Priceless Expressions

I quite enjoy the Dutch way of phrasing things.

SOME DUTCH WORDS I'VE COME TO LOVE HEARING/TRYING TO SAY:

Goedenmorgen - "good morning" (I've gotten really great at saying this one, guttural “g”sounds and all.)

Dankjewel - "thank you"

Alsjeblieft – "please" or "you’re welcome." It’s still not clear to me when to use it for the purpose of "you're welcome," but Anouk says I have to say "alsejeblieft" to her all the time. Go figure!

Graag gedaan - "you're welcome"

Proost - "cheers"

AND EVEN BETTER: SOME LOVABLE DUTCH/ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS*:

She sold her skin very expensive (she made it seem like she was worth a lot, but she wasn't)

I will learn you how to do that ("learn" is often interchanged with "teach")

I choose for you or we choose for each other

I respect for that

In the wild

She’s a Sunday child (she's very lucky - things always go her way)

We sell fried air (I heard someone in the PR industry say this. ;) For the purposes of this blog - I respectfully disagree with this statement.)

We sell baked air (same as above, it's just better for you, I guess!)

You fell with your nose in the butter (if you saw how much butter they ate here, it wouldn't seem hard to fall with your nose in it. Yet it actually means you're having a run of good luck!)

Kiss with him (you don't kiss him, you kiss with him)

She's a career tiger (she's very ambitious)

You walk a little blue (een blauwtje lopen - means you got dogged by a person of the opposite sex)

Clear the sky (the Dutch take on "clear the air")

Everything is pink (everything is rosy)

This next translation is more of a way of speaking than an exact translation. Basically, Dutch people like to say THING of PERSON vs. PERSON's THING. For example:

the keys of my sister vs. my sister's keys

the turkey of Carrie vs. Carrie's turkey

the father of Anouk vs. Anouk's father

AND THE BEST: SOME ANNE-SPECIFIC EXPRESSIONS*:

Can you imagine? (This may sound pretty ordinary to some of you readers, but it’s got to be said in a Dutch accent for you to get the full effect!)

Typing fast… it gives me so much joy. (Not all Dutch, or Americans, for that matter, enjoy the art of typing like Anne and I do.)

The date cloth was great. I did not meet Mr.-Next-to-God there, but it was great.

The accent of your mom. It’s so heartwarming! It's so great! How could you get out from under the wings of that accent?
(Another Anne spectacular. Amazingly, I knew what she meant after she and Mama exchanged hellos over my speakerphone!)

I sank through the floor. (Upon feeling embarrassed)

AND EVEN MORE BEST: SOME ANOUK-SPECIFIC EXPRESSIONS*:

I don't want to work today! (Don't worry Jan Hendrik, Hans, etc.: Anouk only sings this song, which is popular now on the radio, to make Bas and me laugh.)

I love myself. --Actually, I do.

I keep it for myself.

*Disclaimer: I realize, dear Dutch friends, that your English is about a billion times better than my Dutch will ever be… this is all in great fun. I adore how you speak!

Advertising in Amsterdam

While I've found PR in our two countries to be relatively similar, I've found advertising in Amsterdam to be flat-out scary. Sorry, Dutch friends... but what is this campaign!?

Ever seen the movie "The Ring?" This girl is a dead-ringer (no pun intended) for that thing that comes out of the well at the end. Just seeing this ad in the street keeps me up at night.

Yikes!

Double yikes!

Ear-splitting...

Now, she could be cute (admittedly, I'm only saying this because my Mom has a picture of me looking like this on Santa's lap circa 1981...)

Hmmm. Well, at least this campaign caught someone's attention!

Communications Training

Media and speaker training. For those of you readers not in the PR industry, you might wonder what these services are and why they are needed. Well, to simplify it for you: know when a national TV reporter does a live, on-air interview with someone in your home state after a disaster and you cringe at how awful that person looks and sounds on camera, and you ask yourself, "Why? Why is that person representing my state!?" Come on... you (especially those of you from South Cack-a-lac) know what I'm talking about. It's classic: a hurricane blows through town, and you've got the toothless old man wearing suspenders telling Diane Sawyer, "We ain't done known 'bout the tornader til it hit down right next door. I ain't never seen such a thang!" (bringing much pride to whatever southern town is featured on Good Morning America).

Well, that person was not media trained.

I'm painting you an extreme example, but essentally, our clients don't want to be that toothless old man using double negatives on television. To look good and say what you want to say on camera (or in a presentation), you have to practice, because success depends on preparation. So that's what we help our clients do: prepare! And it's absolutely one of my favorite roles at Jackson Spalding.

What I've learned in Holland is that the approach to preparation offered by Jackson Spalding through JS Cultivation isn't markedly different from what is offered by Van Luyken. Like JS, Van Luyken is known for its customized and highly effective training services.

Van Luyken's primary trainers, who each have a background in journalism or serving as a spokesperson, are Hans and Raoul, two of my favorite VL co-workers.

In my opinion, a good trainer is someone who can make a client feel comfortable in what is often an uncomfortable setting, and a good trainer is also FUN. At JS, we try to bring these traits to our trainings, and our Van Luyken friends have these characteristics down, too.

So, overall, I'd say we're more similar in our training styles than not....



...except that the sessions here are usually in Dutch. :)


The Van Luyken Training Studio, where they simulate on-air interviews and in-person interviews.











Hans getting ready for a client training.