In our public speaking workshops, I will often tell participants that I don’t want them to be fake or act like the presenter they wish they were. Audiences want authenticity. They want the real you. But they also want to feel your impact. They want all of you.
Don't Think of Media Coverage as the Result - The Result is What Happens Because of the Coverage Check out this recent coverage in TechTarget secured for client Aldridge, a leading IT services provider with offices throughout the major metropolitan areas of Texas. Aldridge has grown rapidly in recent years. In fact, they are among a small group of companies that have been listed by Inc. as one of America's fastest growing companies for five years running. What an accomplishment! The story, "Tech acquisitions raise integration issues for channel," in TechTarget offers best practices from Aldridge and describes the company's highly structured integration process the company's leadership has developed as they have acquired nearly a dozen companies in recent years. This process has proven invaluable and it is unique, which is what makes it newsworthy. To Aldridge's credit, they were …
Oregon Communicators Learn About Fundamentals of Crisis Communications DPK Public Relations Founder Daniel Keeney, APR was proud to present at the Spring Conference of the Healthcare Communicators of Oregon last week on the subject of Crisis Communications Planning. He discussed how all crises have certain characteristics, including unwanted scrutiny, an interruption of normal business operations and harm (or threat of harm) to reputation. If your organization is experiencing an event or percolating issue with those three characteristics, you are probably in great danger of being in crisis. If your organization is in crisis, call DPK Public Relations at 800.596.8708. Another common element of crisis is that the event could have been anticipated. One of the great values of crisis planning is conducting a threat or vulnerability assessment. We do this by talking with people from throughout the organization and also assessing …
This article was originally published in the March 2015 edition of Public Relations Tactics, a publication of the Public Relations Society of America. See the original published article by clicking here (subscription required). On Thanksgiving evening, I watched shoppers hold their smartphones high above their heads as others jostled, pushed and complained. While someone was recording them, cashiers good-naturedly answered questions about their stress levels. They were also sympathetic with those shoppers who were frustrated that some early bargains were already sold out. Once uploaded to YouTube, people might largely ignore that content, or it could easily appear on “Good Morning America” the next day. How plausible is that? A survey of professional journalists by Arketi Group found that 91 percent of journalists say they use the Web to search for news sources and story ideas, and 34 percent admit to …
"The other alternative is to call it a career and put up the going out of business sign" DPK Public Relations Founder and President Daniel Keeney, APR, is frequently called upon to comment on PR crisis response, and his recent advice regarding Bill Cosby's troubles received media coverage across the U.S. In an interview with Brian Melley of Associated Press, Keeney said that many PR counselors recommend anyone facing unwanted scrutiny acknowledge the troubles and then go on an apology tour. However, one of the most powerful assets a person facing accusations has is time. Below are links to some of the media coverage that resulted: Fox News Bill Cosby's silence may be his best defense at this point KLAS-TV Las Vegas Bill Cosby's silence may be his best defense, legal experts say The Telegram Bill Cosby's silence may be his …
Could Your Overseas Executives be Kidnapping Targets? In anticipation of conducting crisis training for a client, we recently requested a copy of their crisis communications plan. Much to the chagrin of the company's communications leader, he provided a document that had been in the works for literally years, but remained unfinished. My suggestion: circulate the unfinished draft and get it approved. A crisis communication plan is never finished. It is a living, breathing thing. I've seen a quote attributed alternately to Confucius and Voltaire that sums up my feelings about crisis communications planning: "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good." By striving for a perfect plan, and in the process delaying the completion of a good enough plan, you are endangering your entire organization. It can actually be empowering to realize that the crisis communications plan can never be …
Remembering JFK's Masterful Dealings with the Media On this 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy, there will inevitably be a lot of reflection as well as a fair amount of curiosity. I suspect that those under 35 years old were more influenced by the Oliver Stone movie than by family stories and recollections, as I was. Having grown up in the late 60s and 70s in a politically active house full of democrats in western Connecticut, I remember stories about my mom having a chance to shake JFK's hand as well as discussions about JFK's uncanny ability to manage the media and his public image. We had the Vaughn Meader album, "The First Family," which lampooned JFK's press dealings and my older brother had it memorized. Of course, at the time, President Kennedy's uncanny ability was seen in stark contrast …
Social Technologies Will Not Change What PR Can Accomplish or How It Can Be Measured We recently marked our 10th year as an agency and, personally, this is my 20th year in the public relations trenches. Over that time this profession has radically changed, but the basics -- what we can accomplish and how it can be measured have not changed. When I started at Ketchum, we had a single computer that had access to the Internet. Until Netscape software began circulating, the only way to connect to the Net was via AOL or Prodigy. I had a Prodigy account from my days as a journalist and we sometimes logged on using that -- and the office had a single AOL account to share as well. There were about 50 people in the office. Aside from that one connected computer, …
We always devote a portion of our Media Interview Skills Training sessions to a discussion about going “off-the-record” with journalists. Our recommendation is the same today as it was 20 years ago: there is no such thing as “off-the-record.” Think of it as a cliff for your career. You can dance at the edge of that cliff and think you are in control. But there are many forces at play that can send you right over the edge no matter how confident you are. Splat. There goes your career. If you say something, you should be prepared to see it attributed to you in print. Even if you have a relationship with a journalist, that journalist’s job is to get a good story and tell that story. If you expect them to do otherwise, you are suggesting that what you …
Lessons from Our First Decade Training America's Spokespersons During our first 10 years, DPK Public Relations has been honored to train more than 1,000 spokespersons for organizations throughout Texas and across the United States. We have conducted training in top secret military installations and highly volatile chemical facilities. We have conducted one-on-one training for individuals shortly before major media opportunities and for large groups that were unlikely to ever be interviewed -- but who rightly embraced the training 'just in case.' Through it all, one thing has remained true: how you deliver information is just as important as what you say -- and research suggests how information is delivered can easily amplify the power of the information, or it can suck all the power out of it. The goal is to project confidence and positivity to reinforce that you are …