It's all her fault.
And I love her for it.
Ever have one of those teachers?
You know the ones.
In the moment, they drive you nuts, but after the buffer of time, you finally realize the brilliance of their techniques.
That's my 8th grade English teacher, Mrs. Carolyn Farren.
Mrs. Farren was that teacher every 7th grader feared getting.
She had a rep for being tough. Drill seageant-esque. Unwilling to put up with the BS and excuses that defined 7th grade for me and so many others.
So it's mid-August before 8th grade.
I get my classes, and there she is.
I was terrified.
I'd never met her, but had seen her in the halls. She wasn't tall. Kinda slight, in fact. She wore her jet-black hair high and tight, not a crew cut, but damn if it didn't feel that way.
On the first day of 8th grade English we all learned what the year would be, right from the start.
"Who can tell me what questions an adverb answers?"
No greeting. No asking us to settle down. Just straight to the point...
Her question was met with silence, which went on for an uncomfortable extra few beats.
It didn't phase Mrs. Farren, who seem to revel in our WTF-is-going-on-here discomfort. Then, without asking again, she belted it out at the top of her lungs:
HOW, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW OFTEN, TO WHAT EXTENT.
AGAIN!
HOW, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW OFTEN, TO WHAT EXTENT.
AGAIN!!
HOW, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW OFTEN, TO WHAT EXTENT.
AGAIN!!!
By the third go, half the class was yelling with her.
By the fifth, we all were.
And that's how 8th grade English started every day at Heritage Junior High School. Ten full minutes of rote repetition, focused on a single grammar foundation.
Sometimes it was the adverb questions.
Sometimes it was the linking verbs.
Sometimes it was nouns or verbs or objects.
Every time, it was some grammar rule she wanted us to get through our thick, 13-year-old skulls.
We all hated it.
And, by the time June rolled around and we were leaving Mrs. Farren for good, we all realized something.
We were better at English because of on thing.
Her.
You know something? At the core of a great message...one that's perfectly understood, grabbing attention and consistently moving an audience to act...lies a lesson from Mrs. Farren and her 8th grade English class at Heritage Junior High.
GET TO THE ROOT!
This means first, break down what you wanna say into the core components of English grammar.
SUBJECT: WHO OR WHAT?
VERB: DOES WHAT?
OBJECT: TO WHOM OR WHAT?
ADJECTIVE: WHICH ONE? WHAT KIND? HOW MANY?
ADVERB: HOW, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW OFTEN, TO WHAT EXTENT? (again!)
To design messaging that consistently moves the right people to take action, there's one core component that has an oversized effect.
The VERB.
To start down the path toward a killer message, make your root verb a strong one.
Let it stand in its own power and never cede control to the object.
Weak verbs like help, enable, and allow give power away.
They make your product secondary to the action.
They diminish impact:
[PRODUCT] helps sales teams qualify leads faster
[COACH] enables executives to build high-performing teams.
[CONSULTANT] allows brands to increase their social media engagement.
There's a much stronger approach.
Flip the message.
Put your audience in control from the get go.
Sales teams qualify leads faster with [PRODUCT].
Executives build high-performing teams with [COACH].
Brands increase social media engagement with [CONSULTANT].
By flipping the message, you give your audience the power position while still making what you sell key to their success.
See the difference?
All that from a five-foot-three powerhouse of a teacher.
Sadly, Carolyn Farren passed away on November 25, 2004.
I never got to thank her in person, but I use what I learned from her every single day.
Break things down to their innermost parts, and crafting something exceptional becomes so much easier.
Thanks, Mrs. Farren.
Love,
ZACH with the BLACK sneakers.
🤘👊💥😎
