Think Inside The Box

Facebook: When the Invited Guests Bring a Soapbox

John Armato — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:04:40 +0000

I KNOW THE EVENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS yesterday were significant. And I know that that was good news for some and bad news for others. … But the past couple of days I’ve been inundated with intensely political Facebook posts that either assume I agree with them or don’t care if I don’t — which is thoughtless at best and callous at worst. This isn’t the first time it’s happened. Depending on the news of the day or the events in someone’s personal life, we’ve all seen spikes of this sort of thing on our walls. This time is was political. Another time it might have been religious. Yet another time, cultural, racial, sexual, who knows. I like all of my friends and respect their many, many differences. And I’m happy to entertain a point of view other than my own. But when occasional sharing turns into tedious proselytizing, it ceases to be an exchange of ideas and instead becomes a sort of intellectual harassment.

Preparing for constraints was part of recording jazz CD

John Armato — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:34:31 +0000

“CLAUDETTE” BY WONDERFUL JAZZ SINGER CLAUDETTE STONE is now available on CD Baby. If you like jazz standards, light Latin, and ballads, you should like this very much. Click over to CD Baby to preview. While you’re there, read the liner notes for an interesting story about how the recording grew. Unlike most recordings, drums (yours truly) were added last. Matching tempos was a challenge, but I’m pleased with the result. In fact, it was a real-life example of something I’ve written about frequently on this blog: creative constraints.

Answer: These are things that lead us to meaning. Question: What are questions?

John Armato — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:58:36 +0000

SECOND IN A SERIES
A Guest Essay by Jerry LaMartina, Freelance Journalist and Editor

DR. WALTER MURRISH WAS A KIND AND INSIGHTFUL SOUL. I owe my choice of a major in college in large part to him.

He taught the introductory class in Communication Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City the summer I took it. I’d been searching for a major — English? Psychology? Philosophy? — I didn’t know. I was interested in them all but fully seized by none of them.

Dr. Murrish was at the time an emeritus professor of Communication Studies at UMKC. … He cited a scholar in the field who’d said: We know ourselves to the degree we disclose ourselves to others.” … I knew instantly that this was my chosen major.

Good Riddance and Good Reminders: 5 Communications Lessons from an Appendectomy

John Armato — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:39:48 +0000

MAYBE MY APPENDIX WASN’T ENTIRELY USELESS. The unexpectedly urgent (and unwelcome) need to have it removed earlier this week knocked me off my feet, but the experience offered some good reminders for communicators:

When you’re talking to people in distress, it’s not about you. Overall, I received great care from a lot of terrific health care professionals, but a tip for nurse X: As I clutch my stomach in pain, try to pretend someone’s not sticking a sharp object into the back of my hand, and contemplate my first surgery since a childhood tonsillectomy, I’m really not interested in your problems. Yes, the doctor rushed you, and you may think my questions are high maintenance, but complaining about him, telling me about your own seven-plus surgeries, and bemoaning with a sigh that now you “have to make copies of all of these forms” does nothing to take me to my happy place. I’m normally pretty compassionate, but I think if there’s one place you’re allowed unequivocally to say “It really IS all about me” it’s when you’re on your way from the ER to the OR.

Lesson: Announcing layoffs? Letting someone go? Communicating about a crisis? Delivering bad news for your customers? Remember, no one cares about the hardships it’s causing you or your company. Right now, it’s not about you. It’s about them.

Fewer Ideas, Em Dashes Where They Belong, No More "Got?" and 17 Other Hopes for 2010

John Armato — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:04:00 +0000

PART RANT, PART INTROSPECTION, PART ASPIRATION, the following are my wishes about communications, creativity and living a life of ideas that I hope come true next year:

I hope writers learn (and apply) the difference between a hyphen, an en dash and an em dash.
I hope people stop using “creativity” and “innovation” interchangeably.
I hope communications consultants can finally agree on the difference between “digital” and “social” media.
I hope more people will give clients reasons to believe “creative” and “smart” are not mutually exclusive.
I hope anyone who thinks “Got (fill in the blank)?” is an all-purpose creative line that is just as smart, clever and insightful for them as it is for the milk industry turns their creative work over to a professional.

A Short Thought about Time ...

John Armato — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:00:52 +0000

IT’S THE ONLY THING YOU REALLY HAVE.It’s yours when you’re alone, but ours when we’re together. Live it fully and it stands still. Miss the point and it races by. It’s at the core of music, love, and life …

In That Ink, Upon That Paper, is Power

John Armato — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:59:08 +0000

I GO BACK TO COLLEGE EVERY THREE MONTHS. Not as a student in a traditional sense, but as a member of the VanderCook College of Music board of trustees. I look forward to it, not only because I’m supporting something I believe in deeply — the development of future music educators, but also because the president of the college, Charlie Menghini, was my high school band director and any time we get to spend together is good for my brain. Even though, technically, I’m his boss now (which makes me giddy at the improbability of it all), I’m still his student. Mr. M is Master of the Handwritten Note and has created a tradition at VanderCook where the students themselves write personal, handwritten thank-you notes to people who donate money to the college. It turns out, each year when they do this, Mr. M gets calls and emails — and sometimes handwritten notes — from donors telling him how much one of those notes made their day. And sometimes, Mr. M told us, a donor will send the college more money …

11 Tips for Flip Chart Management

John Armato — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:58:33 +0000

FLIP CHART WHAT? The phrase “flip chart management” may sound a little ridiculous, but keeping and transcribing the notes from a brainstorm session is probably the least considered part of the process. And no, these suggestions aren’t likely to win you an account, get you a raise, or make you famous, but they will make it easier for you to capture ideas during the brainstorm; manage, organize and refer to ideas throughout the brainstorm; and transcribe the ideas after the brainstorm.

So, put these tips to work at least once and see if they don’t make your brainstorming life a little better.

Light Bulb Man! The Superhero of Rapid Fire Ideas

John Armato — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:52:46 +0000

GETTING STARTED CAN BE THE HARDEST PART of a brainstorm. And while I’m normally not much for icebreakers, team-builders, or gimmicky exercises, there is one technique that I’ve found is consistently both fun and productive. More important, it’s a perfect way to build momentum when you need it the most.

Here’s the the simple two-step process …

In Praise of Budgets

John Armato — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:07:50 +0000

WHAT DO PARTICLE BOARD COFFEE TABLES and smart communications campaigns have in common? I wish I had a great punch line, but I don’t, just an observation: They’re both easier to create if you know how much money you have to work with.