5 Communication Lessons From The Harris-Pence Debate
From Edward Segal, writing in Forbes: Presidential and vice presidential debates have been an important part of the American electoral process for decades. They provide voters with unfiltered opportunities to hear directly from the people who want to lead our country. As a public speaker myself, and a former presentation skills trainer, last night I […]
You Have a Crisis Communications Plan. Now It’s Time to Test It with a Tabletop Drill.
By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications Organizations often assume that having an up-to-date crisis communications plan on the shelf will ensure that responding to a crisis event will go smoothly as a result. If the plan was carefully researched and based on good knowledge of the organization, that may well be the case. But there’s no […]
One More Crisis Communications Challenge For Educators: The 2020 Election
By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications A few months into a school year unlike any other, administrators and teachers have been challenged to figure out: how to reopen safely; whether to have in-person classes, virtual classes or a hybrid; how to get students to and from school; whether and how to have sports and other extracurriculars […]
What is Executive Presence, and How Can You Strengthen It?
From our good friend, Marilyn Cavicchia, editor of Bar Leader, published by the American Bar Association Bar Services Division, comes this excellent article on executive presence, applicable to lawyers and non-lawyers: Executive presence—the way a person presents themselves and their ideas live or on video—“is much more important than it was 20 years ago,” according to […]
How Viewers of the Presidential Debates Can Become Better Informed Voters (And Not Alienate Family and Friends)
By Arthur Solomon, former VP at Burson-Marsteller: In a recent post, I wrote, “Soon the presidential debates will begin with their ridiculous format of having the candidates answer questions in a few seconds, instead of giving them sufficient time to fully state their positions. Even worse, after each debate TV pundits will criticize the demeanor, […]
10 Ways to Spot Online Misinformation
From H. Colleen Sinclair,Associate Professor of Social Psychology, Mississippi State University, writing in The Conversation: Propagandists are already working to sow disinformation and social discord in the run-up to the November elections. Many of their efforts have focused on social media, where people’s limited attention spans push them to share items before even reading them – in part because […]
Dealing With a Crisis
The managing partner of Hennes Communications, Thom Fladung, was recently interviewed on the subject of crisis communications for Ari Lewis and his Mastering the Attention Economy video podcast. Tune-in here for a short, 20-minute master class on crisis management: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7jTEG7cHaE
The Evolution of Terror: 6 Critical Threats 19 Years After 9/11
Bridget Johnson is the Managing Editor for Homeland Security Today. A veteran journalist whose news articles and analyses have run in dozens of news outlets across the globe, Bridget is a senior fellow specializing in terrorism analysis at the Haym Salomon Center. She writes in Homeland Security Today… When the planes hit the Twin Towers, […]
National Preparedness Month
National Preparedness Month (NPM) is recognized each September to promote family and community disaster planning now and throughout the year. As our nation continues to respond to COVID-19, there is no better time to be involved this September. The 2020 NPM theme is: “Disasters Don’t Wait. Make Your Plan Today.“ For more information: www.ready.gov Week 1: […]
They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won’t Anybody Listen?
By Elizabeth Weil, writing for ProPublica… What a week. Rough for all Californians. Exhausting for the firefighters on the front lines. Heart-shattering for those who lost homes and loved ones. But a special “Truman Show” kind of hell for the cadre of men and women who’ve not just watched California burn, fire ax in hand, […]