Open the champagne. It's a website! |
What shall I call it?
No, I have not
had a baby. The only thing I am going to give birth to, soon, is a website
about me. And I am trying to choose a catchy name for the eponymous website
that will tell the world what a wonderful trainer / facilitator / coach I am.
You see the problem? I have now used three words to describe myself, and they
don’t explain what I do, or why you should read any more about me.
A catchy
strapline
My name is OK.
There are not too many Edward Kellows in the world competing for the attention
of a search engine. What I need is an elegant strapline that will tell people
how creative, flexible and fun I am to work with: how I always deliver on
outcomes; and how I help people to discover stuff that they never dreamt they could
do, and later helped them to transform their company / relationship / life.
And, despite, or because of, my success, I am totally authentic and
trustworthy, thanks to my deeply held, and hard won personal values. I sound so
good, I think I might even hire myself.
What do I do
in one sentence?
How do I explain
what I do in one sentence? I google a few trainers and coaches I know, and they
use words like facilitate, learning, and change. That’s what I do!
I facilitate learning and change. So I think I should definitely say
‘facilitate’ because ‘facilitate’ is a verb, and a verb spells action, and what
all my potential clients want is someone who can make change happen.
“Words, words,
words” Hamlet II.2
But wait a moment.
Everyone who works in learning and development facilitates change. I need to
tell people what’s special about me. So, I am creative, and I am fun. I give
people space to work things out for themselves. And the reason I do that, is I
genuinely believe that change only happens when people get comfortable with who
they are, rather than trying to be someone else. I learned that from Mr.
Beisser on my coaching course, though I think I knew it already. And the reason
why I think THAT is important is that I believe change will only be sustainable
if people are given a chance to work things out for themselves. When they do
that people tend to take more responsibility for their actions, see?
Edward Kellow: Fifty Shades
of Learning (It was late,
I was desperate, OK?)
So I invent some
straplines that I think explain what I do, while hinting at my creativity,
energy and dynamism:
Edward Kellow: making learning happen (dynamic!)
Edward Kellow: making it happen (sexier, but what do I make happen?)
Collaborative Learning: Steps towards sustainable
futures (Too much ‘togetherness’?)
Curious Futures: facilitating learning and
leadership (hmm, I like this one)
Collaborative Futures: facilitating sustainable
futures (This
has a ‘does what is says on the tin’ feel)
Edward Kellow: Leaning into learning (oh dear, no).
And I google
them, and each and every one is taken by somebody else. Even ‘Curious Futures’, which is the one I like most, because I have done a lot of thinking about the value of
curiosity (see my blog!), and I want my strapline to ‘Lean in’ to the future. Finally, when
‘Fifty Shades of Learning’ pops into my head, I give up.
What about “Edward Kellow:
facilitating collaborative learning and leadership”?
Maybe
it’s not so bad after all.
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