If you can write, thank a teacher

I attended a Meetup last Friday entitled “Finding Your Blogging Voice and Leveraging it in Social Media”, presented by Ms. Stephanie Bogus, Director of Content and head writer for Speak Social, an Austin-based social media company. Ms. Bogus is a highly gifted and talented writer with a passion for blogging and other social media marketing applications for businesses. She is also an engaging presenter and storyteller.

Ms. Bogus regaled us with several tales of her experiences blogging for clients and shared many valuable insights. Not surprisingly, some of her best lessons learned were from her worst mistakes.

I’m not going to focus on those stories; rather, I want to relay two key observations that I found slightly distressing, albeit, undoubtedly true.

Writing is a disappearing skill

If you scan social media networks, various blog hosting sites, and even some online media portals, surely you’ve noticed the sub-par writing skills of many of today’s social media practitioners. A gentleman who identified himself as a former newspaper journalist decried the quality of many blog posts he reads. He didn’t mince words describing the writing as atrocious. Sadly, many agreed with his assessment.

On that note, Ms. Bogus reminded us of the importance of keeping blog posts short and our sentences concise. Write at an 8th grade level using conversational language. People don’t have time. They skim, and if they trip on a word they don’t know, or if they fail to grasp the point of your post quickly, they move on.

Well stab me in the heart.

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Give your personal brand a purpose

Whether or not you believe in the concept of personal branding, the value of the discussion it has garnered is indisputable. Much of the advice of late is on the importance of finding a meaningful way to distinguish yourself by bringing your talents and passions to a cause that aligns with your values.

In a Forbes article this week, Dorie Clark, CEO of Clark Strategic Communications and the author of the forthcoming book Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future, stated that

“..the true secret of leveraging your personal brand is to ensure it’s not just about you and your ambitions, but the value you can bring to the world.”

We want our corporate and product brands to contribute to the quality of life and help make the world a better place. Should we expect anything less of ourselves?

Find your purpose and make your personal brand stand for something more than professional status.

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Build personal brand cache through actions, not words

Let your actions speak for your personal brand.

Actions like:

• performing pro bono work for your favorite charity
• serving on a committee at your local school
• writing a professional paper
• mentoring a new employee
• leading a green initiative at work
• rescuing cats or dogs
• foster parenting
• opening your home to disaster victims
• organizing a blood drive and donating blood
• visiting the senior citizen center
• working at the polls

all speak volumes about your character, your passion and your heart. Not only will any of these types of actions enhance people’s respect and admiration for you; they will set a powerful example for your children and their generation of up-and-coming citizens of the world.

Make your personal brand stand for something more than professional status.

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Meet your personal brand manager

Corporations and products have brand managers. Celebrities, athletes, politicians, dignitaries and other famous people do, too.

What about the rest of us?

Mirror, mirror on the wall

I can’t afford a personal housekeeper or trainer and I definitely can’t afford a personal brand manager. So, the job falls to me, myself and I.

Yes, you and I, we 99% have to be our own personal brand managers.

Relax. Generally speaking, you don’t have to put that much effort into managing your personal brand. Since it’s the essence of your character, you merely have to be yourself.

And not just at work and during professional endeavors. Your personal brand is on display and in play always.

Working your network

As I stated in yesterday’s blog post, when it comes to your personal brand and your professional interests, it is worthwhile to develop a set of key messages that bring clarity and focus to your professional attributes and pursuits.

Some refer to these messages as your elevator speech. Take care to formulate messages that are concise and simple to understand; short and sweet as it were. They will be easier to remember.

In addition, a common thread or theme should permeate your messages so your audience can see the linkage between them.

Display social graces

Managing the perception of your personal brand is as simple as acting in accordance with your key messages and the values you profess. That includes when you are online and in a social setting, or perhaps I should stress, especially when you are in a social setting.

Never waiver. It’s the old adage: It takes years to build your reputation and minutes to ruin it.

Be consistent. Talk less. Let your actions speak for you.

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Your personal brand travels with you

Yesterday I chimed in on the discussion that an individual’s personal and professional brands are one and the same.

I agree.

I believe the point behind defining your personal brand was, and is, to help the person develop a set of key messages that bring clarity and focus to their professional attributes and pursuits.

It never occurred to me that a personal brand was supposed to be separate and distinct from an individual’s social brand (so to speak).

Personal brand defined

To borrow from Brandeo’s definition of a brand:

A personal brand is the sum of all the associations, feelings, attitudes and perceptions that people have related to their observations and interactions with you.

Like corporate and product brands, you don’t own your brand. Everyone in your life owns it. You embody it. You exude it. You live it every day, but others perceive it and decide what you represent.

It’s about character.

Your personal brand is the 360°’s of you.

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What you see online isn’t necessarily what you get

In his blog post today, creative strategist and copywriter Richard Becker does a stellar job explaining the myth behind multiple personas. He was bridging a discussion kick-started by Peter Shankman who proclaimed that individuals possess only one brand.

Becker doesn’t take issue with Shankman’s assertion; in fact, he supports it and expounds on it beautifully.

This isn’t a discussion on personal brand, it’s about character, Becker states. He writes,

“…there is no division between your personal and professional lives.”

If that isn’t clear to everyone today, will the point ever hit home for those who don’t get it? Apparently, these individuals will have to learn via the school of hard knocks.

You are what you post

This can be good, or bad, depending on how you present yourself in professional versus personal settings. If there’s a serious disconnect or a wide gulf, suspicions about you may arise and it may serve to undermine your professional pursuits (and possibly your personal relationships).

That’s not to say there won’t be variations in your presentations – how you express yourself in words and pictures in various online portals. As Becker intimated, people act differently depending on the environment. There are standards of decorum for various venues, situations and settings. Smart people act accordingly. The same is true online.

Be true to yourself

“Your brand or character is multi-faceted and always evolving.”

So it’s okay to be a proud alumni or a homer on your professional sport team’s fan page, as long as you aren’t too extreme.

And that’s the point. It is wise to demonstrate sound judgment and a sense of awareness.

For example, never present yourself as something other than you are – live or online. You will be found out. And the consequences may be far-reaching. You may damage your character and reputation for years.

Your life timeline online 24 x 7 x 365 x infinity

Be cognizant that others form opinions and assessments about you based on what they see all over the Internet. So, be tweet-wise, smart with your smartphone photos, and clever, real and tasteful with your videos.

Taken all together, you are the sum of the whole of your online actions: and even that isn’t 100% accurate.

SIDEBAR: Some, like Becker, have decided not to worry about judgments others make based on online information they dig up. It may say more about the character of those individuals than about the individuals they are researching, Becker asserts. 

True, but not everyone is in a position in their life to cast aside these concerns.

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The brand of the people

What is a brand?

If someone asked you to explain the concept of a brand, could you do so simply and comprehensibly?

Here are two definitions I like:

A brand is the sum of all the associations, feelings, attitudes and perceptions that people have related to the tangible and intangible characteristics of a company, product or service.

Brandeo, an online marketing resource

What’s striking about the Brandeo definition is it doesn’t incorporate any assets, like the logo, colors, shapes, tastes, and other sensory drive attributes of a company, product or service, in the equation.

A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.

Seth Godin, marketing guru and accomplished author

The consumer decision to choose. That’s powerful. And it underscores that while company executives, product marketers and creatives are stewards and ambassadors of a brand, the consumer holds its fate in their hands.

Those in charge of a brand, therefore, must take care to be honorable and honest. Ensure that the brand story reflects the consumer experience and that experience is always positive.

Power to the people!

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Tennis anyone? Copywriting anyone?

I love tennis, especially doubles. There’s something about the creativity that’s required when there are two imposing players opposite you covering most of the real estate that appeals to me. You work angles, depths and speeds to develop advantages and openings.

Between points, I talk to my partner about the ebbs and flows of the match. They happen. When the momentum seems to be squarely on the other side of the net, I strive to keep a calm and positive demeanor as we work to turn the tide in our favor.  Unless we are just flat out overmatched, invariably, we regain the upper hand. Fortunately, more often than not, we have a positive final result.

So where’s the parallel to copywriting?

The ebbs and flows.

When writing, I have bursts of creativity and I ride the wave until it crashes. Many times, that coincides with project completion. But not always, and when that’s the case, I stop writing and move on to other tasks.

While I’m relaxing and recharging, the thoughts are still formulating and flowing into place.

Eventually I return to writing and the creative energy begins as a stream. As I gain momentum, ideas burst forth like rains coursing over an arroyo. I write until the project is completed, I’m exhausted, or the river runs dry.

Ebbs and flows. Like tennis, they are part of copywriting. Fortunately, I know how to work through them and produce a positive final result for the client.

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Hear ye! Hear ye! Come one, come all

What is the most important skill for a copywriter to possess? Sweet writing skills are obvious, and they are certainly near the top of the list. A strong command of the language is paramount. A broad vocabulary is advantageous. Yet all of these fall behind the skill nestled in the number one spot.

The best copywriters are superb listeners.

What say you?

In order to craft the brand narrative, it is imperative that the writer hears how the stewards of the brand express their passions for the company or product. As I wrote in yesterday’s post, the copywriter must probe for insight into the character of the company, it values, and how employees express their views and passions. Within their answers will be the key messages and differentiators that help you craft the brand message.

To elicit the insights a copywriter seeks, she or he needs to be a smart interviewer and ask open-ended questions:

• Why are they believers in the brand?
• How did they make believers out of their first customers?
• What were their early challenges?
• How did they slog it out with their competitors?
• Why did (and do) they win?
• Why are they excited to come to work every day?
• What are their aspirations for the brand and their association with the brand?

What was heard

A careful listener will recognize common themes in the answers given by employees and executives. The adroit copywriter will transform these gems into the brand messages that attract customers and strengthen bonds.

Listen. Learn. Cogitate. Create.

And from there the story will unfold. It will inspire. It will motivate. It will set the brand apart.

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There’s a story in there somewhere

Every small business has a story to tell.

Somewhere within the inspiration that lead to creating a business is the message that embodies the company’s value proposition and differentiation. It is incumbent upon the marketing copywriter to extract that information to serve as the basis for a communications strategy.

Keep asking questions. Dig for details. Draw out the tales from the early days as the company was formed. Within these narratives are nuggets of gold. The savvy copywriter will recognize a unique selling proposition, a positioning statement, key messages and possibly even a slogan.

Listen. Learn. Cogitate. Create.

The content the copywriter crafts will be original, genuine and a mirror characterization of the small business owner’s vision and values when she or he opened the doors and served the first customer.

And from there the story will unfold. It will inspire. It will motivate. It will set the company apart.

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Have it your way Burger King

Something is fundamentally wrong at Burger King. For nearly as long as I can remember, they have failed to figure out what makes them special. They started out strong with their charbroiled, never fried and have it your way differentiation and messaging, but they eventually lost their way.

McDonald’s cast a long shadow and Burger King remains hidden in the dim. They’re so hopelessly lost that it seems they’re doomed to follow the path of the chain with the big red shoes.

This “Me too” approach continues to fail as a marketing strategy for Burger King.

Follow the leader

In their latest incarnation, the fast food chain has expanded their menu adding salads, chicken snack wraps, smoothies and frappes to their offerings.

Gee, doesn’t this seem familiar? Oh yea, McDonald’s has salads (2003), snack wraps (2006) and smoothies (2010) on their menu.

How impassioned.

How pathetic. Burger King lacks vision and a culture of innovation. Seemingly, everything they do mimics their arch-rival and trails them by many months or years.

The consequences? Consumers flock to the original and other options and Burger King continues its slow slide into oblivion. The chain is now #3 in the United States behind McDonald’s and Wendy’s.

Be a leader

There’s a lesson here for entrepreneurs and small business owners. You must establish your own identity and be able to clearly differentiate from your rivals. Consumers prefer leaders. If you aren’t the market leader, then you need to focus on a segment and position yourself in some way that gives you an advantage.

For example, if you are in the hyper-crowded automotive parts supply business, you can define a strategy of specialization in a segment that is underserved. Let’s assume it’s European models or you can go even narrower and offer parts for German cars only. You can then hone your positioning and messaging as the

• only
• leading
• largest
• most knowledgeable
• genuine OEM

European or German auto parts supplier in the area. And your marketing, messaging and personality can boast your unique leadership position.

Protect your lead

But you can never rest on your laurels. You must continue to advance your knowledge, enhance your experience, add more European or German products and services and keep reminding the market you’re the best in your segment.

Create. Differentiate. Elevate.

Or follow Burger King’s example and slide into oblivion. It’s your choice. Have it your way.

~~~~~

SIDEBAR 1: Al Ries does a thorough job breaking down the many failures of Burger King’s current direction in his column in today’s online edition of Ad Age.

SIDEBAR 2: The fast food restaurant chain’s new slogan is "Exciting things are happening at Burger King."

Wow, I’m inspired.

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Stick with what works

While watching a baseball game tonight, I witnessed a sure victory nearly converted into a loss.

What changed?

The manager pulled the pitcher after the eighth inning, presumably due to a pitch count.

Aggravating! The starting pitcher had bewildered the opposition, taming their potent bats all night long. Why pull him?

Here’s why: because in professional baseball, conventional wisdom dictates that when a pitcher reaches a pre-determined pitch threshold, you remove said pitcher from the game.

I hate conventional whizdumb!

You can probably guess what happened next. The opposition jumped on the relief pitcher and put two runners on with nobody out. Suddenly, what was a sure thing, was cast into doubt. The nearly vanquished had new life.

Conventional wisdom be damned

Sometimes, you can strategize yourself right out of a victory.

This is true in sports and it’s a certainty in business. Stick with what’s working until market conditions demand a change.

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It’s in their ad, it must be true

Exaggerated claims. Demand created by playing on insecurities and false perceptions.

In advertising and marketing communications, I find nothing more distasteful. I’ve written a few posts taking companies to task on misleading statements in their ad copy.

It’s a fine line

How about it copywriters, content creators and product marketing managers? Where do you stand?

Is your copy sprinkled with puffery or glittering generalities that may produce warm fuzzies but no market benefits?

Are there little white lies here and there in your content? Are the product performance numbers you publish theoretical and based on conditions that customers have no shot of realizing?

Have you published data or claims that made you cringe? Were you suspicious, but unwilling to question your client, boss or colleague?

A line in the sand

At the 4A’s confab the final week of March, industry leaders asked themselves and attendees if they stood for anything, or were they simply doing the bidding of others without conscience or remorse.

The introspection was under the umbrella of advertising and sustainability, but the self-evaluation is worthwhile regardless of the motivation.

The content we produce must be above reproach. All claims should be verified and approved by legal with supporting data on files.

We owe it to the public, to our profession and to ourselves to be 100% forthright and honest with our words. Our employer’s or client’s credibility, not to mention our own reputation and integrity, is on the line.

Be vigilant. Never compromise.

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Advertising, sustainability and the voice of a new generation

Do we meaninglessly encourage people to buy, eat, consume, drive things they don't need? Or do we have a point of view?

These questions were asked by Kate Robertson, group chairman at Euro RSCG and co-founder of global forum One Young World, at the 4A’s confab held the last week of March in Los Angeles.

The knock on the ad industry

Her questions, as reported by Ad Age, were part of a discussion Robertson initiated about the advertising industry and sustainability. She pondered whether the two are diametrically opposed because advertising is about selling. Robertson pressed her colleagues asking if ad professionals blatantly lie on behalf of their clients.

Do we shill without a conscience?

Quite provocative.

Knock it off

Was anyone listening? I wonder if the message was carried back to attendee’s shops and given serious consideration. I wonder if anyone who heard her message or read her comments in Ad Age did or is doing some soul searching. I wonder if anyone is taking a stand and making some changes.

If you had to hazard a guess?

Clearly this is an issue that warrants industry-wide action.

Opportunity knocks

Another observation that drew some comments from attendees was those conspicuous by their absence: the youth of the industry.

Let’s see, the 4A’s wishes to attract young blood and the industry is confronted with a green issue that goes to the heart of the core values of today’s generation. Seems we have a match made in heaven.

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A slow news day? There isn’t an app for that

I spend a fair amount of time each day on the web reading content on news portals, publications, blogs and discussion groups. I scan social media feeds multiple times a day seeking something interesting to read. Oftentimes, an article, editorial, blog post or discussion will inspire me or spark on idea that leads to a blog post.

That didn’t happen today.

I don’t know if that says something about the content or something about me. Probably both. It clearly exposes the fact that I don’t adhere tightly to an editorial calendar to drive this blog. My posts tend to be spontaneous.

There’s still plenty of buzz around “The Acquisition” yesterday. I guess I could add my voice to the noise. The price tag alone delivered caused a webquake. I’ve a bit of Facebook Fatigue though, and frankly, I didn’t know a thing about Instagram until the announcement (cut me some slack, I’m a writer).

Actually, my Instagram ignorance has more to do with the fact that I’m not much of an apps guy. I don’t scour the Android market for productivity, finance, entertainment, business or communication apps for my HTC Incredible smartphone. I do have a few of the popular apps, but put a big bold accent mark on few. I pay a visit to Google Play a couple of times a month just to see what’s trending. On occasion, I’ll download something to trial.

Maybe if I had a tablet my “apptitude” would change. That wouldn’t alter the fact that I didn’t find anything interesting to share with you today.

Or did I?

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A network of a different social

Thirteen months ago I authored a post railing against bad behavior on Facebook and the social network’s evolution into something well beyond friends and family staying connected. My rant was driven by the boorish, rude and outlandish behavior exhibited by a vocal minority.

It was further spurred on by the antagonistic, incessant and annoying posts by some espousing their personal beliefs and attacking those with differing viewpoints.

And then came big business.

Of course, no one listened and now my feed is polluted with nonsense of all sorts that has very little to do the social lives of friends and family.

Social winds of change

I believe the environment is ripe for new social networks to emerge. Much like print, electronic and digital media are targeted, social networks like Facebook are prime for disruption by new niche social networks. These networks would be topic driven.

At the top of the list is a political social network. Let the activists and loud mouths take to a social media-like application that is dedicated to political free speech. Imagine the vitriol in a no holds barred social network with Facebook functionality. It would be the online version of ultimate cage fighting.

Social Network Name:  Uncivil Discourse

Second on the list is a religious social network where peeps from every belief system known to humans would gather to revel in their holiness and to attack every other belief system known to humans for being tools of the devil.

Social Network Name:  Divine Intolerance

But seriously folks

How quickly could a social media entrepreneur gain millions of subscribers for a network focused on pets? Kittens. Puppies. Bunnies. Goats. Macaws. A social forum to swap pet ownership tales and share photos and videos would be an overnight success.

Social Network Name:  Pet Net

Would expectant and new moms glom onto a social network where they could share their experiences every day and post thousands of photos? Obviously.

Social Network Name:  Baby Facebook

Yea, yea, I know. Allow me to borrow from the advice Sean Parker gave Mark Zuckerberg…

Revised Social Network Name:  BabyFace

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It’s just a fantasy

Major League Baseball is in full swing and the promise of a new season has everyone filled with high hope for their favorite team.

My parents were born and raised in Cleveland, but the Indians teams of my youth were impossible to enjoy. Year after year they underperformed and underwhelmed. Player transactions seemed designed to strengthen their rivals. They had two winning seasons – barely – in the 1970s, and only one, again barely, in the 1980s. That’s more than 20 years of futility during my formative years. It was difficult to be an avid fan.

This one belongs to the Reds

So I grew up a fan of The Big Red Machine. In the mid 1970s I’d listen to the Cincinnati Reds broadcast on 700 WLW Cincinnati with Marty Brennaman and Joe Knuxhall describing the action. Every game seemed so exciting and the Reds just kept on winning. Some nights I’d fall asleep during the broadcast with the little earbud from my transistor radio still in my ear and wake up in the dead of the morning to static; other times, I’d wake up after sunrise and discover a dead battery. This was a disaster because cash flow was limited and batteries were difficult to come by in my house.

The 1980s didn’t start well for the Cincinnati Reds, but the second half of the decade they were perennial winners. The Reds surprised everyone in 1990 by winning another Major League Baseball World Series title with a sweep of the heavily-favored Oakland Athletics.

Don’t mess with Texas

In the 1990s I went through many changes as my career and my family dominated my attention. I transitioned to what I’d describe as a more casual fan. I didn’t watch many games, but I was aware of how my teams were performing.

When I moved my family to Texas in 1993, I started to pay attention to the Texas Rangers. After going to a couple of games at The Ballpark in Arlington, I became a fan. The move to Austin in 1998 didn’t affect my allegiance.

Living in a fantasy world

Even joining a Fantasy league a couple of years ago hasn’t changed my affections. I do appreciate individual players more and recognize their value to their teams. Still, I root for teams first: Texas, Cincinnati and Cleveland. When my fantasy players compete against my favorite teams, I cheer for individual success, but I want my favorite teams to win. When my favorite teams go head-to-head, I just enjoy the games.

So it’s a new season, I have a new fantasy team and I have hope. How many players hail from my favorite teams? Three, and they are all from the Texas Rangers: Mike Napoli, Elvis Andrus and Colby Lewis. What can I say? I can watch almost every Rangers game on television. My Ohio teams are rarely broadcast in this region.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to check the scores and my fantasy team stats. Maybe this will be my year.

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Can I pique your Pinterest?

I participated in a Pinterest workshop today.

Really? Pinterest for a writer? I know,  I haven’t quite come to grips with the concept myself.

How does a writer leverage Pinterest to express himself and his craft? Pinterest is all about images that tell stories. I’m all about written stories that might be augmented by a few images.

Still, I’m a visual guy, so I decided to give it a try.

Today,  I learned many of the fundamentals for beginners.  I now have an account. I am following a handful of other Pinterest members, and I set up some boards.

Image is everything

But now I’m stuck. What do I add to the boards? I can’t write a poem and publish it on a board. I apparently have to seek out images that captivate me and pin them to the appropriate board. I am then permitted to pen a few words about the image.

A few words? This could be a more significant challenge than writing a headline, subject line or tweet.

Is this writer a glutton for punishment? Perhaps, but I have no one to blame but myself. You see, I decided on the topic and found the Pinterest expert. Was it weird that I was the only male in the room?

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Difficult work beats hard labor every time

On Monday, I compared and contrasted the nouns chance and opportunity. I argued that in many circumstances, opportunity is the smarter word choice, unless you intend to imply an element of luck as part of the expression.

Today, it’s a quick look at the words hard and difficult.

Taking the hard road

Hard is a powerful word with fabulous flexibility. As an adjective, dictionary.com lists 41 definitions. As an adverb, add another 9 definitions. Now I’m a writer who happens to be pretty good at math; that’s 50 different meanings.

That’s astounding!

That’s absurd!

That also makes the word fraught with peril. Okay it’s a bit of an overstatement, but the term hard is massively over-used and it lacks elegance.

Making your life difficult

Difficult, on the other hand, sports a mere seven definitions. Compared to hard, the word is an underachiever. It’s also underutilized.

Another attraction for this writer is it’s polysyllabic. And as I’ve written in the blog before, there are occasions when a noun deserves more than one syllable to modify it.

You are so hard to please.  NOT!
You are so difficult to please.  YES!

It’s not a hard and fast rule, but nor is it a difficult decision. Wherever possible, meaning when the two terms are synonyms, I will opt to use the word with more syllables.

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Colorful content captures customers

In my USTA doubles match on Sunday, my partner made a wonderful shot to win a critical game. “Yea,” I exclaimed, “great shot!”

I almost immediately rescinded that compliment and replaced it with a grander kudos. “I take that back. That shot deserves more than a one syllable adjective,” I explained. “Spectacular shot!

My partner beamed.

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Crafting prose that accurately communicate the beauty, character and unique benefits of your company and its products or services is a valuable skill. 

Writers have a firm command of the language and an extensive vocabulary. With a professional wordsmith on the job, you can be confident your product, service or achievement will be judiciously lavished with the appropriate polysyllabic descriptors it deserves. And the market will respond.

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You take chances, I’ll take opportunities

He has a chance to win the title.

The chance to see her mentor and hero again before she moved across the country was too good to pass up.

Give him the chance to prove he has the chops to be a leader.

At first blush, all three of the sentences seem perfectly acceptable. True? Do you have any issues with them? Are you satisfied with chance as the noun word choice? Does it provide the strength and the sense of control the speaker’s intended?

Probably not.

Take the opportunity

The better word choice is opportunity. Why?

Opportunity suggests the individual has some level of influence, if not outright mastery over the result. That is much preferred, wouldn’t you agree?

Opportunity knocks   NOT   Chance knocks
Opportunity cost   NOT   Chance cost

Which sentence sounds more empowering:

This is the chance of a lifetime; seize the moment.
This is the opportunity of a lifetime; seize the moment.

Crossover meanings

Returning to the first three examples, you may argue that the second sentence presents a scenario where there is the risk that she won’t meet her hero. This is true, however, this is a mentoring relationship, so there is a commitment and a bond that reduces, if not eliminates, much of the risk.

And that’s the underscores point with the noun chance: chance conveys a sense of little to no personal control over the outcome. (see Chance definition #1 below) It implies luck.

Here are three appropriate uses for chance:

Chance meeting   NOT   Opportunity meeting
As chance would have it   NOT   As opportunity would have it
By any chance   NOT   By any opportunity

There are circumstances where opportunity and chance are synonyms (see Chance definition #4 below), however, I maintain that in most cases, opportunity is the wiser word choice.

Take a chance

Chance is a far more fluid word with many other interpretations. As a writer, this is magical, but it also drastically elevates the potential for confusion if improperly used. Precision in communication calls for eliminating inferences, assumptions and conjecture.

Unless you intend to imply an element of luck, select opportunity.

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DEFINITIONS

chance  [chans, chahns] noun, verb, chanced, chanc·ing, adjective

1. the absence of any cause of events that can be predicted, understood, or controlled: often personified or treated as a positive agency: Chance governs all.

2. luck or fortune: a game of chance.

3. a possibility or probability of anything happening: a fifty-percent chance of success.

4. an opportune or favorable time; opportunity: Now is your chance.

5. Baseball . an opportunity to field the ball and make a put-out or assist.

6. a risk or hazard: Take a chance.

7. a share or ticket in a lottery or prize drawing: The charity is selling chances for a dollar each.

8. chances, probability: The chances are that the train hasn't left yet.

 

op·por·tu·ni·ty [op-er-too-ni-tee, -tyoo-], noun, plural -ties.

1. an appropriate or favorable time or occasion: Their meeting afforded an opportunity to exchange views.

2. a situation or condition favorable for attainment of a goal.

3. a good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement or success.