11 Sep 2014

As we watch the Ray Rice saga unfold this week, much criticism has been made of the NFL's slow response in handling the situation. That brought to mind one of the first lessons in crisis management when it comes to the public's desire of a company (or entity in this case) in terms of how it deals with a crisis. Here's what they want: 1. The right people 2. Doing the right thing 3. At th...

28 Aug 2014

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dp8D7c2Hw8&list=PLDt0J62yU45u6Yk0t1FURwXd_OU_URtkP You don't have to watch a lot of the TV news channels to know that having a great story doesn't always translate into a successful interview.  That's exactly why companies like Spoken Word exist, to help executives tell a company's story and not just rely on their charm and good looks to hope that vi...

04 Aug 2014

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Over the past several years, we've worked with many hospitals and doctors (including the hospital featured in this video, Emory University Hospital).  One of the battles doctors and hospitals are always facing are HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws.  These laws prevent institutions ...

21 Jul 2014

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsDeWSRZrjA If there's any industry in the world that is prepared for Crisis Communications, it's the airline industry.  Unfortunately, they have to be.  There's no bigger global story than when a passenger filled airliner goes down and sadly Malaysian Air has had to deal with two such horrible tragedies already this year. With that said, facing the hord...

13 Jun 2014

Whenever we conduct a Presentations Training for a client, the first thing we typically have to critique a participant on is where they should look while they are presenting.  For most, the natural place for their eyes is the same as everyone else in the room:  The screen.  Wrong!! The screen (of monitor in some cases) is for the audience.  The laptop on the table, or printed Power Poin...

04 Jun 2014

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SKFvQTzCyM I was in London last week on business and as I do pretty much every time I'm there, I tune in to BBC News in the evenings.  Now of course, anyone who knows UK politics knows about Ed Miliband.  He's a media favorite, mostly for the priceless soundbites he gives and the sheer number of interviews he's willing to do. It's also important to note...

13 May 2014

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnCaLeS64PM Every time another Donald Sterling enters the 24-hour news cycle I get bombarded with emails and phone calls from both friends and clients with the typical "you need to give that guy a call".  My response is pretty much typical as well:  "You can't fix stupid".  I've read in countless publications that Mr. Sterling has "retained a crisis commu...