Services

Communications Planning

For those who aren’t in the communications field, it can be difficult to grasp the need for strategic communications planning. We communication folks toss around catch phrases like 'soundbites' and 'validators' without any thought as to how foreign those concepts may sound. Yet history tells us that a company or organization that plows ahead without a well planned and clear communications strategy will struggle to get their message across. Success relies on good communications. And good communications rarely occurs without planning.

Whether you are implementing a new policy and just need it to be accepted, or you're trying to sell a new product on the market, you need to have your case, your cause, your goal and your messages lined up and ready to roll. And you need to be prepared for anything that might go wrong.

A communications plan is a powerful tool. If you have one, your project will be more successful.

Speechwriting

Speeches, whether given by a politician behind a podium or a four-year-old on the verge of a tantrum, are the very cornerstone of communications. We love to write them and it shows.

Speechwriters are a different breed. We tend to be extroverted, confident, stubborn and nosey. And we tend to be a bit arrogant (just like our favourite animal, the Zebra). We know what needs to be said and how to say it. And we crave that little thrill of satisfaction that comes when we hear a politician , a president or an actor blurt out our words on national television.

Writing & Editing

Documents, reports, press releases, communications strategies, speeches... These are all common tools in business and the focus of communication consultants. They also have one very important shared requirement - the need for clear, straightforward, accurate language. It sounds like a 'no-brainer' but you'd be surprised how many would-be communicators struggle with basic writing.

As a writer, Andrea has often been told that she 'writes just the way she talks' and in fact, reading an email, human interest story or letter by Andrea isn’t much different than sitting across the table, conversing with her. Andrea is a rare individual who can bridge the gap between business/technical mumbo-jumbo and common language, translating simple concepts into the language techies need, and translating techie terms into the language the rest of us understand.

Everyone who works with Babelzebra is focused on writing words that are not only compelling, but also fit within the comfort zone of the intended audience.