Five Writing Tips That Will Make You Stand Out

The ability to effectively communicate is critical to success in any endeavor. In public relations (PR) it’s even more important because despite what many people think, that’s what PR is. Contrary to what some may call “spin”, “spin doctoring,” “sorcery” or “dark magic” PR is all about effective communication to help educate others on what your business does, the products or services you offer and what differentiates you and your company from the competition.

Writing is an essential part of any public relations (PR) strategy. It’s also one skill that when done well can differentiate you and set you apart from others. Writing is also very subjective and open to criticism based on individual writing styles and preferences.

I write a lot in my job. I write blogs like this, press releases, case studies, contributed articles and a number of other pieces. For me, the more I write the easier it becomes. I can easily take a blank Word document and within a short period of time draft a press release or a 1200 – 1500 word blog entry or contributed article. I know some people that see a blank Word document and struggle to fill half the page.

Over the years, I’ve discovered a few writing tips that have helped me successfully tackle the myriad of writing projects I’ve encountered during my career. I’ve listed these tips below.

• Have a topic. I find it easier to write the more I write. I also find that the more I write the more aware I am of potential topics to write about. Without a topic that blank sheet of paper or Word document can be overwhelming.   As I think of potential topics I’ll write them down for future use. As I think about these topics and when other thoughts come to mind I’ll write them down as part of an overall outline of the topic.
• Draft an outline. Writing sounds easy until you sit down and are staring at a blank page. It can be intimidating. However, if you draft an outline of the topic you want to write about it will be less intimidating and provide the context of an article that you can simply begin building on.
• Be willing to share. There are so many opportunities to contribute content and share your expertise. However, if you’re not willing to share you’ll never be able to take advantage of these opportunities. To be a thought leader people need to know what you think or what your expertise is.
• Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS). I’ve written about this in the past, but I learned this phrase from my high school newspaper advisor. The key is to try not to complicate things or try to sound to smart or use big, complicated words.   It’s not about dazzling readers with your command of the English language or your extensive vocabulary. The key is to share and engage your readers and make it as simple as possible for them to understand your message. Simplicity will go further than dropping big words that nobody understands.
• Read what you write out loud. A former editor shared this tip with me years ago. If you write something it may sound one way or the way you want it to in your head but entirely different when you read it out loud. If you read it out loud you’ll hear what it sounds like to your audience. This editor told the story of being in a newsroom interviewing a potential new editor. She said as they toured the newsroom the candidate told her he could identify her best writers without even talking to or meeting them. She took him up on this offer and to her astonishment he was right. He identified her best writers without knowing or having met them before. She asked him how he did that and he said, “It was easy, I just watched for the ones reading their articles out loud.” I tried it and was surprised myself to see how effective it was at making my writing more concise. Try it yourself the next time you write something, you’ll be surprised at how effective it is.

These tips have served me well in my career. Writing is subjective and by following these tips you’ll be able to identify your own voice and develop your own writing style. You’ll also be able to communicate more effectively and utilize writing to differentiate yourself and the way you communicate from others in your industry.

 

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Four PR Tips To Be Relevant

Recently while sitting in a meeting a question came up and the answer caught me totally off guard. The response had absolutely no relevance to what the question.

In public relations (PR) being relevant is a critical component to any interview or interaction with the press, partners, clients and employees. Yet, it seems like more and more I see people respond in ways that continue to amaze me with their lack of relevance to the subject at hand.

I’ve written about it in the past, but the key in any media interview is to prepare. I offer clients media training in an effort to help them maximize their opportunity to meet with and interview with the press. This isn’t an exercise in scripting how an interview should go or the response they should give, but rather an opportunity to sit down and remind people of best interviewing practices.

The Internet is full of videos of people making fools of themselves for things they said that made no sense or weren’t relevant. A couple years ago a Mrs. America contestant had her 15 minutes of fame when she responded to an interview question during the pageant and her answer had nothing to do with the question. Not only that, nobody knew what she was talking about or what question she could possibly be asking.

For the purposes of this blog entry and being relevant in an interview, I’ve listed four tips below to help ensure that you’re relevant and don’t make a fool of yourself.

• Listen. This doesn’t mean you’re simply hearing noise. I know somebody that when you talk to them will sit at their computer typing, acting as if they’re listening. When you stop talking there is an awkward pause before the person stops typing, looks up from their computer and gives you a blank stare. It’s obvious that the person hasn’t listened to a word you’d said and you end up having to repeat yourself. Occasionally, the person will attempt to respond as if they’ve heard the question or conversation but it quickly becomes obvious to all involved they weren’t listening. The responses are typically off topic and have no relevance.
• If you don’t understand a question as for clarification. There is nothing wrong with asking for clarification to ensure you understand the question or conversation. I’d rather ask for clarification that wing it and give a response that makes no sense. A reporter will also appreciate you asking for clarification, especially in a live interview situation.
• If you’re giving an example make sure it’s topical to the question. Siting an example or sharing a story to illustrate your point is a good practice. It helps the person your talking to understand your point while creating the scene in their mind. The key is to share a story that clearly illustrates the point you’re making. For example, if you’re talking to a younger person that has never used a typewriter or phone booth don’t use examples that ingrate those things into your story. Similarly, talking about the good old days or how things were when you were young are not good examples. Try to share examples that are relatable. If somebody doesn’t like sports or doesn’t know industry jargon then don’t draw on those things as examples.
• Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS). I learned this in my high school writing class and it’s served me well for more than 20 years. Big words aren’t going to impress people if they don’t understand what they mean. On the contrary, if people can’t understand you they’re not going to listen to you.

By paying attention to the conversation of question and making sure you understand a question, you’ll increase your odds of being able to respond intelligently and be relevant to the conversation. By being relevant you’ll be viewed as a thought leader and somebody that knows what they’re talking about.

 

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Off The Record

I’ve written about being off the record before, but the topic has come up a number of times over the last couple weeks and I believe the topic and the questions that accompany it bear repeating.

Over the course of an interview the person being interviewed is often asked a question they can easily answer, but for various reasons can’t or shouldn’t divulge certain information.  Most of the time this is the result of an agreement or deal that is not yet finalized and, as a result, can’t be shared or announced.  However, in the excitement of the moment and of being interviewed it doesn’t stop people from divulging the information anyway.

Usually what happens is the person blurts out or shares confidential information and then follows it up with, “That’s off the record, by the way.”

Well, guess what?  It really isn’t off the record if you’ve told a reporter the information without prior agreement that it’s off the record.  If you tell a reporter, or anybody else for that matter, something without a prior agreement or understanding that it’s off the record, it’s not off the record. Most of the time a reporter will agree to keep this information out of their report, but they don’t have to.

I advise my clients to avoid a scenario like this.  It’s bad practice and one, that while most reporters will still honor the request even though no prior agreement was in place, only takes one time to muddle up even the best-laid plans.  The most important thing to remember in any situation is that you’re always on the record.  Even things you think aren’t related to an actual interview can be used or included in a media report.  This includes materials sitting on your desk, photos on your office or your Facebook page, product or company strategy written on a white board and of course things you say to a reporter or others while the reporter is with you.

If a situation arises where you want to go off the record, coordinate this sharing of information in advance. As a PR person, I always recommend that you include your PR person in any interview.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a phone interview, face-to-face interview or a broadcast interview.  This allows you to have a second person or witness in the room to vouch for what was or was not said.  It also allows the PR person to be the bad guy and get, or keep, the interview on track in the event that the reporter takes the interview in an improper or wayward direction.

Additionally, if you want to go off the record to be able to provide background or context to what you’re saying, your PR person is the best person to handle this properly. If the situation arises, here’s the best way to handle it:

• Tell your PR person you have something you want or need to share that needs to be off the record.
• From here, your PR representative should tell the reporter, “We’ve got something we want to share but it needs to be off the record.  Do you agree to that?
• If the reporter says yes, then you can proceed to share the information.
• Once you’ve shared the information and answered questions related to that topic, your PR representative should then tell the reporter something along the lines of, “Ok, we’re back on the record,” and the interview can continue.

Once you agree with the reporter that you’re back on the record, everything from that point on is fair game for inclusion in any reporting that occurs as a result of the interview. In most instances, I recommend you avoid going off the record.  If you have something that is off the record or can’t be shared at that particular moment, it gives you a reason to go back to the reporter at a later date for a separate interview or coverage opportunity.

I’ve seen it too many times where a client has divulged confidential information and tried to go back and say, “that was off the record, by the way.”  In most instances the reporters were fine with that and agreed to keep the information of the record, but there have been plenty of times where the reporter has not agreed to that and used the information as part of their report.  Clients were upset by this and felt like they had been burned, but the reporter did nothing wrong.

The best policy is to remember you’re always on the record. If you don’t want something to be reported, don’t tell a reporter.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Are You Asking Me A Question?

I heard a radio interview the other day with one of my favorite book authors, John Feinstein.  Feinstein was being interviewed about his latest book, Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life In The Minor Leagues of Baseball.  As the interview started, the radio show host made a statement and then paused.  There was a moment of awkward silence before Feinstein asked, “Are you asking me a question?”

Feinstein and the radio show host have been friends for a long time and in fact have done similar interviews for each of the 22 previous books he’s authored.  Feinstein’s question back to the host was more about giving his long-time friend a hard time than it was about being a jerk, but it provided a valuable example of how to handle this type of situation.

The exchange brings up an interesting dilemma and one that I see regularly in public relations (PR).  What do you do when a reporter says something that isn’t a question but looks at you and is clearly waiting for an answer?

In my part time job/hobby with the Utah Jazz I see a lot of this.  After the game during locker room interviews with players, it’s common to hear reporters say things like, that was some game or you guys really hung in there.  Neither example is a question but players respond to them as if they are.

In one of my favorite Rick Reilly columns in Sports Illustrated, Reilly raged over this very concept.  In his column, Reilly writes about things that bother him about Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls … “For that matter, I’m sick of NBC’s Ahmad Rashad, too. I’ve waited seven years for him to ask Jordan a question, and I’m pretty sure it’s not coming. You guys sure hung in there, Michael is not a question. That was some game, Michael is not a question. When is your contract up, Ahmad? is a question. Are you expecting a real question from a man who sleeps at Jordan’s house, drives with him to games and appears in Jordan’s ads? I just hope and pray that when Jordan finally stops, he doesn’t do it too suddenly. Rashad’s nose could break off.”

When these types of non questions come up with my clients, here are four tips I share and advise them to follow when being interviewed.

• Make sure you understand the question.  If you didn’t catch the question, understand it, hear it or realize a question was being asked, confirm what the question is.  Similar to Feinstein in the example above, don’t be afraid to say, “are you asking me a question?” Or, restate the question and wait for the reporter to confirm the question before answering, “So you’re asking…?”  Upon conformation then you can proceed to answer the question.  If you think the question was one thing and answer it in a way that makes no sense to the reporter you run the risk of sounding foolish or in giving away information you didn’t want to or shouldn’t have given.
• Take your time answering the question. It’s okay to think about the question and gather your thoughts before responding. Don’ take too much time but you don’t have to respond as soon as the question is asked.  A pause of more than a few seconds is to long and may make the reporter think you’re trying to hide something or are about to lie, but a few seconds to gather your thoughts is acceptable.
• Don’t guess.  It’s okay to not know al the answers.  If you’re unsure or simply do not know the answer be honest.  If you can get the information for the reporter, tell them as much but then be sure to follow up with them as promised.  Doing this builds confidence and trust. Guessing because you don’t want to admit you don’t know the answer will more often than not just get you into trouble or make you look foolish.
• Don’t answer questions unrelated to the topic.  Occasionally during the course of an interview you may have a question come up that has nothing to do with the topic at hand.  In these instances I recommend avoiding the temptation to respond.  Just because a question is asked doesn’t mean you have to answer it.  If it’s a question about a social topic that has nothing to do with your business or the expertise you’re being interviewed about, it will be reported as if you’re opinion on the topic is the view of the company you represent.  If that is at odds with customers, partners or clients it can cause serious problems.  In most cases, keep your opinions to yourself.

I say this all the time, but it’s important to remember that you’re always on the record.  Anything you say can be reported or published.  If you don’t’ want something to be known, then don’t say it. If you want to share information there are great ways to do so, but if you’re being interviewed always make sure you know what the question is.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

There Is A Time And Place For Everything Under Heaven

If the 1980’s movie Footloose taught us anything it’s that there is a time and place for everything under heaven.  I the town of Beaumont, it was time for Kevin Bacon and his friends to finally have a dance.

In business and specifically in PR there are appropriate times to have specific conversations and other times where it’s not appropriate. You can do everything right in a new business meeting or a media interview and destroy it with one improper or inappropriate conversation.

In my experience, this happens more regularly than you’d think.  Most of the time when this happens, the offending party doesn’t even know or realize it’s happened but the reporter or potential new clients does and as a result doesn’t write about the company or engage in an ongoing relationship with that person.

Here are four tips to consider during the interview process or when pitching new business to avoid saying something inappropriate that may cost you desired media coverage or a potential new client.

• Avoid sexually inappropriate conversations.  In one business meeting an individual told a story about a friend who provided medical services to a local prison.  He proceeded to tell about an inmate who had cut a specific part of his body off and how his doctor friend had to go in and evaluate if it could be reattached.   This conversation was not appropriate but was made even more awkward by the fact that the other participants in the meeting were all female. The story was not even necessary to the conversation at hand and left the other participants wondering why the story was even shared and why he decided to tell the tale.
• Avoid cursing.  I never recommend a client use foul, profane or curse words in a media interview or new business meeting.  My mother always said that swearing and the use of crude language was a sign of a person that couldn’t think of a more appropriate or descriptive word to express themself.  I agree with this and while a properly used curse word can convey a strong emotion or meaning, I advise that you avoid using this type of language, especially when you don’t know a person very well.
• Be discreet.  I have a friend that works with a medical spa. This medical spa provides a number of services, including laser hair removal.  My friend provides PR services for the company and found an opportunity with one of their target publications to talk about laser hair removal. One of the questions the editor wanted to ask was about laser hair removal in private areas of the body.  My friend was unsure how to approach the client about this question and treaded lightly.  He was more embarrassed than anything else but was discreet in approaching the client.  It turns out that this question comes up quite regularly and is something the client deals with on a daily basis and was not offended or worried about answering the question.  The client did appreciate and respect my friend’s sensitivity to the line of questioning.
• Be honest.  Honesty is always the best policy.  I always feel that if you’re hired to provide a service you should be bold and honest in providing that service.  Just because you’re being paid by a company doesn’t mean you should simply take orders, “Can I supersize those fries for you?”  You should share your expertise and provide guidance and strategy that will help them accomplish the objectives they’ve hired to you for.  Honesty does not equate to being mean or insubordinate in any way, but rather you tell the client if something isn’t right or is being done incorrectly and teach them the proper ways to do it.

One key to remember is that you’re always on the record.  A lot of these instances happen during lunch or dinner appointments where people let their guards down and think there are differing rules simply because an interview or meeting is over.  Don’t let the fact that you think a meeting is over or that the meeting has shifted to a social scene derail you from applying the tips above and keeping the conversation on a professional and appropriate level.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

How You Say It Is Just As Important As What You Say

I recently watched the documentary on the 20-year anniversary of the Olympic figure skating attack involving Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding.  I knew the overall story but didn’t know the details of the attack or the events preceding the attack leading up to the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.

I knew that Harding was vilified and thought Kerrigan was the hero of the story.  What surprised me most is how Kerrigan was viewed immediately after the attack, as well as after winning the silver medal at the 1994 Olympics.  Much of the perception of Kerrigan and, for that matter, Harding came not only from what they said, but the way they said it.

For example, after winning the silver medal, Kerrigan and the bronze medal winner had to wait for gold medalist Oksana Baiul before the medals ceremony started. The wait was 20 minutes and was for Olympic officials to find a copy of the Ukrainian national anthem. Someone mistakenly told Kerrigan the delay in the presentation was because Baiul had cried off her make-up and was getting it retouched. Kerrigan was frustrated and caught on-camera saying, “Oh, come on. She’s going to get up there and cry again. What’s the difference?”

While that may have been true, it was her delivery that didn’t sit well with fans and the general public.  Similarly, after she returned to the United States, Disney World in Orlando, Florida held a parade for her.  Kerrigan was in a car with Mickey Mouse at the happiest place on earth and a video camera caught her saying “This is dumb. I hate it. This is the corniest thing I have ever done.”

Kerrigan claims she didn’t mean the parade, but the video gave a very different impression and caused her a lot of grief.

A few days before watching this documentary, a friend of mine put out a call for help.  He was looking for contacts and referrals for a business project. I responded and he told me what he was looking for.  I made a recommendation and the response I got back was basically, “Let me see if I get a better offer.”  He said he’d get back to me if he needed me.  My thought at the time was, “Don’t bother.”  I knew what he meant, but the delivery was wrong and made me not want to help.

With these instances in mind, here are three tips to help communicate more effectively what you mean and help avoid these types of awkward moments.

• Think before you speak.  It’s ok to take a second to think about how you want to respond to a question or opportunity. I don’t recommend taking 10 minutes before responding, but a quick second or two to gather your thoughts is appropriate.  Be prepared to be honest, but be polite in the way you communicate and express your thoughts and feelings.  Honesty is appreciated and accepted, but rudeness isn’t.  If you want to be coy or tease, be careful in the way you do that.  Make sure people know you’re teasing or it will come off as insincerity.  Years ago in a PGA tournament Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were paired together.  On the first hole as the players were being introduced, the announcer was going through Tiger’s long list of credentials and in the middle of it, Mickelson interjected something along the lines of, “All right already.”  It caught everybody off guard, but everybody knew he was joking and everybody in attendance, including Tiger got a good laugh out of it.
• Don’t shoot down an offer of help until you know what all the offers are. As in the example of my friend, his response to me was probably premature and, in my mind, closed the door to my willingness to help.  If his first option doesn’t pan out the way he hoped his chances of getting help from others has greatly diminished.
• Be careful what you say and who’s listening.  You never know who may be listening in or in the vicinity.  I counsel clients all the time to be aware of their surroundings if they want to talk about or share some confidential information.  In today’s world of social media, anybody can break or share news.  If you don’t want something heard or shared with the world, then don’t say it.  If there are people that need to know, wait until you know you’ll have the privacy you want before sharing it.  Airports, tradeshows and restaurants are common places where confidential information is overheard.  In the last presidential election, Mitt Romney was caught on tape saying some unfortunate things about the general public.  While there is no way to determine the impact his comments had, the effects were certainly damaging.

I have a relative that we all cringe a little when he starts talking to people for the first time.  This relative has no filter and on more than one occasion has said things we know aren’t meant to be rude, but that offend people.  When possible, we try to warn people who are meeting this individual for the first time that he means no harm, but inevitably he says something and someone is offended.  Most of the time it’s simply the way he communicates it and the way he says it. In these instances it doesn’t matter that he didn’t mean to be rude, the damage is already done.

If you’re careful about the way you say things and communicate you can avoid a lot of unnecessary problems.  The way you say things is as important as what you say.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Six Tips to Make Successful Presentations

From a public relations (PR) standpoint, the opportunity to make a presentation to a group is a goldmine.  These opportunities allow you to be seen as a thought leader and an expert in your industry.  It’s also a great means of kick starting, conducting and stimulating new business development.  Presenting to a group is more than simply showing up and turning on the switch to start your presentation.

In my experience there are some simple steps to ensure your maximizing your presentation opportunity.  I’ve listed six easy steps to consider as you prepare to make a presentation.

• Start preparing your presentation early: People know when you’re unprepared or are trying to wing it.  Take the time before your presentation to write a script of what you want to say.  Practice it in advance so that when you get up in front of a group and nerves kick in, you can rely on muscle memory to get you started until your nerves settle down and you get comfortable.
• Be on time:  In fact, more important than being on time is arriving early.  I always like to get to an event early so I can orient myself with the venue and be comfortable with my surroundings.  I like to know where things are and test things out to make sure they’re working properly and that I know how to operate any technology or gadgets I may use during the presentations.  For example, if I’m showing a PowerPoint presentation or showing a video I make sure I’m there early enough to set up and plug in my computer and test the PowerPoint or video.
• Be prepared: This sounds simple, but make sure you have the equipment and materials you’ll need to make your presentation and focus on your message.  This includes power chords, handouts, if necessary, and videos.  Also, if you use a Mac make sure you have the proper dongles to connect to the proper audiovisual equipment.  I recommend having your presentation on a thumb drive in the event your computer doesn’t work or connect properly to the equipment onsite.  Also, e-mail your presentation in advance to the event organizers.  There is nothing worse than showing up and not being prepared when the time comes to start your presentation.
• Have a point or focus for your presentation:  Share successful case studies to illustrate your point and focus on client success as opposed to bragging about how great you are.  If a client is in the audience, point them out and share what they’re doing well or how you’re team is working with them to achieve success.  As a PR pro, I would focus on a series of PR tips or advice the audience can walk away with, implement themselves or kick start their PR activities.
• Don’t agree to speak or present on a topic you’re not qualified to: It’s always exciting to speak or present to a group of people.  However, don’t let your eagerness or excitement to present get in the way or allow you to agree to talk about a subject you’re not qualified to speak on.  People will recognize this and you’ll lose credibility quickly.  Word spreads and the harm or fallout that follows is far worse than the benefits of pulling off a hoax.
• Don’t be overly self promoting:  It’s a turnoff.  You’ve been chosen to present for a reason, usually because you’re an expert in your field or have a specific set of expertise to share.  Share that expertise, but don’t brag about yourself excessively.  Focus on how you and your team accomplished great results and highlight customer wins and successes.

If you have the opportunity to speak or present to a group it’s a wonderful opportunity to establish yourself as a thought leader and an expert in your industry. The tips above will help you maximize the opportunity and leverage the benefits that come from a successful presentation.  If you don’t take the opportunity serious enough, or if you spend too much time bragging about yourself and your accomplishments, you run the risk of losing credibility and hurting your reputation, negatively affecting current business as well as future business opportunities.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Fact Versus Fiction

A client recently asked me if the media ever gets the story right.  I told him that yes, of course they do.  In fact the media is accurate more often than they’re wrong.  I think it’s like anything else, if you’ve experienced a situation where there was an error or mistake made you remember those mistakes more readily than the times the media is correct.  It’s human nature to be that way.

What’s more, I think people tend to get confused between inaccurate facts and simply not agreeing with an article or disliking the piece.  In these instances, it’s not so much that it’s wrong, but rather that the person reading it had a different point of view or disagrees with the writers argument. There is a clear and distinct difference.

From a public relations (PR) perspective the difference is significant.  If a reporter gets the facts wrong, more often than not they’ll be eager to correct it.  They don’t want to be wrong or inaccurate.  There are ways to approach a reporter if a mistake has been made.  Often when an error has been committed the natural response is to get mad and to want to call the reporter to complain.  In these instances, I recommend stopping and consulting with your PR team before flying off the handle and calling the reporter.

Flying off the handle is nothing more than an emotional response that can escalate the situation to the point that the reporter gets defensive and is unwilling to listen or make a change.  By talking to your PR team they can advise you in the best ways to respond.  The first step should be to calm down and verify that there is actually a mistake.  Once the mistake has been verified, reach out to the reporter via phone or e-mail to calmly discuss the error.  Point the mistake out and simply ask for a correction.  In most cases, especially in this digital age, a mistake can be corrected in seconds and the problem is resolved.

Where companies run into problems is not liking the way a reporter writes or says something and feeling like they’ve made a mistake.  Differing opinions or word preferences don’t calculate to an error in facts.  I’ve worked with PR professionals and clients that want to control the message so badly that any deviation from what they think is right, down to the last syllable, are viewed as wrong.  This simply isn’t the case.

Here’s an example to illustrate the point.  One client I worked with always insisted on seeing articles before publication.  A reporter is under no responsibility to provide his or her article to anybody but their editor prior to publication.  Often they’ll want to fact check to make sure they’ve got information correct and aren’t misleading in their articles.  In these instances they’re not looking for somebody to change words or rearrange their article.  They simply want to verify facts, hence the term fact checking.

This client that insisted on seeing every article prior to publication was famous for trying to change adjectives or rephrase the reporters article.  If the reporter wrote that their product or service was “wonderful,” the client would often want change it to a different adjective like “magnificent” or “brilliant.”  Or, if the reporter didn’t show this client their article in advance I would inevitably get an e-mail saying, “I don’t like the way he said this, can you call him and have him change it to say this…”  I would always tell this client no and explain to him why.

There are specific steps you can take to ensure facts are accurate and to influence the way a reporter phrases key messages.  Listed below are XX tips to ensure accuracy.

• Develop messaging and stick to the messaging.  Messaging creates a communications platform that will drive all communications from the company. It’s important to decide what are the most important messages you want to convey. What does the reporter need to know in order to understand what your company does or the benefits your product or service provides. When a company has a clear, concise and streamlined message that clearly tells what the company does consumers, the media, clients and potential partners don’t have to waste valuable time trying to decipher and understand what you do. If you don’t know your messaging how can you expect a reporter to know or understand it?
• Provide the media with key information prior to an interview.  I recommend you send the reporter the name of the person he or she will be talking to along with their bio.  Make sure their names are spelled correctly and that you include their title. If you have a corporate backgrounder or a document that accurately gives the company’s history or tells what the company does, provide that in advance.  Same goes for product descriptions.  The more information you can provide in advance to prepare the reporter the smaller the margin of error.
• If you don’t want a reporter to write or know something, then don’t tell them.  Just because you’re being interviewed doesn’t mean you have to divulge every secret or give a full confessional.
• Don’t guess.  It’s ok not to know all the answers. If you don’t know, don’t guess.  If you can verify or find the answer tell the reporter you can get him or her the info at a later date. If you commit to do that though, make sure you get back to them as promised.  Failure to do so will result in a loss of trust.
• Be prepared.  I recommend taking time to practice what you want to say. What are the key messages you want to communicate?  What are some potential obstacles or hurdles you want to avoid? If those obstacles come up during the interview practicing how to respond to those things will make it easier if the situation presents itself.
• Be on time.  Schedule enough time to allow yourself to sit down and get confortable, collect your thoughts and get organized prior to an interview.  If you’re running late your chances of saying something you shouldn’t or don’t want to increase dramatically.  If you have a few minutes to gather your thoughts, you’re more likely to be relaxed and at ease and paying more attention to what’s being asked and how you’re responding.

Interviews with the media are great.  Yes, mistakes have been made.  However, before you get mad and start making phone calls to make heads role, make sure you’ve done everything in your power to provide the reporter with accurate facts to work with.  If you’ve followed the steps above and an error is still made, allow your PR team to step in and handle the situation.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Gold Medal Business and PR Lessons

I recently spoke to an MBA class at Brigham Young University (BYU) about my experiences working for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 (SLOC). As I prepared for the speech, I realized there are a lot valuable lessons I learned from being a part of the Games and the talented people I had the privilege of working with.

I worked for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 (SLOC) for a year as a consultant with Coltrin & Associates and then three years as a full time employee through May 2002 after the Paralympics ended.  I came on board shortly after Mitt Romney joined the team as CEO.

Caroline Shaw, the Chief Communications Officer at SLOC, hired me.  As I mentioned, originally I was a consultant with SLOC’s PR firm, Coltrin & Associates.  I worked as a consultant for about a year when one of the PR staffers decided to accept a job as the Associate Athletic Director at Northern Arizona University.  When the position opened I was interested.  It was a tough situation because of my position with Coltrin & Associates.  However, Shaw took me to lunch one day and asked if I was interested.  I told her I was and she said, “Well, in life and business it’s all who you know.  You know me.  I like you and the work you do.  The jobs yours if you want it.”

I told her I wanted the job and she said she would talk to my boss and Coltrin & Associates and make it all work.  She did and I immediately became a full time employee at SLOC.

SLOC had 41 functions/departments within the organization and we divided those up amongst our team.  I was responsible for the Budget and Finance, Olympic Village, Weather Forecasting and Transportation functions.  That meant I went to meetings with these departments and made sure I knew what was going on within each function and then put together a PR strategy for each and executed on that strategy.

With the Sochi Olympics fast approaching, I thought I’d share what I think are the most important business and public relations (PR) lessons I learned while working for the Olympics.

Top 10 list of the things I learned from working on the Olympics:

• You never get a second chance to make a first impression: On my first day as a consultant with SLOC we held a press conference at the E-Center (now called the Maverick Center) in West Valley City. I don’t remember what we announced at the press conference, but it was my first opportunity to interact with the PR team. Two of the media managers were starting to set up for the press conference when I arrived onsite.  I walked over, introduced myself and asked if I could help.  They looked at me like I was from outer space.  I thought I had offended them and explained that I just wanted to help and wasn’t trying to interfere or get in their way.  They reluctantly accepted my offer to help.  We set up and when the press arrived I walked around and introduced myself to each member of the press.  I shook their hands and told them my role and explained that if they needed anything to let me know.  After the press conference I offered to help clean things up and again the two media managers looked at me in disbelief.  After we cleaned up and headed back to the office I found out why I was getting strange looks from the two media managers.  They explained that my consultant colleagues had never offered to help and in fact had taken it upon themselves to boss them around.  Needless to say there were some hard feelings and distrust when it came to consultants.  They were relieved that I was different and willing to jump in, help and do what needed to be done to accomplish the task at hand.  From that point on, I was one of them and enjoyed a good working relationship with both of them.  Within weeks I knew every secret and was clued into all the inside jokes.  When the time came to hire somebody else to replace one of the media managers, both provided my soon to be boss with endorsements to bring me on and make me part of the team.
• Reputation Matters: Shortly after Mitt Romney joined the team as CEO, the man in charge of securing Olympic sponsors asked Mitt to join him in some sales meetings.  The head of sponsors for SLOC had been having a difficult time signing major sponsors and there was concern that if we couldn’t get the sponsors we needed the Games would be run on a bare-bones budget or may not be held at all in Utah.  As the head of sponsors related the story, he and Mitt walked into the first meeting with a company the Organizing Committee had met with before but hadn’t had any luck with.  Mitt walked into the meeting, shook the CEO’s hand, told him why he should sponsor the Games and the benefits a sponsorship would bring his organization. Within about five minutes the CEO agreed to sponsor the Games.  The reason?  He knew Mitt Romney and his business savvy.  If Mitt said it was good, he believed him and committed right on the spot to sponsor the Games.  From there, signing Olympic sponsors became easy, all because of Mitt Romney’s reputation.
• Be honest: One day while working on a press conference, a reporter from one of the local newspapers called me asking for some information for a story she was working on.   I told her I could get her that info and asked what her deadline was. She told me, but I didn’t have a piece of paper with me and didn’t write it down.  Several days passed and I had forgotten about her request.  At our next press conference, my boss came walking up with a woman I didn’t recognize.  My boss introduced the woman she was with and said, “She said you promised to do something for her and didn’t.”  I recognized the name as soon as my boss said it and knew immediately I hadn’t done what I promised to do.  My response? “She’s right.  I didn’t do it.”  I told her I would do it right then and proceeded to do it.  By being honest with my boss and the reporter I defused the situation immediately and got the reporter the information she needed to complete her story. Believe me, that never happened again either.
• Do more than what’s expected: How’s this for a first day on the job.  When I arrived I reported to my new boss and she asked if I knew who Mike Eruzione was. I confirmed I did and she said, “Good.  Here’s his cell phone number.  We need to set up a video shoot with him.  Call and set it up.” Does anybody here know who Mike Eruzione is?  For those of you who don’t know, Mike was on the 1980 gold medal winning hockey team.  He’s best known for his scoring the winning goal in the Miracle on Ice game against the Soviet Union team to which broadcaster Al Michaels famously said, ‘Do you believe in miracles?  Yes!” In Disney’s 2004 movie Miracle, Eruzione’s character had a line that became famous, even if it never actually happened. During an exhibition game against the Norwegian National Team in Oslo that ends in a 3–3 tie, Coach Herb Brooks notices the players are distracted by pretty blond girls in the stands and not playing up to their potential. After the game, in a wrenching scene, he makes them run “Herbies” far into the night, asking the team who it was they played for. Exhausted, forward Mike Eruzione finally responds with the answer that Herb had wanted all along, “I play for the United States of America!” and the drills are ended. I set that first meeting up and every other meeting with Mike.  I took the time to know what his preferences were and what he liked and didn’t like.  Prior to the Olympics starting, the last time I spoke to him, Mike took the time to thank me for everything I did in setting these meetings up for him.  He said that he’s been doing these types of things for a long time and that I went out of my way to make it easy for him and really took care of him.  I was thrilled that he acknowledged that and that I got the chance to work with him.
• Build good relationships with co-workers, media, customers, clients and partners:  In my role in the PR department, I worked with reporters on a daily basis.  Over the course of the three-year period that I worked for the games, I became close friends with a number of the local media.  When the Games ended, one reporter came to our staff end of Olympics party and cried because he wasn’t going to work with and see me on a daily basis.  Another reporter I still work with on a daily basis.  In fact, he recently called me asking if I had a source for a story he was working on.  This happens on a regular basis with this reporter. Both of these instances happened because of the good relationships created.
• Think outside the box: Mitt Romney was always willing to give of his time if it furthered the Olympic cause. Mitt had a trip to Washington, DC and New York planned over a three-day period.  He came to me and said he had a free evening in New York and that if I wanted to book something for him with the media he’d be game.  It was right about the time we were getting ready to announce ticket sales for the Games.  I checked the Yankees schedule and it turned out they were going to be in town playing the Boston Red Sox that night.  I thought it would be cool to have Mitt throw out the first pitch.  At the time, all candidates or requests to throw the first pitch out went through and were personally approved by then owner, George Steinbrenner.  I made the request and received Mr. Steinbrenner’s approval.  You can read the full story here.  It was something unique and different but unfortunately never happened as it was scheduled for September 11, 2001.
• Knowledge is Power: The roof of the Olympic Speedskating Oval collapsed during construction.  It caused all kinds of concern that it might not be finished in time for test events and that the way it had been designed wasn’t safe. When it collapsed, we held a press conference and basically told the press it had collapsed, but we didn’t know why, which was all true.  We also told them we’d get back to them once we had the details to explain why this had happened and how it would be fixed. A few days later we had answers for the press and held another press conference to explain why the roof collapsed and detail how it would be fixed.  Mitt isn’t an engineer or an architect, but he had acquired the knowledge to spend nearly an hour explaining these aspects and answering questions from the media about it.  During this time he diagrammed specific engineering and architectural concepts on a white board all without the aid of the engineering and architecture professionals in attendance.  It was one of the most impressive press conferences I’ve been a part of and it was all due to the knowledge Mitt acquired.
• It’s ok to beat the boss/have fun:  After a press event in Park City, Utah, I was driving back with my boss and the media relations team.  We pulled off the freeway in Salt Lake City and immediately stopped at a red light.  As I pulled up to the light, I noticed Mitt already stopped at the light.  He didn’t pay attention as I stopped next to him.  I began revving my engine and pretty soon Mitt looked over and saw me and the rest of the PR staff watching him.  He caught on quick and began revving his engine.  Things got real when the stoplight turned green and we both screeched our tires in an effort to win the drag race.  As we were racing, my boss was sitting in the front seat and kept screaming, “Slow down, Jeremy, you can’t be the boss.”  We stopped at the next red light, everybody laughing and having fun.  When the next light turned green we repeated the process.  I eventually slowed down due to a combination of my boss screaming for me to not beat the boss and a fear of getting a costly ticket.  Mitt didn’t slow down. When we ran into him at the office later that day, he was laughing about the experience and saying how fun it was.  We all had fun too, and enjoyed the race.
• Don’t be afraid of mistakes:  Everybody makes mistakes.   If you’re not making mistakes you’re probably not working hard enough or extending yourself in a way that’s going to help you grow and further develop your talents. Don’t be afraid of mistakes. Learn from them. Embrace them. At SLOC, we made mistakes but we didn’t run from them.  In fact, we devoted one press conference to highlighting mistakes we had made.  We developed a top ten David Letterman type list of the biggest mistakes we made.  We called the mistake out and then discussed what we learned and how we would do it again if we had a do over.
• Honeybadger it: The Honeybadger is the most fearless animal in the animal kingdom.  It just takes what it wants. So often you never know what you can get if you don’t ask.  Mitt Romney was, and is, a remarkable man and one that everybody wants to know.  On my wife’s birthday in 2000 I asked Mitt if he would send an email to my wife wishing her a happy birthday. My boss thought I was crazy and couldn’t believe I asked but he said yes.  He sent her a nice e-mail wishing her a happy birthday and telling her how much he enjoyed working with me.  My wife’s friends, family and co-workers were all impressed and wondered how it happened.  I told my wife I just asked him to do it.  It never hurts to ask.  What’s the worst that’s going to happen, you get told no? Big deal, I can live with a no.

We used to joke that the experience we gained and earned from being employed with SLOC was a lot like aging in dog years.  Things happened so quick and things got busier with each passing day that it required incredible adaptability and flexibility.

The Olympics were an amazing career opportunity for me.  Mitt Romney talked about assembling the brightest and best talent as part of our team and, in my opinion, he accomplished that goal.  Working with people like Mitt Romney and Fraser Bullock gave me great experience and also provided me with a solid foundation on which to build my career.  The things I learned working on the Olympics have shaped my approach to business and PR, and influence the decisions I make on a daily basis.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Ten Tips For Conducting Successful Press Conferences

Press conferences are media events held by newsmakers and attended by the media to give news, updates, launch products or to make other announcements.  Through press conferences, the press is able to get breaking and important news quickly.

A press conference isn’t the solution for any and every news announcement but is an ideal source for getting news out quickly and accurately for events that are of high interest to a mass audience.

Just like in every other aspect of business, there are good ways and bad ways to conduct a press conference.

Over the course of my career, I’ve held hundreds of press conferences for clients.  While I was working for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 (SLOC) we held a press conference every Monday morning at 11:00 am and multiple other press conferences during the week.  The frequency of our press conferences increased the closer we got to the Games.

As I conducted these press conferences, and others since the Games, there are a number of tips and best practices I’ve learned. I’ve listed these below to help you maximize your press conference opportunity.

1. Start early.  The earlier the better.  Sometimes it seems like there is plenty of time to get started, but time flies, especially where there is a deadline.  If you can’t make a deadline, you’ll lose credibility with the press.  By starting early, you can also eliminate stress associated with conducting a press conference.
2. Prepare pertinent information. Pertinent information includes dates and times for the press conference, venue, identifying key spokespeople, identifying key attendees and key media targets.
3. Identify the key media targets for your client. By identifying the right targets you’ll increase the odds of media attending and providing coverage of your news announcement.  If you identify a reporter that doesn’t cover your industry you’ll get discouraged quickly when the media declines your invite.
4. Identify other potential media opportunities.  These opportunities include pre-press conference interviews, exclusives, embargoed interviews and pre press conference “Wine and Dine” opportunities.
5. Know who is going to participate/attend the press conference. Identify key spokespeople and establish a time to do media training for these key spokespeople and review key talking points.  I recommend doing this as early as possible to give key participants time to prepare and know the correct messages.  The more time they have to prepare, the easier it will be for them to rely on muscle memory and not freeze up once the questions start flying.
6. Identify key messages/strategy for the press conference.  Key messages include product launches, partnerships, sponsorships, new client announcements and partnerships as well as who will deliver these messages, how and when the messages will be delivered.
7. Make team assignments. Include key details such as talking points, provide a list of contact info for key participants, assign somebody to oversee press kit materials and assign somebody to oversee setting up a backdrop and signage at the press conference.
8. Establish goals/deadlines for the press conference. With no goal you have nothing to work towards.  I’m a firm believer that nothing drives like a deadline.  The media works on strict deadlines and it’s an effective way to accomplish time sensitive tasks.
9. Practice your brief presentation and questions that could come up during the press conference.  Doing this will help you feel comfortable presenting your message and will enable you, as indicated above, to rely on muscle memory when you get nervous.

10. Onsite/The day of the press conference. The previous points were items specifically designed for completion prior to the actual press conference.  This next set of tips pertains to the actual execution of the press conference.  This set of tips will provide the foundation for conducting the press conference and leveraging the benefits associated with a press conference.

1. Be on time.  Plan to arrive early to allow plenty of time for set-up and a walk through.
2. Set up a time to go through the press conference and answer client questions.
3. Be prepared with all pertinent materials, including:

i.     Press kit materials

ii.     List of key contacts that can provide insight or clarification on items discussed during the press conference

iii.     Media list

iv.     FAQ documents

1. Brief key participants before the press conference and conduct any pre or post press conference interviews.
2. Set up the press conference backdrop and signage.

i.     “I don’t like to carry things” doesn’t fly.  Nobody does, get over it.

1. Ensure the media has what they need and that they are taken care of.

By following these tips you’ll eliminate the stress and nerves associated with preparing for and conducting a press conference.  I keep these tips with me at all times and use them as a checklist when preparing for and conducting press conferences.  These tips allow me to check that I’ve done each item so while others are scrambling at the last minute to make sure everything is under control, I know exactly where things stand and can focus on making sure the press conference goes off without a hitch.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+