Corpspeak… How Fluent Are You?

April 25th, 2012

by Ryan Faist

Big Idea Company, LLC

If you work in an office, chances are you’ve been exposed to corpspeak at one time or another. You know, that fuzzy language some executives use when they want to please everyone without saying anything. Corpspeak works because it usually has little meaning and is conveniently unobjectionable.

For example, “Our goal is always to maximize customer care while preserving the core values of our business model.” You could pretty much answer any question in the world with this.

But not all corpspeak is so obvious. In fact, those who are fluent in this coded language might sound no different than your most trusted co-workers. Here are ten tricky phrases that some of the most skilled corpspeakers like to use… along with their true meanings:

  1. Corpspeak:  “Can you give me a little context?”
    Meaning:  “Can you start over from the beginning? I have no idea what we’re talking about.”
  2. Corpspeak:  “Let’s touch base later.”
    Meaning:  “Go away. I’m done talking to you for the day.”
  3. Corpspeak:  “He’s a real go-getter.”
    Meaning:  “He’ll do all the work.”
  4. Corpspeak:  “We need to recalibrate our mission to meet today’s changing markets.”
    Meaning:  “We need to figure out what the hell we do.”
  5. Corpspeak:  “This proposal is on the right track.”
    Meaning:  “This proposal sucks.”
  6. Corpspeak:  “We just need to polish it up now.”
    Meaning:  “It still sucks.”
  7. Corpspeak:  “The ball’s in your court.”
    Meaning:  “As of this moment, we’re blaming you if we fail.”
  8. Corpspeak:  “We need to find a stronger angle.”
    Meaning:  “Our B.S. still sounds like B.S.”
  9. Corpspeak:  “You just aren’t a good fit for our team.”
    Meaning:  “Your resume is fine. We just don’t like you.”
  10. Corpspeak:  “I’ll be honest…”
    Meaning:  “I just lied to you…”

There are many more corpspeak phrases out there. If you come across a good one, feel free to add it to the list in the comment section. Together, we can break this corporate code and get back to the good ol’ days when people just said what they meant. On second thought, have we ever?

 

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The Simple Way to Raise Money, Influence Leaders and Recruit Supporters

August 31st, 2011

How America’s most complex organizations use deceptively simple themes to ensure long-term success

by Lou Pierce

President, Big Idea Company

 

As seen in the pages of the South Bend Tribune Business Weekly.

The more complex your organization, the more it will benefit from a simplified public image. What follows are several examples taken from history that show what’s at stake when it comes to associating one simple idea with your brand – regardless of how complicated your company or institution really is.

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Confessions of a Copywriter: The Ugly Side of SEO

June 8th, 2011

by Ryan Faist

Big Idea Company, LLC

Sometimes I wish I didn’t have such a naturally low tolerance for BS. It gets me into trouble every now and then. But I can’t help it. I was born with an ultra- sensitive BS radar that emits violent shockwaves whenever it goes off. In fact, it’s going off right now.

For the past twenty minutes I’ve been online reading blogs, articles and website copy. Not because I care about what they have to say, but because it’s part of my job as a writer to know what the current literary climate is in cyberspace. I can sum it up in three letters: S-E-O. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Most Dangerous Place in the World

June 3rd, 2011

And Why a Public Relations Man Went There.

by Lou Pierce

We slept with bulletproof vests at our side, traveled in armored cars, Blackhawk helicopters, United Nations convoys and military cargo planes.  What we didn’t know was that not far from our compound, American special forces were rehearsing a daring raid that would take place just weeks later, as they confronted Osama Bin Laden face-to-face in the very place he’d been hiding for over five years.

If it sounds cliché, so what!  It’s true.  There really are good things happening in Afghanistan. Sure,  it’s a tough place — a dangerous place.  And change comes slowly here.   But, our delegation of six civilians witnessed remarkable progress being made through the support of a special Task Force formed by the United States Department of Defense.   It’s economic development in a war zone, without the hindrance of a huge bureacracy — a task force under the umbella of the Defense Department, but comprised of business-minded experts who are determined to get things done — whatever it takes.  And,if it is working this well in a war zone, it has incredible potential to work everywhere else in the world.

Click on the image above to read our day-by-day accounts as published in a national agribusiness publication and the image below to play the surprising short film we produced featuring the real people of Afghanistan — where they actually work, live annd play.  You’ll also meet the other five gentlemen in our delegation, including President of Farm Journal Media, Andy Weber, philanthropist and farmer, Howard G. Buffett, Howard’s son, Howard W. Buffett, Videojournalist Eric Crowley and Indiana farmer, Kip Tom.

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The “Creative Process”

May 5th, 2011

This film clip is so spot on, that we simply have to share it with you. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be in our business, here’s a glimpse.  It’s not always like this, but it does happen. Some people call it “the creative process.” Some call it “torture.” We call it funny.

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Test Your Grammar in 60 Seconds!

March 16th, 2011

Are you one of those people who always correct other people’s bad grammar? Or are you the one being corrected? Either way, the following 10-question quiz will test your vulnerability to some of the most commonly made grammatical errors. Good luck!

The new contract is more complex ___ the old contract.



Attitude can ___ an employee’s job performance.



___ are you angry with?



Your statement ___ there is trouble with the account.



The journalist is going to quote both you and ____ in the article.



The marketing team will celebrate _____ Emmy Award with a company party next Friday.




They all agreed that ____ the best candidate for project manager.



Neither of you ____ any reason to be nervous.



Place the file in ____ appropriate folder.



If you’re sick, you should go home and ___ down.





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Are We Clear?

March 11th, 2011

A Quick Reminder That Will Help You Every Day for the Rest of Your Life

by Ryan Faist

Big Idea Company, LLC

“A language can associate semantic information with structures larger than ele- mentary lexical items and can associate semantic interpre- tation principles with syntactic configurations larger and more complex than those definable by means of single phrase-structure rules.”

I have no idea what this means either. Yet the topic, if you can believe it, is communication.

To be fair, this quote is from an essay by a group of distinguished scholars (Fillmore, Kay and O’Connor: Regularity and Idiomaticity in Grammatical Constructions). For some reason, people in academia love when nobody knows what the hell they’re talking about. For the rest of us, a great deal depends on our ablity to understand each other.

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How to Talk to Reporters

March 8th, 2011

Five Principles Used Every Day by the Best Spokespeople and Politicians In America

Lou Pierce

President, Big Idea Company

The best spokes- people in the world use a set of surefire tools when talking to reporters to ensure that their message gets heard loudly and clearly.  They see interviews as an opportunity to further their agendas and neutralize other’s agendas. And, they prepare for these opportunities in some unexpected ways.

Here are five of the fundamental rules that you can use to your advantage when being interviewed by local or regional media. They are the same rules you’d use for national or international media. Disregard them at your own peril.

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Big Idea Company Welcomes Arielle Schmitt

March 3rd, 2011

Dear friends and colleagues,

As President of Big Idea Company, I’d like to proudly welcome Arielle Schmitt as the newest member of our team. A graduate of Spring Arbor University in Michigan, Arielle brings a unique passion and talent for graphic design and photography to Big Idea Company.

Over the last few years, Arielle has earned a reputation for excellence in design with prolific freelance and volunteer work for various businesses and organizations around the community, including Michiana Monologues and South Bend Community School Corporation. This distinguished work along with her devotion to good causes, enthusiasm and high standards makes her a perfect fit for us. Plus, she’s a dog lover too – which is a must for us because we bring our dogs to work every day!

We’re excited and grateful to have someone as talented as Arielle join us in our mission to help businesses and organizations in Michiana realize their marketing dreams.

Sincerely,

Lou Pierce, President

Big Idea Company, LLC

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The Easiest Way to Get Your Business in the News

January 27th, 2011

by Ryan Faist

Big Idea Company, LLC

So you want some media coverage for your business or organization, eh? Sounds great. The easiest way to accomplish this is to send an irresistible press release to  your local media outlets. One good release, and BOOM – crazy news coverage! Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen as often as it should. In fact, most press releases never even get read. So what are the secrets to writing press releases that actually do get read, and more importantly, get you in the news? In next three minutes you’ll find out.

The Secrets

A press release is a one-page announcement designed to generate media coverage. In order to do so, it must stand out from the hundreds of other press releases being submitted to the media at the same time. Press releases can announce events, achievements, developments, new goals, new hires… just about anything.

Before you begin writing, there are a few things you should know about the media. First, they don’t care about your announcement. It sounds harsh, but it’s true. The media only cares about the people who read their newspapers, watch their news programs, listen to their radio stations, and so on. And they only care about those people because the more they satisfy them, the more successful they will be. So, if you want to appeal to the media, appeal to their audience. This means if you’re writing a press release announcing a new product you offer, don’t talk about the product. Talk about the ways it will benefit people. If you’re announcing an event, write about the significance of the event. A good press release tells the media why their audience will care about your announcement.

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