By Marsha Hall, Senior Counselor

More rhythm in writing

Rhythm in writing can be as pleasing to the ear as lyrics set to music. We established this in the first blog on rhythmic writing and mentioned that we can adopt the techniques of fiction writers who are often adept at creating a lilting cadence within their pages.

In this blog, we will discuss techniques to craft sentences that seem to sing. While no set formula exists for creating rhythmic writing, the guidelines that follow can help advance your skills.

Longer sentences, shorter sentences—and everything in-between. Michele Pariza in “Three Tips to Improve Your Writing Rhythm” points out that in music, a steady beat is usually an admirable quality. In writing, however, it’s a deadly obstacle that slows the reader with jerky copy.

Writing that features a distinct rhythm often includes a combination of long, short and medium length sentences that establish a tempo that encourages the audience to keep on reading. While you may employ short sentences for emphasis, you will probably want to vary sentence length and avoid sentences that become too long and boring.

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By Marsha Hall, Senior Counselor

Creating rhythm in writing

Fans of the colorful musicals from the ’30s may recall this popular Gershwin song featured in Girl Crazy. The entire chorus follows:

            I got rhythm, I got music.

            I got my girl, who could ask for anything more.

Even if you don’t recall the upbeat music that accompanied these snappy lyrics, you must admit that the words themselves and the “beat” they establish create a rhythmic, lyrical quality. The words flow naturally, and they sound good to the ear-especially if you read them aloud.

Writing Copy that Sings
Now that the melody from this song is embedded in your mind and destined to repeat itself many times throughout the day, you may be asking, what does rhythm have to do with my job as a technical writer? The answer is, plenty!

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By Marsha Hall, Senior Counselor

Newsletters: does your audience read or toss them?

That’s the decision readers make every time they receive your newsletter or Ezine. What they decide will depend largely on two factors: the newsletter’s content and the quality of the writing.

Actually, there is no single or “right” way to write a newsletter or Ezine. Content and style will be determined by the communication piece’s audience and its purpose.

The newsletter you compile for a local hospital to encourage employee retention and boost morale may be light, chatty and personal. The newsletter that updates customers and potential customers about new high-tech products and services will likely be more serious and may have an educational tone.

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By Marsha Hall, Senior Counselor

Add a dash of flavor.

If you like to cook, you have probably followed recipes that include a dash of salt, pepper or another ingredient. While adding a dash of a salt can spice up a culinary creation, using a dash in your copy—when appropriate—can add flavor to your writing.

The dash as a grammatical element, however, can be tricky and is often misused and even overused. Following the guidelines below will help you decide whether a dash is right for your sentence.

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By Liz Sidor, Account Associate

New Dayton and Cleveland PR summer internships are available.

Are you a public relations student living in Cleveland or Dayton this summer? Consider spending your summer with Fahlgren Mortine. We are looking for two outstanding PR students — one to support our team in Dayton and one to assist the Edward Howard group in Cleveland.

If you are a rising public relations student and are at least a sophomore in college looking to learn more about life at an agency, send your resume and cover letter to careers@fahlgren.com. The deadline for submitting your information is Friday, April 30. We look forward to hearing from you and hope to work with you this summer.

Interested in getting a sneak peek at what it’s like to be an intern at Fahlgren Mortine? Join the Fahlgren Mortine PR Interns Alumni group on Facebook.

By Hartley Mikus, Account Executive

Three simple things your crazy event needs to be successful

Fireworks, explosions, skydiving, fire! Do those words get your attention? I bet they do more so than if I would have rattled off: speech, check presentation and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Am I right? If so, then you are like many others out there who want to be entertained.

So if you’re a fellow PR pro, you probably have several friends, family members and neighbors who think you are solely in the business of stunts, rocket packs and anything else that’s completely off the wall. Though event planning is just one of the many areas of expertise in a PR practitioner’s toolbox, pulling off a crazy, attention-getting event is usually no simple feat.

So what are the keys to successfully and strategically controlling chaos? Well since you didn’t take a class in college called How To Conduct A Guinness World Record Attempt, you have to learn as you go, but there are three key components that, if present, almost always make for a successful, entertaining event.

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By Kristan Leedy, Senior Counselor

The comma is king. 

Writing is hard work. Never mind being artful, or changing hearts and minds. Writing what you mean in a way your audience will understand is tough enough. One reason is that writers have lots of choices. There’s a whole language out there, and choosing precisely the right word can be as maddening as choosing your bath soap: Powder Fresh or Flowery? Antibacterial or sensitive? Exfoliating or moisturizing? Original formula — bingo! 

We also make choices about punctuation. If grammar can make us peevish, punctuation can drive us nuts. Consider the comma. 

The organic, friendly looks of this little mark are misleading. The comma is all-powerful when it comes to writing what we mean so that others can understand it. Indeed, an actual debate rages over the fate of the serial comma, which the AP Stylebook is accused of killing with the stroke of its dictum: 

 ”Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series: The flag is red, white and blue. He would nominate Tom, Dick or Harry.” 

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By Mark Berry, Associate Vice President

In a crisis, actions speak louder than words.

We live in a nation of second-guessers and back-seat drivers. He should have punted. Bad song choice. What was he thinking? Whatever the decision, we knew the right one all along.

Take Tiger Woods for example. When it comes to Tiger, everyone is a public relations expert. We’ve had some lively debates on the subject in our office. I’ve disagreed with Tiger’s team virtually every step of the way, but some colleagues I respect feel differently. Reasonable people can disagree.

You will not find that same difference of opinion when it comes to this recent list of the worst PR disasters in corporate history. Disaster is a strong word but perfectly appropriate for this group, which may have been responsible for $14 billion in losses and more than 28,000 deaths. Toyota, thanks to its extended struggle to control the sudden acceleration story, is the newest member of this exclusive — and infamous — club. Membership dues, we learned this week, start at $16.4 million.

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By Jenny Fuerst, Director, Corporate Communications

Acquisition Doubles the Firm’s Digital Capacity

Today, Fahlgren announces that we’re acquiring GRIP Technology, a leading Web design and technology development firm located in Columbus. Its services include Web application development, Web site design and development, e-commerce, e-mail marketing, intranets, extranets, search engine optimization and marketing, and strategic Web consulting. GRIP is co-owned by Scott Sanders, Dustin Leggans and Bill Kiefaber.

“It’s no secret that the online world is growing, and our clients are asking for more and more digital work from us every day. It’s an integrated part of virtually every campaign we create,” said Neil Mortine, Fahlgren, Inc. president and CEO. “We are thrilled to be able to double our capacity in this area. GRIP is a natural fit as they complement our team, and we already have a great working relationship. We’ve been sharing clients and projects with them for more than two years. We’re impressed with their offering and client service and delighted to welcome them to the Fahlgren family.”

“Our business model is very client-centric,” said Scott Sanders, founder and president of GRIP and the new leader of Fahlgren Digital. “When I founded GRIP in 2002, I set out to develop a digital agency that was committed to helping its clients reach their business objectives, not just build great Web sites. Technology is only a tool, one part of the equation. It’s our goal to offer more than just great online creative and coding; we provide solutions to meet business objectives. Joining forces with Fahlgren, which shares the same client-centric business model, we can now offer our clients the full support of a leading, independent full-service agency.”

 For more details, check out the news release.

By Ann Marcum, Senior Account Specialist

Companies look to repeat hires to grow business.

Not many people leave an employer and have (or even want) the chance to return in a few years with an expanded perspective and more specialized skills, but I’m one of a handful of so-called ‘boomerang’ employees at Fahlgren Mortine. 

It may sound like an odd path, but rehiring former employees is quickly becoming a trend. A recent survey revealed that 40 percent of employers plan to rehire ‘boomerang’ employees. The reason is three-fold: 

1. Former associates know the business, so training time and costs are reduced. 

2. Ideally, these associates have proven that they mesh well with the office culture, eliminating the question of “fit.” 

3. Having worked in a new environment and/or industry, they bring new skills and a fresh perspective to the game. 

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