My Story: From Wasting Away in BS-laden, Jargonitaville to Keeping it Human

I was a “get-it-done” executive working in Corporate America – in Silicon Valley (if you’ve seen the HBO show, much of the depictions are comically true!). I had a high-powered job creating marketing that even I did not want to read, although management insisted. “We have game-changing, breakthrough technology that is shifting paradigms, and reframing KPIs….” If *I* didn’t want to read this stuff, imagine what customers thought! This is a special kind of torture, and I’m sure there is a layer in Dante’s Inferno for this stuff!

I know customers don’t exist to buy your, my, our stuff. Humans have needs, and they want reasons to be inspired and to trust. Jargon doesn’t inspire people – it alienates them! I know from experience the best way to reach them is through stories. According to a study by Stanford University (Oct 2012), stories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone. Storytelling is human and it’s about connecting.

One day, I was asked to create a campaign for a new product that was so filled with jargon, I suffered a jargon-monoxide poisoning attack. More un-human marketing hurts customers and the companies who create it.

I was a on a mission to help, so I left to find a place with less jargon and more humanity and meaning. I created a company that bans jargon and embraces storytelling and humor, so that my clients could better connect with customers as people and get better results by doing it. “Keeping it Human” means making a great human connection. When customers feel a connection, and that a company “gets” them and their human challenges, they are more likely to be loyal.

And ever since that day, I have helped clients to uncover and tell their human stories with clarity, purpose, and simplicity in their communications so they win in the marketplace. That means their customers win, too. I want my clients and their clients to live happily – not crappily – ever after.

I believe treating people as people (and not targets) is the most important element to marketing success.

You have a great story. Together we can humanize it and share it with the world – loudly and proudly.