A Partial Dictionary of the Cognoscenti

June 8, 2015

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A

Angle – the direction from which a writer, speaker, photographer or illustrator approaches their chosen subject. Some angles are more interesting than others.

Brandable Chunks – memorable phrases that become associated with a brand.

Innovation Model – a proven template that allows you to generate a superior result.

Business Topology – a technique used for the discovery of innovation models that have been proven, tested and refined in a business category other than your own.

Defining Characteristics – distinctive triggers of identification.

Chaos – a level of order and organization that exceeds the capacity of the human mind.

Third Gravitating Body – a reliable disruptor of predictability that allows you to gain and hold human attention.

Daguerre – an academic style of communication that is accurate, but tedious.

Dick and Jane – an unintelligent style of communication that employs predictable clichés.

FMI – First Mental Image; the first vivid idea presented in an ad, a speech or a presentation, or the first thing noticed in a work of art.

LMI – Last Mental Image; the closing thought in an ad, a speech or a presentation; the final feeling or impression communicated by a work of art.

Full Circle – when the Last Mental Image in an ad, a speech or a presentation revisits the First Mental Image. “Going Full Circle” creates an elegant sense of closure.

Fractal – a kaleidoscope-like image created as the result of mapping a chaotic system.

Frameline Magnetism – an effect that is created when an image is extended – in the imagination – beyond what is revealed.

Frank – a style of communication noted for (1) approaching its subject from an interesting angle, (2) brevity and clarity (3) frameline magnetism, (4) a highly restrained use of adjectives. (Named after the photographer Robert Frank.)

Frosting – to replace common words and phrases with less common, more colorful ones. (Named after the poet Robert Frost.)

Frosted Frank – A style of writing marked by the characteristics of Frank, but with the added color and surprise of Frosting.

Free the Beagle! – unleash your intuition! take a chance!

Meter – a rhythm constructed from the stressed and unstressed syllables of words. Meter makes language more easily remembered by making it musical.

EXAMPLE:

And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;

And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,

Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,

Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn has blown,

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,

And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,

And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,

And so there lay the rider distorted and grey,

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,

So I walk by the edge of a lake in my dream.”

   – George Gordon, Lord Byron

from The Destruction of Sennacherib

Monet – an impressionistic style of communication marked by subjective feelings and opinions rather than objective, clear facts.

Neapolitan – a transitionary device that creates a longing for closure.

Portal – an auditory or visual trigger that helps a reader, listener or viewer move from one feeling or state of consciousness to another feeling or state of consciousness.

Put It Under Water – delete information that is already known to – or can easily be figured out by – the reader, listener or viewer. (Essentially, “putting it under water” is frameline magnetism applied to words, calling upon the imagination to fill in what was left out by the writer, speaker or actor.)

Random Entry – a technique used in Chaotic Ad Writing in which a randomly chosen, high impact sentence is used as the opening sentence of an ad.

Purple Coffee – red wine that is consumed before noon.

Seussing – to create your own words in the manner of Dr. Seuss.

Schema – a pre-existing belief system that helps humans organize and interpret their experiences. Your schema allows you to take shortcuts in interpreting information, but it can also cause you to exclude pertinent information when it doesn’t conform to your previously held beliefs.

Surprising Broca – to gain attention by introducing something that is new, surprising or different.

TLB – Twitchy Little Bastard; a person who is counterproductively anxious for results.

Turtles All The Way Down – Extremely very incredibly excellent.

Verb Avalanche – a style of writing that slaps the cheek of the imagination and jerks open the eyes of the mind by firing rocket-like verbs to explode in the darkness and brighten the horizon. You leap out of the way of a mental image plummeting toward you only to find that another is hurtling at your face. Adrenaline surging, heart pounding, knees flying, lungs gasping, you’re having a wonderful time.

These are just a few of the tools the cognoscenti have at their fingertips to turn backwards into forwards and failure into success.

Come to Wizard Academy. We’ll give you these tools, teach you to use them, and then watch with satisfaction as you happily work miracles.

When you can work miracles, people smile when they see you.

And then they give you money.

Roy H. Williams