What happened to the traditional media?

Cable News Internet Blogs You Tube Face Book Tweeting

How to Communicate Your Message Successfully

"Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.“ - Jim Rohn

"People don't really care how much you know until they know how much you care." - Mike McNight

o Listeno Do Not Assume You Know what the Question iso Have the Reporter Ask the Question Againo Focus on the reporter, don’t allow physical, physiological

or psychological noise from distracting you

o Speakingo Do Not Speculateo Do not use jargon or acronymso Don’t talk too fast, or too slowo Practice words you have difficulty pronouncing, or

use a substitute (figures for statistics)o Be Professional – Don’t be angry or hostile, don’t

take it personallyo Convey sincerity, courtesy and professionalism

"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." - Oscar Wilde

“There's no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary.” - Brendan Behan

 "My budget employees are the kind of people that run over dogs. I meant that in the best possible way." – former Federal Budget Administrator James Miller

The average time of a sound bite for a television interview is?

Significant Overriding Communication Objective

“SOCO”

 

"I think that gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman." -      Arnold Schwarzenegger, former California governor

Kiss (Keep it short and simple) A news interview is a business

conversation This is not a conversation, but keep it

conversational Do not use jargon or acronyms. Your

audience won’t understand and will be distracted from your message

"Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know." - Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of the Defense

Prepare

Practice

Perform

Who is your audience?

How do you get your message heard?

o Flagging is alerting the listener and audience that what you are about to say is noteworthy

o “It is important to remember . . .” o “Let me emphasize that . . .”

Answering a question in a way that prompts a

follow up question that you want to answer

o “Statistics show that our program is effective . . .”

o “We have taken steps to address this issue . . .”

"Yes, the operator should have seen the deer, and yes, it should have been removed." Pennsylvania state highway engineer after a road crew paved over a dead deer.

Building Credibility

o How should you dress for an interview?

o What is the image you want to project?

o Is what I look like really that important?

o Perception vs. Reality

o Gestureso Tone of Voiceo Postureo Eye Contacto Demeanor – Including language,

facial expressions

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” - Ambrose Bierce

o Conservative solids or very small prints or stripes

o Avoid flashy jewelryo Wear clothing appropriate for

circumstances

What People Notice

o How you looko Your posture and gestureso Whether you are calm, tense,

anxiouso Tone of Voice – even and

balanced or frantic and nervouso Eye Contact

“News is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising.” - Lord Northcliffe

“You can fool all of the people all of the time if the advertising is right and the budget is big enough.” - Joseph E. Levine

o Providing News?

o Disseminating Information?

o Influencing Public Policy?

o Persuading the Public?

o Make Money!!!

o Know what is newsworthy

o Know how and who to contact in the media

o Understand how the news media work

o Know how to be interviewed

o Give the same information to all reporters

o News stories are driven by o Catastropheo Crisiso Conflicto Crimeo Corruptiono Change

o Respect the reporters deadlineso Provide accurate informationo Be accessibleo Do Not Lieo If you don’t know the answer say, “I

don’t know, but I’ll find out and get back to you.”

o Television – Tells the story with pictures and visuals

o Radio – It is quick, immediate and can tell the story using your own words and voice

o Print – More detailed, more space to tell a story.

"What I said to them at half-time would be unprintable on the radio." - Gerry Francis, Manager Bristol Rovers soccer team

Contacting the News Media

News Releases

News Conferences

News Memos

News Advisories

News Releases – A direct written statement to the media about an event, program or policy

o Allows you to get your story out quickly

o Gets information to the public

o Keeps inaccurate information from the public

o Provides the right amount of information

o Should be faxed or emailed to the media outlet depending on their preference

A written communication to the news media announcing or advising of a news event, a special ceremony or other activity

o A Life Savers evento Award of Valoro Speecho March

A written communication with the news media advising of an opportunity, or information that is of concern to the public

Tour Speech Public Event

A news conference is a meeting with the purpose of disseminating information to reporters in one gathering

o It is immediateo Opportunity to address reporters at one

time

BUTo It forces you to answer questions, so

prepare, practice and performo It can become a “feeding frenzy” if not

managed correctly

Discussion Pointso What is a crisis?o Do you have a plan?o Where will you meet with the media?o How Often will you meet with the news

media?o Who will speak to the media?o Do you know how to contact the

media?

  "Those who disrupt train operations by committing suicide on the track will be fined $50,000.“ - Announcement from Taipei Mass Rapid Transit Company

"The public is the only critic whose opinion is worth anything at all." -  Mark Twain