Scott Flood - Scott Flood Writing

HOMONYMPHOBIA

January 26, 2010 by Scott Flood

The English language may be complex, but it offers users an expansive vocabulary. The benefit of that isn’t the ability to impress people with five-syllable words; it’s the remarkable precision that all those words make possible.

But English also has convoluted rules of phonetics. And one place people – including professional writers – tend to get tripped up is in the area of homonyms. If your memories of third grade have become a bit hazy, homonyms are words that sound alike, but are spelled differently. More important, they have vastly different meanings – and your trusty spellchecker isn’t smart enough to recognize whether you’ve chosen the right one.

GET FIRED OR FIRED UP?

January 21, 2010 by Scott Flood

One of the most effective business-to-business ad campaigns of a generation ago was built around the concept that nobody ever got fired for recommending IBM. At the time, new computer companies were springing up left and right, offering promising but unproven technology. IBM may not have been exciting, but it was considered to be the safe choice.

What made the campaign effective was not what it said, but what it implied. IT managers and other corporate executives read the ads and thought, “They’re right. If I recommend one of those other companies and the technology doesn’t work, I’m going to get the blame. IBM may cost more, but everybody knows and trusts them.”

CONNECTIONS MATTER MORE THAN COOLNESS

January 19, 2010 by Scott Flood

“The main thing we want is for this new website to have a cool design.” No, you don’t. “Yes, we do!” Maybe you do, but that’s the wrong place to start. “What do you mean?”

Why do you have the website? “Excuse me?” Why are you investing money in having and redesigning a website? “Oh. Well, we want to get business.” I see, and a cool design is what will get business? “Won’t it?” I don’t know, I’m asking you. After all, you know your customers and prospects better than I do. So they normally do business with people because of cool websites? Since your current website isn’t so cool, why are your current customers doing business with you?”

VESTED INTERESTS

January 14, 2010 by Scott Flood

Most business owners and managers are eager to find good advice – and that makes sense. If someone else has expertise, why not borrow it (or at least consider it) when you’re making an important decision?

But when you ask for that advice (or when it’s handed to you without a request), stop to ask yourself whether the source has a stake in the advice.

THE POWERPOINT COMEDIAN

January 12, 2010 by Scott Flood

Most people whose jobs require that they sit through many presentations are well-acquainted with the concept (if not the term) of “death by PowerPoint.” It’s a reference to any number of excruciating presentation types. Perhaps the worst offender is the presenter who subjects you to copy-heavy slide after copy-heavy slide, and makes it worse by assuming that you’re illiterate, so he reads every word to you.

JUST NOT TOO PERSONAL

January 7, 2010 by Scott Flood

When I was in college, I received a very compelling sweepstakes promotion. Were I the winner, the sweepstakes would build my beautiful dream home right there at P.O. Box 501! I have a healthy imagination, but I’ll admit I struggled with envisioning the home of my dreams fitting into a 5-inch by 5-inch post office box.

I’M SO SORRY

January 5, 2010 by Scott Flood

When I wrote my recent blog entry, I had no idea that it had the potential to offend someone, and I’m sorry that it did. Clearly, my intent in selecting that topic and writing about it as I did was to inform, not to offend, but I inadvertently managed to do so.

I was a little surprised at the reaction to my innocent slip, but I guess I shouldn’t be. Over time, I’ve learned that nearly everything will offend someone. And I’ve seen that even the slightest perceived offense triggers a response that seems several times larger than the offense. Often, the source of the offense really doesn’t even exist – it was something the reader perceived to be there, and I can’t detect it, no matter how hard I look.

A TIME FOR THANKS

December 31, 2009 by Scott Flood

Another New Year is upon us, and with it comes that annual gaze forward and glance back. I’m an optimist, so I see good things ahead. And even though 2009 will be recorded as a lousy year by most people, I’d rather focus on things that made it a good year.

IS THERE A TRANSLATOR IN THE HOUSE?

December 29, 2009 by Scott Flood

We’ve all sat in our share of frustrating meetings, but I can still remember the meeting that frustrated me the most. It took place in 1987 in a boardroom in Chicago. A group of automotive industry CEOs (you’d recognize most of the company names) was meeting with a pair of representatives from a social services program. I was in the room as the PR person for one of the auto parts manufacturers.

PENNY-WISE AND WEB FOOLISH?

December 3, 2009 by Scott Flood

I sat in a room full of freelance writers at a recent conference when the subject of websites came up. One of the writers asked if there was any way to develop a website for next to nothing, and she was nearly overwhelmed with suggestions.

My fellow attendees mentioned a host of templates, free sites, and other places where websites could easily be found and created for free or darned close to it. I managed to suppress my anger for a few moments, but eventually had to raise my hand. The moderator nodded my way.