As public-relations professionals, a lot of what we do involves managing an organization’s reputation. For the most part, the more media attention your organization receives, the more your stakeholders will recognize you. But today, visibility isn’t enough. It’s the content of news stories that determines whether your audiences will have a favorable impression of you. 

So how do you know whether the content was good or bad? And what do you do with that information? Having someone on your team who can conduct in-depth analyses of your media coverage, including the tone of the stories — whether they are positive, neutral, or negative — on a regular basis will significantly improve your communications strategy, support your overall business goals, and your reputation. 

This type of analysis helps you to not only measure the success of your public-relations initiatives, but also provide well-informed advice for real-time decisions that the organization is making. 

Both the quantity and quality of media coverage for your organization directly correlate to how much the public trusts, likes, and supports you. That coverage even determines the characteristics that are associated with your organization as opinions are formed. 

So remember, a large amount of media clips doesn’t mean a positive reputation. Ask yourself if your messages are truly getting across to your audiences. Make sure you know which reporters lead the conversations in your industry, and then strengthen your relationship with those individuals.

Are you being heard?       

Crystal DeStefano is president and director of public relations at Strategic Communications, LLC, which says it provides trusted counsel for public relations, including media relations, employee relations, and community relations. Contact DeStefano at Crystal@stratcomllc.com

Citizens are more willing to support tax increases when they believe someone else will be paying them, especially if they think that someone deserves it. 

Consequently, when looking for sources of revenue, government officials like to find an unpopular vice and slap a tax on it. 

The earliest and first U.S. tax-inspired revolt was the 1791 Whiskey Rebellion. The federal government, just 2 years old, was $54 million in debt from the American Revolution. Another $25 million was owed by the states. Combined, the debt was the equivalent of $1.975 trillion in today’s dollars.

Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, argued that the federal government should pay the entire debt to build national unity and strengthen the central government. He built a coalition of states eager to receive free federal money. Then he partnered with social reformers anxious to use a new excise tax to discourage alcohol consumption. The act became law, and President George Washington defined revenue districts and appointed tax collectors to each one.

Lesson 1: Beware of politicians who ask your permission to pick another person’s pocket. Simpler and broader methods of taxing are fairer than highly targeted taxes. The “let’s tax that guy” mentality slips into systemic oppression and incentivizes rent seeking.

Hamilton thought an excise tax on alcohol would be a luxury tax borne mostly by the wealthy, a sneaky way to make the rich pay off the debt. He was wrong.

Frontier farmers often had excess grain and needed to get paid for it. But grain was bulky and difficult to transport over long distances to paying customers. So they regularly turned their excess grain into whiskey which was easier to ship and the alcohol kept the product from spoiling.

After distilling, 1,200 pounds of wheat, oats, or rye produced just 20 gallons of spirits weighing only 160 pounds. After journeying to eastern markets, the whiskey was sold for $1 per gallon. It was one of the few cash crops for the western frontier.

Whiskey also improved with age, making it a medium of exchange for businesses west of Appalachia.

For the frontiersmen, this so-called “sin tax” was effectively taxing their currency.

And the tax increased with the proof of the spirits, ranging from 30 cents to 40 cents per gallon. To the average consumer, the tax was $1.50 a year. But for the farmers, the government was taking $6 of their annual $20 income. They relied on this cash to purchase their supplies for the full year.

Thus, in an attempt to tax liquor sales in Philadelphia, Congress effectively killed the entire economy of frontier farmers.

Lesson 2: The economy is complex. Advocates of big government believe controlling the economy is simpler than it is. Advocates of the free market have a more humble attitude toward our lack of ability to dictate everyone’s behavior.

What made the taxation of 1791 worse is that many of these farmers were veterans of the Revolution. They had just fought a war over onerous British tea and stamp taxes, only to be betrayed with even higher whiskey taxes.

In response to the excise tax, some 7,000 frontiersmen rose up in western Pennsylvania to protest. They called on delegates to attend a more formal assembly. 

The convention petitioned the government with a list of grievances. They modeled their actions after the American Revolution. The tax was reduced by a penny, but still no one paid it.

Tax collectors were tarred and feathered. Even some who collaborated with federal officials and paid the tax had their stills destroyed.

Lesson 3: The fairer the tax, the less violent the response. The fairest tax would be a head tax in which everyone owed the same amount. Anything more complex can pit one faction against another and incite rebellion.

Hamilton counseled Washington to put down the rebellion and inspire the fear of punishment in the new citizens. Washington raised an army of 13,500 men. Hundreds of suspects were rounded up and detained in corrals. Twenty were put on trial. Two were convicted and later pardoned by Washington.

Lesson 4: If a law is not worth an army, it shouldn’t be a law. Every government decree should meet this very high standard. It must be so important that it is still worth doing even if the government has to create an army to enforce it. Every government tax or regulation requires force or the threat of force to be meaningful. Legislators should ask themselves, “Is this law worth raising an army and fighting the citizens over?” If the answer is no, their vote should be the same. 

Jefferson had already resigned from the cabinet at the time of the Whiskey Rebellion, but he communicated his thoughts to James Madison: “The excise law is an infernal one. The first error was to admit it by the Constitution; the second, to act on that admission; the third and last will be, to make it the instrument of dismembering the Union and setting us all afloat to choose which part of it we will adhere to.” Needless to say, just after being elected president, Jefferson hastily abolished all the excise taxes.

To this day, historians disagree on how much Hamilton sought to provoke violence to justify strengthening federal control. Some call it conspiracy theory. Others quote Hamilton’s own words in support.

Although the quelling of the Whiskey Rebellion established the sovereignty of “We the people” to tax and oppress any selected group, it did not raise much in taxes. Even after the rebellion was pacified, the tax was still largely uncollectable.

Jefferson repealed the Whiskey Tax as well as all other internal taxes as soon as he became president in 1801. He claimed that closing the bureaucracy and overseeing tax offices made the taxes unnecessary. He also ran a surplus for his years in office, enabling him to pay down the debt from $83 million to $57 million by 1811. The discontent subsided.

Lesson 5: Tax cuts can cause a government surplus, whereas tax increases can cause rebellions.        

David John Marotta is president of Marotta Wealth Management, Inc., which provides fee-only financial planning and wealth management at www.emarotta.com. Megan Russell studied cognitive science at the University of Virginia and now specializes in explaining the complexities of economics and finance at www.marottaonmoney.com

It’s easy to roll your eyes and complain about the state of business communications. I mean everything from incomplete, inaccurate, and confusing emails and memos to meeting minutes and reports that don’t make sense. Ineffective business letters, most of which are peppered with the first person singular pronoun, are fodder for the recycling bin.

All this results in errors, causes confusion, wastes time, creates aggravation, and puts even capable workers at an advancement and career disadvantage, not to mention the negative implications for their employers.

It’s a wonder that productivity, which is dropping, isn’t collapsing. However, it’s irrelevant whether or not the ability to express oneself clearly and accurately is at an all-time low. It’s not enough to identify a problem; the test is what you can do about it. Here are suggestions on how to get (really) good at business communication:

1. Put it in writing. It’s easy to “talk stuff” or text and assume that’s sufficient. It isn’t. Just ask Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who says, “There’s no way to write a six-page, narratively structured memo and not have clear thinking.” Few people can accomplish the task.

“Writing is the primary basis upon which your work, your learning, and your intellect will be judged — in college, in the workplace, and in the community,” states Marquette University.

Writing clarifies thought, uncovers false assumptions, helps articulate worthwhile questions, and stimulates feedback. All of which are essential qualities for success in business.

2. Start at the beginning. The worst mistake is to assume that readers or listeners will figure out what’s important about your message. They won’t.

For example, wading through a half-dozen long paragraphs of a newsletter’s lead article before getting to the main point asks too much of any reader. Simply moving the last paragraph to the beginning would make it interesting and compelling. The way to capture the attention of readers and listeners is to start at the beginning.

3. Have a plan. If you don’t have a plan, the reader or listener won’t bother with it. Although we’ve all had too many experiences like this, few learn from them.

Too often we start typing with only some vague idea where we’re going. And we never get there. To avoid a “stream of consciousness” calamity, here’s a sure-fire outline that works wonders in any type of business communication: Problem/Solution, and it’s useful for almost every subject. For example, “Why we need to make a change in our product line” may be your topic.

– Problem. A discussion of reasons how and why the problem developed. 

– Solution. After laying this groundwork, present the solution to the problem, which includes why it overcomes each of the reasons that caused the original problem.

Then comes the call to action, the steps to take to move forward and resolve the issue.

4. Put your work to the test. If experienced writers, and even the most famous wordsmiths, require an editor, it only makes sense that the rest of us do, too. The only way to improve and to make sure the message is clear and on target is to find someone who can help. And it doesn’t need to be a “professional.” It can be a co-worker, friend, partner or spouse, or really anyone who is meticulous and likes language.

Your “editor” should be encouraged to point out inconsistencies, errors of fact, lack of clarity, and make suggestions for improving your work. That’s the gold standard, so be sure to come up with ways to say thank you.

5. Rewrite. However much you do it, it’s never enough. Someone said, “Hey, this isn’t the Gettysburg Address, it’s just a monthly wrap-up.” That’s the problem: business communications are not worth the effort. 

The designers could have said that about the Apple TV remote control. Hold one in your hand and you’ll see that its simplicity and elegance are compelling. Just three buttons, not a dazzling array of dozens. It took time, effort, and commitment to go from 50 or more buttons to three. Forceful and persuasive business writing, presenting, and speaking take rewriting. We never do our best work the first time.

6. Slay the good business-communication killers. They may seem minor, but they can do big-time damage:

– Needless words. Extra words are “filler” and obscure the message. They’re like plaque in arteries, clogging the flow of ideas. It takes practice, but getting rid of unnecessary words is a big step for improving communication.

– Jargon. Stay away from it; if in doubt, don’t use it. It’s showy, sophomoric, and off-putting. Those who are insecure use “in” words, attempting to convey that they know what they’re talking about. Actually, they don’t.

– Adjectives and adverbs. Avoid adjectives and adverbs. Like lights in Las Vegas, they add glitter and call attention to themselves. Practice writing without them and watch your writing improve.

– Active vs. passive voice. The active voice is easier to understand. Here’s the difference: Active: “The supervisor stole the product report.” Business writers use the passive to soften a statement: “The new product report was stolen by the supervisor.” Also, the passive usually adds words.

– Short paragraphs. The eye rebels at the sight of a long paragraph. Two or three sentences work well. At times, even one will do it.

– Exclamation points. Mostly ineffective and pointless. Never more than one; preferably none. Let what you write give the emphasis.

– Short words. Using them makes writing and presenting more natural, and easier to understand and follow. Sprinkling your text with long words interferes with clarity. 

– Simplicity. Ask yourself, “Will anyone misunderstand or be confused by what I’m saying or how I’m saying it?” Be ruthless. Unclear thinking causes confused communication.

Putting our words in front of others or making presentations involves risk and puts us to the test. Yet, whatever our aspirations and wherever we find ourselves, success depends on the well-honed skills of writing and speaking — or being really good at business communications.        

John Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales strategist-consultant and business writer. Contact him at jgraham@grahamcomm.com or visit johnrgraham.com