Storytelling and Why it Matters

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

Just a quick post, today is a mix of self-indulgence and indulging others. Our usual morning dog walk with its regular encounter with doggy pals and their owners is to be followed by storytelling and a Pilates class. Let me tell you about the storytelling.

We All Have A Story To Tell

One of my dog walking pals is an old boy who has a story to tell, but no means to tell it. Enter, Nicola! We have chatted for years about his experiences as an evacuee during World War II. It has long been a dream of mine to be able to preserve, and share stories that would otherwise be unheard, fading to nothingness as their owners disappear. This dear old friend has memories within that will be lost and forgotten unless they reach a page somewhere. That process has begun.

Stiff Upper Lip

Armed with my laptop, I spent a first morning with Andrew and Fluff, his faithful Yorkshire Terrier. Andrew’s mind came alive as memory triggered memory, my spreadsheet filled quickly. It struck me that this frightened little boy who had been force-fed sprouts had just ‘got on with it’ and after the war, life carried on. There was no therapy, no counselling, he and thousands like him were never encouraged to talk about the profound effect these experiences had. He has kept it within.

Evacuees World War II Storytelling Content Writer My Words Work For You

‘Every child with a story to tell’ Image credit: Diary of an A level Student

Andrew is not getting any younger, he is sometimes a bit confused, but he is great company and I am loving the chance to unearth the memories that lie within him, and give them a voice at last. Andrew, meanwhile, is most amused at the thought of becoming ‘famous’ in the village magazine.

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The Changing Face of Retail

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

And so the news was announced yesterday that Cambridge was to lose its Clowns. Clowns is a Cambridge institution, for over 30 years, families, friends, academics and students have frequented this quirky, independent café in King Street. Cambridge will be losing thousands of smiles, a thousand intimate moments between would-be lovers, thousands of memories that will never be made. The gregarious Italian family that have welcomed every single customer with a smile and fed, watered and nurtured locals and tourists alike, will lose their livelihood.

Clowns Cafe Cambridge Small Business Support My Words Wok For You

Farewell to a Cambridge Institution Image credit: Flickr

Send off the Clowns

So Clowns, like most of the property in cambridge, is owned by one of the colleges, Christ’s College in this case.  The rent will be bordering on ridiculous and increasingly impossible for an independent to achieve. The changes in the retail landscape of Cambridge have been far from subtle, independent businesses are ‘dropping like flies’ while the giants with budgets to match, are fast becoming the face of Cambridge.

Use it, or Lose it

It’s my fault. Until a year ago, I found myself working in Cambridge for a client, I went in almost every day, and I found myself in Clowns on more than one occasion. I now have little need to venture in, Clowns haven’t had my custom for over a year. Yet now I complain. If I, and other shocked residents of this great city, want to keep these wonderful businesses that make Cambridge the jewel it should be, we need to support them. We need to go, walk right through the door, order a coffee, stay for lunch, and leave a tip for the wonderful service that has made them stand out from anything you would experience in Starbucks, Cafe Nero or Costa.

USP

As a teenager, I would sometimes meet my mother in Clowns, she worked in King Street many moons ago. I was overwhelmed at the friendliness of the ‘girls’, their fabulous Italian accents, their amazing make up and their memories, they remembered you and all about you…Has that ever happened to you as you walked in to Costa?

To the Clowns family, who are now embarking on a journey of a different kind, I wish you well, thank you for the memories.

I do try not to ‘go on’ but I have more musings on the topic of small businesses surviving in this post.

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The Importance of Being Learned

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

As I snuggled up for storytime with my great niece today, we entered the world of Miffy. It was Miffy’s birthday, Miffy donned her pretty dress with daisies on and was politely grateful for the ‘gay parcels’ that awaited her. Thousands of children have been part of Miffy’s magic and enjoyed her birthday; generations past would have only thought of the bright colours as they read about the ‘gay parcels’, how language evolves!

Miffy Children's Book Storyteller Content Writer My Words Work For You

Evolving language

 

Storytelling Magic

We talked about the words and the sounds, I pointed to words as we read, my beautiful (great) niece soaked it up like the sponge Miffy washed with on page one. It wasn’t about being pushy, ‘hot-housing’ her to propel her ahead of her peers at nursery school. It was about a journey of discovery that we took together. Nestled in my arms we bonded a little bit more over this magical shared experience, Pages were turned back and forth to re-live Miffy’s day and the last page was met with ‘again’, twice, from this delighted child.

Storytelling child listening to Miffy Literacy Content Writer My Words Work For You

The magic of story-time, vital for literacy

The Power of Being Literate

Today the news that sales of actual books rose by 8% last year accompanied by a 4% fall in sales of ebooks is heart-warming. I have no idea what my little protégé will become when she is older; my hope is, whatever she wants to be. You see, if she has been nurtured, guided and given the opportunity to discover the joy of reading, she will develop the ability to read and understand anything she chooses to, and to understand texts that are compulsory reading. Perhaps more importantly, she will be able to voice the wonderful, creative and unique ideas that spring from her mind and share them eloquently with the world. What more can one give to a child?

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Work-Life, Balanced?

Posted on April 23, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

When I left school, the received wisdom was that one should try to stay in one’s job as long as possible. By the time I left university, there had been a definite shift; I heard comments from my peers along the lines of, ‘I’ve been with this company over a year now, it’s time to start looking around’. What is de rigeur now? For me, I am limited first and foremost, by me.

To clarify, I am very lucky, I know this. I work from home, I am able to choose clients I love working with, I choose my hours, I love my work…but something is missing, an extra dimension. I read an article today on women who reached ‘a certain age’ and completely changed their lives, from vicar to stand-up comedienne, from business owner to florist etc. I don’t want to do that, I love writing content, but I do want to find an additional use for my words that is enjoyable, and benefits society. I need to make a positive impact in the world.

Any Suggestions?

My children have grown up, now is surely ‘my time?’ If I were to follow my dream I would launch the business idea I have sat on for the past 40 years but found myriad reasons for why it’s not a ‘good time’ (OK I am scared, ridiculous because I know it’s ‘got legs’). Alternatively, there’s the dream of working in a monkey sanctuary in some far off place, there’s always that. I have acquired skills in the last few years, sadly my skills aren’t particularly useful to monkeys. Perhaps that’s something I can do once I have retired from ‘official’ work. In the mean-time, we have adopted Silvestre, an orphaned orangutan. Ready? Here he is…

  • Silvestre orphaned orangutan from Monkey World
We owe it to wildlife to be better than this, well done Monkey World, Dorset for all you do

Follow Your Dreams

If you were to follow your dreams, where would you be? What would you be doing? If you don’t do it, will you look back and wish you had? ‘What if?’ Which is worse? Failure, or failure to try? In an ideal work-life balance, we all have time to do what we love, and love what we do. Life isn’t always ideal, but we can take positive steps to make our lives (and those of the people around us), more enjoyable and rewarding.

Positive Changes

Clearly, if you are enjoying your work you’ll feel happier and perform better; life improves. In your ideal work-life balance, what would your life be? What changes could you make easily to bring you closer to that goal? If you do feel a change is required…At work this week, could you make three changes that improve your work life?

I would love to hear from you, human stories are often the most inspiring of all.

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How Attractive is Your USP?

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

Last weekend we had a surprise visit from my daughter. Embarking on her final term of a BA at The University of Nottingham and President of Enactus Nottingham, she didn’t have the time to come home. I was delighted to see her smiling (if exhausted) face at my window as I typed.

It quickly became apparent how tired she was, we kept finding her in ‘sleepy heaps’, curled over a book in various locations in the house. Apart from the odd dog walk and visit to see grandparents, we let her sleep, and read.

We were all too soon driving her back to her student digs, taking her out to lunch with her grandparents in tow. She looked better than she did when she arrived, thankfully. The next morning I received a text asking me to post a book she had left, she desperately needed it for an essay. I think I can safely say this has happened every visit, ho hum. Our search through hundreds of books looking for a ‘small, old and cream coloured’ one left us empty-handed (my bet is it is in her bag somewhere). In desperation, I resorted to Amazon at 11pm last night, I know, I hate myself for it. This morning I received a thank you text from a very happy daughter, just hours after ordering.

Small Business Vs The Big Guys

How do small businesses compete? Up against the giants who seem to have every advantage, fair and unfair, how do the little guys attract customers when pitched against that level of faceless but hyper-efficient service?

Look around at businesses that are succeeding, what is their USP? What makes anybody choose them over a giant that can have your product on your doorstep within hours? Maybe it is their story that attracts you. Is their story being told clearly in every thing that they do? From the first contact to the last, what was memorable? What stuck in your mind? What made them stand out?

Tell The Story of Your Business

Everybody has a story to tell, the same is true of every business. In your business (if you work in one), what are you proud of?   What is unique about it? What is your ‘Why’? (See Simon Sinek’s brilliant TED Talk) What would make customers choose you? And now we come to the crux, are you telling your customers? Are you telling them well?

Tell your story and tell it well; you deserve to be heard.

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Want success? Get Some Sleep!

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

Prepare yourself, I am about to have a rant!

Over the years I have come across business mentors, articles, posts on social media etc. all extolling the virtues of getting up at the crack of dawn and working a ridiculous amount of hours to guarantee success. The results I have seen were utter carnage! Why don’t these people stop and think? I’m the first to admit I’m not a morning person, but I am a person who possesses common sense; to function well we all need sleep, and plenty of it!

I was inspired to write this post when reading Carol Roth’s insightful article in The Entrepeneur this week. In it, highly successful people like Paul Koger, Owner of FoxyTrades, are quoted on their views on sleep and productivity, “Many successful people have been promoting lack of sleep, getting up early and working crazy hours, while it is actually more important to recognize what works for you and optimise workflow accordingly.”  He’s right.

Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Productivity

I could draw on my BSc in Anatomy and Human Biology here and bore you with facts and figures illustrating the physical and physiological effects of continuous sleep deprivation, but I think you know the deal. I have watched struggling business owners under the mesmerising spell of business mentors who have convinced them to work a hundred hours a week, getting up at 5am in order to grow their business. The results?

  • Exhaustion
  • Poor decision making
  • Lack of sound judgement
  • Mistakes
  • Bad temper and its inevitable consequences
  • Deterioration of mental and physical health

More Sleep = More Productivity

You know yourself, after a good night’s sleep you are on top of the world. You can meet whatever your day throws at you with a clear mind, sagacity, sound rationale and good humour. Body and mind function well and you are productive. You’ll achieve significantly better results in a shorter period of time if your mental health is in good shape.

The Evidence

I could cite so many studies  at this point, I don’t think I need to, we all know sleep is important, but for those who like stats, Burton, Chen, Schultz, Alyssa and Yi’s study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine last month sums it up nicely, the ‘Association between employee sleep with workplace health and economic outcomes’. Their findings:

“A strong U-shaped relationship between health care costs, short-term disability, absenteeism, and presenteeism (on-the-job work loss) and the hours of sleep was found among employees. The nadir of the “U” occurs for 7 or 8 hours of sleep per night.”

And Finally…

At the risk of sounding clichéd, work and money are not the be all and end all, they just aren’t. If you are mentally and physically unable to enjoy the money you have made, what was the point?

In the words of Harold Kushner,

“No-one ever said on their death-bed, I wish I’d spent more time at the office.”

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Online Shopping, Not Always the Way Forward?

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

I am sitting here writing this blog post with a cushion wedged behind my aching back. We’ve been gardening all day, for hours. Well OK, we had a little break. After what felt like days of digging, moving plants, levelling ground, we thought of an excuse to go to a garden centre, we definitely needed stuff. Honestly, the prospect of coffee and cake played a part in the decision making process.

Searching for something specific

To make it feel more of a trip out, and to provide more respite from the digging, we chose a garden centre further away from home. I had an ulterior motive, I have been searching for a specific plant and the garden centres near to home had failed to come up with the goods. Years ago my mother handed me a slip of paper with a plant name on it, she too, has been searching for the plant for years. Eragnostis trichodes (Sand Lovegrass), it transpires, is somewhat elusive. Today’s was the fourth garden centre in a month to say they had never heard of it.

Eragnostis trichodes Online or small business support My Words Work For You

The quest for Eragnostis, my mother is worth it! Image credit: Santa Fe Botanical Garden

Life is short, I am busy. So, I have options:

  1. Disappoint my mother (not an option, I just wanted to have three points)
  2. Spend more of my time in garden centres
  3. Search online

Let’s cut to the chase here, I am not considering option 1, and option 2 isn’t particularly attractive, notwithstanding the prospect of coffee and cake, so that leaves option 3, online shopping. Is that bad?

Online Shopping

I have spent years supporting small businesses, championing their USPs while lamenting how the rise of online shopping has adversely affected so many small businesses. It is true, online shopping has had a huge impact, many small businesses have been washed away in the tidal wave. However, a few have ridden the crest, enjoying the view, and the visibility, ‘good job’! It’s a full time task, small business owners can’t afford to take their eye off the ball or they can find themselves up a well known creek without a paddle. The success one business I worked with enjoyed was largely attributable to the fact I was ‘on it’ from morning until night, I constantly tweaked and added to the online offering.

Online or Bricks and Clicks?

For me, for this particular quest, I am going to resort to online shopping. It isn’t ideal when shopping for botanical specimens, I want it to be in good shape when it arrives. Of course, I would prefer to support my local garden centre, a family run business with knowledgeable, friendly staff and I have watched them being dwarfed by industry giants over the years, but the fact is, they don’t stock Eragnostis trichodes. I will always strive to support small businesses, professionally and personally, but this time, online was the only real solution.

UPDATE

I researched online to locate the plant, and it transpired one of the few listed stockists in the UK was Beth Chatto’s Garden in Essex. I happened to be going there the following Saturday with a group of friends. The plant is now in my mother’s garden. Hurrah!

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9 Simple Steps to Content Writing

Posted on April 13, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

So clearly, perfection is the ideal, the goal we all dream of, a perfectly well written piece that engages, helps and entertains our target audience. But this is real life, we have a business to run/work to do/life to live, so perhaps we have to aim for something a little more achievable. Today I have some work to do for a client that will involve a lot of reading, finding information and presenting it in a usable format, no blank page involved, this is good!

Writing Hurdles

Before I begin, I thought I would put ‘pen to paper’ on here and share more musings about the writing process. The blank page is the worst, it causes delays, induces fears that have no place and cripples creativity. For me, I get past the blank page stage with a mind map, ideas thrown on a page, copied notes from research materials, all with the premise that there are no rights and wrongs at this stage, it is liberating. From that platform springs creativity and ideas and structure can follow.

When Content Writing is a Tricky Business

If one writes with the knowledge that nothing is permanent, all can be fine-tuned, the process is far smoother. As a content writer, I am often called upon to write content I know little about, or worse, have little interest in. Taking pleasure in research, seeking out key information, learning and understanding then creating a piece of writing that is unique, relevant to the target audience and will be useful for years to come is a useful ‘driver’.

Content Writing in Nine Steps

Keep the big picture at the forefront of your mind. Write the aims/key points at the top of the page. Success is achieving those aims in a great piece of writing.

  1. Throw ideas/facts onto your page – Enjoy this bit
  2. Group related ideas together
  3. Bearing in mind the ideas you have, write down a structure to tell the story
  4. Create original, unique sentences to tell the story
  5. Get to the end
  6. Read it again
  7. Edit
  8. Walk away and do something different
  9. Return with a fresh mind, and improve, improve, improve.

I’m off to do some work. Later I’ll come back and check and improve this article!

Check out the other posts in my Blog, hopefully they are helpful to you.

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Content Writing – It’s Easier With a Clear Mind

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

Businesses are competing with each other for the top spot, for customers and for exposure. To stay ahead, you need to be on top form. The state of our mental health affects everything we do. As important as it is to care for and nourish our bodies with exercise, good food and water, your mind is of equal importance.

I could choose to roll out of bed, shovel some breakfast in to my mouth and crack on to my work in front of a screen. I choose not to, I choose to begin my day with meditation, a walk with the dogs in the fresh air, appreciating my surroundings then beginning my writing with a clear mind and fresh approach. My clients benefit as much as I do as the work I produce is of a far better quality.

Speaking From Experience

Working with one business owner in the past, alongside my content writing role, I encouraged (nagged) him to take care of himself, physically and mentally, it was so important. I nagged him into joining a boot camp and signing up for meditation, it worked at the time for him and for all around him. The business had a small team and we all needed to be fit and well; there was lots to be done.

Meditation

Taking 5-10 minutes out of your day for meditation, or simply to clear your mind, strengthens you to be able to face difficulties with sagacity and a clear view. You don’t need to be sitting in a park in traditional pose, you simply need some peace around to focus; it takes practice. I’ve just signed up for Headspace, there are many other versions out there for little or no cost The Secret Garden is another great example. The cost of signing up is probably less than the money you will make in your first excellent decision.

Benefits of Meditation

  1. Clearer thought processes
  2. More positive mindset
  3. Increased understanding
  4. Better decision making
  5. Improved quality of life

Head with cogs Clear thinking content writing My Words Work For You

Nourish Your Mind For Best Performance

In the brilliantly written words of Max Ehrmann,

“With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.”

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Need More Structure? Website Wednesday!

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

Get Your Business On Rails – With Felt-Tip Pens

When a business I worked with needed more focus and direction, I structured the week. Every task was included and prioritised. there was no escape, nothing and no-one could slip through the net!  The idea was to increase everybody’s understanding of:

  • What needed to be done
  • How frequently it needed doing
  • When to do it

The aim was to keep everybody focused on goals and for the business to be moving towards them.

The Problem

Working in a small business is exciting and demanding, everybody needs to pull more than their weight. There are so many pulls on your time, myriad distractions, always a more appealing task grabbing your attention. In this particular business, it was far too easy for people to get distracted by anything ‘sparkly’; whole days could pass with very little being achieved. It needed to be put on the rails, and kept there.

The aims:

  • More focus
  • Higher achievement
  • Increased understanding of what needed to be done
  • Fewer things ‘slipping through the net’
  • The owner could drive the business forward

The Solution

After a brainstorm with the owner I had a loooong list of every task that needed to happen. Next step, I created a rather lovely, colour–coded chart to show the frequency of each task: Daily, Weekly, Monthly or ‘One-off’ and who was responsible. Exciting stuff huh?! I’ll dig out the photo at some point.

From there, I created a structured week. With a penchant for alliteration it went something like this…Mondays = ‘Marketing Day’, Wednesdays  = ‘Website’, Fridays = Facebook. Tuesdays and Thursdays were ear-marked for all remaining tasks needed to successfully keep the business ticking over: admin, accounts, ordering, stock control etc. The owner knew his responsibilities and exactly what needed to happen; every member of the team knew.

The Results

The week was planned and organised, everybody was clear about responsibilities. No tasks should be forgotten, all mission critical tasks should get done. The business could be driven forward on its rails in the right direction. It was exactly what the business needed at the time. Could yours benefit from a similar process? I have plenty of felt tips.

Felt tip pens Business Mentor, Content Marketing My Words Work For You

Your way forward, in glorious technicolour Image credit: Gs4 Security

See my Blog post on Goal Setting 

Contact Me to find out more.

(c) Copyright Nicola Dunklin, My Words Work For You

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