During the current political nastiness here in Illinois, Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn asked readers of his blog for a one-word take on their response.

They wrote the following: “Uberdysfunctional,” “Overdue,” “Duh!,” “Karma,” “Illinoising,” ”Brazen, “Unsurprising,” “Finally,” among others.

At Ragan Consulting, we often use that same technique to begin our focus groups. We give each of the dozen or so participants a 3x5 card and ask them to write one word that describes whatever topic we’re discussing, such as the state of internal communications, the current level of trust, their sense of engagement.

Then, we go around the room, asking participants to read their word and asking two questions: “Why?” “Could you give me an example?”

That gets everyone talking, playing off and building on each other’s response, uncovering root causes of problems and getting to the work of identifying solutions.

In our editorial work, we often ask: “What’s the one thing this is about?”

In your focus groups, begin with “What’s the one word?”

*Those who recognized this reference to a relatively obscure Beatles song are obviously as old as we are.

We make a lot of fun of CEO columns, and for good reason. So many of them are pompous, arrogant and completely disconnected from the work force. Holiday messages are particularly lame, as I wrote about in a recent ragan.com story.

And then, just in time, someone out there restores our faith and reminds us all that many CEOs can actually assume the human form.

Today’s someone is Scott Saalman, director of employee communications at Kimball International, Inc., in Jasper, Indiana.

Scott wrote me a couple of days ago and shared a couple of holiday columns from his boss, CEO Jim Thyen. Here’s a great example of what good communicators do: Lend a gentle, guiding hand to bosses who have something real to say and, in some cases, simply getting out of their way.

These columns are long. They are personal, poignant and funny. And they have a point. Thyen does a terrific job of weaving his business message with his personal stories and anecdotes.

Read last year’s message, in which Thyen relates a story of using duct tape to repair his ripped pants while out on a date with his wife. And then take a look at this year’s message, in which the CEO talks about his mother’s death and the tough economic climate.

With Saalman’s help, Jim Thyen navigates the fine line between maudlin and poignant, funny and cheesy.

And the employees can’t wait for this stuff. They send their own private e-mails to the CEO and come up to him when he’s in the plants, telling him how much they liked his column and sharing their own stories.

These columns will warm the cockles of your heart, or as comedian Denis Leary once said, your sub-cockle regions.

And when’s the last time you could say that about one of your CEO messages?

I’ve got to brag on a communicator I know.

Let’s call her Jami. Because that is her name. Smart. Funny. Driven. Intense. Did I mention driven?

So she phones me up in September. If memory serves, our conversation went something like this:

Her: I need to research and write a strategic communications plan, and I’d like your help.
Me: Great!
Her: We need to do all the work in October and November, and I have to present the complete plan on Dec. 1.
Me: Are you nuts?
Her: Yes.
Me: I’m in!

And off we went. We launched a survey. We held some focus groups. We talked to executives. We looked at all of her communications vehicles (and being a bit driven, she had lots of them).

We talked a lot on the phone. She was always worrying about something. I tried to make her laugh and told her it would be OK. She believed me—sometimes.

We learned a tremendous amount in a very short time and then we wrote her plan—together. And it was brilliant. She was brilliant. We had figured out what her audience needed and we had a kick-ass strategy to make it happen.

Now all she had to do was present the plan to her leadership team—and ask for a bigger budget. In a recession.

In the days leading up to her presentation, she fretted. I didn’t. I knew she would be great. Those mere mortals on the executive committee would be no match for a communicator armed to the teeth.

On the big day, she laid out her research. She made the case. She told them how she’d change the current tactics, and create some new ones. People nodded their heads. Even IT spoke up in support of her argument.

And then one of the big bosses asked her a typical big-boss kind of question. Seventy percent of the audience was “satisfied” with communications, he said. How would this plan improve on that statistic? In other words, he asked her: “What’s your number?”

She took a deep breath and faced the crowd: “There is no number. Communications isn’t there to make everyone happy. Communications is there to support all of you, to help you meet your goals. And if you include me in your plans early enough, it will.”

Oh, the bosses said. That makes sense. And they gave her what she wanted.

When she told me that, I got a little weepy.

You can call her Jami, because that’s her name. I call her Why I Love This Job.

Many retailers make most of their sales during the holiday shopping season. Their success depends on the success of these catalogues. Organizational editors can learn a lot from them. After all, both holiday catalogues and organizational publications share a common goal: the profitable growth of their sponsoring organizations.

Here are 10 lessons all communicators can learn from what clogs their mailboxes:

1. All I want for Christmas is Me. Try to get the audience, purpose and contents of your publication in the banner and tag-line. Time for Me, with the tag “Dedicated to the art of well-being,” shows us the way. One product from this health and beauty company promises: “Look 10 pounds lighter in 10 seconds.” I’m there.

2. “Bah, humbug!” I guess most people are like me, dreading the consumer stampede that makes it impossible to celebrate the season authentically. Convenience is the main benefit retailers sell in their headlines, and that’s what a headline should do: Sell a benefit. The winner here is Pottery Barn: “We Make Your Holidays Easy!” And that’s on their back cover. What’s on yours?

3. “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . .” Effective headlines also state a specific topic, sound a call to action, and translate the features of the story’s topic to a reader benefit: “Give them warmth & comfort, Naturally! Silk Long Underwear’ (WinterSilks).

4. “Do you hear what I hear?” The lead sentence is where most writers get stalled. You know the techniques: a quote, an anecdote. Me? I do research on audience needs and tell them what I’ve discovered in the first sentence. Shows you’re listening, and that builds credibility: “We know. Finding all the gifts you need can be about as much fun as doing taxes. But we have the perfect remedy” (The Territory Ahead).

5. “A corncob pipe, a button nose, and two eyes made out of coal.” If you believe, as the author of that lyric does, that the goal of design is functional simplicity, then you’ll like a 10- or 11-point Roman typeface in black ink on white paper in a two- or three-column ragged right format with lots of white space surrounding the columns.

6. “Do you see what I see?” Desire enters through the eyes. “We covet what we see every day” (Hannibal Lecter). In a visually literate age, print presents a canvas on which to tell our stories visually: photos that show what people are like, not only what they look like. Readers coming upon photos in most clothing catalogues are probably looking for the lfestyle implied more than the sweaters and scarves.

7. Now grandpa will read the story of the first Christmas. Nooooo! One of the real strengths of print in the dot.com age is the familiar format for storytelling, the formative verbal expression of any culture, including corporate cultures. “First you’ll notice the fun collection of multi-size buttons, next you’ll feel the deliciously soft inside-and-out—and then you’ll want to experience this uniquely charming top!” Good plot line—first, next, then—from Soft Surroundings.

8. “Do you know what I know?” In addition to a format for storytelling, print is also the most effective medium for heightening people’s understanding of key issues and strategies based on a deliberative and in-depth presentation. Don’t say they don’t have time for that level of discourse; they elected Obama. Plow & Hearth makes a persuasive case for supporting their campaign to reforest America. Heifer International announces itself as “The Most Important Gift Catalog in the World,” to introduce its appeal for a gift of an animal to a family in need.

9. “I’ll be home—or at least on your home page—for Christmas.” Another strength of print is to drive people to your site. Hershey’s web site address is on the front and back cover—and every odd-numbered page—of its 27-page catalogue. Consider doing that in your publication.

10. “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.” Why an “open” fire? All professional writers know the advice “Show, don’t tell.” Don’t preach, describe. No one likes a sermon; everyone likes a story. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received on this point was from our company’s founder, Larry Ragan, who told me: “Nouns and verbs show. Adjectives and adverbs tell. Take the adjectives and adverbs out of your writing.” As an example, the following adjectives attempt—and fail—to convey the elusive taste of meat:
• “utterly satisfying flavor” (Hickory Farms)
• “fill the house with a sense of abundance and well-being” (Harry & David)
• “bold flavor and tenderness” (Omaha Steaks)
• “Little sizzlers” (Hormel). [By an improbable coincidence, in high school I was in a garage band called “Little Sizzlers.”]
• “reduce splattering, and the well-proportioned upright handles are easy to grasp” [As the bishop said to the actress.] (Williams-Sonoma)
• “We remove the hock end and butt end” [But who doesn’t?] (Burgers’ Smokehouse)

Cakes and ale to all of you—and to all a good write.

After finishing off our last turkey sandwich, it’s high time we got back to business. First up: Choose a few winners in our Obama headline-writing contest.

So without fear or favor, here are three winners who stood out among all those wonderful entries, and why.

1. National Geographic: Kenya Believe It!
—posted by Kim

Excellent use of pun, language and sense of place, tied perfectly to the publication. It reminds me of my favorite headline from the New York Post when Mikhail Gorbachev visited the city at the height of his power and popularity:

“Gotham Goes Ga-ga over Gorby”

2. Cosmopolitan: “The big ‘O’ and what it means to you”
—posted by Carycature

We liked this headline because it works so well for this magazine. In fact, I think I’ve actually seen this headline in Cosmo. About 38 times.

It’s outrageous for a corporate publication, of course, but it might just sneak past Legal because they won’t really get it.

3. You fooled a nation: Now don’t fuck it up.
—posted by Yossi

This headline works on so many levels. Excellent use of the F-bomb, for starters.
It’s bold and brash and certainly grabs your attention, like any good headline should.

But I liked it most because it captures the essence of American freedom and democracy. It says, “I didn’t like you, I didn’t vote for you, but hey, you won the election. Now do something, dammit.”

What a great country.

Congratulations to our winners. Drop me a line at jimy@ragan.com and we’ll set up your free hour of consultation.