professional writing tips for #OUJ3700

1. #OUJ3700
LINKEDIN AND
PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICAITON

2. LINKEDIN 101:
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE
• 2 new users every second.
• 500 out of 500 Fortune 500
companies use it.
• 92% of recruiters look at a
candidate’s profile.
• When it doubt, follow the money.

3. LINKEDIN 101
IT’S SUSTAINABLE
• IPO has doubled since going public.
• LinkedIn accounts for 64% of visits from
social media channels to corporate
websites.
• http://www.cmo.com/articles/2013/11/4/15
_Stats_LinkedIn.html

4. LINKEDIN 101
STEP ONE
Why are we here?

5. LINKEDIN STEP TWO:
ENHANCE THE BASICS

6. LINKEDIN 101 STEP THREE:
LINK IN THE BOX

7. LINKEDIN 101: STEP FOUR
DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF

8. LINKEDIN 101
STEP FIVE EXPERIENCE MATTERS
• We should never see this much
white space…
• What have you done?
• How have you created value?
• Quantify the numbers.

9. LINKEDIN 101 STEP SIX
YOU HAVE 50 SKILLS. USE THEM

10. LINKEDIN 101 STEP SEVEN
GET SOCIAL AND MEET PEOPLE

11. LINKEDIN 101: STEP EIGHT
USE YOUR 50 GROUPS

12. LINKEDIN 101: STEP NINE
DON’T BE A WALLFLOWER

13. WHO IS THIS GUY AND WHY
DOES HE MATTER?

14. LET’S TALK PDSA
Plan
Do
Study
Act

15. WE CAN’T LOSE 30
POUNDS IN ONE WEEK

16. WHAT IS A GOOD
PDSA CYCLE
• One goal
• Not easy but attainable
• Looming deadline
• Consistent weekly evaluation

17. LET’S TALK WRITING

18. WRITING BASICS:
BEFORE YOU EVER
START TYPING
• Research the client
• Research the client’s competitors
• Research your company
• Research your company’s competitors
• Research the target audience
• Context Matters!!

19. WRITING BASICS
BEFORE YOU EVER START TYPING
Outline the purpose
•What outcome to you want?
•Inform
•Entertain
•Persuade

20. WRITING BASICS
BEFORE YOU EVER
START TYPING

21. THE MAIN THEME OF
GOOD WRITING
• The key to good writing is brevity.
• Be concise and thorough.

22. UNIVERSAL TRUTHS TO
ACHIEVE
THAT THEME
Commitment Statement
• How can you explain everything you are
talking about in one sentence?
• That sentence should have emotional
impact.
• Everything you write needs to revolve
around that commitment statement.

23. UNIVERSAL TRUTHS TO
ACHIEVE
THAT THEME
SVO Writing
•Subject
•Verb
•Object

24. UNIVERSAL TRUTHS TO
ACHIEVE
THAT THEME
• Avoid passive voice at all costs
• Passive voice is confusing.
• Passive voice is cumbersome.
• Passive voice is not conversational.
Passive voice writing will hurt your grade.
Don’t use it.

25. PASSIVE 101
• The Subject Does
• The Object Receives

26. WHAT IS PASSIVE
VOICE?
• The man was bitten by the dog.
• The dog bit the man
• SVO writing shortens your sentences.
• SVO writing is more clear.
• SVO writing is better.

27. WHEN IN DOUBT…
SAY BY ZOMBIES

28. THE OTHER BIG WRITING ISSUE:
FORCING PRESENT TENSE
•Is happening=bad
•Will happen=good

29. UNIVERSAL TRUTHS TO
ACHIEVE
THAT THEME
Every word should have a purpose.
•Write your copy
•Diet Coke break
•Review your copy
•Read it aloud

30. LAUNDRY LIST OF
WRITING TIPS
• Do use active voice verbs create immediacy.
Use them.
• Don’t use jargon. It’s confusing.
• Do vary sentence structure and length.
• Don’t overly hype something.
• Do think about tone.

31. WAYS TO CLARIFY
WRITING
Example
• We all played show and tell in elementary school.
Definition
• If you use a complex term, assume people don’t
know what it means
Comparison
• We know about apples to apples

32. WAYS TO CLARIFY
WRITING
Restatement
• Tell them what you’re going to tell them.
• Tell them.
• Tell them what you told them.
• 3 minimum amount of times you have to tell
someone something before they have a
chance to get it….
• 8-11 times before it sticks….

33. LET’S TALK
PROFESSIONAL WRITING

34. WHY ARE WE TALKING
ABOUT BUSINESS
WRITING?
• Strategic Communication is about telling stories
that preserve or improve brands.
• The better a brand, the more likely it survives.
• A surviving brand means you still have a job.
Good business writing helps you eliminate clutter, workplace
drama and other annoyances that prevent you
from doing the work you want to do.

35. INTERNAL MEMO
• Bosses gloss over stuff.
• You need to keep them updated on
client progress.
• Memos make that happen.
• They also cover you when something
goes wrong.

36. BEFORE YOU WRITE THE MEMO
REMEMBER FORMATTING
• To
• From
• Date
• Subject Line: By the way, this is the most
important line you will write in a memo.
• Every memo, including the one you hand
in, should include this.

37. MEMO FORMAT
THE BEGINNING
Why are you writing?
• Mention this in the subject line
• Mention this in the first or second sentence
• Be nice
Tell Them What You’re Going To Tell Them

38. KRAFT ACCOUNT
UPDATE

39. MEMO FORMAT
THE MIDDLE
All the slides I will just talked about…do it.
• Bullet Points
• Outline
• Vary Copy
• Visual Aids
• Context AND Content
Tell Them

40. KRAFT GUTS

41. MEMO FORMAT
THE END
• What is the next step?
• When will that step be delivered?
• Be nice.
• Tell Them What You Told Them

42. KRAFT CLOSE