Explore the world of storytelling and communication with host Jason Mudd and guest Ken Melton, Communication Strategist at Johns Hopkins.
Guest:
Our episode guest is Ken Melton, Communication Strategist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Ken is a retired U.S. Marine public affairs specialist with a master's in public relations from Georgetown University and a bachelor's in communications from the University of Maryland Global Campus. He's passionate about public relations, employee engagement, storytelling, teaching, and writing.
Five things you’ll learn from this episode:
- Why doubt can be good when completing a writing project
- The best ways to improve your writing skills
- Ways to make data and numbers easier for your audience
- Ken’s most valuable writing advice
- What roles emotions play in creating a complex story and how to leverage them
Quotables:
- “Make your stories speak” - @KenMelton2001
- “You can't let what you've thought or what you know shape your story. It's all about what's inside you and what you want to get across.” - @KenMelton2001
- “Once you come to the realization that there's nothing more I can learn, nothing more I can do wrong, then you're doing yourself disservice.” - @KenMelton2001
- “I doubt myself because I want to answer myself in a positive light.” - @KenMelton2001
- “I really love talking about it and helping people find their voice and telling how their stories are going to be, even if it's something like talking about a project.” - @KenMelton2001
- “Always write for the human reader first and then the search engine second.” - @JasonMudd9
- “Don't be afraid to ask for help. You never know the answer you're going to get, but it gets you closer.” - @KenMelton2001
- “A piece of advice that's been helpful to me over the years that I try to give to others is while you're writing, visualize the one person that you are writing this to.” - @JasonMudd9
- “When you have a memory, it's always tied to maybe even a sound or a smell. The same thing goes to your reading. When you read something, that one nugget and it brings you back, you're like, Oh, man, I remember that.” - @KenMelton2001
If you enjoyed this episode, would you please share it with others and leave us a review?
Contact Ken Melton:
Ken Melton on Twitter
Ken Melton on LinkedIn
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory website
Additional Resources:
Episode recorded: September 6, 2023
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