Say This, Not That.

You’ve probably heard of the book- Eat This, Not That. The book helps you choose the healthier option in a world full of fattening food choices that do nothing but bloat you and make you uncomfortable.

What if we could do the same thing for the English language?

People tend to use big words when they don’t need to- in the name of corporate formality. They think it sounds more professional, and think they’re meeting all sorts of compliance rules when all they’re really doing is confusing everyone. Let’s face it: the words are not only difficult to come up with, but difficult to decipher. It’s a lose-lose situation.

This article from Workawesome points out some examples of how to combat this- and how the government might combat this in the future.

“The English language is a brilliant thing. Much like the US Constitution or a willow tree, the English language’s greatest strength is its flexibility, its adaptability, its potential for endless growth. However, our lovely language has been seriously abused in recent decades by some very smart and successful people who were just too darn lazy to bother thinking of the right word or using a perfectly clear phrase instead of a bizarre new term.”

Let this be a reminder to us all- whether we’re writing web copy, or copy for any other medium- to keep it simple. Don’t warp a word into something it isn’t, and don’t use four words when you could use two to get your point across.

Bring back plain english!

Office-Free April.

We’re conducting a little experiment this month. We’re giving up our office. Most of us work from home partially, or totally, so it’s not a huge shift.

These days, the tools to do business fit inside a shoulder bag. It’s a very interesting time to be alive. We think it might be time to embrace that fact rather than pretend it’s 1980.

So for the rest of the month, if you call us or email us you’ll be reaching the office of Entermotion; and that office is spread out all over the place. Wherever we can find some quiet creative space, and maybe even a bit of sunshine. Don’t expect production to move any slower, in fact, probably nothing will change for our clients, except the bigger smiles on our faces. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll make it a habit.

Glimpses of Genius, Beauty and Novelty- Good Behavior.

• Your online reputation could haunt you- and your job.

• How many pens does it take to sign a bill into law? – 22.

• Grade school tactics make for great design- water color design!

• Get a really big present if you go to Seton Hill University. – Apple takes over!

The First Effort of a Great Working Relationship.

We’ve recently been doing a little shopping for a service on a new project for one of our clients. Not having a particular starting place, we requested quotes from several different vendors, looking for specific elements in a response. In searching for someone to work with, we want to know they’ll do as good a job for us as we aim to do for our customers. Some of the things we look for include:

• Timelines. How long did it take to get back to us on our request?

• Friendliness. When nearly everything is communicated via e-mail these days, it’s important to be concise, and friendly at the same time.

• Grammatical correctness. It may be trivial, but if the punctuation is way off, will the work they produce meet our standards?

Of course, their general knowledge of the business (and willingness to find out an answer they don’t know) will also play a part in our ultimate decision.

We’re critical, just as they’re critical of the clients they take on themselves. That’s why there are other things to keep in mind when looking for vendors. Things many people take for granted, and that start with the first words out of our mouths, or the intro to our e-mail.

Tony Byrne lays out the guidelines for getting a great vendor in his recent article.

• Set the right tone. Don’t be bossy or submissive- and give them a chance to ask/answer questions.

• Get your ducks in a row. Be knowledgeable, precise, and focused on your desired outcomes.

• Have Respect. Show it, and expect it in return.

It’s not only about you getting what you want- it’s about forming a new, working, highly functional business relationship that makes it possible for everyone to win. Treat a potential vendor as your partner instead of someone who does work for you, and you’ll see the difference in the quality of work your selection produces for you, which essentially makes you proud to show the product to your client, which makes them proud to show it to the world.

It’s all relative- and we’re all working toward the same goal.

“The Audience Is Not A Target. We Are Not A Gun.”

“The Audience Is Not A Target. We Are Not A Gun.

We just help companies communicate what they believe.

As mission statements go, it’s a little short on whizbangery. But it’s true and to the point and it’s gotten us this far. We’re sticking with it.

For us, it’s important that our clients believe in what they’re doing. Because the time is gone where brands can be methodically rammed into existence. Today, the strongest brands are built around shared beliefs: between people and products and so on.”

Lovely. via Planet Propaganda.