Imagine this: A harried spokesperson, whose visible anxiety hardly conceals a welling inner panic, blathers into the microphone, “but I’m not being defensive and we’re not gouging our customers.”
Not a pretty picture! Neither would be the post-int...More |
Analyzing video clips of other people’s media interviews can be an enlightening educational experience . . . if done properly.
The benefit accrues from identifying both desirable and undesirable behaviours. You will want to project such qualitie...More |
Back in the pre-digital world when I was a journalist based in Copenhagen, I’d often get requests from a US radio network for a package of 15-30 second spots, with each one telling another side of a major breaking story, such as a general strike or n...More |
Policies and promises are the trappings of illusion that most of us cite to explain - or rationalize - our political choices. In the end, however, victory will likely go to the leader who pesents himself most effectively as sage, knowledgable, capabl...More |
For any one of you who, like myself today, have had to deliver a public address, the words of former U.S. president Woodrow Wilson might strike a sympathetic chord.
“If I am to speak ten minutes,” he mused, “I need a week for preparation; if fifte...More |
(The following article was published in the November 11, 2003 editions of The Toronto Star)
Running government like a business may sound like a good idea at first blush. It certainly seems to have the ring of success. Just look at all those busine...More |
Boilerplates - the often self-serving, general-purpose descriptions of organizations and their primary activities and achievements - aren’t exactly the stuff that dreams are made of; nor does proficiency in writing them rank high on any list of res...More |
Crisis communications looms large in the public relations body of knowledge, and theories abound about what constitutes a crisis and how crises differ from other challenges with which the PR practitioner must cope.
We are told that when the prese...More |
You’re nervous about facing the media, especially those tough reporters who always seem to ask loaded questions, twist your words or misrepresent your meaning, and you want to get media training that will help you avoid these pitfalls. All well and g...More |
Following is a presentation by Ed Shiller to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce Speakers Corner Luncheon on October 30, 2001.
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen:
I’m an American by birth, and when I was growing up in New York in the 1950s, I used...More |
Hiring a clown to deliver a news release may be alright - if you're publicizing a circus - but if it's to get the media to cover an IPO, you'll be sending the wrong message. It's the same with design: Flashiness might attract, but it could also disto...More |
The general news media are more impressionistic than didactic. It's more likely that a person will walk away from a news story with an opinion of, or attitude about, the subject matter rather than with a compendium of facts, figures and process.
M...More |
What's your first reaction to a corporate executive or other public figure who refuses to comment about allegations of wrongdoing because "the matter is before the courts"?
Be honest! Can you truthfully say that you'd accept the explanation and su...More |
A reporter calls you for an interview with your new CEO. She'd like to do a profile for the weekend business section and was wondering whether it would be convenient to come to your office next Tuesday or Wednesday.
"Okay," you say tentatively, "w...More |
The more things change the more they remain the same - or so it seems in the realm of media training and interview performance.
Ask just about anyone what he or she thinks of the way politicians handle themselves in front of the media, and the lik...More |
No one - regardless of title, rank or level of expertise - should be called upon to speak to the media on behalf of an organization unless that person meets two criteria: One, he or she is skilled in the art of giving interviews, and two, he or she i...More |
The task of choosing the right spokesperson is often clouded by mythic assumptions that overshadow underlying reality and may lead organizations to pick the wrong person to speak to the media or to establish counterproductive policies for regulating ...More |
Extensive preparation is essential for any interview. You'll identify your objectives and the messages you want to convey on a wide variety of topics. You'll anticipate the kinds of questions you're likely to be asked. And you'll hone your skills in ...More |
Do: Reply immediately to reporter's enquiries with relevant information.
Don't: Put off reporters or ignore or postpone returning their calls.
Do: Always agree to a...More |
Negotiate with the media! Deflect questions! Zoom into your key message! Steer the reporter to the questions you want asked!
Sound familiar? Well, to many executives, spokespersons, media trainers and public relations practitioners, these are the ...More |