by Tom Barritt| March 28, 2017

The story of diversity and inclusion is a people story – a story directed to, and about people with, identities, hopes, desires and dreams. It is also a story of language and aspirational ideas. So, how do we communicate the complex concepts of personal identity, unity, fairness and respect? What kind of place do we […]

by Tom Barritt| February 27, 2015

We hear predictions that social media will completely replace traditional broadcast news as the primary channel to reach important audiences. There may be some truth to that. Each day, social media and digital content wiggle their way further into every corner of our lives. Content shared socially can be simple, edgy, immediately accessible, and often […]

by Tom Barritt| July 29, 2013

The word “storytelling” is all the rage in the communications world. We’ve abandoned the time-honored tradition of “messaging” and switched to swapping stories with each other. The notion is simple. The public has rejected artificial messaging. They crave authentic stories with descriptive language and personal anecdotes. This evolution makes sense for many reasons, but comes […]

by Tom Barritt| January 2, 2013

As is often my habit, I was sitting in an airport lounge recently, involved in one of my favorite business-travel entertainments— watching cable news with no sound. The folks on the big screen are engaged in what is possibly the least desirable interview format for participants: the “Brady Bunch” format, with several talking heads shown […]

by Tom Barritt| October 4, 2012

We all want to be loved. That’s a universal truth and something that presidential candidates and all communicators need to consider. It’s a simple, human desire to hope that somebody out there cares about us. If Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s now infamous “47 percent” quote has any impact on the 2012 election it is this.  […]

by Tom Barritt| June 29, 2012

Try your luck at this business riddle. If you gather four people on a panel to speak on a common topic, what do you get? A) A lively exchanged of ideas? B) Useful insights from engaging speakers? C) A fist fight? D) A study in boredom? Too often, the answer is D, although C would […]