Interact with profile subjects on their turf

By Rosland Gammon on Jan 11, 2010 in Basics, Best Practices, Retail | Lifestyle

Martha Teichner of CBS News "Sunday Morning" interacts with founder Chuck Williams in a Williams-Sonoma store.

CBS News “Sunday Morning” did a telling profile of Williams-Sonoma Inc. founder Chuck Williams, who celebrated his 94^th birthday in October. The segment takes viewers into a store, the corporate offices and the site of the first of its 263 stores. Viewers also watch as a fan fawns over him during lunch.

Today’s Tip: Interact with your profile subjects in their native habitat.

To see Williams walking through the store greeting customers and recalling when each item became part of the Williams-Sonoma inventory illustrates his passion. To see the birthday party thrown by staffers at headquarters shows how much respect he garners inside the business.

If you’re not using video, paint the same picture with words.

The No Train, No Gain site has great tips from other professionals on writing personality profiles to avoid superficial stories.

About the Author

Rosland Gammon is a former business journalist turned college instructor. Her newsroom experience includes reporting for The Philadelphia Inquirer, and reporting and editing at Bloomberg News. Gammon currently teaches communications at Alverno College in Milwaukee. Follow her daily posts. | E-mail: Rosland Gammon