Know thyself
Know thyself.
I don’t think there is a single place in our lives where this isn’t relevant.
I am often asked to write PR releases or web content and, for me, the client’s self-awareness of who and what they are about is far more important than their latest SWOT analysis, or KPI (in fact I avoid this jargon on purpose).
Writing great copy requires emotional integrity and honesty. That’s the key to connecting with purpose to the people you are communicating with. You could say it’s part psychology, part writing and part marketing. The questions I ask of clients are the same ones I have muddled over in my own working and personal life. The answers shift over time as I evolve and respond to new opportunities but the ‘work’ in having strong and thoughtful responses to these questions makes everything else that you do flow.
Contemplate your responses to these questions and the writing – whether you engage a professional or want to prepare something yourself–will be richer, easier and real– touching people where it needs to. Sometimes it’s just a few words that make all the difference.
Here are 10 provocations that can inspire deeper thought (and always more questions!)
- My work matters because…
- I am passionate about this because…
- My authority in this lies in my…
- Without this (your service/product etc) the world will…
- The three things you will learn/gain from my service/product are…
- This is unique because…
- How I want you to benefit from this is to…
- I stand for (3-5 defining words about who you are)…
- What is or where is my edge? Where will it grow…
- What do I yearn for?
The more you know your Self, the easier the answers will be, and your brilliance will flow naturally from this source.
