by Steve Woodruff
An effective tagline should get the point across instantly. It has to be simple, intuitive, and smooth, and it should spark a good feeling. I think the Joe Biden presidential campaign just blew an enormous opportunity by cobbling together an awful grouping of words. “Build Back Better.” Say it. It’s awkward and choppy, isn’t it? […]
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by Steve Woodruff
We’re in uncharted waters. And it’s really foggy out here. Military people speak about the fog of war – the confusion and chaos that occurs once the bullets start flying. All of our careful strategic planning gets a total kick in the face when the fighting begins. The coronavirus chaos has just kicked many of […]
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by Steve Woodruff
Confession: I almost never watch political speeches. Especially for an hour. But, as a communications Clarity Consultant, I did watch the 2020 State of the Union address, because I was quite curious. I know Mr. Trump effectively moves audiences on the stump, but how was he going to do on this stage, in the midst […]
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by Steve Woodruff
Successful businesses gain and maintain a clear, strategic focus.
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by Steve Woodruff
You have to grab your audience’s attention rapidly – or they will tune you out in favor of something easier, and more appealing. It’s the law, and you can’t change it. That’s right – it’s brain science. Don’t fight it. Work with it. Now, actually, we do have a lot to say, right? But it’s […]
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by Steve Woodruff
98.7% of the time, I love Amazon. It’s an ingenious platform. I even published my book Clarity Wins there last year. But then, there are those weird anomalies. Case in point: the book review that wouldn’t. Fellow branding consultant and author Lindsay Peterson wanted to leave a very nice review for Clarity Wins. Here’s what […]
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by Steve Woodruff
Recently, I was speaking with someone who had adopted the early morning/maximum productivity framework of one of those business author gurus. He said it was transforming his work results, and I believe him. But in my heart of hearts, I was pushing that message away as fast as I possibly could, even while keeping a […]
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by Steve Woodruff
This week, I ventured to write a longish opinion post on my Facebook feed. Rather rapidly, it attracted comments introducing two very emotionally-charged terms: hate speech, and intolerance. Sigh. This is why we can’t have nice things. And it’s why I have so often hesitated to take up topics of social import on social media. […]
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by Steve Woodruff
I found this brief animation to be a pretty solid explanation of why miscommunication is so common in our efforts to be heard and understood by others. Give it a watch: Particularly, the “transactional model” helps get to the heart of why we end up processing information in variant ways. The prescriptions at the end […]
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by Steve Woodruff
I recently saw this meme and absolutely had to have it on a t-shirt. Lack of clarity is the prime enemy of effective branding, selling, communication, and collaboration. When employees are foggy about their direction and purpose, they perform poorly. When prospective customers don’t get a clear message, they keep their wallets closed. When internal […]
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