Last week, Ragan.com re-ran an old article of mine on how to write good captions. A commenter wrote:
Thank you for the much appreciated pointers. What about editors who do not print the provided and often pithy photo captions? As someone who not only includes a complete caption sheet but is called out every time a photo is run without the required credit, I want to know how to persuade editors to print the formal caption.
How should I know?
The request filled me with dread, because I am speaking at two conferences in Canada next week, and these are just the sorts of questions conference attendees ask.
Here's how it goes:
You have just poured your heart's blood into a presentation on executive communication, say, and someone will start the Q&A this way:
Well, my CEO has no legs and no arms, so he doesn't do well with a lectern. But yet he doesn't like to use a lavaliere mic. What would you recommend?
And then they look at you with this posture that says, We flew you all the way in from Chicago to for some answers, Mr. Smartie.
And then you look at them and, even as you bullshit your way through an unlikely answer, you realize that, indeed, they flew me all the way from Chicago to tell them what they already know: Yes, their problems are fucking impossible.
(Just like mine!)
Once Scout asked me who was the first person on earth.
I said no one knows.
"Not even the experts?" she asked.
No, darling. Not even the experts.
Well, I’m going to share some advice on this very issue that I got from a colleague some years ago. I was writing for a professional journal and kept slipping in words and phrases that sounded almost apologetic to the editor.
He finally said, “You are as much an expert on this subject as anyone else out there. Stop holding back and assert yourself.”
So I did. And it turns out you were right, David.
Hey, Robert, I don’t remember saying that, but I have watched your authoritativeness grow since those days in the mid-1990s when we were both trying to assert ourselves.
By God, I think we’ve done it.
To paraphrase Obama’s line from the campaign:
We’re the experts we’ve been looking for!
Maybe, just like you did with Scout, you say “I don’t know.” After all, isn’t that the comms advice we’d all give execs if they were asked a question to which they didn’t know the answer. Otherwise they’d just try to fudge their way through something and that usually doesn’t end well.
Of course, during your session in Vancouver, I’m now going to stand up and begin a question with “Well, my CEO has no legs and no arms…” just for fun.
Frankly, Rueben, I prefer to fudge my way through an answer, to demonstrate that I care enough to blather and babble around and about the topic. Then I ask, “Did that answer your question?” And they usually say yes.
See you Monday, R.B.!
I often use my therapist’s approach when questions like these come up: “That’s certainly a challenging situation. Knowing what you do about it, what’s your first instinct?” If they come up with anything rational, I’ll agree. If they don’t, and push it back in my court, I tell them that in the interest of time, I’ll need a bit more context, and let’s discuss offline. They never follow up. 😉
Wow, Jerry, those words ache with experience. YOU are the guru I’ve been looking for!
David, since Vancouver is already taken care of, I’d be happy to check if any of my many former corporate comms colleagues in Calgary can show up and ask you about their appendage-challenged CEOs…again just for fun.
Don’t bother, Lorne. They’ll do it anyway!