Here are six sure-fire ways to liven up your PR copy and keep your reader engaged. Even better, not a single writing suggestion mentions the words grammar, spelling or punctuation!
Tip 1) Use resonant flesh-and-blood characters rather than boring old nouns. If I was writing a memo about sales, my characters would be clients and customers, rather than projections and results.
Tip 2) Use action words that propel your readers along. We love to see verbs that power us visually from one place to another, rather than just sit there.
Tip 3) Perform the 8-word test. Keep your characters and actions within 8 words of each other, so your reader can easily follow who is doing what. The fewer words between the nouns and verbs the better.
Tip 4) Link complex sentences and phrases with connectors to help your reader navigate through the text. Good connecter words, for example, are however, because of this, therefore, thus, and so on.
Tip 5) Lead your readers from old information (first) to new information (second). Establish common ground in your message development, gently nudging your audience from comfortable familiar territory into the strange and new.
Tip 6) Use the Problem-Solution-Action paradigm. One of the most common writing complaints I hear from my students is they don't know where to begin. If you start with a problem statement, followed by a solution proposal, and wrapped it up with an action plan, a memo can write itself!
Source: http://aboutpublicrelations.net/ucvanhook2.htm
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
New ISO Standard For Safer Use of Symbols with Medical Devices
With the globalization of trade, symbols are frequently used to convey information that is essential for the safe and proper use of medical devices. A new ISO standard proposes a methodology for the development and presentation of symbols related to medical devices which can be understood independently of language.
ISO 15223-2:2010, Medical devices – Symbols to be used with medical device labels, labelling, and information to be supplied – Part 2: Symbol development, selection and validation, includes methods for validating those candidate symbols being proposed for inclusion in, ISO 15223-1, Medical devices – Symbols to be used with medical device labels, labelling and information to be supplied – Part 1: General requirements.
It can also be used by manufacturers and regulators for validating symbols for use with medical devices, where suitable symbols are not standardized.
ISO 15223-2:2010 has been developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 210, Quality management and corresponding general aspects for medical devices, to improve the quality of symbols developed for use in labelling by:
■Establishing the need
■Providing guidance on the development of symbols
■Providing a test methodology to make sure that the candidate symbol is suitable for adoption and use.
Leighton Hansel, convener of the ISO working group that developed the standard comments: "The use of standardized symbols agreed by international consensus avoids the confusion that users may experience when presented with labelling in a number of different languages. There was a need for systematic methodology for the development and presentation of symbols proposed for adoption in ISO 15223-1. Part 2 was developed to meet that need and includes detailed processes to reduce the probability of misinterpretation of symbols".
The standard deals with:
■Principles for identification and development of new symbols
■Process for selecting and validating symbols for inclusion in ISO 15223-1
■Classification of risk
■Concept development
■Evaluation
■Acceptance criteria.
ISO 15223-2:2010, Medical devices – Symbols to be used with medical device labels, labelling, and information to be supplied – Part 2: Symbol development, selection and validation, was prepared by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 210, Quality management and corresponding general aspects for medical devices, working group WG 3, Symbols and nomenclature for medical devices. It is available from ISO national member institutes (see the complete list with contact details). It may also be obtained directly from the ISO Central Secretariat, price 86 Swiss francs, through the ISO Store or by contacting the Marketing, Communication & Information department (see right-hand column).
Source: ISO Web Site http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1308
ISO 15223-2:2010, Medical devices – Symbols to be used with medical device labels, labelling, and information to be supplied – Part 2: Symbol development, selection and validation, includes methods for validating those candidate symbols being proposed for inclusion in, ISO 15223-1, Medical devices – Symbols to be used with medical device labels, labelling and information to be supplied – Part 1: General requirements.
It can also be used by manufacturers and regulators for validating symbols for use with medical devices, where suitable symbols are not standardized.
ISO 15223-2:2010 has been developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 210, Quality management and corresponding general aspects for medical devices, to improve the quality of symbols developed for use in labelling by:
■Establishing the need
■Providing guidance on the development of symbols
■Providing a test methodology to make sure that the candidate symbol is suitable for adoption and use.
Leighton Hansel, convener of the ISO working group that developed the standard comments: "The use of standardized symbols agreed by international consensus avoids the confusion that users may experience when presented with labelling in a number of different languages. There was a need for systematic methodology for the development and presentation of symbols proposed for adoption in ISO 15223-1. Part 2 was developed to meet that need and includes detailed processes to reduce the probability of misinterpretation of symbols".
The standard deals with:
■Principles for identification and development of new symbols
■Process for selecting and validating symbols for inclusion in ISO 15223-1
■Classification of risk
■Concept development
■Evaluation
■Acceptance criteria.
ISO 15223-2:2010, Medical devices – Symbols to be used with medical device labels, labelling, and information to be supplied – Part 2: Symbol development, selection and validation, was prepared by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 210, Quality management and corresponding general aspects for medical devices, working group WG 3, Symbols and nomenclature for medical devices. It is available from ISO national member institutes (see the complete list with contact details). It may also be obtained directly from the ISO Central Secretariat, price 86 Swiss francs, through the ISO Store or by contacting the Marketing, Communication & Information department (see right-hand column).
Source: ISO Web Site http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1308
How To Earn Money Using Social Media
If you want to earn money for your business using social media or even find a job using it, you need to know what type of social media is best for you to use. For example, if you are looking for work as an engineer, the chances of you landing a position with your profile and resume posted on Facebook are almost slim to none, because Facebook has mostly small companies on it. Large companies are on there, but they are using the tool on a much higher level.
However, if you post your resume on LinkedIn and connect to people from your previous jobs and also get recommendations from your past employers, you are very likely to get noticed and possibly even get a job through one of your contacts or their contacts. Even Monster has a place for you to post your picture on your profile, so our traditional job boards are becoming more like social media every day.
If you are in retail, Facebook can be a goldmine and so can Twitter. You simply connect to all of the people in your neighborhood, dog group, Chamber of Commerce, women's professional group, church affiliation group and anyplace else where there are people who will either buy your products or tell people about them. All you have to do is create a professional profile for yourself and a fan page, then start interacting with people you know online to build relationships with the people in your community. Later, you can post pictures of your products on your fan page and introduce your business to your friends. You can use Twitter to send tweets out to your friends and their friends about your sales, especially if you own a local retail store. If you sell things online, you can do the same thing only expand it further by drawing attention to the "shopping cart" on your web site thru the use of your fan page. Just don't blast them with your sales stuff first or you will lose them!
If you provide a service rather than a product, you may find yourself using all three. You can use Facebook to set up a professional profile that tells a lot about you and a little about your services and create a fan page that tells more about your business. You also can emphasize the benefits of your services in your profile or fan page to draw people to your web site. LinkedIn is great for consultants or businesses that offer services and there are tons of groups on LinkedIn that are specific to the services you provide. These groups are great to share industry knowledge, network and get referrals from. You can use Twitter to interact with people who may need your services and post special offers in the form of "tweets" to your audience of followers.
For more information on how to set up, maintain and build your business online, please contact me at profwritingservices@yahoo.com or 407-738-8445 for a consultation. Thank you, Becky Lynn Brooks, Social Media Marketing Expert.
However, if you post your resume on LinkedIn and connect to people from your previous jobs and also get recommendations from your past employers, you are very likely to get noticed and possibly even get a job through one of your contacts or their contacts. Even Monster has a place for you to post your picture on your profile, so our traditional job boards are becoming more like social media every day.
If you are in retail, Facebook can be a goldmine and so can Twitter. You simply connect to all of the people in your neighborhood, dog group, Chamber of Commerce, women's professional group, church affiliation group and anyplace else where there are people who will either buy your products or tell people about them. All you have to do is create a professional profile for yourself and a fan page, then start interacting with people you know online to build relationships with the people in your community. Later, you can post pictures of your products on your fan page and introduce your business to your friends. You can use Twitter to send tweets out to your friends and their friends about your sales, especially if you own a local retail store. If you sell things online, you can do the same thing only expand it further by drawing attention to the "shopping cart" on your web site thru the use of your fan page. Just don't blast them with your sales stuff first or you will lose them!
If you provide a service rather than a product, you may find yourself using all three. You can use Facebook to set up a professional profile that tells a lot about you and a little about your services and create a fan page that tells more about your business. You also can emphasize the benefits of your services in your profile or fan page to draw people to your web site. LinkedIn is great for consultants or businesses that offer services and there are tons of groups on LinkedIn that are specific to the services you provide. These groups are great to share industry knowledge, network and get referrals from. You can use Twitter to interact with people who may need your services and post special offers in the form of "tweets" to your audience of followers.
For more information on how to set up, maintain and build your business online, please contact me at profwritingservices@yahoo.com or 407-738-8445 for a consultation. Thank you, Becky Lynn Brooks, Social Media Marketing Expert.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Social Media Services
Virtual Social Media Marketing Expert (Anywhere)
Do you need a professional profile for yourself and a fan page for your company set up and maintained on Facebook? How about the same for your LinkedIn? Are your responses to your Discussion group forums on LinkedIn lacking in a timely response? Do you need someone to assist you in writing content for your web site or customer web sites, job descriptions articles and press releases for your company?
If you need to start using social media for your business or you have been using it, but you are not sure how to build the relationships you need to succeed or you have run out of time in your schedule to do it, please call me at 407-738-8445. I will be happy to discuss my rates with you and maintain these social media sites for you from my home as your Virtual Social Media Expert. (Rates are slightly higher for web site updates and blogging.) Thank you.
Social Networking Consultations (Anywhere)
Learn how to use Facebook and LinkedIn to increase your sales volume in a two-hour consultation from Professional Writing Services for only $60.00. Please call me 407-738-8445 to schedule an appointment. (Phone consultations are also available.)
Social Networking Classes for Groups of 20 or More (Southwest Florida)
Learn how to increase your sales volume using social media. I will teach you and your staff or friends of 20 or more people for two hours at the special rate of $20.00 each. Computers and conference room to teach in are required. This is a basic overview of Facebook and LinkedIn with some business consultation. Please call me at 407-738-8445 to schedule your class today!
Social Networking and Business Consultation Class (North Naples)
Social networking and business consultation class offered by Professional Writing Services on Monday nights from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and on Saturday mornings from 10:00 a.m. until noon at Borders, (239) 596-7199, 10600 US 41 N, Naples, FL 34108 from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. The class focuses on Facebook and LinkedIn with business consultation on how to build relationships online and increase sales volume using these tools. Free Wi-Fi. Cost: $25.00
Please email profwritingservices@yahoo.com or call 407-738-8445 to RSVP a few days before the Saturday or Monday that you plan to attend. Each class is limited to 15 people. Thank you.
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