By Gerard Braud The poem, Twas the Night Before Christmas, is only 56 lines long. As writing goes, it’s pretty perfect. But we all know there are people where you work, who feel compelled to make edits, no matter how perfect your writing is. Maybe it’s the CEO or CFO, or an engineer, IT guy, […]
Social Media at the Crossroads
May 31, 2018 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC As a conference speaker and presenter, my presentation for the International Association of Business Communicators has been one of the most difficult ever. Why? Because new crisis communication and social media case studies pop up daily. One of my slides says, “You can tweet your way into a crisis, […]
IABC Calgary Conference Podcast: Top Takeaway Crisis Communications Lessons
November 5, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
As a keynote speaker at the IABC Canada-West Region Conference, I was asked to do a podcast discussing crisis communications lessons for public relations and communications professionals. Vice President of IABC Calgary, Will Tigley interviews me to talk about crucial communications issues in today’s industry. Here were a few of the major crisis communications planning aspects to […]
7 Frightening Media Realities for Public Relations
June 17, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud –- As the media changes, your media relations strategy must change with it. We covered these changes and strategies in detail at the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) conference in San Francisco during my Monday morning workshop, #IABC15 The Changing Media Landscape. For those of you who attended the workshop, this […]
Social Media Collides With Mainstream Media: The Changing Landscape of Media Interviews in Good Times & Bad
June 10, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud — As social media and smart phones expand their reach, we are seeing a seismic shift that is sending tremors through the mainstream media landscape. This is creating both new challenges, as well as new opportunities for media spokespeople. Capitalizing on the opportunities requires you to adopt new approaches, learn new skills […]
What is Your Public Relations & Personal Epiphany?
January 5, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
I’d like you to stop for a moment as you plan for the New Year and your public relations goals. Reflect if you will, on the year that just ended, as well as the years before. Today is the Day of Epiphany, and I’d like to challenge you to identify moments of epiphany in […]
Media Training 29: Conclusion
December 22, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com We began this 29 lesson discussion with the admonition, “Don’t talk to the media.” The original admonition was that you speak through the media to your audience and the media’s audience. But as we conclude, let me take this thought a bit further. We’ve poured out for you 29 lessons of […]
Media Training 28: Speaking Off the Record
December 19, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com Never agree to speak off the record. This lesson really could end with just that phrase: Never speak off the record. Speaking off the record has been taboo among the wisest media trainers and public relations sages for decades, but rarely do I teach a media training class in which I don’t […]
Media Training 27: Body Language
December 18, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com What you don’t say is often as important or more important than what you do say, when you are talking to a reporter. How you stand, how you act, how you fidget, how you move, how you stutter, how you sit, and where you look, all says a lot about you. […]
Media Training 26: Looks are Important
December 17, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com Looks are important. With just three lessons left to go, I would be remiss not to cover some important basics, such as how to dress for a news conference. Dress for men has always been easier than dress for women in the world of media. That’s because men’s fashions tend to remain […]
Media Training 20: The Secret to Internalizing Key Messages
December 9, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com In the early stages of media training, many students are skeptical about the concept of key messages. Accepting key messages and using key messages effectively takes time and practice. As I mentioned in lesson 15, in most media training classes I first conduct a baseline interview, then I introduce the concept […]
Media Training 16: Practice, even if you only have 5 minutes
December 3, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By, Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com In our last lesson we talked about how to structure a media training class and how I always tell the executives I train that they must practice before every interview, even if they only have 5 minutes. I’d like to expand on that and explain why this is so important. I was […]
Media Training 14: Reporters like to Speculate
December 1, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com What’s the worst that could happen? How much worse could it get? But what if… ? Oh, those great “what if” questions. Reporters love the what if question. Why? Well, reporters lover a great story and sometimes the story doesn’t materialize the way they hoped it would. Remember all the lessons […]
Media Training 13: The Vote of Confidence or No Confidence
November 26, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com In lesson 11 we discussed the fact that when there is an industrial accident and a spokesperson does not appear in a timely manner, reporters often go looking for facts and quotes from other people, such as the ones with no teeth who live in trailers. Something else happens, which also […]
Media Training 11: Why do they interview people with no teeth who live in a trailer (with all due respect to trailer dwellers)
November 24, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com Let’s be respectful here and realize that many poor people don’t have either dental insurance or the ability to pay out of pocket for dental care. And let’s realize that while hoping to someday fulfill the dream of home ownership, many people live in an affordable alternative – a mobile home. Let’s […]
Media Training 10: What Does That Mean?
November 21, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com The question I ask most often these days is, “What does that mean?” I’m relatively well educated. I’m well read. I travel the world constantly teaching media relations and crisis communications. But what bugs the ever living daylights out of me is hearing people speak in mumble jumble that they think […]
Media Training 8: The Facts Don’t Matter
November 19, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com One day, as a joke in the newsroom, I uttered the phrase, “don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.” We all laughed. A colleague was pushing for a story to make the evening news, but there were lots of holes in the story and I (who in […]
Media Training 6: I Wonder What the Next Question Will Be?
November 17, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com I want you to think for a moment about the last interview you did with a reporter. The reporter asks you a question then you start talking. Think very carefully now – what were you wondering the entire time you were answering the question? In most cases, my media training students […]
Media Training 5: The Media are Biased
November 14, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com There is much debate about whether the media are biased; especially whether there is a liberal bias. If you truly want to explore that subject, I suggest you read the book Bias by Bernard Goldberg. It has been my experience over the years that much of what is perceived as bias is really […]
Media Training 4: They Took Me Out of Context and They Left My Best Stuff on the Cutting Room Floor
November 13, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com The 2 single biggest complaints I have heard from executives over the years, after they have done an interview, is that “the reporter took me out of context” or that “the reporter left my best stuff on the cutting room floor.” (If you are young, the cutting room is where film […]
You’re “Excited” AND “Pleased” ??? Wow, That’s Effective Communications: NOT
November 3, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
What if you learned that your writing and communications skills are really are sub-par? Would you want someone to tell you? Here is an example– An IABC e-mail just reached my inbox. The lead sentence says, “I’m excited about…” That is sub-par writing and public relations. It is shocking that public relations people cannot write […]
The Doctor of Crisis Communications
October 29, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
If you were a smoker and your doctor told you to stop or you would die of cancer, would you stop? If you had diabetes and your doctor told you to change your diet so you don’t die, would you change? Amazingly, there are people every day who ignore the advice of an expert and […]
How Do I Get a Seat at the Table? Times of Crisis Management and Crisis Communications Present an Opportunity
October 28, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
Public relations people constantly ask, “How do I get a seat at the table?” The short answer for now is to take advantage of the Ebola hysteria. The seats are not handed out at the table. The seats are taken. During a time of crisis or potential crisis, leadership can be displayed by those who […]
3 Secrets to Undervaluing a Crisis Communication Plan
July 29, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud Your expert crisis communication and public relations feedback is invited on this crisis communications case study. A global company called to inquire about my crisis communication plan program and training. Their corporate revenues are $2 billion dollars annually. The company stock trades at about $66 per share. It has about 8,000 employees […]
Re-Think Your Writing: Three Ways to Make Your Words Resonate With Your Audiences
February 26, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud Few people read to the end of an article. I have little confidence that you will read to the end of this article, even though the final thought may change your life and career. Every reader makes several judgments throughout each article as to whether they should move on or read on. […]
3 Symptoms of Emergency News Release Syndrome and 3 Ways to Deal With Them
January 20, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud Our last article focused on the need for public relations experts to be more strategic as they accomplish tactical tasks. You were reminded that the articles you write must result in behavior change. Your Tweets, Facebook posts and videos must also result in change such as better employee productivity, more sales, or […]
How Public Relations People Judge Success: One Monumental Secret to Achieving More Success in the Coming Year
January 8, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud Public relations and communication professionals on a global basis are experts at creativity. One cute, creative holiday letter I received spoke volumes about how public relations people judge success and the urgent need for public relations people to rethink their approach. The card was a creative spoof of the dreaded “holiday letter” […]
The Death of PR Perseverance (F-bombs included)
November 14, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud Five public relations veterans, pontificating and dropping F-bombs over cocktails recently at the PRSA conference, concluded the biggest problem in PR today is the lack of perseverance by those in the media relations, public relations and the communication professions. Is this true or not true for you? Read on… I’ll describe the […]
CNN iReport Tutorials Index
June 6, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
(Perspective: In 2013, CNN selected me as one of their top iReporters, out of more than 11,000 reporters. This is an index of a series of 23 lessons that share how to be a good iReporter and how to make CNN iReports a vital part of your crisis communication and media relations strategy.) […]
Compare and Contrast News Stories: Secrets of the Media
April 15, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud {Editor’s note: In 2013, CNN selected me as one of their top iReporters, out of more than 11,000 iReporters. This is part of a series of articles about how you can be a good iReporter and how to make CNN iReports a vital part of your crisis communication and media relations strategy.} […]
Lone Star College Shooting – Crisis Communication Case Study
January 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
I’m frustrated by the continued failure by schools and colleges to communicate well during a crisis. Rather than adding thoughts here, please visit http://blog.schoolcrisisplan.com/?p=95
What Leaders & PR People Can Learn from Lance Armstrong: Denial & Crisis Communication
January 16, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud Lance Armstrong’s denial of doping over the years provides a valuable crisis communications and public relations case study for analyzing denial by powerful people and how they communicate in a crisis. This is important for two reasons: 1) Public relations people may give excellent advice and professional council, but be rebuffed by […]
3 Dead in Murder-Suicide: The Time is Never Right to a Write a Crisis Communications Plan
December 4, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Friday 2 people were murdered, then the killer killed himself. One of the murders, as well as the suicide, was done “in the workplace.” I won’t say where, out of respect for the privacy of the person who called me the day before. All of this happened where he works. Just 24-hours before, on Thursday, […]
Free Teleseminar May 10-14 with Gerard Braud
May 7, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
If you have to talk to the media or train people who have to talk to the media, here is a free teleseminar opportunity for you. May 10-14, a group of All-Star A-Lists hosts will be interviewing author Gerard Braud (Jared Bro) about his new book, Don’t Talk to the Media: 29 Secrets You Need […]
Media Training, Whole Foods, Health Care Reform & Cow Poop
August 20, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
The most fundamental rule of media training that I discuss with every executive is this: “If you could attach a dollar to every word that comes out of your mouth, would you make money or lose money?” That brings us to Whole Foods and the much publicized letter to the editor in the Wall Street […]
Crisis Communications, Michael Jackson & Your Executives
August 19, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
I’ve been wanting to share these thoughts with you since the story first broke about the death of Michael Jackson, but I thought some may consider it insensitive or overtly opportunistic too close to his death. But now that some time has passed, let’s examine what we, as communicators, can learn from the death of […]
Lesson 29: Conclusion
June 2, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com We began this 29 lesson discussion with the admonition, “Don’t talk to the media.” The original admonition was that you speak through the media to your audience and the media’s audience. But as we conclude, let me take this thought a bit further. We’ve poured out for you 29 lessons of […]
Lesson 28: Speaking Off the Record
June 1, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com Never agree to speak off the record. This lesson really could end with just that phrase: Never speak off the record. Speaking off the record has been taboo among the wisest media trainers and public relations sages for decades, but rarely do I teach a media training class in which […]
Lesson 27: Body Language
May 31, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com What you don’t say is often as important or more important than what you do say, when you are talking to a reporter. How you stand, how you act, how you fidget, how you move, how you stutter, how you sit, and where you look, all says a lot about you. […]
Lesson 26: Looks are Important
May 30, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com Looks are important. With just three lessons left to go, I would be remiss not to cover some important basics, such as how to dress for a news conference. Dress for men has always been easier than dress for women in the world of media. That’s because men’s fashions tend to […]
Lesson 24: Death by News Conference
May 28, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com Many reporters fear what I often call “death by news conference.” In lesson 17 we discussed the concept of committing news as a premeditated act. Reporters hate to cover news conferences for two main reasons. The first reason is because usually there are way too many spokespeople saying little if anything […]
Lesson 23: Selecting the Right Spokesperson
May 27, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com Picking the right spokesperson really depends upon the situation. Many organizations tend to have two extremes in selecting spokespeople. Some organizations always send out their top PR person while other organizations insist that only the CEO speak. I endorse neither of these approaches as perfect and will suggest that sometimes the […]
Lesson 22: The Power of Passion
May 26, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com Few things are as underestimated in a media interview as the passion a spokesperson conveys. In lesson #8 we talked about why the facts don’t matter and how to create great quotes. If you learn to combine great quotes with passion you not only insure your quote gets used in a […]
Lesson 21: The Secret to Handling Negative Questions
May 25, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com Most questions from most reporters are negative. News in general tends to be negative because it is usually about serious change or a disaster. I wish news wasn’t negative, but I spent 15 years in the business trying to change that and couldn’t. Then I’ve spent every year since 1994 trying […]
Lesson 20: The Secret to Internalizing Key Messages
May 24, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com In the early stages of media training, many students are skeptical about the concept of key messages. Accepting key messages and using key messages effectively takes time and practice. As I mentioned in lesson 15, in most media training classes I first conduct a baseline interview, then I introduce the concept […]
Lesson 19: Preparing for a Desk Side Visit
May 23, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com If you are a big organization, occasionally a reporter from a major media outlet will call and ask for permission to do a “desk side visit.” Be careful. These can be deadly. A desk side visit is when a reporter wants to come by the office, not to write a particular […]
Lesson 18: Practicing for the Big Negative News Story
May 22, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com So far we’ve discussed what an ordinary media training program includes and we’ve discussed the need to practice before every interview. But if you are being interviewed about a negative issue by an investigative reporter or a major publication or network news magazine, you need more than your average media training […]
Lesson 17: What Makes the Media Say Wow! – Commit News
May 21, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com As a reporter, I generally hated going to a news conference or a media event that was about good news. It’s not that I’m opposed to covering good news, it’s just that generally the spokespeople were poorly prepared and the organizers were completely oblivious of the wants, needs and desires of […]
Lesson 16: Practice, even if you only have 5 minutes
May 20, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com In our last lesson we talked about how to structure a media training class and how I always tell the executives I train that they must practice before every interview, even if they only have 5 minutes. I’d like to expand on that and explain why this is so important. I […]
Lesson 15: How to Structure Media Training
May 19, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com One of the most difficult challenges I have in my job as a media trainer is to get executives to carve out time in their schedule for training. As mentioned in lesson 2, some don’t see the financial benefit. An even greater percentage are afraid of what ever embarrassment they may […]
Lessons 14: Reporters Like to Speculate
May 18, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com What’s the worst that could happen? How much worse could it get? But what if… ? Oh, those great “what if” questions. Reporters love the what if question. Why? Well, reporters lover a great story and sometimes the story doesn’t materialize the way they hoped it would. Remember all the lessons […]
Lesson 13: The Vote of Confidence or No Confidence
May 17, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com In lesson 11 we discussed the fact that when there is an industrial accident and a spokesperson does not appear in a timely manner, reporters often go looking for facts and quotes from other people, such as the ones with no teeth who live in trailers. Something else happens, which also […]
Lesson 12: Passing the Cynic Test
May 16, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud (sign up for the free audio version of this program at gerard@braudcommunications.com) Reporters are among the biggest cynics in the world. They doubt everything you tell them and you have to prove everything to them. This is especially true if you are trying to promote a good news story. I have found […]
Lesson 11: Why do they interview people with no teeth who live in a trailer (with all due respect to trailer dwellers)
May 15, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com Let’s be respectful here and realize that many poor people don’t have either dental insurance or the ability to pay out of pocket for dental care. And let’s realize that while hoping to someday fulfill the dream of home ownership, many people live in an affordable alternative – a mobile home. […]
Lesson 10: What Does That Mean?
May 14, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com The question I ask most often these days is, “What does that mean?” I’m relatively well educated. I’m well read. I travel the world constantly teaching media relations and crisis communications. But what bugs the ever living daylights out of me is hearing people speak in mumble jumble that they think […]
Lesson 9: The Myth about 3 Key Messages
May 13, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com So in the last lesson, we talked about not letting facts get in the way of a good story. The secret is to keep it simple. When you go through media training (which I enjoy teaching more than anything in the world and I would still do every day even if […]
Lesson 8: The Facts Don’t Matter
May 12, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com One day, as a joke in the newsroom, I uttered the phrase, “don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.” We all laughed. A colleague was pushing for a story to make the evening news, but there were lots of holes in the story and I (who […]
Lesson 7: Never get in a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel
May 11, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com I find it unbelievable that in the 21st century we still find executives who don’t want to take on a reporter or news outlet that has wrongly damaged their reputation. The traditional way of responding to a media outlet that makes a factual error is to ask the management for a […]
Lesson 6: I Wonder What the Next Question Will Be?
May 10, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com I want you to think for a moment about the last interview you did with a reporter. The reporter asks you a question then you start talking. Think very carefully now – what were you wondering the entire time you were answering the question? In most cases, my media training students […]
Lesson 5: The Media is Biased
May 9, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com There is much debate about whether the media are biased; especially whether there is a liberal bias. If you truly want to explore that subject, I suggest you read the book Bias by Bernard Goldberg. It has been my experience over the years that much of what is perceived as bias […]
Lesson 4: They Took Me Out of Context and They Left My Best Stuff on the Cutting Room Floor
May 8, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com The 2 single biggest complaints I have heard from executives over the years, after they have done an interview, is that “the reporter took me out of context” or that “the reporter left my best stuff on the cutting room floor.” (If you are young, the cutting room is where film […]
Lesson 3: It’s About Me
May 7, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud www.braudcommunications.com My wife often reminds me that it’s “not about me.” But she forgets that I come from a 15 year career as a journalist, where everything was about me. Everyday it was my story; my interviews; my scoop. Reporters have big egos. Accept it. You can’t change it so don’t even […]
Spring, Fox News and Panyhose
March 29, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
There are blizzards, floods and tornadoes in the news — all signs of a changing season. But you can never tell what season it is based on how Megan Kelly of Fox News dresses. How you dress when being interviewed on TV is important. News anchors are becoming bad role modes as we hear in […]
Gerard’s Day 1 Tip for 2009 – Dealing with the crisis
January 12, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Welcome to the New Year. Generally, the New Year is a time of great optimism, but heading into 2009 there is a lot of uncertainty. It’s going to be especially challenging for a lot of people in public relations, so I’ve put together this short 5 part series to provide some guidance to communications professionals […]
