Category Archives: Working with the media

Taming your untamed CEO

Working with the media

I read a good piece on the BBC website the other day profiling FT journalist Lucy Kellaway’s research into the seven deadly CEO sins.

So, how many of these does your CEO display?

  • control freak
  • vain
  • ditherers
  • bad at listening
  • bullies
  • afraid of conflict
  • no good at small talk.

The bad news of course, for most in house PR professionals, is how you deal with that many headed hydra when shaping your external communications?

Give as good as they get
This is precisely when a good external media trainer (preferably an ex or current working journalist) can come into their own and there aren’t many grizzled old hacks who won’t be afraid to give as good as they get. But make sure you get them in for a decent session – with half a day you can make real progress.

The chief exec will say he/she doesn’t need media training (vain), will keep putting it off (dithers), will be uncomfortable at dancing to someone else’s tune (control freak), and will no doubt try and talk you out of it (bullies).

Keep trying though – remember, your CEO doesn’t like conflict.

Social media: don’t be a Dooce

Social media, Talking to your customers, Talking to your employees, Working with the media

I recently came across the phrase ‘to be Dooced’ which apparently relates to a blogger (www.dooce.com) who got herself into hot water with her boss for making some disparaging remarks about work on her own blog and subsequently lost her job, hence, ‘to be dooced’. This happened back in 2003, pretty much a lifetime ago in social media time, but it’s rare that someone from office worker to celebrity isn’t getting themselves into hot water thanks to their blog, tweet, facebook posting or simply emailing something they really should not have.

In the work environment, it amazes me the amount of care and thought people will put into their quote in a press release which then has to be approved by Uncle Tom Cobley and all, but when it comes to tweeting something; bang, out it goes.

More straightaway
Of course that’s the real beauty of social media; the ability to be so direct, quick and as Lola (Charlie and Lola for those without children) might say, more straightway.

As ever, the medium of the message changes but the rules don’t. Take a minute just to think about your tweet, blog etc and think, would I be happy to have it broadcast on the News at 10 or splashed on the front page of The Times?

Or maybe just imagine what your boss/client would think? They’re watching you.

Don’t get drowned out by your own sound bite

Talking to your customers, Working with the media

Here’s a fun exercise. Grab your morning paper and see how many pre-manufactured sound bites you can spot.

The modern media is, it seems, obsessed by the sound bite or how you can encapsulate your message in something that is memorable and impactful. It’s the elevator pitch for your story and any media trainer will focus on developing sound bites as a key technique.

Bitten back
Beware though of sound bite overkill. When does your sound bite simply become a cliché? Google ‘perfect storm’ in the news coverage for instance and you’ll see what I mean. In the last few days, perfect storm has been used by companies to describe anything from climate change, the economy, hay fever, the manufacturing of green cars, and even a company talking about a ‘perfect storm of propane’.

If you’ve heard that sound bite you’re planning to use more than a few times in the media think about injecting some originality and come up with your own ‘perfect storm’.