9 Ways Spokespeople Can Annoy Reporters
It’s no secret that journalists get exasperated with PR pros who pitch wholly inappropriate stories to them. Even those PR pros who are experts at researching a particular journalist’s beat and outlet and successfully land an interview for their company’s lead spokesperson—say, a CEO—can aggravate time-strapped journalists if that spokesperson is ill-prepared or has a […]
Crisis Communications Lessons From the Campaign Trail
From our colleague, Caitlin Rourk: The 2016 presidential election has been nothing short of a spectacle, turning traditional political conventions (no pun intended) squarely on their head. And just as this election has forced the political establishment to alter its strategies, business organizations must reevaluate how to approach the unpredictable and unforgiving crises they face […]
Turning Crisis Into Victory as a Keynote Speaker
Mark Schaefer writes: In my career as a keynote speaker, I know that something can (and will) go wrong, and I like to think I’m prepared for anything. But after eight years as a keynote speaker, I came up against a crisis that turned into one of my most successful presentations ever. I wanted to […]
Power Posing: Fake It Until You Make It
We ran this piece from the Harvard Business Review a number of years ago. This week, it showed up on our radar screen and given the tremendous response received last time, we thought it worthwhile to run again. Nervous about an upcoming presentation or job interview? Holding one’s body in “high-power” poses for short time […]
Training Near Terror
[by Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications] On March 22, Bruce Hennes and I were leading a day-long crisis management/media training program in the Netherlands when explosions ripped through Brussels Airport and the Maelbeek metro station. Though the terror struck more than 100 miles south of our training room, everyone’s smart phones immediately began dinging and beeping […]
The Definitive Guide to Selecting The Right Spokesperson
[By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications] One of the most common decisions we encounter when clients face a crisis situation is helping them choose the individual who will serve as their spokesperson. Rarely does anyone volunteer for this assignment and most draftees accept it with grudging resignation. In truth, being a spokesperson is a high-risk job […]
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 […]
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 […]
Confessions of a TV News Executive
[by Howard Fencl, APR] I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I earned my stripes in TV producing newscasts and managing newsrooms for the better part of twenty years, and I can now freely admit the following: I loved reporters who came trotting breathlessly back into the newsroom with video of anyone who got belligerent and […]
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 […]