Three recent avoidable communications no-no’s reinforce the “duh” principle. Think and ask questions before your speak, blog or engage in public conversations. Items:
• National Public Radio SVP of Development Ron Schiller talking with members of a group he has never met before, that it turns out has been organized by a provocateur. Read more
Good stuff from current CEO of Mandalay Bay Peter Guber. He believes storytelling is at the heart of effective communications and success in business. So much so that he’s written a book about it, “Tell to Win.” Read more
As is often the case for some adopters of new technology, what’s new today can get old very quickly. A recent article in Politico points out that politicians are increasingly tiring of Twitter and its 140-character limit, as well as other social media tools. Read more
As corporate apologies go, Groupon’s mea culpa and corrective actions after its Super Bowl ad controversy was about as forthright as they come: “We hate that we offended people, and we’re very sorry that we did,” CEO and founder Andrew Mason wrote in a post last week on the corporate blog. Read more
One of the first tips CommCore provides our Public Speaking and Presentation Training clients is NOT to tell a joke as an ice-breaker, an unfortunate device relied on by too many public speakers. Read more
The powerful winter storms across much of the U.S. highlight the communication problems faced by government, utility company and transportation officials. Really bad weather always means trouble for communicators. Being visible when visibility is near zero is essential. Read more
The punditry since the tragic shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others in Tucson, Arizona suggests we are in for an extended period of dissection of public comments past, present and future. Read more
“Perception is Reality” is just one of the bromides quoted regularly whenever the subject of first impressions comes up. Others include, “What You See is What You Get,” and “Clothes Make the King” to mention a couple. Read more
Former New York Times economics reporter Peter Goodman’s explanation for leaving the eminent newspaper to join the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/) raises interesting questions about (a) the past and future relationship between journalists and Subject Matter Experts, and (b) the lengths to which journalists have always gone to color their stories with some form of opinion. Read more
Carnival Cruise Lines is getting generally high marks for its customer relations and public relations response to the highly-publicized misfortune that befell its “Carnival Splendor” earlier this month. The ship and passengers were stranded at sea for days with no power after an engine room fire, and the vessel had to be towed in to port. Read more