beckysue 
For years, “PR executive” has been listed high among the most stressful occupations — Number 2, in fact. Yes, I know — take that, neurosurgeons and air traffic controllers! This year, somehow, it dropped all the way down to Number 7, behind soldiers, firefighter, cops and, um, event planners. (One of those things is not … Read more
One indicator that you’ve come upon a subject that you’re passionate about is that in all the thinking and analyzing and dissecting, you constantly come up with new ways to talk about it. I’m doing a couple of PR industry speeches in the coming months, and this is what I hit on the other day: … Read more
You hear it all the time in speeches, announcements, Facebook posts and every awards presentation that’s ever occurred: “I’d like to thank …” “I’d like to introduce …” “I’d like to congratulate …” Practically everyone does it, which is reason enough to be suspicious of the phrase and want to purge it from our usage. … Read more
There may be no place like home for the holidays, but these gatherings can be precarious affairs. It seems even the most innocuous remark comes loaded with extra freight — a lifetime of built-up resentments and slights. “Nice haircut! I love your hair short!” “I know, I know — you’ve always hated my long hair!” “How’s … Read more
Now that’s how to use a prop! I’ve lamented the fact before that so many executives (including chief executives and presidents) fail to make good use of physical props to illustrate their points. They’re concerned that it’s somehow cheesy or beneath them. But I love props, whether it’s a pie chart or a scale model … Read more
Conventional wisdom would tell you that doing a radio interview in the actual studio would be a more comfortable, natural experience than conducting it over the phone. But that’s just another proof point for how conventional wisdom gets its name. As I found this weekend, being face-to-face with the host is not that big of … Read more
“Don’t hire anyone you wouldn’t want to run into in the hallway at three in the morning.” – Tina Fey, Bossypants This has always been my approach when interviewing people for a job. Not that my kind of work would have me roaming office hallways at 3 in the morning. (Much. I think I did … Read more
Every time I help a client create a video, it seems someone during the planning stage brings up narration: “And here the narrator should talk about …” And I’m thinking, “No, there will be NO narrator!” But I don’t usually bring it up at that point because for some people it’s too difficult to imagine … Read more
Right now I’m reading Cleopatra: A Life, which is excellent so far. In it I found this pearl of wisdom handed down from Cicero: “As reason is the glory of man, so the lamp of reason is eloquence.” No offense to Cicero — he was clearly no slouch — but that is obviously the traditional view … Read more
I’ve now been on both ends of the webinar experience. I’ve attended my share of good and bad ones. The worst was when the moderators didn’t have master control over the microphone, so we were treated to people’s keyboard clicks, phone calls and, most embarrassingly, one group on speakerphone who provided running negative commentary on … Read more