Sarah Morgan
Romance as a genre hasn’t been taken terribly seriously, which is ironic, because I’d argue well-done romance takes more talent, and offers more, than most work in other genres.
Here’s why.
If you, as a writer, require off-the-charts stakes, I don’t trust you – because I don’t think you trust your work. If you think the only way to hold my attention is to assault your characters with terrible things, I don’t think you think your characters are that interesting on their own. And if you don’t, why should I?
After all, the real people in your life don’t need enormous trauma for you to care, do they? And that’s because life isn’t all about the big moments. It isn’t even mostly about them.
The little things are often what take our breath away. Romance understands that, and it offers it to us. The Heated Rivalry characters have big moments, but only once you’ve grown to care about them. Quiet conversations, text exchanges, facial expressions.
The small things build everything that matters.
There’s your communications lesson.
You want a terrible relationship with your audience?
- Count on just an occasional press release to talk to the media, and maybe a quarterly town hall to talk to your people.
- Decide that since your predecessors built a brand or corporate identity, you can just coast on it.
- Believe that sales and marketing talking points are the same as a communication strategy.
I’ve seen each of these paths taken – and the price paid.
So what does work? (In comms, in relationships, and in romance?)
- Do you make your people feel like they matter?
- How do your leaders interact with their people? How often, and how substantively? Do your people feel part of something that makes them feel proud and happy? Are they excited to tell people why their company it matters? Are they informed enough to do it?
- Are you confident enough to know it doesn’t always have to be about you?
- Becoming a respected voice in your field doesn’t mean hitting your talking points as many times as possible, as loudly as possible. And it doesn’t go to the organization who makes the most media buys. It means engaging with, starting, leading, and encouraging important conversations.
- Do you have the skills – and know your stuff – well enough to be both planned and spontaneous?
- You can’t only be reactive, but neither can you only adhere to a calendar. You’ve got to blend your plan with what’s happening (or going to happen) around you.
You may notice the common thread: trust.
Do your employees trust your organization? Does the industry trust your experts? Do *you* trust what your organization stands for and how skilled your team is?
And trust is only ever built by those “little” things. Consistent effort makes it clear that you’re worthwhile.
Put another way? You’re not getting to the cottage, or getting that center-ice moment, without the ginger ale, the tuna melt, the banana socks. The little things… that mean everything.
