I Can’t Go On – What’s Behind Stage Fright
By Joan Acocella, writing in The New Yorker… Sara Solovitch, in “Playing Scared: A History and Memoir of Stage Fright” (Bloomsbury), says that while she was a good pianist as a child, she fell apart—sweating, trembling—when she had to play for an audience. She got through the Eastman School of Music’s preparatory program. Then she […]
How the 10-Second Rule Can Dramatically Change Your Conversations and Make You a Better Leader
By Jason Aten, writing for Inc… Communicating is easily the single most important job of leaders. If leadership is mostly about influence–and it is–then the ability to communicate a vision and motivate people to move toward that vision is the single most important characteristic a leader can have. The problem is, communication is hard. Sometimes […]
6 Crisis Management Lessons From the Florida Condo Collapse
From Devin Partida, writing for Worth… The tragic condominium collapse that occurred recently in Surfside, Fla., has shed light on the importance of crisis management. Identifying threats before they arise can be a challenge. Emergencies can be difficult, if not impossible, to anticipate, but how to respond to them can be thought out beforehand. Proper planning […]
Social Media Jeopardizes our Lives
By Evan Nierman, writing for PR News… The swift downfall of “Jeopardy!” host Mike Richards is the latest example of the jeopardy that surrounds us in today’s lightning-fast unforgiving age of social media. Whether you make a wrong move, say something offensive, or have ugly skeletons in your closet, the career-ending rush to judgement can be fast […]
Crisis Communications in a Hostile Cyber Landscape
By Bethan Moorcraft writing in Business Insurance Australia… A few years ago, if a company suffered a cyberattack, the message they would relay was often: “We’re experiencing technical difficulties,” or “We’re dealing with a cyber incident.” But in today’s technology-first society, with ransomware and other cyberattacks so prevalent, crisis communication strategies have changed. Ransomware is […]
Disney Attacks Scarlett Johansson Instead of the Facts
From Tom Weidlich and Eric Rose writing for PR News… Actor Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against the Walt Disney Company is turning out to be a blockbuster. Yet, the company’s response is eliciting mostly thumbs-down reviews and providing an example of bad litigation communication. To its credit, Disney responded promptly and publicly. On the down side, […]
Cleveland Hits the Ball Out of the Park on Name Change
From our friends at PRCG/Haggerty… The Cleveland Indians professional baseball team, like similarly branded clubs, has been pressured for years to change its name, which many Native Americans view as racist. Last week, it unveiled a new moniker with a campaign aimed at anticipating blowback. It wasn’t just good PR, but good crisis communications. Baseball […]
The Right (And Wrong) Way To Apologize For Dumb Things You Said Online
By Brittany Wong, writing for HuffPost… The Celebrity Apology™ is having a moment, with famous person after famous person apologizing for stupid things they said online in years past. Just this year we’ve had journalist Alexi McCammond apologize (and resign from a Teen Vogue editor-in-chief position) for anti-Asian and homophobic tweets. We’ve had Chrissy Teigen apologize for cyberbullying and Billie […]
7 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Crisis Communications Firm
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications This article first appeared in the National Law Journal Crisis communications is a sub-specialty of the public relations profession that is designed to protect and defend an individual, company, or organization facing a public challenge to its reputation. Crisis communications is aimed at raising awareness of a specific type of threat, the magnitude, […]
For the Third Year in a Row, Bruce Hennes Named to LAWDRAGON Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy and Consulting
Hennes Communications is proud to announce that Chief Executive Officer Bruce Hennes has been named to the 2021 LAWDRAGON Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy and Consulting, the definitive guide to the experts in management, marketing, communication and recruiting most valued by law firm leaders. This is the third year in a row that Hennes has been named […]