A team of students with disabilities mentored by Spoken Word founder Dave Scallan recently participated in the Paving the Pathway to Success competition in Houston, Texas on Saturday June 22, 2024. 

Beginning in April

Dave gave the team a “problem statement” and asked them to complete a series of challenges related to the statement.  For this year’s group, Dave chose to simulate an explosion at a chemical plant in the Houston Ship Channel. 

Over the next two months

The team met three times each week. They learned how to write a press release, develop empathy statements and communicate with key stakeholders, including residents in the area of the plant as well as media outlets looking to cover the event. They also learned how to include empathy in all their communication, as well as how to become a credible source of information to both the public as well as the news media.

Finally, on June 22 after two months of hard work

The team presented their learnings in the form of a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation in front of an audience of over 100 guests.  Although they didn’t get the trophy this year, the team did an excellent job and received high marks from the judges. Most importantly, working with Dave helped the students build confidence in their abilities and increase their work readiness.

Paving the Pathway to Success is a program by the Gulf Coast Workforce Board and Texas Workforce Solutions Vocational Rehabilitation Services. The 7-month training program for young adults with disabilities (ages 16-22) helps students increase work readiness through a series of professional workshops designed to build confidence in their existing abilities by not focusing on their disabilities. The program’s vision is to bridge the gap between school and work by creating the same level of competitiveness with their peers who do not have a disability.

More about Paving the Pathway to Success

Contact Dave at Dave@spokenwordgroup.com

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All we have to do is watch the evening news to see how unexpected events suddenly explode into a public relations nightmare. We live in a world of an instant news cycle, which makes our immediate reaction and comments to any crisis so incredibly critical. Having a plan in place to deal with it is no longer discretionary—it’s essential.

So, perhaps you’re asking, what do I do about it?

Questions concerning crisis management are all the same: How do we react? What do we say? What should we NOT say? Who do we put in front of the media frenzy? And, how do we train and prepare for the inevitable?

Crisis Management is what we at Spoken Word do best.

We will put you and your executives through several challenging on-camera sessions. These are tough. They need to be. You may feel as though you have failed, but by the end of the day you’ll be amazed at the skills you’ve developed. You will be much more confident in your ability to handle the media and the public in whatever crisis occurs.

This training is especially important for mid- to upper-level executives.

It’s critical, because in the end, the public wants to see and hear from a person in charge. They want to know where the buck stops. It will be up to you to deliver the empathy, commitment and openness to calm their minds and reassure them that you have this crisis under control. We’ll teach you the skills on how to control an interview and maintain that proper narrative.

And if it’s been awhile since you have been through Crisis Training, it would be good to go through it again.

In my career as a journalist I have interviewed thousands of people and 95% of the time I was in control. For the remaining 5%, I would walk away from the interview and say to myself, “Wow, that person has been trained.” Bottom line is Crisis Management Training works.  Make it work for you for 2024!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and May the Peace of the Season be with you and your family throughout the New Year!

Spoken Word Communications can help you prepare for the unexpected.
Contact Dave.

Dave@spokenwordgroup.com

The post It’s not a matter of if, but when. first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

Elements of a Robust Communication Strategy in the Face of an Energy Crisis

Traditionally during the winter season, business for the energy sector remains as usual; providing round-the-clock electricity and gas services to enable our communities to live comfortably indoors despite the harsh weather outside. However, global gas supply issues are causing energy security concerns and driving up prices across many parts of the world – particularly in Europe.

Various steps are being taken to address this situation

• USA is doubling the level of liquified natural gas (LNG) supplies into the UK over the next year to support UK and European energy security, help stabilise prices and replenish gas supplies impacted as a result of the Ukraine conflict.
• European member states will reduce their peak-hour demand requirements by 10% over the next three months to reduce energy consumption.
• UK has developed a ‘Demand Flexibility Service’, enabling customers to sign up with energy suppliers and be paid not use electricity appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines and tumble driers across peak periods of the day. It will also implement controlled electricity disconnections to reduce demand in the event of an extreme situation.

All energy organizations need to be prepared for any eventuality during the winter season, as they are expected to respond effectively to incidents and restore their customers’ energy supply as quickly as possible. This requires robust crisis communication preparation and management.

CHECKLIST: How prepared are you to face a winter crisis?

Research shows that crisis-prepared companies face fewer emergencies. Here’s a checklist to help you determine how well you measure up.

Ensure incident procedures are up to date and fully brief staff.

Update communication material and make readily available for use with key stakeholders, for example, press releases, key messages, FAQs, operational facts and figures, website and social media posts, company photography and broadcast footage.

Ensure adequate communications staff and contractor resources are in place for continuity of delivery and decision-making throughout an incident. For example, a major electricity or gas outage can last several days and can stretch staff capabilities, if not managed appropriately. This is a story that will attract extensive media interest.

Monitor press and social media channels to assess the accuracy of news and social media coverage and determine if any adjustments are needed to provide greater clarity to your stakeholders.

Schedule a crisis communications refresher session to ensure communication and operations teams, managers and executives are prepared. A refresher will give them tools to confidently communicate with all key stakeholders–not only news reporters. This includes your customers, employees and investors.

Do you have an updated stakeholder communication plan for a winter energy crisis?
Spoken Word Communications can help you prepare for the unexpected.
Contact Dave@spokenwordgroup.com

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A leading corporate communications executive, Elliott recently retired from DCP Midstream as Vice President, Public Affairs. With almost 25 years in the energy industry with Union Gas Limited, Duke Energy Field Services, and DCP Midstream, Roz has led investor relations, crisis communications and issues management, media relations, brand management, community relations, internal communications and marketing.

In her tenure, Roz has coached and mentored both executives on messaging and strategic communications plans including mergers and acquisitions, capital projects, crisis, IPOs, rebranding, and reorganizations. Roz has experience in the midstream and large distribution utility sectors, as well as health care and university issues management. Roz has significant experience in presentation development, media skills, employee communications, investor earning calls and analyst day events, fundraising, event management, and website design.

Roz served on the Boards of The Denver Foundation and The GLBT Center of Colorado and was awarded the Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Business Women’s Award for Communications and Media. Roz was also honored for her long term volunteerism by the American Heart Association with two Community Impact Awards in Colorado. Roz holds an Honours BA and Masters of Arts in Journalism from Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.

Roz is based in Ontario, Canada.

The post Veteran Pipeline Communications Executive Roz Elliott to Lead Spoken Word Communications Canada Office first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

By Beth Archer/Spoken Word Consultant

Platitude joins “no comment” in list of phrases not to say

Delete the phrase “thoughts and prayers” from your repertoire of go-to sympathetic sayings. It has lost its meaning and no longer conveys what is most important: empathy.

It started losing steam a few years ago in social media discussions about the gun debate. Elected officials often tweeted (and many still do), “thoughts and prayers” for victims after a mass shooting.

However, after using the same phrase several times, it became as stale as candy corn on Christmas. Connecticut Congressman Chris Murphy is cited as one of the first elected officials to challenge the lack of diversity in empathetic expression, with Murphy tweeting in 2015, “Your ‘thoughts’ should be about steps to take to stop this carnage. Your ‘prayers’ should be for forgiveness if you do nothing – again.”

Those leaders that use “thoughts and prayers” are not unkind, devoid-of-feeling robots; they likely are in shock, as The Atlantic recently pointed. When we’re shocked and unable to think straight about an outrageous event, we default to words we use so often they flow without thinking – or feeling.

Without pausing as we tweet to allow ourselves to feel grief, our message loses our intent. We’re not able to communicate our compassion. We lost our authenticity.

I know it’s scary to allow ourselves to really feel our emotions in crises, as it often leads us to feel vulnerable and vulnerability is perceived as no-no for leaders.

What may be good advice for ensuring a job gets done, is not good advice for trying to connect with others. Be vulnerable. Allow yourself to express the emotions that are coming to mind during a crisis.
Is your heart broken? Say so. Are you sick to your stomach about it? Tweet that.

After the heart wrenching mass shooting in Las Vegas in October, Vice President Mike Pence tweeted, “To victims, families & loved ones affected by this senseless violence in Las Vegas, Karen & I are praying for you & offering our love…”

See what he did there? He tweeted what he actually felt. It’s authentic and empathetic and an example for all leaders to follow in times of tragedy.

Rest in peace, “thoughts and prayers”. We’ll put you right next to “no comment”.

Beth Archer is a Spoken Word consultant based in Texas. Connect with her on Twitter at @BethArch.

The post RIP “Thoughts and Prayers” first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

An attorney interviews for a 60 Minutes story on defective Halyard Health surgical gowns dropped one of the all-time memorable lines. Check it out in this short preview video.

The post Great ‘Memorable Line’ on 60 Minutes first appeared on Spoken Word Communications.

July 11, 2017

Spoken Word Communications Expands its U.S. Utility Team

Spoken Word Communications is pleased to announce the appointment of Ralph DeSantis as a Senior Counselor in its U.S. Office. Ralph joins former Exelon Communications Senior Manager Beth Archer, to provide media, crisis and presentation training services for the Chemical and Utility industries as part of Spoken Word’s global network.
A recognized industry expert in the areas of media relations, public relations and crisis communications, DeSantis recently retired from his role as Exelon Corporation’s Communications Manager at the Three Mile Island Generating Station near Harrisburg, Pa. Previous to that he served as Communications Director for both PECO Energy and Exelon Corporation in Kennett Square, Pa. overseeing the external and internal communications function for both companies’ nuclear operations in the Mid-Atlantic region.

“I am honored to join the team at Spoken Word Communications and I am looking forward to sharing my media and crisis communications experience with our clients,” said DeSantis. “I have a passion for preserving and enhancing the reputation of organizations through effective communications.”
DeSantis has extensive experience as chief media spokesman and as a communications advisor to senior executives on media relations and crisis communications. He holds a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) Degree from Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education from Clarion State University. He has also earned an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) from the Public Relations Society of America.
In 2010, DeSantis earned a Top Industry Practice (TIP) Award from the Nuclear Energy Institute for developing and implementing a communications plan for the largest over the road land transport (two steam generators) in the history of Pennsylvania. DeSantis has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Public Relations at York College, York, Pa.

“I am delighted that Ralph has joined Spoken Word Communications,” Dave Scallan, founder of Spoken Word Communications, commented. “He has extensive experience in both the Nuclear and Utility fields which will complement the experience that Beth brings and will enhance our media, crisis and presentation training services. Organizations will benefit first-hand from the collective global communication experience, knowledge and training techniques we now have available within our U.S. office and on a global basis.”

For further information:
Dave Scallan – Spoken Word Communications at 713-471-0008
dave@spokenwordgroup.com

About Spoken Word Communications
Spoken Word Communications is a media, crisis communications, and presentations training company that advises on how to communicate effectively, build confidence and credibility in any type of interaction involving the spoken word. Former journalist Dave Scallan is the founder and president of Spoken Word Communications, a global media and crisis communications training firm located in Houston. He has provided counsel to executives in over 25 countries around the world and worked with five of the Top 10 Fortune 500 companies. Spoken Word specializes in the Oil and Gas, Utility and Chemical industries. The company maintains offices in the U.S., U.K. and Singapore.

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