Let’s Be Clear is Bluestone’s blog devoted to topics related to media training, presentation and speech coaching, better investor and analyst calls and virtual presentations.
If you’ve ever worked with a media trainer or PR person, you’ve likely been coached to identify and then stick to your key messages. This is the fundamental rule of media training—and for good reason. Neither a reporter nor any other audience can reasonably remember more than three or four main points from any conversation. So we organize our thoughts into bundles of three or four messages and repeat them over and over.
Read MoreAs communication coaches, it’s our job to challenge clients with tough questions so they’re ready to face the scrutiny of the media, the Board or other high-stakes audiences.
But we notice that often it’s not the hard questions, rather the easy ones that catch clients off-guard. In fact, there is one in particular that at least half seem to fumble. What is it?
Read More“He looked like he had been kidnapped by aliens and was reading their ransom demand!” Our client was apoplectic. “The entire reason we invested in the teleprompter was to help him look more natural, but instead it turned him into a robot.”
Oh no. Another victim of Sudden Teleprompter-Induced Frozen Face Syndrome, or STIFFS.
Read MoreGood public relations practices are scalable. The same strategies that can help a global company navigate an epic crisis can hold true for individuals fighting to manage their own bad news—like an untimely departure. None of us likes to think about losing a job. But if the day comes when you find yourself packing that cardboard box, here are three PR moves to help keep your image in tact while you regroup.
Read MoreAs professionals around the world get ready to return to the office, we should all be bracing for a few adjustments. In addition to swapping out pajamas for work clothes, resurrecting the names of colleagues we haven’t seen in more than a year, and learning to manage a slew of new safety protocols, here’s another tweak we’ll have to make.
Read MoreCFOs and other financial professionals, this is it! Never before has your insight, expertise and leadership been more needed than in the wake of the pandemic as your organizations struggle with unprecedented fiscal challenges and opportunities.
Read More“After last year’s train smash, I honestly didn’t think we’d ever put our audience through this again.”
Our exasperated client had just heard the news that her company would be holding its annual conference virtually, rather than in-person, for the second straight year.
It’s a common scenario. More companies than not are returning to virtual conferences, as the global pandemic drags on and they tally the savings from shifting their annual customer gatherings, leadership meetings, and product showcases to digital platforms.
But this year they’re facing one big difference.
Read MoreRecently Netflix released the list of its most popular programming for the last decade and not surprisingly, “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” cleaned up in the non-fiction category, coming in at number one.
In a series of hour-long episodes, organization phenom Kondo brings calm to the most cluttered homes by ordering inhabitants to gather all their stuff into a single, messy pile, and then asks them to touch each item individually to test whether it “sparks joy.”
Read MoreStrong speakers know an important element of a great speech or presentation is focus. Speakers who can block out distractions and zero in on the audience are more likely to be engaging, interesting and effective. And yet, more often than not it seems there’s a concerted campaign underway to distract the speaker from the moment he or she arrives at the venue.
Read MoreNot long ago, while attending an industry conference I bumped into a smart, professional woman I know. She asked what tips I had for people, like her, who panic when they speak. “Just power through it,” I said. “We all get nervous.” “No, not NERVOUS,” she said. “I don’t get nervous. I PANIC. I’m petrified. My throat tightens, I get cold sweats, my skin gets blotchy and I feel like I could faint.” Oh. That’s different.
Read MoreAs the COVID-19 crisis challenges us all to find new ways to conduct business, we want to make you aware of ways in which Bluestone is supporting clients amid this new reality. We’ve developed several new programs that may be of help to you or those you support.
Read MoreUnquotable Executive Syndrome is the result of a failure to articulate messages in a way that resonates with the reporter and in turn the reporter’s audience. There are three specific mistakes executives make that almost guarantee they’ll be cut from the story.
Read MoreFriends, friends, friends, (And no, we don’t mean “friend’s.”)
It’s time we have a talk about the apostrophe. As professionals who help executives look and sound their best, we feel a duty to remind professionals everywhere that reckless, irresponsible and incorrect use of the apostrophe is making them appear…well…not smart.
Read MoreTruth be told, if we’re talking to peers or digitally hanging out with friends, how we look on-camera doesn’t much matter. But that’s not the case when more is at stake, like when a leader is delivering serious news to the company, speaking to VIP stakeholders or being interviewed by news media.
Read MoreNow that the World Health Organization has declared the COVID-19 situation a pandemic, organizations large and small all across the globe are trying to quickly decide and communicate what this means for their work, their teams and their stakeholders.
Time is short and the stakes are high. Leaders, now more than ever, your employees need to hear from you.
Read MoreWith concerns about the spread of Coronavirus prompting temporary travel restrictions at organizations across the globe, more and more professionals are turning to virtual meetings to connect their teams and stay productive.
No doubt, virtual meetings offer many conveniences (like preventing the spread of sickness, for one). But they also present some problems, especially for the meeting host who has the difficult job of engaging participants and keeping order without the benefit of a good old-fashioned stare down.
Read MoreI've attended a number of public relations conferences at which a media panel has been assembled to share insights about how organizations can get more press. On every occasion, across the board, the reporters' answers are the same.
"Video."
More video. Better video. Different video. Video.
And that's not just the answer given by the TV stations and digital outlets. That's that answer given by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and countless trade journalists.
Read MoreA while back I attended a breakfast at which a brilliant economist was slated to share insights on a growing industry segment. The topic was compelling and drew a large and captive audience. Unfortunately, our speaker was only half way through his remarks when eye lids began to droop and heads started to nod. The audience was trying hard to stay tuned in. But our speaker's weighty material, sing-song cadence and thick accent could have lulled the fussiest baby to sleep.
Read MoreImagine Lester Holt starting the NBC Nightly News with “We begin tonight by telling you about me. I was born in San Francisco, California…”
Once the shock of his unbridled narcissism wore off, we’d hear “click,” “click,” “click” across the country, as viewers registered disapproval with their remote controls.
Read MoreYears ago when I was the lead spokesperson for Boston Edison, the company went through a brutal six-month stretch during which it was pounded in the press for an unusually high number of power outages and accidents---and THEN suffered an ugly labor strike.
So when I heard that, in the wake of a series of Florida hurricanes, our crews were heading south to help restore power, we made a serious round of media calls. I wanted to be sure every local TV station and newspaper got the word that, in this case, we were the good guys, stepping up to help those in need.
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