pick a song by the Police and you’ll get a playlist with U2 and Sting and Bob Marley.
Apparently, Genius is pretty sophisticated, but I don’t think it has to be.  [...]

Reason number 45

A few months ago I blogged a list of 44 reasons I blog.  I just stumbled across reason number 45 as I prepare for a speech.
My job (your job, anyone’s job who talks to customers or donors or board members or the media or just about anyone) is to create and to tell stories.  Stories [...]

The last turn problem

Next time you’re driving somewhere new, notice how you process the directions you’ve been given.  If you’re like me, you’ll give your complete attention to the overall route and the first 9/10th of the drive, and then when the time comes, you’ll pay close attention to the last set of turns.  “OK, I’m doing a [...]

Your voice

Seth recently shared a great response to all the people who say they’re going to be the next Seth, rightly exhorting folks to get busy being their best selves instead.
But how do you find your own voice?
We all stand on the shoulders of giants – people whose ideas we are building on, whose lessons we [...]

Classical or jazz?

Is storytelling more like classical music or jazz?  Is there a grouping of notes and turns of phrase that you hone and deliver, or just a rough outline and a sense of where you’re going, with lots of improvisation along the way?
A few months ago I was lucky enough to participate in a (surprisingly useful) [...]

Let’s trade in these old stories

Roll the tape from my childhood TV screen: image of a 4 year old Ethiopian girl, ribs visible, distended belly, flies on her face, and a voice over, “For just 50 cents a day, you can feed this child.”
This story is  emotional, concrete, personal…and effective.  It accomplished its goal (getting people to donate).  But the [...]

Honey, did you hide the Sample Copy button again?

I don’t know for sure, but I’d venture to guess that, given the near-extinction of the VCR, the copy machine has captured the title of Consumer Electronics Product that Most Makes People Want to Scream.
Today, two and a half years after I first used the copy machine at work, I noticed a tiny prompt in [...]