Master Media Engagement
May 9th, 2016
Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re in no danger of being characterized as a “rent-a-gob”. That’s the term CBC radio host, Robyn Bresnahan laughingly used last week to describe the expert source who’s willing to talk about anything, regardless of how distant the topic is from his professional background. The women Informed Opinions typically […]
read more...How prepared are you for a live radio or TV interview?
Improve your Writing
April 5th, 2015
It could be a stressful exercise. But by the time we force our commentary writing workshop participants into allowing others in the room to vote on the engagement capacity of their opening sentences, they’ve already laughed and commiserated enough that the “thumbs down” votes don’t feel personal. And the collective intelligence of the colleagues present invariably serves up a […]
read more...How to engage readers from the first sentence — and repurpose your content, too
Improve your Writing
February 11th, 2014
Up until this week, Rob Ford’s life experience — elected office, crack cocaine, domestic abuse — had little intersection with mine. But hearing his contention that he’d been “profiled” for the jaywalking ticket he received while in BC took me back. I felt badly for Mr. Ford that he wasn’t spotted by the Vancouver motorcycle […]
read more...Making smart advice irresistible
Master Media Engagement
January 31st, 2013
Guilt didn’t play a big role in my upbringing: I was never discouraged from having sex in order to prevent my mother from having a heart attack, nor was I warned to do well in school to compensate for any sacrifices my parents suffered in raising me. So it comes as a surprise to me […]
read more...The Motivational Power of Guilt
Improve your Writing
January 19th, 2013
… of the news story, that is. It’s a great strategy to increase your likelihood of publication: if you know that a research report, government announcement or legal decision is about to be released, and your informed opinion about the issue can offer insightful context and analysis, contacting op ed page editors in advance of […]
read more...Getting Ahead
Our Advocacy Work
December 19th, 2012
The confession made by the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies doubled as both a great tip and the best laugh of the day. Last week during one of three Informed Opinions workshops I delivered in Winnipeg (thank you, Jane Ursel, director of RESOLVE and a professor at the University of Manitoba), a discussion broke out […]
read more...WTF???
Improve your Writing
July 29th, 2012
Whether you’re picked last for the ball team, get rebuffed on the first date, or fail to elicit a positive response from an editor, rejection stinks. That’s why Informed Opinions offers online editing feedback (free to our workshop participants, but available for a fee to others). We’ve found that many aspiring op ed writers – […]
read more...Most Common Errors Made by Aspiring Op Ed Writers – part 1
Master Media Engagement
June 9th, 2012
“I’m happy to try to help you.” These are the words I’m now recommending women train themselves to utter when reached by a journalist looking for context to a story. Although the default response for many remains “I’m not the best person.” … the truth is — as I’ve discussed before in this blog — […]
read more...Getting to “yes”
Improve your Writing
May 26th, 2012
In the middle of delivering an op ed writing workshop recently to a very engaged group of United Way staff and volunteers from across Ontario (organized through Sean Moore‘s fabulous Advocacy School initiative) I was reminded again of the value of a second pair of eyes. It’s not that I don’t know this already: even […]
read more...Think “outcome” when crafting an op ed
