Whether or not you believe that Andy Warhol predicted, "in the future, everybody will be world-famous for 15 minutes" (The Smithsonian says it's probably not true), you'll want to seize the moment when TV news comes calling. These nine PR tips will ensure you make everyone proud. 1. Maintain Eye Contact When in a face-to-face interview, focus on the person asking questions, not the camera. In remote interviews, keep unwavering eye contact with the camera lens.When pausing to collect your thoughts, look down rather than up to avoid misinterpretation. 2. Present Your Best Self Even in virtual meetings through platforms like Zoom or Teams, your appearance and surroundings are pivotal. Position your camera at eye level for a flattering perspective. Dress appropriately and run a comb or brush through your hair. The world doesn't need another Sam Bankman-Fried! Opt for …
What is the relative importance of presentation and interview content -- the words spoken -- versus the way the information is presented -- such as tone of voice and nonverbal cues? This article closely examines this question, separating fact from fiction.
Let me say right from the start that this is not going to be a comprehensive analysis of the topic described in the headline. I think the headline presents a great premise for an article, but really I don't have the stomach for it. Maybe further down the road. I waded into this subject after reviewing the first part of PRovoke's story, "Crisis Review: The Top 20 Crises Of 2020," which selected election fraud claims to top its list. Dominion Voting Systems somehow wound up on the radar of absolutely crazy theories about how the 2020 vote could have been changed or otherwise manipulated. I'm sure the public relations and crisis counselors working with and for Dominion were sickened by what they witnessed, and I 100 percent support their legal efforts to extract whatever pounds of flesh they can from …
Best of Silver Anvil Winning Program Builds Support for Human Space Exploration DPK Public Relations has a long relationship with NASA - Johnson Space Center that goes back to the Space Shuttle era, and we were proud to assist the Human Research Program's efforts to communicate about the science behind Astronaut Scott Kelly's Year in Space. The concept was simple: Kelly is an identical twin, so NASA seized the opportunity to monitor the impact of this prolonged exposure to zero gravity and compare those physiological and psychological measurements with those of his brother, Mark Kelly, who also is an astronaut. The challenge for any organization involved in science, technology or medicine -- or really anything that is complex -- is getting the smart people who are involved comfortable speaking in plane English about it. Making complicated information relatable isn't something …
NASA's One-Year Mission Earns PRSA's Highest Honor Congratulations to our client, NASA Johnson Space Center, for winning the 2017 Best of Silver Anvil Award. The agency's program, "Year in Space: Communicating NASA's Historic One-Year Mission from Space to Ground," won the Silver Anvil in the Integrated Communications category and a second Silver Anvil for Reputation Management. It was judged to be the best of all this year's Silver Anvil winners. DPK Public Relations is proud to have assisted with spokesperson preparation connected to NASA's historic one-year mission. We worked closely NASA's Human Research Program in the year leading up to the mission to hone messages and refine storytelling strategies. We later media trained many of the scientists and researchers involved in the mission. NASA Johnson Space Center's integrated communications campaign showcased diverse activities aboard the International Space Station and collaborated …
Shut Up and Use One of the Most Powerful Communications Tools We at DPK Public Relations appreciated a recent post by Dan Rockwell, "How to Capture the Opportunity in Awkward Silence," from his Leadership Freak blog. It describes the value of leaders allowing silence in the midst of meetings or interviews. So often, silence in a meeting ratchets up tension and anxiety. It is the third rail of interpersonal communication - touching it can be deadly! However, this negative response to a moment of contemplation can be harmful. It can prompt people to rush and make statements or offer solutions that lack a solid foundation and are ill conceived. Right out of college, I worked briefly selling cars. As is the case with many salespersons, we were coached to capitalize on the discomfort created by silence. Make a closing statement and …
Define what a successful TV interview would look like and build from there We were surprised to find that an article we wrote 10 years ago on the subject of how to effectively prepare for TV interviews had recently risen again to become our most visited page on this website. We can't explain why things like that happen, but upon reviewing the content of the piece it occurred to us that an update is in order. So here are the new and improved top 10 tips for how to prepare for a TV interview. Imagine what success looks like. Answer these questions: 1) What do I want my audience to know? 2) What do I want my audience to believe? 3) What do I want my audience to do? If you answer these three questions, you have set clear and …
Don't Give Your Competitor the Valuable Publicity You Earned. Keep It for Yourself! When we conduct mock interviews during a media training session, we often ask interview subjects to name two or three competitors who they admire. There are numerous iterations of essentially the same question. It can be naming the competitors who are keeping them up at night. Or perhaps it can be a question about the competitors who pose the greatest challenge over the next three to five years. It’s all a trick to see if the spokesperson being trained can be lured into naming competitors at all. We have found that it is common for an untrained spokesperson to fall for this simple trick and start rattling off names. Sometimes they speak more naturally and glowingly about the competition than they do about their own products and …
Is the candidate re-writing the rules or simply a celebrity getting special treatment? For weeks we have been trying to understand the implications -- if there are any -- of the phenomenon of Donald Trump's success to date in his pursuit of the Republican nomination. As has been well documented, Mr. Trump has violated many of the fundamental rules of public speaking and media interactions, yet he has established and held onto a solid base of support. Some aspecs of his communications strategy seem pretty straightforward and are rooted in polling that suggests a portion of voters find conventional political behavior repulsive: He espouses a hatred for many journalists, which excites those who distrust the media and believe bias unfairly colors the way news is presented. A September 2015 Gallup poll found that only four in 10 Americans say they …
Succeeding in news interviews comes down to preparation, practice and performance I was surprised when I reviewed the Google Analytics report for this site that an article I posted more than nine years ago, "Top 10 Tips for Preparing for a TV Interview," was again one of the most popular articles here. Not sure how or why that's the case, but everything changes over the course of a decade -- I don't know anyone who still uses a Blackberry! -- and I wanted to provide an update for those who are seeking PR advice prior to conducting a video interview. Before we get too far into this, let's pause for this brief commercial announcement: Contact DPK Public Relations to arrange Media Interview Skills Training today or call 800.596.8708. The biggest thing that has changed over that time is the rise of …