An opportunity to boost your email writing skills

An opportunity to boost your email writing skills

I laughed when working for the first time with a senior team recently.

I asked them to do their pre-work and then come ready to collaborate on a modest piece of communication.

An email would be fine, I said. That way we can embed the concepts without being overwhelmed with problem solving.

After that we can move to solve bigger problems.

They followed the brief to a T and brought an email for us to work on.

Or so they said.

The email turned out to be a nudge to their peers on the Executive Committee to think holistically about a $1bn problem.

As you might imagine, we were quickly immersed in detailed problem solving and not ‘just thinking through an email'.

Preparing the ExCo then took a further three two-hour sessions!

So, not all emails are ‘just emails'.

They do however provide a hidden and often ignored opportunity to build our thinking skills.

My teeny tiny email course explains how.

In 10 minutes you will learn four key concepts.

It is available at no cost.

>> Access it here.

I hope that helps.

Kind regards,
Davina

How to craft great headlines

How to craft great headlines

Do you waste the most important real estate in your communication?

Titles and headlines grab your audience's attention, making them curious about what you have to say. Yet many documents I see waste this opportunity.

They either use one or two words that say things like: Update, Performance, Finance or similar. Or they run on and on losing me in their detail.

How to find the right balance? How to draw out something short yet insightful from potentially screeds of analysis?

I recently ran a MasterClass to help you learn to craft headlines that do justice to your paper or presentation. 

During our session we discussed how you…

1. Ensure each title packs a punch

2. Link your slides together to form a coherent whole

3. Hook your audiences attention

We explored these ideas, and more, both through the prepared content and in answering participants questions.

The recording is available inside in the Past Events area within the Clarity Hub.

 Our Hub Members can access all past recordings as well as sign up to attend these bi-monthly sessions live.

Learn more about the Hub here – https://clarityfirstprogram.com/clarityhub 


More soon,
Davina

E9 – Lisa Carlin – Practical strategies and case studies to help you turbo charge your transformation

E9 – Lisa Carlin – Practical strategies and case studies to help you turbo charge your transformation

Cutting Through

Helping experts
engage ‘outsiders'
in complex ideas

Seventy plus percent of transformations fail says McKinsey and Harvard Business School and yet Lisa Carlin has a 96 percent strike rate.

What’s her secret?

Lisa shares her top three ingredients for making transformations work:

  1. Get out of the Dark Room
  2. Understand and align closely with the organisation’s very specific culture
  3. Use the right blend of program leadership, business acumen and change management

Lisa shares some terrific stories that bring these to life.

 

Timestamps 

00:41 – Get to know Lisa 

05:39 – Discussing the three ways of turbocharging transformation in a sustainable way  

15:54 – 1. Getting out of the ‘dark room’ – who to include in a transformation and why 

24:53 – Case Study in a transformation around travel expenses (and getting people onboard with something they initially disagree with) 

30:48 – 2. Aligning with the culture during a transformation 

38:26 – 3. Employing a multidisciplinary approach to transformation 

56:19 – Ways Lisa can help including 17 top tips, a fantastic thought-provoking survey and the new Turbocharged Transformation Academy 

 RESOURCES

  1. Download the shownotes below
  2. Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn

 

E11 – New Board Paper Writing books: Elevate and Engage

Cutting ThroughHelping experts engage 'outsiders' in complex ideasBoard Paper Writing episode In this board paper writing podcast, Dan and I talk about how my new books, Elevate and Engage. Together, we unpack our deep understanding of the paper-writing process for...

E10 – Alexa Chilcutt – How to make your presentation butterflies fly in formation

Cutting ThroughHelping experts engage 'outsiders' in complex ideas

E9 – Lisa Carlin – Practical strategies and case studies to help you turbo charge your transformation

Cutting ThroughHelping experts engage 'outsiders' in complex ideasSeventy plus percent of transformations fail says McKinsey and Harvard Business School and yet Lisa Carlin has a 96 percent strike rate. What’s her secret? Lisa shares her top three ingredients for...

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How to cut the number of updates you deliver

How to cut the number of updates you deliver

In last week’s MasterClass I shared ideas to help you make your updates more interesting.

One idea I shared is the possibility of having greater influence by NOT updating at all.

It shocked some participant to silence!

We are so accustomed to updating our leaders and Steering Committees that we often don’t think WHY we are updating them.

If, in some situations, you sent an email update rather than taking up everyone’s time in a meeting?

I share this and more ideas about how to get the most out of your routine updates in the recording.

Access inside the Past Events area within my Clarity Hub – Register here >> 

Members can attend these sessions live, or access the recordings, as well as make use of the growing library of case studies, tools and templates and the ever-useful Pattern Picker. Learn more here >>

I hope that helps.

Davina

 

How to prepare updates that don’t bore you AND your audience

How to prepare updates that don’t bore you AND your audience

Do you typically go onto auto pilot when preparing updates?

You might take the last one and tweak it a bit, or fill in the template?

If so, you may be missing an opportunity.

Updates present an under-appreciated opportunity to engage senior and captive audiences.

In this morning’s MasterClass I shared two case studies as well as ideas to help you make the most of your next update. I shared ideas on how to

  • Open with something interesting rather than the same old project description you have used for every update for the current project
  • Define a clear outcome that takes full advantage of your specific ‘update opportunity’
  • Win credits with your senior leaders for future updates

I also answer a series of communication questions submitted by those who registered for the session.

The recording is available inside the Past Events area within my new Clarity Hub along with a wealth of tools and templates for you to use. The first month is free and then us$25 per month or US$250 per year for ongoing access.

>> Learn more here.

I hope that’s useful. More soon.

Davina