July 31, 2006
Why I adore Shel Holtz
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Okay, I’ll ‘come out’ and admit it — I’m a Shelaholic.
The man could go and make Jeffrey Dahmer look like a kindergarten teacher and I’d still read him.
Shel has the most amazing set of credentials:
- he is prescient — he is able to read the winds of change
- he is a prophet — he is willing to stick his head above the parapets and get it kicked in, all in the name of telling fellow business communicators what we need to hear
- he is selfless — the willingness of Shel to help out fellow communicators, to share his not inconsiderable knowledge for free, is legendary
- he is a skilled and erudite oral communicator — witness any one episode of FIR to appreciate his ability to clearly communicate ideas and views without the usual ‘uuhms and errs’ that betray most of us; note, too, his recent achievement at the IABC International Conference
- he is a wordsmith — he knows how to string a sentence together and make it sing.
For evidence of the last point, I ask the jury to consider a recent post of his, entitled Sweeping statements.
The post, a critique of a seemingly clueless and ill-researched ‘op ed’ piece by a consultant, is taken apart by the Holtzter in spectacular but unassuming fashion. And he ends it with a paragraph so dripping in understated sarcasm that my breath was taken away, my smile ineradicable for a full five minutes, and I was filled with a fervent desire to ‘out’ myself and compose the very post you now see before you.
I’m sure I’m as guilty as anyone else of making sweeping statements, but after reading this one, I pledge to be more careful about it. I wouldn’t want to paint anyone with a brush based on a cursory review of facts that leaves an inaccurate picture on display that readers may assume was carefully researched and factually accurate.
Keeping calling them as you see them, Shel!
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3 Responses to “Why I adore Shel Holtz”
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July 31st, 2006 at 7:04 pm
Hear, Hear!
I was a fan of Holtz before I knew that such a thing as the blogosphere existed - I found his online PR textbook to be invaluable for my University honours dissertation.
Then, as I’ve started exploring the social media world over the past year or so - in turn becoming familiar with his blog and podcast - my admiration has only grown.
Well said Lee.
August 1st, 2006 at 10:04 am
Well said, indeed. Lee, I too am a Shel fan. I like the way he thinks, writes and speaks. And he is very generous in his support of others’ efforts in the world of social media.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
[...] Why Lee Hopkins is a Shelaholic. [...]