Posts by Denise Vladovich

A March 2020 McKinsey & Company article “Beyond Coronavirus:  The Path to the Next Normal” discusses the dramatic change in how businesses must now function and outlines considerations for the “next normal.” It has thought-provoking insight for business communicators. Authors Kevin Sneader and Shubham Singhal outline five stages leading from the crisis of today to…

 When cultivating a garden, you sometimes have to prune away the dead wood so sunlight and nutrients can encourage new growth. When cultivating business for your clients or your own company, pruning the dead wood is also an important part of the process. Pruning doesn’t mean whacking away in a slash-and-burn mode. It means deliberately…

In “How to Become a Marketing Superstar,” Jeffrey J. Fox uses the analogy of the “Ka-ching” sound made by a cash register ringing up a sale. “Ka-ching” is what the business hears every time our work leads to a new manufacturing order, a donation to our non-profit organization, an energized workforce or a customer clicking on our website. Ultimately, it’s about results. In the words of Mr. Fox, “It don’t mean a thing if it don’t go Ka-ching!”

One in five Americans reads at the 5th grade level or below. They can’t read the front page of a newspaper. The average American reads at the 8th or 9th grade level, but most materials are written above the 10th grade level. Do your customers or employees who speak English as a second language truly…

After 30+ years in the communications industry, I was thinking back on some of the incredibly talented people I’ve been able to hire at multiple businesses over the years. What an incredible blessing it has been to work with these communications rock stars! But then I also thought back about some of the people I didn’t hire at various companies. What did I see in one job candidate that I didn’t see in another? There are really six core reasons I generally choose not to hire someone.

It’s a fast-paced world, and we are bombarded with information. Social media, books, television, radio… even our watches are sending us emails now. How can communicators create a powerful message that breaks through the clutter? Your writing must be clear and concise or your reader will lose interest and move on. Here are five tips for keeping your writing short and simple.