Preparing to Announce Layoffs in a Virtual Meeting
By Kathryn Janicek for Harvard Business Review Alongside meetings, job interviews, and even social events, layoffs have entered the virtual era. It was, after all, inevitable. In a recent McKinsey study, 35 percent of respondents reported that they were able to work remotely full time. Logic follows that when someone works remotely, they can be laid off remotely, too. […]
Remarks Made by Memphis Police Chief in Aftermath of Tyre Nichols’ Death – A Master Class for Crisis Communications
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications In the aftermath of the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five police officers, the Memphis Police Chief chose not to stand behind the usual “This is a matter under investigation.” Instead, she made remarks that were honest and, in my opinion, stunningly blunt. Her outrage was evident […]
When Legal and Communications Collide: Making the Right Choice
By Richard Levick Speaking with journalists, shareholders, customers and stakeholders is easy when the going is good. As the old saying goes, “We are all capitalists on the way up but socialists on the way down.” But when things turn bad? Communication suddenly becomes much more challenging. As another old saying goes, “The gods of […]
Avoiding Communication Crises with NIL Campaigns
By Nicole Schuman for PRNEWS As summer winds down, college students return to school and so begins the rally cries and pep band revelry for collegiate athletics. And this year student-athletes have more on the line. As always, there are scholarships and professional league recruiting. In addition, it’s the first full academic year that student-athletes […]
Layoffs and Communication: What NOT to Do
By Nicole Schuman for PRNEWS With talk everywhere of a possible recession and economic instability around the globe, corporate layoff announcements seem more prevalent. Several days ago, Ford confirmed cutting 3,000 jobs. Apple laid off around 100 recruiters as it prepared for a hiring slowdown. Wayfair reported a loss of 870 jobs as it reacts […]
The Age of Outrage: Crisis Management in Social Media Pile-Ons
By Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications There’s nothing the self-righteous embrace more than joining with their fellow self-righteous to gang up on some unfortunate target. The angrier the echo chamber, the better. Social media is their perfect rage machine. It’s where anonymous trolls can obsess and pile on. And they do it relentlessly and instantly over […]
How to Create a Crisis
GoLocal, an online publication in Providence, Rhode Island, recently wrote an editorial critical of recent decisions by Rhode Island education officials. The editorial creatively lists everything those officials have been doing to create a crisis juxtaposed with tips for managing a crisis the right way, written by Northeastern University’s Graduate School. We urge you to […]
Media Training for Attorneys and Their Clients – Done on Your Schedule and at Your Convenience – In-Person or Remote
Whether it’s a staff meeting on Teams, a webinar on Zoom, a private conversation on FaceTime or a short training video you record on WebEx, it’s not just what you say, but how you say it. And if it’s an interview with a seasoned reporter, the stakes are even higher. You must be prepared to […]
Pitching Successfully in the ‘News-You-Can-Choose’ Media Environment
By Linda Descano and Ellen Mallernee for PRNews Today’s news media environment is a direct reflection of consumers’ preference for a choose-your-adventure style of news consumption. For the most part, consumers choose where, how and from whom they get news. This means they may wind up at very different places. The mix of news people […]
The Olive Green Sweatshirt Goes to Congress
In the seminars we teachabout crisis communications, we often talk about the fact that what you say may be less important than how you say it. “How you say it” also includes the way you look. Ukranian President Zelensky purposely chose not to wear a suit and tie for his recent visit to Washington, DC. […]