by Ron Richards, President, ResultsLab

Grabber Development

1. Key Grabber Questions     < Below on this page
2. Levels of Grabber Power
3. Examples of Grabber Power
4. Grabbers Before & After

Grabbers^SM are a key to multiplying results.  To develop them, here are some of the questions I ask, and answer. Then I’ll summarize some processes that have led to the best solutions.

Many people assume that the primary grabber must be a graphic. Not so.  I believe great language to be at least an equal partner with visual grabbers. And the same questions and processes will lead to the creation of the words and an integrated picture.  In fact, in my experience writing the compelling words often leads to the right graphic, more than visa versa.  So, in all four sections on grabbers, I’ll be concentrating on how to create compelling concepts and words.

Notice that virtually all the questions below can be used as a creative stimulus whether  writing headlines, article titles, link language, or other grabber language.  The questions work for subjects that are low or high-tech, familiar or new.  They also work when developing grabber language and graphics for products, companies, methods, and projects.

Grabber-Development Questions

1. What are some great issues?  (Great issues give writers great juice.)
    
2. What are hidden and surprising breakthroughs?  (Don’t settle.)
    
3. What are hidden and surprising disasters?  (If it’s real, we’ll find a way to express it.)
    
4. What’s way more leveraged, easy, fun, or potentiating than people realize. (Quantify!)
    
5. What is amazing, curious, dramatic and otherwise highly evocative?
    
6. What little thing is key to a big thing? -- maybe even just a particular feature of a thing that makes all the difference.
    
7. Where can you help decision makers focus, shop, and act with confidence?
    
8. What important decision entails a mess that you can sort out and make clear and easy?
    
9. Where can you help people to stop obsessing about the wrong thing?
    
10. Where can you do the above for a particular type of person/function?
     
11. What qualms do people have that have them stuck, where you can get them unstuck?
     
12. What’s a new angle, in the above terms, on a familiar/popular issue?
     
13. What should everyone do that almost no one is doing, despite giving lip service?
     
14. What should be adopted, even though things are unstable, because the gains are already great, and it’s worth switching later if need be?
     
15. What is frustrating, hated?
     
16. Where can you take a stand, and have a cause?
     
17. What complex issue can we unravel?
     
18. What would make all the difference?
     
19. Where should you reset the standard or criteria? What false criteria can you critique?
     

Grabber-Development Methods

1. Interview rational evangelists, and intense detractors, deeply.  Put up a green flag when you feel confused and dumb, stop, and probe; they’ve just reframed the issue for you.
    
2. Adopt the mindsets: curiosity, fascination, fun, getting clear about the best decision criteria.
    
3. Be aware of what others have written about, and what’s being discussed, but with everyone waiting. And notice what’s vital that no one is writing about.
    
4. Create lists of alternatives, and ruminate -- with your antenna tuned.
    
5. Help readers decide, act, and use well.  Build concepts and language that reveal, solve, and encourage.
    
6. Study how people respond to your communication, re-create, and test again.

Grabber Development

1. Key Grabber Questions     < Above on this page
2. Levels of Grabber Power
3. Examples of Grabber Power
4. Grabbers Before & After

Copyright  © 1997 - 2007 ResultsLab.  All rights reserved. 
Click for permissions, servicemarks, & photo credits.