Tag: writing

Here is a tip from #ScriptYourShift to play with possibilities. Being playful requires that you don’t take your Self so seriously. Set an intention for joy in your life. Joy comes from your heart. Happiness is fleeting — it is of the moment and in the experience. Joy remains and sustains. It is a vibration, a resonance.

To Be Or Not To Be Is Not The Question, To Be is All! — Wei Chen, Ancient Chinese Poet

See the humor in your life. Give your Self permission to laugh. Feel your experience of your own laughter. Get to the heart of the matter of what matters to the heart. When you are living from your heart, you have a resonance that attracts your desires. Love your self unconditionally. Enjoy your self. Then see the world around you share your joy.

Start in your heart.

Quench your thirst for joy to the bone. Embrace your funny “bone” … the body remembers everything. Unresolved emotional issues cause chaos in your body. Emotional trauma gets stuck in the body and manifests as discomfort or disease. Get to the core of when the event happened leading to the diagnosis. Stop recreating the past. Go back, observe the event objectively — recall it without re-experiencing the pain — and choose to let go of the belief system erroneously embraced. Give it new meaning. Reframe it.

Ask supportive questions.

Consider your questions carefully. Ask with your heart and in a way that reveals productive answers. Seek and ye shall find.

1. “What feels joyful in this experience?”
2. “What is my biggest dream?”
3. “When did I last laugh out loud?”
4. “What am I grateful for?”
5. “ Which are my most memorable moments?
6. “What fills me with joy?”
7. “Where is the joy in this moment?”
8. “How can I choreograph a life of joy?
9. “What inspires me here, now?”
10. “Am I smiling?”
11. “Why am I so lucky?”
12. “How did I create these awesome opportunities?”
13. “What limiting beliefs can I let go?”
14. “What supportive habits shall I cultivate?”
15. “How will I make my life more meaningful, today?”
16. “How shall I change someone’s life for the better today?”
17. “Who shall I spend time with today?”
18. “What is one thing I’ll do differently today?”
19. “What is life calling of me?”
20. “When all is said and done, will I have done more than I’ve said?”

Get out of your head and into your heart. Ask clear questions. Your mind will seek answers to anything you ask. Be wise in your query. Only ask what you desire having answered (instead of “how did I mess up so badly” ask “how did I make this work out well?”).

Question everything without judgment. Question your Self. Continue to question. Everything…

The answers are there, inside of you. Listen with your joy-filled heart!

Created for Eternally Eve, originally published here.

You are a startup looking for a VC and a VC is looking for a startup. So how do you convince a VC to take your call or meet with you? You send them a deck — make sure it is stacked in your favor.

Start by developing and refining the reasons why the VC should meet with you. Organize your presentation with most persuasive and logical order of reasons. Make sure to punctuate with visuals — simply add headlines or bold leads to your paragraph or include illustrations. And, definitely, cover the ten critical points.

1. THE DETAILS. Announce the name of your company, where it is located, the round, how much capital you wish to raise.
2. THE PLAYERS. Introduce your team. Include the expertise each person brings.
3. THE USP. Capture attention with your Unique Startup Proposition — what are you solving? Is this a necessity or a luxury? What is most impressive about where you are with it right now? It could be the team, the technology, the growth, etc. Get the VC excited about the possibilities.
4. THE POTENTIAL. Show the VC the size of the opportunity. The projected market must be large enough to provide ample return on investment. Do your homework here and make it relevant to your specific vision or solution. Complete this picture with how you stack up to beat competition. Explain how you plan to scale.
5. THE THING. Present your product. Whether it is a prototype or a blueprint, an app or a service, include as much detail as you have defined. Use all media that is available to portray the product with optimal clarity.
6. THE PLAN. Outline your go-to-market strategy. How will you approach and capture your market? What will help you build your tribe? Do you have a website?
7. THE WAY. Explain your business model. How will you generate and capture revenue? Online, salesforce, multi-tiered marketing? There are many options.
8. THE KIPs. Show the numbers. Not just a spreadsheet, include charts or graphs that quickly communicate your Key Indicators of Performance or success.
9. THE ASK. Yes. Ask for it. Let the VC know your needs — the money, the time, the support, the connections — and request to meet in person or via Skype to proceed with next steps.
10. THE CATCHPHRASE. End with a battle cry. Make it unforgettable so that whatever the decision regarding your request, your startup will be remembered.

Make sure your presentation is clear, concise, and complete with compelling information and arguments. Brand the pages in a way to give repetitive attention to your startup name, logo or other identifying feature. Prepare the narrative for your presentation, ensure that it translates with or without you. May the VC be with you.

Also published via Medium and originally created for Invest Southwest, here.

It was an honor, a privilege, and a joy to step out on stage and present “Script Your Shift” to the Pearls of Wisdom tribe. What a perfect place to cut a groove in this new chapter of my life. In case you missed it, here is the video. For a Pitch Perfect session, eMail me at Tamara@TamaraParisio.com. Let me assist you to create the script for your starring role in your success!

SCRIPT YOUR SHIFT. Write down your goals. Business Plan, Personal Manifesto, or Strategic Map, put pen to paper to improve performance. Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California, did a study on goal-setting with 267 participants (it only takes 30 to be statistically significant). She found that you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down. A modality employed to make the process entertaining rather than daunting is to approach your plan as a script for your success. And, you are cast in the starring role as the lead character. Here are three examples of clients who stepped into the celebrity of their success.

Download a pdf of the Script Your Shift handout.

There’s the windup, and then there’s the pitch.

The pitch is critical to every startup. It’s your story; your identity; your compelling reason for being. And you have to get it in the strike zone in order to keep your company alive and to ensure that it thrives. Pitching your startup to investors—or to potential customers—can be overwhelming.

You have to know your stuff—your budget, your offerings, your advertising, your brand story, and more. This is your lifeline to resources. And, your future rests on the success of your delivery. To assist you to perfect your pitch, here are a few tips to get your story straight.

Know your why.

Storytelling is all the rage in advertising, and now in business branding. Sharing your story in the most compelling, powerful manner builds connection and credibility among potential customers and with investors.

Once you have your why—the reason you do what you do—it is much easier to find those interested in that passion. And, it is often said that when you are focused on your why, the how shows up and the what doesn’t matter.

Have a plan—a booming business plan.

The greatest idea in the world will not have a chance in surviving execution without proper planning. A solid business plan that clearly expresses your strategy and tactics, including how capital will be used, plans to scale the business, and reasonable anticipated growth will give an investor confidence that there will be a return on their money.

A solid plan shows the investor that you are knowledgeable about your product, the competitors, the market opportunity, the industry, and the future of your business. Reinforce your business plan with the critical details. Determine your break-even point, then customize the plan to demonstrate monthly cashflow. When the business is your baby, your pitch is especially essential to build a community of credibility and support.

Show sustainability.

Sustainability is continuous viability and longevity. It is key to obtaining funding from VCs and angel investors. It is also critcal in earning respect from industry professionals and gaining credibility among potential customers. There’s a difference between a flash-in-the-pan and an idea that inspires early adoption.

Customers and investors are savvy enough to know when a product has the potential for longevity. Everyone who will invest, purchase or support your company needs to know that you will be around for the long haul and you have a plan for how to do that successfully.

Know thy audience.

Tailor your pitch to your audience, whether it’s potential investors, a sea of customers, or a panel of judges. When speaking to investors, focus on the numbers, viability, and sustainability of the company. Let them know what’s in it for them—in the short term and in the long run.

If you are competing in a startup battle, presenting to a panel of judges, focus on your business as a whole. This will be the broadest pitch you give. Don’t leave out important details when you cast a wide net. If your investors are new to the industry, be sure that you speak in clear terms—don’t lose them in jargon and acronyms. Regardless of how well a panel understands your business, remember that you are in charge of the effectiveness of your pitch. No excuses.

Rehearse, a lot.

It may seem obvious, yet people often neglect proper practice. They may feel too much practice could make them seem stiff. While actually, the more you practice, the more relaxed, comfortable, knowledgeable, and “natural” you’ll be. This gives the impression of expertise. And, the better you know your stuff, the less likely you’ll be thrown off course by questions or derailed by nervousness.

The mere thought of public speaking makes many people nervous. The good news is that presentation skills can be honed, making the experience less worrisome. Practice is the secret to elevating your skills. Create and rehearse a variety of pitches so you can readily respond in different situations. From a one-minute elevator pitch to a thirty-minute talk, preparation and practice are the keys to communicating your message powerfully.

Show your stuff.

Give your audience a reason to remember you. Create a memorable phrase or give your audience hands-on time with your product (if possible) are a couple ways to be remembered. Consider what distinguishes you and what differentiates your product. Communicate that clearly and powerfully to ensure that, at the end of the pitch, your audience won’t stop thinking about your business.

Pitching your business starts with the proper wind up. It’s about the mechanics. It is like casting a fishing line with the appropriate bait into the hungry crowd and then waiting patiently for the bobber to dip with a fish on the hook.

Take all of the advice you have studied, ask for feedback, perfect your pitch, practice, and learn from every experience to improve with each and every presentation. Hone it and own it. And know that when you simply deliver your well crafted, well rehearsed elevator pitch, you have got the room interested in what you have to say.

— A Basic Outline With Insightful David Ogilvy Quotes

Content is an important marketing tool for all businesses. It takes your message from advertising to advertorial — making the customer the star of your story. There are so many ways to show and sell with storytelling. So, get started. Here is an outline to guide you.

Topic & Working Title or Headline

Start with intention. Build a working headline to focus your efforts, and perhaps, provide a theme. Ultimately you will revise this to make sure it grabs attention and get readers interest.

On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy; when you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar. — David Ogilvy

Introduction

What’s the big idea? Summarize the net takeaway(s) to be addressed in your article. Write the key idea(s) you want readers to get out of reading it. Consider posing a question to engage your audience. Or make a compelling statement to pique curiosity. This is where you set the stage for your tale.

It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. — David Ogilvy

Key Insights

Brainstorm all the things you want to deliver in the post and list them. Organize them, then group them into main idea(s). Break up your insights into sections so that thoughts are lumped together by theme. As a benchmark, create three to four sections. Expand on these. Beef up sections with some or all of the following:

• examples
• quotes
• how-to or directions
• easy-to-implement advice
• benefits
• personal experience
• what worked, what didn’t work
• supporting or helpful information or statistics

Then read it. Revise it. Reorganize information until it makes sense and tells the whole story in the most captivating way.

The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be. — David Ogilvy

Wrap up

In the end, summarize the post with an actionable takeaway, promise, or benefit of the lesson or experience. Leave the reader with results they could expect. And include a call to action: do this … now.

What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it. — David Ogilvy

Extras

Include hyperlinks that would lead to more information expanding on ideas, people, or features mentioned in the blog. And, always include an image when you can. A picture is worth a thousand words.

I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information. — David Ogilvy

Enjoy the journey as you write your way to success. Share your self, your style, your vision in a way that attracts your tribe, one reader at a time. Create the spin to win.

Live on purpose. Select your scenes! Don’t leave your life to chance. You don’t have to be caught up in trauma and drama. And you don’t have to allow your self to be pulled along by every character that pops on to the scene of your life! Write your story—your Life Script!

Realize that you are the Star of your life story. You are the Producer. You are the Director. You are the Screenwriter. Write the script (thoughts, beliefs, actions) in a way that serves your stardom (or get assistance to do just that!).

Give your word and live your word (the Life Script). Write your way in and out of the experiences you desire, require, and deserve to enjoy—professionally, personally, and potentially! Be the Star Performer of your world, the center of your universe, and play your part for an award-winning experience!

4 Steps You Can Take To Star In Your Own Life Story

1. Listen. Tune in to your inner voice, notice what you are saying to your self.  Consider what your thoughts say about what you believe. How do your thoughts affect your actions? Awareness is a key step in change. Become and observer of your self. Then, continue doing what serves you and adjust otherwise.
2. Align. Get in accord with your self. Pay attention to your thoughts, words, and deeds. Do they support and nurture how you desire to live your life? If not, change your internal message. Again, continue doing what serves you and adjust otherwise.
3. Prepare. Make a plan, a guide, and let it be the script to your live. By considering potentialities and the outcomes desired, you set up your self to act in accord with your desires. You will be in a position to recognize and act on opportunities that serve you.
4. Act. Live intentionally, on purpose by creating habits that align with your desires. If your goal is to be fit, make it a habit to exercise daily. Create a habit of eating to fuel your health. Be the Star Performer in the experiences you create for you. To build your business, hone your message and consistently uphold it.

Starring in your story takes focus and intention. It starts with writing down your goals. Most people don’t bother to write down their goals. They wind up drifting aimlessly through life. Is this you? Are you wondering why your life lacks purpose and significance? Are you willing to give your self an aim? Committing your goals to writing is the beginning of creating the life of your dreams. The key to accomplishing what matters to you is committing your desires in writing. This is important for at least four reasons.

1. It forces you to clarify your desires and set your destination. Writing down your goals and milestones compels you to select something, to get specific… to choose the outcome you desire for your life.
2. It motivates you to take aligned action. Write down your goals, articulate your intention, and execute in alignment with them. Writing down goals and reviewing them regularly keeps you mindful of the destination and prompts you to take action. It provides a filter for opportunities that could otherwise become distractions. The more successful you become, the more you will be presented with opportunities. Maintain a list of written goals by which to evaluate opportunity, take appropriate action, and stay on course with your goals.
3. It fortifies you to face challenges and overcome resistance. Every meaningful goal encounters resistance. When you focus on the resistance, it will only get stronger. Overcome it is with focus on the goal. Write it down and review it often.
4. It enables you to recognize and celebrate progress. Life  is particularly difficult when you don’t see progress. You feel like you are going nowhere. Your written goals act as mile-markers. Review them to see how far you have come. Outline steps for where you require to go. And take the opportunity to celebrate when you attain a milestone.

If you are overwhelmed … or if you are focusing on your star performance and desire for assistance with the other stuff, get in touch with me to script your shift so you can shine! And if you are looking for a place to start, consider these tips.

4 Tips for Writing Your Life Script

1. Focus on your desired result in each area of your life (fitness, health, career, finances, intellect, relationships, and spiritual).
2. Write your story in the present tense—as if you are living it now.
3. Engage all of your senses and make it active—walk through your home and surroundings, note the things do, what you see, sounds you hear, scents, what you touch, and how you feel.
4. Be the main character in the visualization—dream big and make it as realistic as possible to convince your self and to believe it is a potentiality for you.

The process of writing your Life Script brings opportunities to you just by changing your focus to what you desire. This benefit from shifting your focus from what isn’t working to your dream experience takes place during the creation of your Life Script.

Many are challenged with describing what it is we desire to create. We have an easier time describing what we do not want, which isn’t a bad place to start; but don’t leave your focus there. Instead of wishing to be less fat, focus on how good it will be to feel more fit.

Create and star in your dreamyiest life … get in touch with me to script your shift so you can shine!

There are so many business plan templates to prompt the presentation of your map to success. Some are tailored to one industry or another. Others are boiler-plate MBA outlines. Still, at the center of every business plan are three key points — your purpose, your plan, and your progress indicators.

PURPOSE

Your first challenge is to define your startup’s purpose for being. The raison d’etre for your burgeoning business. What pain point do you serve and in what way? What is the intention or objective of your company? Defining the purpose of your business reveals what needs to be done to move it forward. Clarifying can include a simple description of your products or services, or it can elaborate on detailed offerings, as well as a precise description of who you will serve — your ideal customer. Outlining your purpose will define what the business is — where you are starting — and what it intends to be — your future vision.

PLAN

Once your purpose is revealed, you need a plan to reach your vision. Define your goals and the steps needed to reach them. A map of goals will help you and your team know when to act, and when to wait. Factor for future growth in the business plan to prepare for changes in the market, evolving trends, innovations to pursue, or opportunities to take as your company grows. A a comprehensive business plan includes statistics, facts, and details that show whether or not your startup has the potential to be profitable. This is a critical factor when soliciting investors to provide capital required for getting started. Your plan outlines the organizational structure of your business, including positions and individual duties. This is a game-plan for your entire team, keeping everyone working together with an eye on the prize, from partners to suppliers, leaders, and employees of your venture.

PROGRESS

Know your metrics. Measure your results. Note how you have progressed. Without progress that confirms you are on target, it can be difficult to know whether you are still on the right path. Validate your intent and results, daily. Be sure you and your team are prepared to make operational decisions in line with the overall business strategy. Your plan shows the way and includes alternate actions the company will follow if projections are overly optimistic. Referring to your plan helps maintain a big-picture view as you make day-to-day decisions.

Your business plan is a living guide for your vision. It is a reference and a management tool to ensure efforts are aligned to meet goals, targets, and milestones.

It is important to use language correctly so not to diminish credibility of your content. Here is a tool to help guide the use of I (noun) versus ME (pronoun). Keep it handy till it becomes a habit.

Guide for the proper use of I vs ME.

“I” is the noun—refers to oneself as speaker or writer.  “ME” is the pronoun—refers to self as object of a verb or preposition.

RULE: If you can’t replace the “YOU and I” with “WE,” you’ve got it wrong. If you can’t replace “YOU and ME” with “US,” you’ve got it wrong. 

Thanks for meeting with HIM AND ME. (Thanks for meeting with ME. Thanks for meeting with HIM. Thanks for meeting with US.) vs HE AND I appreciate your time. (I appreciate your time. HE appreciates your time. WE appreciate your time.)

It is bigger than YOU AND ME combined. (It is bigger than ME. It is bigger than YOU.) vs YOU AND I are smaller than this idea. (I am smaller than this idea. YOU are smaller than this idea. WE are smaller than this idea.)

To YOU AND ME, this idea is big. (To ME, this idea is big. To YOU, this idea is big. To US this idea is big.) vs When YOU AND I succeed (When I succeed … When YOU succeed… When WE succeed…)

They will praise YOU AND ME for this. (They will praise ME for this. They will praise YOU for this. They will praise US for this.) vs The praise YOU AND I receive will be stellar (The praise I receive will be stellar. The praise YOU receive will be stellar. The praise WE receive will be stellar.)

Between HIM AND ME there is chemistry. (Between US there is chemistry. Between HIM & ME. Between ME & YOU. Between ME & HIM.) vs HE AND I share an office. (HE shares an office with me. I share an office with him. She shares and office with HIM AND ME. WE share an office.)

He took a photo of HIMself AND ME. (He took a photo of US. He took a photo of HIMSELF. He took a photo of ME. He took a photo of US.) vs HE AND I posed for a photo. (HE posed for a photo. I posed for a photo. WE posed for a photo.)

I love a list. And here in brief is one from a podcast by Michael Hyatt with Michele Cushatt (find it here).

Here are the top ten mistakes bloggers make:

1. You don’t post enough.
2. You post too much.
3. Your posts are too long.
4. You don’t invite engagement.
5. You don’t participate in the conversation.
6. You don’t make your content accessible.
7. You don’t create catchy headlines.
8. Your first paragraph is weak.
9. Your topic is off brand.
10. Your post is all about you.

In a nutshell.

Do you have an underlying story for your brand? Is there a consistent message threaded through everything you do Determine the core concepts that resonate with your customers—and with your fans—to create the foundation of your brand story.

Here are some key areas you can investigate to unlock compelling threads that are engaging as your story unfolds.

Topics

Discover what your audience is interested in. A quick scroll among your followers will reveal repeated terms. Identify top keywords used to engage with your brand. Consider looking at areas of influence on Klout.  And take a look at the competition, how are they talking about their brands? This can help you distinguish yourself, recognize important attributes that bring a customer to your brand rather than to a competitor.  Grab on.  Follow the topic as it relates to your product and as it extends in other areas. Have fun with it—even topics that are “unspeakable” can be addressed in a tale or two. Consider the antics of PooPourri.

Trends

Capitalize on the trends. Seasons. Holidays. Events. News. Fashion. Sports. There’s an opportunity to hook your brand story on to what’s happening—as appropriate and applicable—and continue to unfold your story as it relates to current events and timely happenings. When you hook onto a trending concept with your product or offer, you gain awareness among those interested in the trend while staying relevant with your message. For instance, take a look at the Dough Boy taking the the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Many other brands capitalized on the trending event.

Themes

Develop content themes based on trends and topics relative to the goals of your company and your customers. Find the most universal theme to carry your story to the widest relevant audience. For instance, happiness. Show how your product inspires and spreads joy. And then, tell it like it is—with pizazz. Make it memorable. Here is where creativity conquers. Get your audience involved in your story and you will have a life-long fan. A great example of this is the Dancing Guy who was sponsored by various brands, beginning with Stride Gum.

With this, you can build a compelling message that unfolds consistently while continuously telling the tale that is at the core of your brand.