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Nuanced Nuances

Software designers turned entrepreneurs often insist that they don’t need to work on messaging. After all, they insist, the value and uniqueness of their new app or device is obvious. Once their startup is properly funded, they say, their “solution” will just fly off the e-shelf.

Recently, an email exchange I had with a climate scientist gave me new insight into why experts often resist preparing for interviews, having speaking points or going through media training. No doubt part of it is arrogance or fear of training. But fundamentally, they don’t understand the nuances of language – word selection, sentence structure, paragraph structure – all change the meaning of what is heard. They think that they can just wing it. Talk about the facts and everyone will understand.

The Right Word: Prune or Dried Plum

On the plus side, my climate scientist does understand the value of naming. He says “climate change” instead of “global warming”. The climate is changing in different ways around the world. In some places, it is literally warming, in others, it is not, but it is still changing. As a result, scientists and science writers have stopped using “global warming” to describe what is being observed.

Sentence Structure: Yes, We Have No Bananas.

During a roundtable radio talk show with a friendly audience, his answers to almost every question began with “no” and could easily fuel climate science deniers. For example, when asked about hurricane Sandy, he said: No, Sandy is not evidence of climate change. No, we will not see more hurricanes. When asked about water level rise, his answers were statistical and in centimeters. And, at one point, he didn’t remember an exact number. 

My take away could have been: There is no evidence of global warming (whatever he called it). It doesn’t sound like the water will rise very much (How many inches is that?). He doesn’t really know his numbers, so why should I believe him (or any other climate scientist)? Obviously, this isn’t what the scientist intended to say. He didn’t understand how he was misunderstood and didn’t think he could have answered the questions in any other way. 

First, if you want to explain something, never start your answer with ‘no’. Your audience won’t hear anything else you have to say. This is especially important when you are talking about a complicated topic and you need your audience to stay with you while you tease out the nuances.

Second, based on what I understand about climate change, he could have said: “Yes, Sandy was a very powerful hurricane. In the future, storms will be stronger than they have been in the past, more like Sandy. There may be fewer storms but the storms we do get will be much stronger. Although Sandy alone is not proof of climate change, it is part of larger patterns that we are seeing around the world.”

Lastly, many questions about climate change beg for narrative answers about how people are and will be effected even by small changes. 

Experts say their ideas or products are nuanced or complicated and hard to explain. They need to take the time and work with professionals to craft clear messages and make sure what they are saying is also what their audiences are hearing. The language used to talk about nuanced topics needs to be nuanced too. 

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Elon Musk’s Hyperloop, circa 1869 NYC

In the category of nothing’s new:  When I heard about the pneumatic tube, the Hyperloop, that Elon Musk (the energy and cash behind Tesla Motors and SpaceX) is proposing to speed people between LA and San Francisco, it sounded strangely familiar. And, for a good reason. Alfred Ely Beach built a pneumatic subway under Broadway in 1869. In fact, Beach’s 320-foot, single-track tube was the first subway in The City.

Alfred Beach's pneumatic transit 1869.

Alfred Beach’s pneumatic transit 1869.

 

 

There are several interesting comparisons:

  • Beach showed his technology in 1867. Musk publicized his “alpha” design this month.
  • Beach built an actual moving pneumatic train with stations and riders two years later in 1869. It’s early days for Musk. I’ll add a post in 2015 after I take a ride on the  Hyperloop.
  • Beach put $350,000 into his demonstration tube. Musk is saying his will cost $6 billion; others are saying it would be more like $25 billion or more.
  • Beach’s tickets were 25 cents each and 10s of thousands of New Yorkers took rides (it wasn’t really transportation yet, just a novelty, but still). Musk is saying the Hyperloop will be $20, but $200+ is probably more likely.
  • Beach’s tube was only one block, but he did plan to make it a much larger system. Musk’s plan is much, much bigger.
  • I don’t have data on speed. But from the media coverage, I imagine that Musk’s will go zillions of times faster than Beach’s. On the other hand, women didn’t loose their hats and hoop skirts on Beach’s ride. But, by some reports, the Hyperloop will go so fast that you will look like a chimp in a NASA centrifuge.
  • Beach  told the city government he was building: a mail tube, not a train. Today’s media is explaining pneumatic technology by comparing it to office mail tubes that sucked memos up and down stairs.

Now, go ride a train!

Elon Musk's Hyperloop
Elon Musk’s Hyperloop 2013.
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Google Glass Opens a World of Possibilities for Mobile Health Care

“Google Glass and the Future of Health” was the focus of a MeetUp I attended recently at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Total Health.

The enthusiasm and passion for making change were invigorating and contagious.

For those who don’t know what Google Glass is, here’s a basic summary.  It is a small “computer” that you wear like eye glasses across the bridge of your nose with a very small screen just above your right eye. It’s hands free, voice activated and connects to the internet, smart phones and other devices using wi fi and Bluetooth.
The wearer talks to it:  Glass, Take a picture; and it does. Glass, Video. Glass, Google: How do you say ‘hello’ in French? Bon Jour. Glass, Google: How many people live in Washington, DC? 590,000. Although a Google product, it doesn’t have a browser. Its very small screen isn’t the best interface for reading; but that’s not what it’s intended for. It gives the wearer information that it has searched for. Glass is not yet generally available to consumers, but thousands of  developers have them and are working feverishly on applications (Glassware). I’ve just touched the surface of its capabilities and said nothing about various controversies and issues that need to be addressed. For more info, Google “Google Glass.”
The MeetUp was a great opportunity to see Glass up-close and personal. And, about a dozen early adapters wore theirs.
Anthony Zugaldia, whose startup, Silicalabs, is exploring possible uses for Glass, gave an excellent overview. He projected his view through his Glass onto a white screen, which ironically was used decades ago for glassine “overheads” and slides. One of  the commands he demonstrated was Glass, Take a picture. And, it did. But so did the Glass worn by a member of the audience. It recognizes voice commands very well, but it probably needs to learn it’s master’s specific voice.

The MeetUp was a forum to hear what health-related problems people would like to see Glass solve. The ideas ranged from helping new mothers find places to breast feed, to sensing germs and bacteria on hospital health practitioners’ hands and gloves, to scanning the brain for concussions.

Of course, I love the germ detector. But, Katarina, a woman who won a Glass for her good idea, posited the most interesting idea. Her son is on the Autism spectrum and has issues interacting with people. She suggested that Glass could give him real-time advice about his behavior: remind him to shake hands, make eye contact, or do or say other things that most of us take for granted. This would be a great use of Glass’ close proximity to the user’s eyes and ears.

In fact, couldn’t we all use this kind of advice from time to time? For example, when we’re in a bad mood, it could remind us to “Smile” or splash a funny image on its small screen.  When a man meets a woman, it might remind him, “Look at her face!”

I also think it would be a good tool for biofeedback, either sensing the wear’s vital signs directly through the device itself or interacting with other monitors on her body, such as clothes and jewelry sensors and monitors.

Google Glass’ uniqueness lies in its hands-free mobile capabilities, voice recognition, and location close to its user. I’m looking forward to seeing what Glassware will be developed. In the end, users and creative developers like those gathered at the MeetUp, will define what Google Glass really is and how we’ll use it.

 

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Mr. President, Can You Hear Us?

That’s what young people asked in “This is Our Voice: A Children/Youth Inaugural Address” video, which premiered on January 21st to coincide with President Obama’s second inauguration and his up-coming state-of-the-union address. I worked with Slowey/McManus Communications, the Children’s Leadership Council and SparkAction.

As you can see, the kids really spoke from the heart about issues that concern them: education, going to college, hunger, gun control, health and mental health, bullying …

Two things in particular struck me about working on this project: hunger and school security.

Hunger was one of their main concerns. Not hungry children in Africa, but their hungry friends in Boston, New York and Washington, DC, where we conducted the interviews. One young man asked, “Mr. President, I feel that no one should have to go hungry. Do you feel like anyone should have to go hungry?”

Second, we produced the video two weeks after the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. So gun control, mental health and school safety were top of mind. I had to stop myself from using the usual video “shooter” lingo. We interviewed students in a peace studies class at the newly renovated Wilson High School. It is an incredible facility and its student body is ethnically and socio-economically diverse.

To get into high school, not only did we pass through a metal detector, but a photo was taken of our drivers’ licenses, our photos were taken to put on visitor badges, and we signed in on an electronic pad. The students we interviewed didn’t appear to be concerned about their own safety. But they were concerned about gun violence and mentally ills people not getting treatment.

Take a look at the video. It’s very moving. ALSO, if you would like to submit a video, SparkAction is looking for more interviews with kids.

Mr. President, are you listening?

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6 Billion Cell Phones. 7 Billion People.

Your Well-Being is in the Palm of Your Hand

Almost everyone on earth has a cell phone. Literally.

Six billion phone users; seven billion people. And, we all need health care throughout our lives.

This week the healthcare and mobile phone industries meet in Washington, D.C., at the fourth annual mHealth Summit. More than 5,000 from 50 countries are expected to attend: Verizon, AARP, Pfizer, Oracle, StartuUpHealth, HP Cigna, Qualcomlife, mHIMSS, Beclose, and many more.  Each jostling to take over a significant tranche of this sky-rocketing industry.

That’s why I’m here. To get a feel for the landscape and identify the companies and people who will really lead this industry and make mobile technology a vital tool to enhance patient/health provider engagement. Technology can divide us; it can also bring us together.

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Top 9 PR Tips for Conventions

1. Actually have news

2. Don’t plan a press conference unless you are announcing the cure for cancer

3. Have a plan: know the outlets you want to be in and what your best-case scenario headline would be

4. Set aside specific times in your executives’ schedules to do interviews

5. Prep your executives and make sure they turn up for the interview

6. Do offer exclusives to your top writers

7. Don’t scoop reporters by blasting your news all over the internet before you talk to them

8. Keep engaging writers long after the show

9. Wear comfortable shoes

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Thinking Out Loud

Thinking out loud is exactly what we do. Collaborating with clients we define the products we are launching, identify the audiences we will reach, and outline and implement the most effective communications tactics needed to meet your goals.

We are an added-value communications consultancy: New Product Launches. Messaging. Communications. Strategies. Media Relations. Traditional and Social Media Campaigns. Project Management.

You have dozens of balls in the air.  We have only one: meeting your communications goals. We’re your communications team.