I love a well-told story as much as the next person, but you know what bothers me? When there’s no moral to the story. Don’t get me wrong. When I’m sitting and having a cup of coffee with a friend who is telling a story to me, I don’t demand to know the moral of the story… although it would be nice. In the professional world I come from, knowing the moral of a story is more than just nice. It’s necessary.
I learned how important it is to articulate the message behind a story through my journal writing. When I started out as a professional speaker, I thought it might be smart to keep a record of every trip I took, and the stories that happen when I’m on the road.
So, over thirty years ago, I did just that. For decades, I never went back to read a single word of it. I thought to myself, “I’ll write it, but I’m never going look at it until I retire! That way I won’t be tempted to rewrite history.” Genius… so I thought.
Pretty good decision, right? Wrong. I missed out on the most important parts of the stories I was writing. By methodically not looking over what I was writing, I was capturing stories, but I wasn’t taking the next step, and learning from those stories. I was failing my audience, which in this case, was me.
This mistake doesn’t just relate to the stories we tell ourselves. When you’re a professional speaker, if you tell a story without clearly identifying the reason you told it and what you want your audience to learn from it, you fail your audience. The first time it happens; you’ll clearly see the confusion on the faces of your audience members when you fail to identify the message. The second time it happens; you’ll see boredom and indifference. That’s because people want more than just a good story; they want to hear a good message.
Do you see a pattern here? No matter who your audience might be, when you tell a story and you make sure the moral of the story is clearly articulated, it will appeal to whomever is listening to you. That being the case, why wouldn’t this rule apply to a blog?
When I first learned about blogs, I wanted no part of them. I liked the online delivery mechanism behind blogs, but I often felt that the blogs I was reading didn’t have any relevance for me. Too often, I was left asking myself, “So what?” Articles typically provide a message, but they lack the delivery element in blogs. Usually, articles aren’t as short and punchy as a blog. I wanted to tell a short, punchy story, and make sure that story provided a message.
So, sixteen years ago, I decided to create my own form of blog. I invented my own word for what I was trying to do; and I trademarked it. After a little bit of legal assistance, I became the proud father of the word Blarticle®; pronounced blahr-ti-kuh-l. Webster’s Dictionary doesn’t recognize it as a word… yet, but the Urban Dictionary does!
BLArticle® noun
: a hybrid between a blog and an article – a concise, impactful piece of writing that delivers meaningful insights in a way that is both engaging and educational – in 750 words or less.
For the record, I didn’t trademark the word BLArticle® to keep people from using it. I just didn’t want to spend decades creating this version of writing, only to have another company trademark the word and force me to stop using it. I invite you to use the word BLArticle®, and join me in telling some great stories, with great morals to the stories – in 750 words or less!
And now that you know the story behind this hybrid portion of writing, I’m proud to announce that I’m currently curating some of the best BLArticles® I’ve written into a book. I have over 400 BLArticles® to choose from, so I’m selecting the best of the best. Stay tuned, because there’s more to come regarding this exciting announcement!
What do you get when combine energy, enthusiasm… and great content? You get a “Pocket Sized Pep Talk,” and there are now over 275 of them! Tune in and you’ll hear a collection of conversations, interviews, and even some BLArticles® that are sure to teach, motivate, inspire, and oh yes; entertain! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pocket-sized-pep-talks/id1497772972
If you follow me on LinkedIn, and I sure hope you do, https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-jolles-8a459b12/ I recently started a newsletter! It’s called, “When Every Word Matters,” a biweekly dose of tips, tactics, and techniques to boost your communication game!