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50 Communication Mantras to Live By 2018

By January 10, 2018January 23rd, 2022No Comments
night time city photograph with slow motion car lights of white, yellow and red streaking colors with overlay text 50 business storytelling mantras to live by 2018

Since first posting our list of the Top 50 Communication Mantras in 2011, the list has stayed relatively the same.

With the various issues buzzing around all of us related to diversity and respect, we thought to add a few mantras under a new category of Social Media Communication.

As I have said in a few of the previous postings, the pictures in the blog headers are:

“mini roadmaps, hence each one having a background image of a road, highway, path, or bridge. Some are straight, some are curvy. Some turns you can see, some you can’t. Just like life.”

What resonates with you? What will you look at in your personal and professional life? What might you change/revise?

Areas to consider include recruiting and on-boarding, all-hands-meetings and town hall meetings, customer service, conference presentations and public speaking, organization storytelling and individual storytelling, sales/outreach/development, website, talent development and training, marketing and positioning, social media, and so much more. Here are our Communication Mantras 2018.

Personal Storytelling Mantras

  1. People are at the heart of every great story
  2. Stories are how people remember you
  3. Use humor if you want to (New Yorker Cartoons)
  4. Write in your authentic voice
  5. Write and speak conversationally
  6. Write emails as if they will be read on a smart phone
  7. Tell more personal stories with relevant business messages

Brand & Organizational Storytelling

  1. Promise a better tomorrow. We call this your Better Tomorrow Message
  2. Know your elevator speech / elevator pitch / mission statement (core business story)
  3. Ensure your core business story is unified throughout all communication materials
  4. Your brand story is everything
  5. Success stories are key to differentiation
  6. Deliver on the expected experience

Relationships

  1. It’s all about them
  2. Relationships matter
  3. Business stories are the engine of relationships and relationships are the engine of continued success
  4. Credibility is more important than expertise in the beginning of relationships
  5. Active listening is key to building great relationships
  6. Treat everyone like a CEOTM
  7. Stop listening to your Mother. Talk to strangers at networking events
  8. It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you
  9. Treat every client like your best client
  10. Be a deliberate networker
  11. Be a mentor
  12. People crave genuine connection
  13. First Impressions Make Lasting Impressions: offer a warm smile, firm handshake, and good eye contact

Marketing & Communication

  1. Write to the 10th-grade level
  2. Ensure your audiences ask only “Interest Questions
  3. Content first. Design second
  4. Design your website for your target audiences (not your staff)
  5. Inspire Action:  facts do not persuade and inspire, people do
  6. Audiences are hungry for original thought-provoking content
  7. Think like a Thought Leader. Get yourself known (e.g., LinkedIn updates, SlideShare posts, and Tweet good information)
  8. Speak in headlines
  9. Maintain a detailed Ideal Target Profile/Persona for your key target audiences

Social Media Communication

  1. Treat everyone respectfully
  2. Remember and assume…anything posted on social media is forever
  3. Social communities are built on personal and business stories
  4. Content is king
  5. (Good) blog and article content matters the most

Personal & Professional Development

  1. Be a student every day
  2. But is the worst word in the English language (and many other languages)
  3. Words really, really, really matter
  4. Have positive self-talk conversations
  5. Change is a choice
  6. Create your own success momentum
  7. Be a whole body communicator
  8. Avoid fillers (um, ah, like, you know)
  9. Be a deliberate communicator

Mantras Over the Years

2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 (this post), 2019, 2020

Photography Source:  Pexels
#chiefstoryteller #storytelling #storytellingforleaders #communication

Ira Koretsky

Ira Koretsky has built The Chief Storyteller® into one of the most recognized names in communication, especially business storytelling. He has delivered over 500 keynote presentations and workshops in nearly a dozen countries, in more than one hundred cities, across 30 plus industries. His specialties are simplifying the complex and communicating when the stakes are high. He is also an adjunct professor in public speaking and storytelling at the University of Maryland's Business School. With over 25 years of experience, he is a sought-after storytelling coach, global speaker, trainer, consultant, communication coach, and public speaking coach.