Whether to record interviews

To record or not record? I’ve depended on recording devices for gathering information for profiles, white papers, articles and strategy plans since I saw a correction in a newspaper that went something like this:

“A profile of XX that appeared last Sunday included the information that he spent 22 years at a mental institution. That should have read naval institution.”

It’s hard to catch all the words from speeding conversations. Whenever I sit down to transcribe, I’m amazed by how much information my notes have missed.

Among the benefits:
• You really listen the second time
• You gain a confidence and familiarity with the subject
• Your notes stay fresher in case of delay
• You can say, “No, you said YOU’D do it, “ and prove it

The downside, of course, is that transcribing is a tedious, time-consuming task. I tend to do it late at night when I’m too tired to do anything else. I’ve sped up considerably with foot pedals connected by USB to a transcription program called Express Scribe. Unless the transcript is for public consumption, I don’t bother to correct typos.

Lately, I’ve been asked to record our weekly meetings, which has provided another upside for keeping our content fresh. We hash out details when we’re all together in an energetic, conservational tone that reads better on web pages than stilted, “Yes, Miss Landers” writing.

The lure of email signatures

Tempting though it is to make a snazzy email signature with your company logo, there are a few good reasons for thinking twice about doing so. First, because of 1) the necessary small size of a logo in a signature and 2) the computer monitor's general screen limitation of 72 or 96 dpi, the logo image may not appear as crisp as you'd like. Second, many people do not see images in their emails -- either intentionally (for spam prevention or faster loading) or not. So instead of your logo, they'll see a box with a small red "x" in the corner. A simple text alternative can work well: Molly - - - - - - - - - - - Molly Martin FirstandUnion.com 98 Union St., Suite 307 Seattle, WA 98101 206-xxx-xxxx (or) R O B I N A V N I ......... lifestyle topics & trends 206.xxx.xxxx robinavni.com However, if you'd still like to proceed with your logo in an email signature, there's a nice discussion here.

Start Me Up

Right after "Do you have a business card?" often comes the question "Do you have a website?"

After hearing this often enough, your response may be something like, "It's time to build a website for our company so we can answer 'Yes!'"

At this point, it might be a good idea to spend some time to answer a few simple questions such as:

• "What do we want our website to accomplish?"
• "Who are the people who will visit our website?"
• "What will we offer to make their visit worthwhile?"

Thinking about these questions will create a vision and focus that can help guide the building of your new site.

If you would like to start planning in more detail, this website questionnaire may be helpful.

Dangle more than participles off bios

For much of my career, profile writing was measured in the thousands of words, which led interviews toward: "And then what did you do in the third grade?"

Writing for the web, every word is weighted as gold. But I find the principle of bio writing is the same: Find the crowning point.

The crowning point for a former executive moving into executive search and recruitment became her fascination with people and their potential.

For partners in marine safety video production who never worked shipboard, their feelings about the devastation of poor training became the thread that gave their related experience meaning. The loss of young merchant marine. The damage to an industry after Exxon Valdez. The mention of those memories showed their devotion to safety.

It's hard to put a lot of meaning into a few paragraphs or bulleted lists. Potential clients primarily want to know accomplishments: What gives this person credibility?

But a whiff of the human being is also important. I try to dangle their knack and know-how off a whispered but meaningful theme.