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E-ssential
Message # 031:
How many bananas do you have?
...or, what my bread machine taught me about creating a compelling framework for books, articles, speeches, methodologies and other forms of intellectual property!
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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Six Thinking Hats. The Five Love Languages. The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.
The list goes on.
Have you ever wondered why so many successful books, articles and speeches have titles or subtitles that use the ‘bananas’ approach – they incorporate a number and a thing?
Developing your own set of bananas allows you to create a powerful framework around your own intellectual property – a framework you can brand, create products around, and finally establish a body of knowledge that allows you to leverage your expertise beyond your hourly rate.
On the receiving end of the communication, the neat, little numbered structure gives your readers and listeners something specific to wrap their heads around. Bottom line: it helps them understand what you do, how you do it and why they should pay attention. Perhaps that’s why this style of title has been around since, say, The Ten Commandments!
There are three types of bananas that you can create for your book, speech, sales presentation and even your everyday conversation. I learned about all three when I read the instruction booklet for my bread machine.
To reach bread making stardom, it told me, there were three guidelines I had to follow very, very carefully: I had to make sure I used the exact set of ingredients in the recipes; I had follow a precise sequence of steps; and, I had to adhere to an extremely important set of principles -- such as freshness, timeliness and cleanliness.
Hmmm.
Your bananas can refer to the steps in your process, the key principles for a successful outcome in your area of expertise, or the actual ingredients in your comprehensive solution.
This doesn't just apply to books and articles. You'll find this approach equally powerful for sales letters, presentations, speeches, proposals and even everyday conversation. Once you get used to using them, you'll begin to see how almost everything in the world can be simplified and communicated more powerfully this way.
And that's when you'll be grinning to yourself, thinking, 'these bananas are great!' So, how many bananas do you have?
Warmly,
Who is Michel Neray and What's The Essential Message?
The Essential Message is about discovering your true differentiation and then learning how to communicate it in the most compelling way. But higher sales, greater alignment of sales and marketing and a stronger brand position aren't the only reasons why so many independent professionals, entrepreneurs and emerging companies rave about The Essential Message.
Clients also say that one of the biggest advantages of the Essential Message approach is how it helps them gain the confidence, momentum and resilience that can only come from being absolutely clear about their strengths and unique difference – as companies and as individuals.
The Essential Message was created by Michel Neray based on 25 years as an award-winning copywriter, an entrepreneur, a tradeshow pitchman and a senior sales and marketing executive. (He also rides motorcycles, does whitewater canoeing, and has his 2nd degree black belt in karate.)
For information about our corporate facilitation, copywriting and consulting services, or booking Michel to speak at your conference, please call 416 534-4766 or link to www.EssentialMessage.com.
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