No One is Free Until We All Are

July 4 in the United States is normally a day of national pride and celebration of our freedom, but after watching the YouTube video of Neda Soltan’s grisly death in Iran, it occurred to me that our nation’s birthday can and should be much more.

For if we as a people truly believe that freedom is an inalienable right of all humanity, even a single denial of that right threatens and imprisons us all, because we can never be completely confident our freedoms will survive.  July 4 would better serve the nation and the world as a day of remembrance for those who are not yet free. 

The first dedication of our national desire to see freedom in all nations should honor the memory of Neda Soltan whose life was cruelly taken by the enemies of liberty.  Let our message be clear - for every Neda Soltan the despots take, there are hundreds of millions more standing in her name who cherish her life and rights more than national borders or political dogma.  We will be free.

This is not a call to arms or violence, because the history of the 20^th century clearly illustrates the limitations of these tactics.  Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King achieved revolution without recourse to these crude strategies, and their reformations have survived the test of time.  Humanity need only uphold the underlying truth of unity to achieve our highest ideals.

When people join together to support a single purpose, its power resonates and transcends understanding or words.  There is no weapon that can attack it, nor army strong enough to overcome it.  The power of unity envelops and gently disarms any resister with the graceful realization of futility.

For those who remember the hostage taking of Americans in 1979 with anger, I remind them of two facts.  First, that uprising overturned a cruel dictator installed by the U.S. government in 1953, and we should have been wise enough to see our own unwitting involvement in the incident.  Second, a candlelight vigil one million strong was held in the streets of Tehran on the evening of 9/11 in honor of our loss.  The people of the United States have no argument with the people of Iran and never have, because our concurrent dreams of freedom from oppression in all forms is one in the same. 

Our world has grown too small to tolerate the mad ambitions of the unjust.  The tyranny they espouse finds its way to us just as it did one fateful morning in September 2001.  Subjugation is a cancer that spreads without regard for borders or innocence.  No one is safe, because freedom cannot be nationalized.  Freedom, like peace, must be fully shared or known by none. 

To the friends and family of Ms. Soltan and all who suffer and die in the cause of peace and freedom go our deepest sympathies and regards.  This July 4, the torch of freedom in New York Harbor and in the hearts of millions of Americans burns for you all.  Neda Soltan has left her body, but her light lives on to illuminate the common humanity of the entire world.

GOP Needs Messaging Overhaul 

I can’t help but be amused by the many articles detailing the “soul searching” of the Republican Party.  I know precious little about the soul, but as a marketing communications professional, I can say with absolute certainty that the GOP must understand that it’s in crisis mode and requires a complete messaging overhaul.

The Republican messaging issues are many, but they fall into two main categories.  First, the leadership is deeply unappealing.  Second, the GOP messaging has lost credibility and is frequently mean-spirited. 

The problem with dealing in anger is that it’s an agitated state that can only be sustained for a finite period of time.  It’s untenable as a messaging element, because the human psyche will either avoid or discount an angry or mean person over time.  More importantly, animosity was never the strategy or nature of the party’s revered icon, Ronald Reagan.

Reagan held strong views, but he did so with good humor and aplomb.  I can’t remember a time when he was ever vicious or attacked an opponent’s character.  The politics of Rove and Cheney are decidedly different in that regard.  The pair use anger and disdain as their weapons of first choice.  Negative emotions are distasteful feelings for the audience, and that’s the primary reason why the electorate is avoiding Republicans in record numbers. Read more …

A New Technique You Can Try

I have been a student of psychology and neural learning for the last 20 years, because communications is dependent upon the processes of the brain.  I’ve developed a number of communication techniques to capitalize upon the known workings of the mind, but it only recently occurred to me that the most important messaging of all is the internal conversation we all have on a regular basis.

As adults, we like to think that all of our thoughts and viewpoints are entirely our own, but that simply cannot be the case unless time has been devoted to thoroughly examining each and every one of them.  Many of our most basic ideas were imposed by experiences and authority figures such as parents or other significant influencers from our past.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t guarantee the ideas have any validity or applicability in our present day lives, and that can be a real problem.

These concepts, which can include basic and intrinsically personal beliefs such as the perception of self-worth, have been reinforced for decades and are virtually invisible to our conscious processing.  A woman I spoke to last week inspired this article when she said she felt like she was becoming her mother.  She probably is, because her mother significantly influenced her basic neuronal network, and she often reacts instinctively to situations rather than deliberating her response.   Read more …

Good PR Advise Could Have Averted the Matter

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi took a terrible PR gamble when she said the CIA had misinformed Congress about the use of torture techniques in 2002.  Not only was the gamble unnecessary and completely avoidable, the incident is a vivid demonstration of why PR professionals should know when to consult a lawyer.

The entire Pelosi-CIA affair is hardball politics gone terribly awry in which political calculation took precedence over sound PR strategy.  Moreover, those estimations were completely unsound because the accusation Pelosi made about the CIA is a federal crime that required the agency to answer the charge.  Worse still, if Pelosi had used a simple set of words to alter the context, nobody would be talking about it today.

Pelosi’s combative style combined with the idea that CIA Director Leon Panetta, a fellow Democrat and Californian, would likely give Pelosi a pass on the matter.  Thus the ill-advised words “lied” and “misled” were used without any qualification whatsoever.  The former verb should have never been used, and the second would have been better employed in a different context.

As someone with a substantial amount of government relations experience, I know the job doesn’t lend itself to the stark declarative phrases Pelosi used.  Politics is too fluid for that, and expressions lacking any interpretive ambiguity must be thoroughly considered, because they’re potential time bombs.  In this case, it may just be a cluster bomb with many more bomblets remaining to detonate in the Speaker’s face.  The most stunning aspect of the controversy from a public relations perspective is how completely preventable it was. Read more …

Both are Necessary, but Benefits Sell 

I reviewed a company’s sales collateral last week, and I was struck by the emphasis placed on features.  While features are an important part to market a product or service, they must translate into a benefit for the intended audience.  Benefits sell. 

A feature is an aspect of the product or service that distinguishes it from others.  A benefit is a payoff for the purchaser.  Benefits answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” 

For example, let’s say we were selling an automobile emergency kit.  To say the kit is “compact” is neither a feature nor a benefit.  It’s a description that’s too vague to really mean anything.  When that expression is changed to “a compact 10″ x 6″ case,” it becomes a feature, because the description is specific enough for the audience to understand the size. 

We can change the copy to relate a benefit by saying, “The compact 10″ x 6″ case leaves plenty of room for luggage, groceries and other essentials in your trunk.”  The preceding sentence has a payoff that could be very important to people who have small trunk areas. 

The worst sales collateral has meaningless words or phrases that defy any understanding.  Phrases like “service oriented” are very nice, but what do they mean?  More importantly, how does your orientation translate into something I want?  These two questions must be answered for the prospect to choose your product or service.  Such a phrase could potentially mean your product is unreliable or that it lacks any value without your intervention. 

I recently read the lead claim on an office furniture website that said they “bring common sense back to office furniture.”  Have they discovered a way to imbue a conference table with consciousness, and if so, why would I want that?  Sounds pretty creepy to me.  This vague, nonsensical type of sales copy should be avoided at all costs, because it does nothing to promote the company and does a lot to undermine credibility. 

There’s only one chance to make an impression with your customers.  Use it well by making the most out of both features and benefits.  Your customers are human beings who have needs, and companies throwing out catch phrases that sound good but mean nothing will not fair well.

Bad Case of Blogus Interuptus 

I’m back to blogging now, but I’ve made some policy changes.  Some of you may remember this site was always intended to be a transitional effort to keep my presence on the Internet while I renamed my company and opened a standard website.  The renaming of the company has been suspended indefinitely due to the economy, because it’s not a good idea to make it more difficult for people to find you during a time like this. 

While I reserve the right to return to general interest topics at any time, my primary focus will now mostly be on my areas of expertise.  This is more than a good marketing move for me; it’s beneficial to businesses looking for tips about marketing communications and outreach during this difficult time.  I have a few general interest pieces from my previous backlog though, and there will be times in the future when popular events require a writer’s commentary. 

There won’t be as many articles as there were before, but they’ll have far more importance and depth, because I know my profession exceptionally well.  Whatever business you’re in or interests you may have, communications is at the heart of all society, and these pieces will be useful for anyone. 

Thanks to everyone who expressed concern and support during my absence.  I assured you that I’d be back, and I’m ready to move the site forward.  It’s just taking a slightly different tack than before.  Tomorrow, there will be a post about the difference between features and benefits I hope you all enjoy.

Emotion is the Writer’s Stock-in-Trade

Most writers will never be asked in a job interview how well they convey or manipulate an audience’s emotion, but that’s exactly what a good writer does.  It may never get anyone a corporate writing gig, but it will make the difference when submitting to a major publication.

Once the writer has a handle on who the audience is, as covered in Part I of this series, the next step is to learn how the readers feel about the topic in question and to use it for greatest effect.  This is where true writing professionalism lies, because it requires using “the white space” to make the piece work.

What I call the “white space” is how the audience is likely to interpret the words based upon their approach to the article or story.  Luckily for us, writers are only responsible for the actual words we use and not how individuals construe them.  The English language is full of words that have multiple, and often broadly defined, meanings.  Using that spectrum of connotation responsibly is the essence of the art.  Truthfully, that’s what your clients really pay for, whether they appreciate it or not. Read more …

Brian J. O’Malley is Congressional District Leader for NJ-01

Writer to the World has joined the Pickens Plan as the leader for congressional district NJ-01.  The voluntary position deepens my commitment to the environment and energy issues.

The Pickens Plan promotes solar and wind power with the use of natural gas as a “bridge fuel” until the proliferation of alternative clean energies is complete.  It’s the only advocate group that has a clear, definable and achievable course of action to a clean energy future.

There are more than one million supporters of the Pickens plan across the nation.  The organized influence of the group is focused on keeping lawmakers aware of the public’s demand for a viable energy solution that serves our national and economic security interests.

The era of fossil fuels is coming to a close.  The long-term future for oil is simply not viable based upon rising demand and diminishing reserves.  Even countries dependent upon oil as their main source of revenue, such as Dubai, are aware of oil’s limited future as detailed in an earlier article here.  Read more …

Salazar’s Drilling Plan Delay is Nice … But Is It Substantial?

A last-minute plan submitted by the Bush administration to expand offshore oil and gas exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) was delayed Tuesday when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar extended the proposal’s public comment period by 180 days.

The move was a relief to environmental concerns, pro-drilling advocates and politicians, because while Salazar slowed down the moving train to vastly expanded OCS exploration, he didn’t stop it completely either.  The situation is one of rather odd bedfellows that deserves deliberate scrutiny.

The Bush administration’s plan was released on the final federal workday only four days before leaving office.  It was first published in the Federal Register the day after the Obama administration took over the reigns of power.  The comment period extension moves the deadline from March 23 to September 23, which allows time for the Obama administration to consider input from diverse interest groups. Read more …

A Philadelphian’s Expert Advice about the Area’s Favorite Sandwich

“A provolone steak with,” as Philadelphians like to call it.

Every day tourists in Philadelphia search for the ultimate cheesesteak, and it’s high time a guide was posted on the Internet so people can research this regional delight that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.

A proper Philly cheesesteak is comprised of an Italian torpedo role, preferably Amoroso brand, enough thinly sliced and diced quality meat to properly fill the roll and real cheese.  Some say it’s not complete without onions, but that’s a personal preference.

The key qualities for a cheesesteak are that it be juicy, meaty and cheesy.  If any one attribute is missing, it’s an inferior cheesesteak. Read more …