At Omeda’s OX7 meeting in Chicago, Adam Ryan from Workweek gave a talk on 5 pillars of trust. They are …
- Transparency
- Credibility
- Habitual product
- Relevant language
- Specificity
My notes from his talk are rather sketchy, so I don’t know how much of what I’m going to say reflects Ryan’s views and how much is my interpretation, but here you go.
Under Transparency, I wrote down “say the thing you want to say.” For example, if you have a bias on a particular issue, own up to it. Don’t pretend you’re an objective, independent observer if you’re not. You’re not fooling anybody, and you’re going to cause unnecessary churn over it.
Having a point of view isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Some people want to hear things from a particular point of view. But hiding your bias, or pretending you don’t have one, will come back to bite you. The worst situation is when you have a bias and you don’t even realize it.
Credibility means you know what you’re talking about and you don’t cut corners. Invest what it takes to have genuine expertise. Ryan’s example was that you’re better off with the experienced reporter. You might be able to hire two 2nd year reporters at $50K, but you’re better off with one experienced reporter at $100K.
Jacob Donnelly from A Media Operator pushed back against that, pointing out that Woodward and Bernstein were young reporters – but they were the exception rather than the rule.
Adam said the credibility issue has changed over time. For example, people no longer think “don’t listen to him, he’s wearing sneakers.” Some of the most successful execs in the world walk around looking like bums. On the other hand, a fellow conference attendee said “some people get to 40 with standards, some don’t.”
Habitual product has a time component and a style component. On the time side, you should strive to publish on a regular cadence. On the style side, you should stick to certain categories, and use the same words and phrases. Don’t be Walter Cronkite one day and Bill Maher another. You might also have a particular sign off, or signature. Paul Harvey ended his broadcast with “and now you know the rest of the story.” Develop your own style and stick to it.
Relevant language means you should speak the language of your audience.
Many communities have a unique vocabulary, or certain phrases that they use. If you use a word incorrectly, or don’t understand how to use a phrase, it marks you as an outsider. As an example, in Star Trek 4 – that’s the funny one with the whales – somebody called Captain Kirk a dumb ass, and he replied “double dumb ass on you.”
You have to know your audience – not only how they speak, but sometimes even the rhythm and cadence of their schedule. I learned this the hard way when I tried to do a telemarketing campaign for a natural gas marketing book during bid week. It was a catastrophe.
If you’re writing for farmers, or horse owners, or doctors, or deacons, you need to know what their lives are like and how they speak.
Specificity could mean “find a niche,” or it could mean “be precise.” Be careful in what you say, and make sure you’re accurate and precise in your language. People aren’t paying you for vague generalities. “Someone will win the presidential election” is accurate, but not very precise, and not very helpful.
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