What to Do If Your Boss Asks You to Break the Rules
From the Harvard Business Review: All of us, at some point or another, are asked to break the rules at work. It may be a small action, like rounding up or down in an accounts ledger, or a small inaction, like looking the other way while others do so. It may be a one-time request, […]
5 Crisis Management Resolutions for 2016
[By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications] Unless your organization was incredibly lucky this past year, either something bad happened to you, or you – or someone associated with you – did something bad to someone else. Even though we work with clients in crisis virtually every day, we are constantly amazed by the never-ending variety of […]
Got Writer’s Block? 14 Writers Share How They Fight the Blank Screen
From Poynter: A few weeks ago I wrote about my bout with writer’s block, and how I needed a good “slap” to get over it. That got me thinking: how do other writers get over those moments (or hours) when the blank screen is so imposing? So I asked for advice from some very good […]
7 Dos and Don’ts Following a Social Media Mishap
Social media is so powerful that a single post can make or break a brand’s reputation. This is why it’s important to think before you post, either as yourself or on your business’s behalf. Still, sometimes things don’t go as planned. What seemed like a good status may turn out to be offensive or insensitive […]
Confessions of a TV News Executive, Part 2 – The Ambush Interview
[By Howard Fencl, APR] You’re grappling with serious challenges that threaten your organization, and perhaps your career. Someone leaks an internal e-mail to the media, and reporters have been leaving you voicemail messages all day asking for your comment on the issue. Your company’s unwritten policy is to ignore the media, and your general counsel […]
5 Crisis Management Tips for Your Brand
Creating a brand used to take years. Companies often started locally or regionally, developed loyal customers and built a market identity — supplemented by print or electronic advertising as brands grew. In addition to taking a long time, brand-building also took a great deal of money. Flash-forward to today: While it’s still possible to build a […]
Tips & Techniques to Help Anyone Become a Better Speaker
From our good friend – and a terrific writer – Marilyn Cavicchia at the American Bar Association: If you’ve ever heard Tim Eigo speak at Annual or Midyear meetings or at the ABA Bar Leadership Institute, you know that this is a guy who loves to present. While it is true that Eigo, editor of the […]
The Ultimate Media Interview Checklist
A large, broadcast-quality camera is aimed at you. Lights blind your vision. And a perfectly made up and coiffed reporter is holding a mic under your face. You try hard to look cool, but you can feel the sweat dripping down your back. Your breaths are shallow. You can barely remember what you wanted to say, […]
September is National Preparedness Month
[By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications] Thankfully, those of us who live in Ohio don’t have to cope with forest fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts or hurricanes. Tornadoes? We get a few, but thankfully it’s usually decades between devastating twisters. Ohioans do get localized flooding, bridges do go out, fires happen – and if you give a […]
How to Proceed When Your Spokesperson is a Dud
[By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications] For decades, clients have come to Hennes Communications to learn how to communicate better with reporters, stakeholders and the public. The gold standard is when a speaker says the right thing and delivers it to their intended audience in an interesting, conversational manner. To do that, we often spend as much […]