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Coaching the Know-It-All
One of the biggest challenges in public relations, and often in business at large, is coaching or counseling an executive who knows just about everything, or at least believes that to be the case. It’s not usual for such a person to say, “I don’t need any coaching; I’m an expert in my subject.”
But, since such people usually have large egos and are not accustomed to being critiqued or in any way found lacking, it often requires some gentle diplomacy to ...
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PR Strategist Column Earns Accolades from Journalists
For the second straight year, one of my bylined “In the C-Suite” columns has been cited by the Florida chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for excellence in magazine commentary and criticism. It is one of three finalists for the top award which will be announced at a ceremony in Miami on August 4.
The column, entitled “Anatomy of a Scandal at Wells Fargo,” appeared in the Public Relations Strategist in January of 2017. The Strategist was published quarterly both online ...
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Remembering Dick Enberg
By Virgil Scudder
December 23, 2017
Sports broadcasting lost a giant this week but it also lost an outstanding man. Dick Enberg was truly one of a kind. As Reece Davis of ESPN said, “A better person than broadcaster and he’s a legend as a broadcaster.” Another legendary broadcaster, Vin Scully, called him “the greatest all-around sportscaster who ever lived…(he) will never be emulated.”
I agree with both comments.
My first meeting with Dick was when we were both students at Indiana University in the ...
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Civility, Social Media Responsibility Desperately Needed.
PR Pros, Journalists Cite Need for Civility, Responsibility in Social Media at Ethics Seminar
By Virgil Scudder
“In tech, we trust. Even more than in human beings.”
That was the message of Edelman senior vice president Kety Esquivel at a recent seminar on truth and trust in Miami. The seminar was presented by the Miami chapter of the Public Relations Society of America in collaboration with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Carnival Corporation.
Esquivel cited some disturbing statics from the most recent ...
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Marketing Creativity: Soccer Balls versus AIDS
Any marketing professional will tell you that Step One for success in any program is attracting eyeballs, getting people to look at what you’re offering. That’s true whether you’re promoting a product, an idea, or even giving something away.
Sometimes a little extra creativity is required. That’s especially true if your audience has little or no interest in what you’re selling.
Wired International, a non-profit organization that offers free medical education and information in remote and underserved regions of the world, found a ...
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A Crisis of Truth and Trust by Virgil Scudder
“Trust but Verify.” That’s an old Russian proverb that President Reagan was fond of quoting. However, in the U.S. and around the world today studies show that people are doing less trusting and less verifying in general while increasingly placing unquestioning trust in statements (often false) that simply reinforce what they already believe.
A panel of four experts with experience in media, government, law, and public relations tackled that problem in a panel discussion May 10 in Miami titled “Navigating ...
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Obama Scores in State of Union Address
President Obama’s State of the Union address last night was arguably one of his best outings as a speaker. He was poised, confident, relaxed, and persuasive. Even, at times, a bit quarterback-style cocky.
A speech is an argument for something. And, Mr. Obama was clearly arguing for support of a liberal agenda that would frame the next Presidential and Congressional elections. Had he been as clear and forceful during the recent election campaign, he might be facing fewer Republicans in Congress. To ...
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Is My Reputation Growing? Or Is It My Nose?
By Virgil Scudder
One of the staples of network television news is reporting and commenting on crises—in business, in government, even in the personal lives of well-known people. A top-flight news organization sees it all and often reports it in great detail.
But, covering a crisis and responding to one are two different things. And, in my experience, news organizations generally don’t handle their own crises all that well. Neither NBC News nor Fox will get an “A” from crisis pros for their ...
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Nervous Time—Addressing Peers
By Virgil Scudder
In the 1990’s a poll cited “speaking before a group” as Americans’ number one fear. The fact that it outpolled such options as death, illness, snakes, spiders, and taxes surprised some business speakers but hardly all. No subsequent poll, to my knowledge, has provided a contradictory or superseding conclusion.
For many executives, speaking before peers—people that you think may know your subject as well or better than you do—is the scariest of the scary. Insecurities abound: Will they think I’m ...
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