By Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D, writing for CommPro.biz: Two seconds – thirty seconds, tops – that’s all the time it takes some to assess your confidence, competence, status, likeability, warmth, and trustworthiness. That’s how much time you have to make a first impression. In fact, it’s impossible for us not to make these snap judgments about […]
Hennes Paynter Communications, one of the few firms in the U.S. focused exclusively on crisis communications and reputation management, is now Hennes Communications. The firm also offers litigation communications and media training services to its clients that are “on trial” in the Court of Public Opinion. The change follows the departure of former partner Barbara Paynter, […]
The decision to issue a warning to the public is never an easy one. Crisis Manager Lucien Canton writes about one of the most common reasons for failing to issue timely warnings: the fear of creating public panic. He argues that fear, particularly one that is contradicted by social science research, is never an excuse for […]
Ohio Emergency Management Agency Ohio Public Private Partnership Conference Cleveland State University June 23, 2015 In an effort to increasingly serve Ohioans before, during and after a disaster, the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) relies on strong partnerships between citizens, government, and private business. To strengthen these partnerships across the state, ODPS created the Ohio Public […]
[by Howard Fencl, APR] I’ve media trained dozens of industry leaders who are just now getting their arms around social media and grasping how a single iconic photo snapped during their organization’s crisis by a disgruntled party can spiral into a viral flame storm in seconds. They’re horrified. And they ought to be. Because whether […]
[By Nora Jacobs] One of the most common decisions we encounter when clients face a crisis situation is helping them choose the individual who will serve as their spokesperson. Rarely does anyone volunteer for this assignment and most draftees accept it with grudging resignation. In truth, being a spokesperson is a high-risk job and even […]
[By Bruce Hennes] I recall, from the 1960s, what we called “Slam Books” – spiral-bound notebooks with a single student’s name at the top of each page and enough pages to list every student in class. These books were passed surreptitiously, and students would write about their classmates until teachers confiscated them. The anonymous comments […]
We often remind clients that it’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. In fact, how you communicate often trumps the exact words you use. The how includes the way you look, the way you dress, move and occupy space – in other words, the totality of your being. From our colleague, […]
[By Howard Fencl, APR] When we talk to clients about reputation management and ask who their most important audience is, “media” is all too often their answer. They are wrong. It is your internal audiences – your board, staff, vendors, volunteers, donors – who ultimately support your reputation or sink it. Your internal stakeholders are […]
Whenever Hennes Communications trains clients for public speaking – either to the media or other audiences – we always teach that it’s not just the words you use, it’s the way you deliver them. Over the decades, we’ve seen hundreds of examples of good and bad delivery. What they have in common is the effective, or […]