In more and more situations of late, I have found myself counseling clients that the facts can’t speak for themselves, and that we need to frame facts in the proper context with a little help from emotion. It would seem that in today’s communications environment, one person’s fact is another person’s opinion.
What does seem to break through is anger, fear, joy, surprise, sadness and trust, though some emotions seem to dominate more than others.… Read the rest
You may never have heard of Herclitus, but something he said a couple thousand years ago is as relevant today as it was when he lived around 500 BC. The Greek philosopher is credited with saying, “Change is constant.”
I would suspect that even he would be amazed at the pace at which the world seems to change today.… Read the rest
In a brief recent exchange with a former crisis communications client of mine, it dawned on me that it may be possible to enjoy a crisis experience. But you can be sure, I won’t let a comment like that sit without proper context.
First – the exchange. I asked him how he was doing. He said, “Couldn’t be better,” and then he mentioned that he had “really enjoyed” working with me.… Read the rest
My dad’s birthday was always around or on Father’s Day, so the annual flurry of sentimental social media posts I see from others often spurs me to reflect on my own dad. So, when it all came around this year, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the lessons he taught me about business and communications, even though he spent the majority of his own working life as a police officer.… Read the rest
The following blog post originally appeared on “PR, Pure & Simple,” on May 25, 2012:
One of the strongest brands we have in America is the flag. Red and white stripes. Fifty white stars against a blue field. Like so many in our country, I never get tired of seeing it.
Of course, it means different things to different people, but in many respects, it represents the same things to most people. … Read the rest
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum first opened in September 1995 in Downtown Cleveland, and it took me until just recently to make the two-and-a-half-hour drive to visit it. The visit was as much underwhelming as mesmerizing, which is why it may be worth looking at it from a public relations perspective.
While some major renovations are planned for later this year, I’m not sure they will be the medicine the Hall of Fame may need. … Read the rest
The next time you hear a guru tell the communications industry or public relations field to answer his wakeup call, hit the snooze button.
Let me explain. Consider this story from my relatively short Boy Scout career. In that time, I went on many campouts. Without fail, there was always that kid who woke up before everyone else. … Read the rest
In my media training work, I once worked with a colleague who liked to handle the portion of the workshop on key messaging. That segment included classroom lecture followed by an independent exercise.
She would “click” to the Powerpoint slide that featured this question:
Then she would ask the group to spend a few minutes writing their own individual and personal answers to the question.… Read the rest
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a multi-million-dollar communications campaign or a single tweet, a professional communicator should know the answers to these 8 questions before touching that keyboard, mouse or computer screen:
If you don’t know why you are communicating, there is a good chance you will miss the mark in any number of ways.… Read the rest
The following blog post originally ran on September 5, 2011, ten years after 9/11:It’s been ten years and a common question these days is, “Where were you on 9/11?”
My memory is probably less interesting than most, but for that matter, I remember being in a meeting with a colleague right next to the Pittsburgh airport.… Read the rest