Note: This article was published in the April 2011 issue of Public Relations Tactics. It is posted here with permission. Assessing the impact of social technologies on the winter uprisings is complicated. In the midst of the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and other Middle Eastern autocracies, pundits attributed the spreading demands for democracy to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This seriously over-simplified the highly complex web of economic, cultural and political factors that contributed to the demands for change. Revolutionaries are using text messages, blogs and social networks to communicate and collaborate with each other and the rest of the world. However, social technologies weren’t necessary for the U.S. Civil Rights movement, the People Power Revolution in the Philippines or the fall of the Iron Curtain. It is tempting to suggest that social technologies are causing revolutionary change, but that …
I just completed two days of presentation skills training with a large government agency and wanted to briefly share some thoughts about body language and nonverbal communications that came up repeatedly. First, it is essential that presenters think about and prepare for what they want to do with their body during a presentation. We tend to spend most of our time planning for WHAT we are going to say, but completely neglect HOW we are going to say it. The way you stand, your facial expression, your ability to make eye contact and what you do with your hands can each amplify or distract from the potential impact of your presentation. The way you stand. The most powerful way to stand is feet about should width apart, shoulders square and hands at your sides. Try standing that way. Do you …
I am not sure how I missed this story when it first happened, but it is worth recapping even if the event happened a couple weeks ago. Those Chilean miners who once were trapped underground and now are hobnobbing with the rich and famous? They were media trained while awaiting rescue. Okay, that definitely deserves an LOL. There are a lot of jokes that come to mind, but the reality is that sometimes I think the people who trudge into a media training session would prefer to be trapped underground for a month rather than participate in training to prepare them to handle media scrutiny. Their perspective changes once we get rolling, because what we do is fun and interactive, but I haven’t found too many people who get excited about spending a day in a media training session. They …
No single speech during the 20th Century shaped the lives of 21st Century Americans as did the "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28, 1963. It is great to be able to share it with you -- both the video of the speech and the text below. In our Presentation Skills Training session, we often examine aspects of this speech and extract lessons for all presenters. Two very simple things that every speaker can do include: Using repetition. Dr. King repeats key phrases such as “100 years later…” This can help to establish a theme, making clear to the audience those elements of the presentation that are important. Later, repetition is used with the phrases, “I have a dream,” and “Let freedom ring,” both of which are central to the story being told. Creating pictures with words. By using opposites, as he’s …
I am a big fan of Warren Buffett (my Aunt Margie -- maiden name Margie Lee Canaday -- was his classmate in Omaha and was even mentioned in his autobiography, Snowball), so I carved out some time this week to watch his town hall event with Bill Gates at Columbia Business School students on CNBC. Now, it is one thing for me to try to explain to executives the value of our Media Interview Skills Training and Presentation Skills Training services, but to have Warren Buffett put it into dollars and cents -- that takes it to another level! So when Mr. Buffett explained that improving communications skills can increase the future earnings potential of executives by 50 percent -- which conservatively translates into about a half million dollars for the average college graduate -- it was music to my ears! You could improve on that (he's referring to …
At DPK Public Relations we have gradually been adding more tools to our arsenal and wanted to share some of the results with you. When I started in public relations with Ketchum Public Relations Worldwide in Pittsburgh in the mid-1990s, we often advised clients of the benefits of a corporate video. It game them something to loop on the video displays in their tradeshow booths and was a nice leave-behind or follow-up for meetings with prospective customers. But they were complicated and could be pretty expensive. I remember one we did for an energy company cost upwards of $17,000 for shooting, producing and editing -- not even counting the time for the account team to script it, coach the client and supervising the shoot. Now that same video can be done far more efficiently and quickly -- and …
The practice of public relations has dramatically changed. It is imperative that organizations change the way they communicate and resist the forces that encourage you to continue the way you have always done things because it is the way you have always done things. Read more from Dan Keeney, APR.
Recent high profile online calamities experienced by notable brands are prompting discussion about the emergence of a new discipline: digital crisis communications. I understand that some people may believe the fundamental rules have shifted, thus necessitating a new approach to crisis planning and response. However, this is not the case. The fundamentals of crisis communications remain as relevant in an era of rapidly evolving media power structures as they have always been. That said, I am realistic enough to expect that digital crisis communications will probably catch fire because it captures the current zeitgeist. Social media has reached the tipping point, so more problems will be reported and discussed through online tools such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and whatever emerges in the next year to dethrone them. There will undoubtedly be all sorts of people who portray themselves as digital crisis …
DPK Public Relations President and Founder Dan Keeney, APR was featured in the article, "Crisis Communications: How to Recover from a Black Eye," in the March/April issue of Perspectives, a publication for the insurance brokerage industry. The article was written by Paula L. Weis, who does a great job of gathering a lot of solid information and delivering it in a way that is interesting and easy to read. Of course, these are challenging times for the entire financial services industry and insurance brokers are dealing with customers every day who are afraid that their carriers will not be able to survive. But the tips provided regarding crisis planning, response and recovery should be in the pocket of every communicator these days. You never know when you might need it. Download the article by clicking on the image below. …
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