Author Archives: Roy H. Williams
Anomaly
Your brain is hardwired to notice the exception, the incongruity, the discrepancy, the disturbance, that thing – no matter how small – that doesn’t belong. “Something of the sense of holiness on islands comes, I think, from this strange, elastic geography. Islands are made larger, paradoxically, by the scale of the sea that surrounds them. &hellip Continue reading
How Fresh Is Your Adventure?
Anxious anticipation, nervous trepidation, heart palpitation and a tingling sensation are the smells and bells of adventure. Paul Tournier was a 3 year-old orphan in Switzerland when Teddy Roosevelt became President of the United States. Paul grew up to become a doctor. He did a lot of thinking and he wrote a few books. Paul &hellip Continue reading
Choosing a Voice for Your Pen
Style Guides and Audio Signatures: Part Three Words shine like a movie projector on the screen of imagination, creating lifelike images in the mind. 1: Which actors will you place on the screen? Will your voice be first person “I,” second person “you,” or third person “they?” 2. What will be your time perspective? Will your &hellip Continue reading
An Unlikely Pair
The boys were born on the same day in the same year: February 12, 1809. Both were intensely private. Each boy lost his mother in early childhood. Neither was close to his father. The two never met but together they tipped the world on its axis and made it wobble for 100 years. You know &hellip Continue reading
Everyone is Entitled to Their Own Opinion But Not Their Own Facts
“If you’ve read about social media or been to any marketing conferences, you’ve probably heard tons of advice like love your customers, engage in the conversation, be yourself, and make friends. I call this unicorns-and-rainbows advice. Take a couple of time-honored adages, add in the unquestioning awe of an unaware audience, and pretty soon you’ve &hellip Continue reading
Tuesdays with Stéphane
Eleven million copies of Tuesdays with Morrie have been sold. But one hundred years before Mitch Albom began spending the-day-after-Monday with Morrie, a previous Tuesday gathering had already left its mark upon the earth and walked triumphantly into the pages of history. You are cordially invited to the home of Stéphane Mallarmé 89 Rue de &hellip Continue reading
A Style Guide for Your Actions
Style Guides and Audio Signatures: Part Two THE OUTER YOU: The best ad campaigns have a style guide. Implicit or explicit, the style guide is always there. A visual style guide determines the look and feel of visual ads, signage and décor. Audio Signatures (distinctive enunciations, sound effects, special effects, unusual voices, rhythms, delivery styles, &hellip Continue reading
Styles Guides and Audio Signatures
Ad Campaign: a series of ads bound together by a set of distinctive identifiers. Can you name the identifiers that mark your campaign? Okay, there’s the font you use for your company name and the color scheme you use on your business cards, letterhead and signage. But the world overflows with fonts and colors. What &hellip Continue reading
Whose Emails Do You Read?
You’re reading this and I’m honored, because you delete far more emails than you open. Which others do you open? I know, of course, that you read emails from your closest friends and family. But are there any newsletters, blog posts or subscriptions that you open more often than not? Can you pick a single &hellip Continue reading
Journeys Of Imagination
What Do You See In Your Mind? The goal of the batter is to hit the baseball. This is why every kid who holds a bat is told, “Don’t take your eye off the ball.” Later, when endurance is needed, we say, “Keep your eye on the prize.” Can you name the ball you’re trying &hellip Continue reading
