Tag: Public Speaking

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Media training insights from senior leadership teams

What do you believe are your areas of weakness?

I’ve spent the morning preparing for a media training session.

Every person we train is asked to complete a pre-training questionnaire, which means that we create content that is focused solely on them – addressing what they believe are their strengths, weaknesses, hopes and fears.

It is a fascinating insight into the minds of CEOs and Senior Leadership Teams and arguably the most important part of the jigsaw puzzle to anticipate how the training session is going to run…

To the question ‘what do you believe are your areas of weakness?’
We tend to get a version of the following: not being able to answer all the questions, handling difficult questions, speaking too quickly etc

But today I’ve just read the answer ‘that I am a bit woo’

This is both a unique and brilliantly intriguing answer, and I am now seriously looking forward to the training!

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Why it matters to write human for spokespeople

A little plea for all those writing content for spokespeople…

(Also included the sounds of a panting dog and multiple birds!)

Just a little plea from me today to anybody writing statements that they want their spokespeople to use verbally.

Please write human.

I have lost count of the number of answers to challenging questions that have clearly just been written.

Nobody’s tried to say it.

It’s only when you try and say things, that you realise the language simply doesn’t work.

You are making your spokespeople sound like robots. You are making your spokespeople sound like they’re just reading from a script and it’s not convincing anyone.

So just a little plea from me. Please, if you’re giving someone something to say verbally, say it out loud first and please write human.

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Overcoming imposter syndrome and growing as a speaker

I love it when a plan comes together (thank you Hannibal Smith).

Today was one of those days.

A workshop with a long standing client who I’ve seen and supported to grow from the new team member to a senior industry expert.

  • Prepping for several big speaking opps
  • Sharing stories about imposter syndrome
  • Producing her best ever performance

The real A-Team!

This is why I love my job, and why I’m smiling!

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There was no dead rat in the yogurt

Interview with Tom Mangold

Tom Mangold shares advice for spokespeople: be prepared, avoid jargon, rehearse key points and take responsibility in tough interviews.

“There was no dead rat in the yogurt.”

Thank you to everyone who suggested questions for veteran journalist, Tom Mangold.

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5 things a crisis communication spokesperson does

5 Things a Crisis Communication Spokesperson Does. Photo by Fardad sepandar on Unsplash

Being the face of the organisation in a crisis is a BIG ask.

So a spokesperson must ask a few things in return before doing an interview.

Here are 5 things great spokespeople do in a crisis:

  1. Complete clarity on what they can say publicly at this stage.
  2. Answers on information gaps. Even if the details are not available.
  3. Space to rehearse key messages, and their way of saying them.
  4. Confidence to make the most of the interview, conveying empathy and personal commitment.
  5. A reliable deputy for their usual role so they can focus on the media.

Comment here if you have any more tips…

Featured Image by Fardad sepandar on Unsplash

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How NOT to give a statement: a lesson from the Russian poisoning story

A lesson from the Russian poisoning story

Yesterday, the Government’s Chief Medical Officer Prof Dame Sally Davies made a statement. An important statement for any of the 500 or so people who had visited the restaurant and pub in Salisbury where trace amounts of the substance used to poison ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found.

Now I don’t live in Salisbury.  But my gut feeling, if I did, is that any advice about possible nerve agent contamination is probably worth listening to.

Continue reading “How NOT to give a statement: a lesson from the Russian poisoning story”