Lion Witch Wardrobe Happy Holidays!

In C.S. Lewis's classic tale, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, one of the main characters, Lucy, describes to her siblings the essence of the evil Queen of Narnia, the usurping White Witch: "She has made an enchantment over the whole country so that it is always winter here and never Christmas."

These words resonate with readers and have been borrowed by recording artists such as Relient K and XTC. The notion of "always winter and never Christmas" speaks eloquently to the unfairness of a world in which people are forced to endure harsh weather and stark landscapes without the expectation of joyous festivities shared with family and friends to dispel the gloom.

Anticipation - the sparkling hope of something wonderful about to happen - is what makes the holiday season magical, no matter what tradition we observe or faith we follow. It's the same power that pulls readers happily into the world of "once upon a time."

I was reminded of the enchantment of great storytelling just last week when I finished reading The Magician's Book by Laura Miller. Part literary criticism, part memoir, the book chronicles the author's initiation into that place where imagination and the love of language converge to create a realm better than reality.

As business communicators, we stay firmly rooted in reality to do our jobs. Yet, like Laura Miller, co-founder of Salon.com, many of us were drawn to our careers because of our fascination with the power of words, which we learned in childhood as avid readers. In this issue of Dialog, we offer some ideas on how you can share the gift of reading.

At this time of year, the real world slows down just long enough to allow a mix of merriment and musing into our lives. This holiday season, I wish you happiness and anticipation – for the joy of celebration and all the good things the New Year holds.

What happens next? Keep reading!

Best,
Jill

December 2009

Give the Gift of Reading
Survey Says...
Writing the Year-end Letter

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Twitter: @JillVitiello
LinkedIn: Jill Vitiello
E-mail: jill@vtlo.com
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Phone: 732-238-6622

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Give the Gift of Reading

Oh what fun it is to introduce a child to the joys of reading! When members of Vitiello Communications Group meet with industry colleagues during the holidays, we observe two enjoyable traditions. First, rather than buy gifts for each other, we buy a new book to donate in the local library holiday book drive for underprivileged youngsters. My town's library requests new, unwrapped books for pre-schoolers through teens. The books are left unwrapped so that kids can select the book themselves. So, even though my own daughters have outgrown Narnia, I still have the pleasure of slipping a fresh, crisp copy of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader into the big bin in the hopes it will reach just the right girl at just the right time in her life.

Our second tradition emphasizes the spirit of giving and keeps costs down, too. We each take a beloved book from our own shelf, wrap it attractively, and exchange it in a book swap at our holiday gathering. How I treasure the books I've received at these swaps -- from the obscure grammar guide with the goofy title to an autographed copy of a mystery novel, straight from the author herself!

Interested in starting your own traditions to promote reading? Check out these sites for ideas:
For the Love of Books
Books for Soldiers
Start a Reading Group
Become a Literacy Volunteer

Survey Says...

Many thanks to all of you who took our fast, fun quiz Test Your Social Media IQ. We offered the survey in a number of venues: to the readers of Dialog, to the participants at the 2009 IABC Heritage Region Conference, and to the registrants in my workshop "The Impact of Social Media," delivered at the 2009 Healthcare Businesswomen's Association Leadership Conference. We are in the process of consolidating the results and will report our findings in the January 2010 issue of Dialog.

Writing the Year-end Letter

If you are writing the chief's year-end letter to employees right now and are struggling for ideas, please take a moment to read "How to Write a Really Touching Year-End Letter." My brief how-to article was published in The Influential Executive last December and won an IRIS Award of Excellence from the New Jersey chapter of the IABC. I hope it inspires you.

Or, you may want to try something new—a beginning-of-the-year letter. According to communication professionals I polled recently, this is a popular trend among busy executives who use the holiday slowdown to prepare strategic messaging for the year ahead. This could be a continuation of their reflections on the year just completed, or might replace the year-end letter altogether. We’d love to hear how you handled this important communication.