Even the best speakers cannot succeed with poorly written materials. We can direct our clients to speechwriters with a history of turning out excellent material for leaders of business, government, and the professions. Very often even a good speech doesn't quite fit the style of the speaker. We help our clients by offering editing and restructuring suggestions to achieve a perfect fit. Many say this is among the most valuable services we offer in our presentation programs.

The stakes are seldom higher, or the risks greater, for an executive and his or her company than testifying before a legislative or regulatory body.  Millions of dollars are often at stake, along with the company’s reputation and the executive’s future. 

Virgil Scudder & Associates has prepared executives for successful testimony before some of the toughest Congressional hearings, including those on food contamination that resulted in fatalities. We have prepared scientists and company leaders for testimony before the FDA which resulted in over-the counter sales for various prescription drugs, and the approval of the Plan B “morning after” contraceptive.

We work closely with a company’s legal staff, public relations team, and top management to be sure that all objectives are achieved and the company’s positions are presented in the best light.  

We prepare our clients to:

• Deliver scripted material with impact and credibility
• Identify the difficult questions and challenges
• Preparw clear, crisp, and credible responses to all questions
• Remain cool under fire from hostile questioners

We often address business and professional groups on topics of current interest. We have recently spoken at major meetings and national conferences of such organizations as the following:

• The Conference Board
• The Canadian Public Relations Society
• The EPA Asia Branding Conference
• The International Association of Business Communicators
• The International Executives Research Group
• The National Investor Relations Institute
• The Public Relations Society of America

Our topics include:

• Handling the News Media in a Crisis
• Improving Investor Communications
• Managing the CEO Brand
• CEO on the Firing Line

We often create training programs to meet special needs. We work with our clients to determine the goals of the program, the specific challenges they face, and any outside factors that need to be dealt with.  Here are two such programs that we put together:

	American Airlines wanted to improve the communication skills of its purchasing agents.  The head of the purchasing division felt that better speaking skills would help the company negotiate better deals from its suppliers. We trained over 80 spokespeople in groups of six over several weeks. The program was highly successful.  Managing Director J. F. Zaves wrote this to us: “The results of your training have been outstanding.”

	A pharmaceutical company asked us to tackle a problem faced by its product representatives.  The reps call on physicians and often get no more than five minutes to present their cases.  The challenge was to create and polish a presentation that would get the message across and educate physicians about their product. We trained about fifty representatives in a special one-day session.  The results were so good that the company subsequently hired us to create special programs for marketing and other divisions.