Archive for the ‘Tools’ Category
Wordsmiths, Take Note. There is help!
Marketing, public relations, communications – they all require one to string together words for audiences, enticing them to explore products, services, causes, etcetera. We hope that we can pull from our talents to inject clarity, instill excitement and urge a beneficial action.
Every once in a while, we get stuck. We just are not satisfied with what translates from brain to screen. The sentiment in our minds does not take its place in the draft as we would like. With that in mind, I wanted to share a tool with you that I have been using. Honestly, I have been using the “trial” version (allows for 3 submissions then boots you out) for a year. I finally broke down and purchased the year subscription. I am glad I did.
Visual Thesaurus is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus. It gives you an illustrative representation of a word which, in turn, can assist you in formulating exactly the sentiment you are going for. It’s a search tool. Put in a word, hit submit and a garden of words blossom before you in a word map. In the center, you will find the word searched which then scatters into new offshoots of relevant words with similar meanings and even the antonyms (opposite meanings). Hover over the specific word branches and visual thesaurus will show you the definition of that specific word.
Really. Check it out. If you write marketing materials, corporate communications, a blog, techinical manuals, your memoirs, anything… you will have a use for this tool. Is there a student in your house? This is a great tool to improve their vocabulary and writing.
Good luck and happy penning!
Mind Maps – a brain dump tool
Online collaboration tools are catering to teams of all industries. In order to keep the creative juices flowing between remote offices, these resources are key. Some may remember using mind mapping tools in order to organize thoughts prior to planning a paper or a project. This style of collaboration is still valid in today’s work environment. Create a visual organization of thoughts, flow of information, project components or anything else for that matter, as a group, all online no matter what coordinates you possess at the time. Our favorite is MindMeister.com It is easy to use and has great sharing tools. Check it out and tell us how you like it.
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Open Eyes
... visually driven, you ever know where you will find a bit of inspiration. Often the odd is extraordinary if you take time to examine it.
