Karen Friedman, a communications coach based in Philadelphia, has an article on this subject.  She says the question should be, “Does TV news matter as much as it once did?”

Here are excerpts from her article. The link for the full report is below.

“Research suggests that it does not. According to data from Nielsen, viewership of the three evening network news programs has steadily declined over the past 25 years, falling by more than 1 million viewers each year — translating into millions of dollars in lost annual revenue. The 2009 Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism’s State of the News Media annual report says that local news staffs, already too small to adequately cover their communities, are being cut at unprecedented rates. As a result, this caused local revenues to fall by a surprising 7 percent in a single election year— and ratings continue to drop. Only cable news is flourishing.”

“Rick Williams, executive producer at WPVI-ABC TV in Philadelphia, … says that because younger viewers find most of their information on the Internet, it is critical to cross-promote news between the TV and Web platforms.”

“For example, stations are now streaming news events live and carrying breaking stories on their Web sites. Viewers no longer have to wait until the evening news programs. To do this, many stations have hired producers who only create Web content, update stories online, produce video for Web sites and generate breaking-news alerts that are sent to subscribers’ cell phones and e-mail.”

“TV news, especially local news, will remain relevant to people who want to know what’s happening in their communities. Despite the steady decline of viewers, Pew reports that approximately two-thirds of Americans say that they still get their news from their local TV stations.”

“TV news must strive to remain relevant by continuing to increase Web presence and attract younger viewers. …TV news must consistently differentiate itself from other mediums by doing what it does best: broadcasting world events and live breaking news in a way that only TV cameras can capture.”

You can read the full article at http://www.karenfriedman.com/articles/tv_news_matter.php

Thanks for your insights, Karen.

When you’re a leader, you must think about what you say.  Not only is your reputation at stake, but your words can take on an impact bigger than you thought.  

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should know that by now.  But she has egg on her face. And her communications have turned into a crisis communications case study.   Media relations experts are thrilled that she has given a fine example of what NOT to say or do.  

Want to learn from her communication no-no’s?  Here’s an article written by a media relations guru whose work I admire.

Nancy Pelosi’s Three Classic Mistakes

By Jerry Brown, APR

www.pr-impact.com

Nancy Pelosi has made three classic mistakes in telling what she knew about waterboarding and when she knew it as a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

·         She didn’t tell the whole story.  Crisis Communications 101:  When you’re in a crisis communication situation, tell the whole story at the beginning.  If you don’t, all those ugly facts you want to hide are fodder for keeping a bad story alive.  And each new forced disclosure will hurt your credibility.  Pelosi has been telling her story in stages.  And the news conference she called last week in an apparent effort to put the story to rest didn’t work because her words were so carefully parsed that she still doesn’t appear to have told all she knows.  This is a politically charged story.  So, Pelosi’s political opponents will do all they can to keep the story alive.  She’s helping them do that.

·         She’s relying on the “rules” to excuse her own behavior.  In a crisis situation, saying you met regulatory or legal requirements is a useless defense (except in court).  If your actions contributed to the problem, the rest of us don’t care whether you met whatever legal or regulatory rules applied.  We don’t trust the rules to protect us.  In Pelosi’s case, she uses this defense to explain why she didn’t complain about waterboarding of prisoners even after a member of her staff told her the CIA had told him they were doing it.

·         She picked a fight while trying to shut down the story.  Pelosi accused the CIA of routinely lying to members of Congress.  That kind of accusation wasn’t going to go unanswered.  Not a good strategy when you want a story to go away.

None of us like to own up to mistakes or misdeeds.  That’s why so many companies make the same classic mistakes Pelosi has made with her current predicament.

It’s not easy to come clean when you’ve screwed up and the world is watching.  But, if you want the story to go away quickly, it’s the only chance you have at making that happen.

That’s my two cents’ worth.  What’s yours?

What makes a good sound-bite? A short concise phrase or sentence that is repeatable. John Lechleiter, CEO of Eli Lilly and Company  (NYSE: LLY), used this very good sound-bite in a speech today to the U S Chamber of Commerce :

“Encouraging innovation needs to be the purpose of U.S. health care reform – not its victim.”

In one sentence, he summed up what his concern is about President Obama’s health care reform principles. The words “innovation,” “purpose,” and “victim” are particularly powerful. 

He explained the result of innovation in simple to understand statistics: that  innovation has helped boost the average American’s life expectancy from 47 to 78 years, a rise of 66 percent over the past century.  He called that “unprecedented in human history.”

HINT:  When you give a speech, make sure you create sound-bites that are repeatable.  Can your audiences retell your main point?  Give them a sound-bite and they’ll be able to propagate your message.

Need help crafting your sound-bites?  Drop me an email:  Jean@Real-Impact.com.

I heard a very good speaker at a luncheon a few weeks ago, who gave us insights into the economy.  CNBC pundit, Joe Battipaglia, was the speaker.  A large man with a large personality, his energetic approach, even with the grim news, kept the audience interested.  Despite that positive assessment of his speaking style, I still have some comments that could improve his presentation … tips that you can put into use in your speeches, also.

He started his presentation with a  joke.  I really don’t like speeches that begin with jokes.  They can put an audience ill at ease.  You never know whether it will be funny, edgy, offensive, or delivered poorly. And, unlike Jay Leno, David Letterman and Joe Battipaglia, not everyone can deliver jokes well.  

Your own stories are better than a canned joke.  Later in his presentation he told about some interactions he had with his family about the economy.  They were much funnier and captured the audience attention better than his opening remarks.  

The other public speaking tip that applies to everyone relates to the use of audio visuals. He did not use any, but I wished he would have, especially because of the topic.  Joe dealt with very heady issues about the economy.  Those in the audience with financial backgrounds were fine with his information, but those in the crowd who did not have that expertise got lost a few times.  Some visual aids would have helped the audience retain the information much more easily.

And the audience is what public speaking is all about.

I heard a speaker at a United Way Tocqueville Society luncheon yesterday, who gave us insights into the economy.  CNBC pundit, Joe Battipaglia, was the speaker.  A large man with a large personality, his energetic approach, even with the grim news, kept the audience interested.  Despite that positive assessment of his speaking style, I still have some comments that could improve his presentation … tips that you can put into use in your speeches, also.

He started his presentation with a  joke.  I really don’t like speeches that begin with jokes.  They can put an audience ill at ease.  You never know whether it will be funny, edgy, offensive, or delivered poorly.  He did deliver it well.  But it was too long.  It took several minutes to tell.  And the punch line dealt with sex, always a no-no in speaking. 

Your own stories are better than a canned joke.  Later in his presentation he told about some interactions he had with his family about the economy.  They were much funnier and captured the audience attention better than his opening remarks.  

The other public speaking tip that applies to everyone relates to the use of audio visuals. He did not use any, but should have.  Joe dealt with very heady issues about the economy.  Those in the audience with financial backgrounds were fine with his information, but those in the crowd who did not have that expertise got lost a few times.  Some visual aids would have helped the audience retain the information much more easily.

And the audience is what public speaking is all about.

It looks  like we’re in for 4 years of lessons on public speaking from the White House.  President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress last night and once again gave us a lesson on how to give a speech. This one was a tough speech for tough times.  What did he do that made it exceptionally good?

1. He practiced.  His delivery was better than usual, with lots of vocal variety in the tone of his voice, the volume and the pacing. Even the commentators said they could tell he had practiced his speech.
2. The speech was written to be spoken. The sentences were short, just like the President talks. It wasn’t filled with flowery, poetic language like his inaugural address. That was not the purpose of this speech. It was to have a tough conversation with us. And it was meant to motivate. The result of the way it was written made it easy to read off a TelePrompTer. (If you’d like more advice on the use of TelePrompTers, go to my previous blog http://real-impact.com/on-television-here-are-some-hints-on-how-to-look-good .)
3. He wasn’t afraid to share his emotions. Too many business speakers hide behind the facts and put on a dispassionate affect. Your audience wants to know you have a human side.
4. He used many references with scenarios to which we could relate. 

“You don’t need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It’s the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It’s the job you thought you’d retire from but now have lost; the business you built your dreams upon that’s now hanging by a thread; the college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope.”

There will be many more examples I will analyze in the years ahead. These are NOT political comments. They are the assessment of the president’s speaking skills and style. And they are lessons that you can put to use in your business presentations.

Are you better with a scripted speech in front of a large group or in a question and answer session with a small group?  Some people think that the communication skills required are the same.  They are not.  All you have to do is watch two political leaders today to see the difference.

As I write this, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has just finished a live video chat with the editorial board of the Indianapolis Star.  It was a question and answer session that also included questions sent in from participants via the Internet. 

Mayor Ballard’s communication strength is speaking one-on-one or in small group settings.  Unlike others in the political arena, he keeps his answers short and allots time for many different questions and questioners.  He does not drone on and on as we see with many public servants who hold office.  His short answers allow for give and take and follow up questions.

We will see another communication skill set demonstrated tonight when President Barack Obama addresses the nation. He is a brilliant public speaker and is particularly good in front of large crowds or when working from a script.  But his answers in press conferences are too long. They turn into mini speeches, which can turn off audiences as their minds begin to wander.

What is your speaking skill set? Have you perfected what it takes to address a large group? Can you read well from a script? Can you handle question and answer sessions with brevity and clarity?

If you’d like an assessment of your skills, drop me an email.  Jean@Real-Impact.com

There have been many important speeches from presidents of the United States throughout my career as an executive speech coach.   But I’ve never watched one like tonight’s speech by President Bush.

It was one of the only presidential speeches that I would categorize as a speech which needed to educate us. Only by educating us, could the president PERSUADE us that his plan was the right one for these dire economic circumstances.

Our individual and collective financial futures are at stake and most of us couldn’t tell what a mortgage backed security was if it was Fed Ex-ed to our front door.   But mortgage-backed securities, as well as other complex financial terms and issues, needed to be explained to us in simple terms. It could have been done much better.

Let’s analyze the speech from the 3 questions I always use with my clients:

1.  Has the speaker given us a good road map, so we know where the speech is going?

On the whole, Bush’s speech was well organized.   He began with a brief overview of the problem and then acknowledged that we citizens wanted to know the answers to 3 questions:

• How did the US reach this point?
• How will the proposed financial bailout work?
• What does it mean to my financial future?

Good questions that were repeated each time he got to that section.

2.    Are there appropriate “speech landmarks” along the road, so that we can comprehend the information in a way that is memorable?

In this case, no.   Although it was well written, it screamed for visual aids.   This information is way too complex to rely only on words to tell the story.

This wasn’t a radio speech.  It was a television speech.   So how could his speechwriters forget to use visuals?

You don’t see a TV news anchor explain complex financial information without some graphs.

Most people rely on visuals to absorb and process information.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get that option this evening.

3.    Is the auditory trip filled with interesting highs and lows, twists and turns, to make the voice easy to follow?

In this case, yes.  BUT…and a big BUT it is…President Bush spoke very quickly, which was unusual in itself.  BUT when the information is complex, it doesn’t hurt to slow down or repeat information.

Recommendation to the White House: If you want to persuade American citizens, you might want to sharpen your PowerPoint skills.   For a $700 billion dollar bailout, there must be a few extra bucks to hire a graphic designer.

If you want some PowerPoint tips, visit my website and check out “Easy Ideas for the PowerPoint-Impaired.” I may send an extra copy of it to the president.

http://real-impact.com/learning/learning.htm

Jean Palmer Heck

www.Real-Impact.com

Disclaimer:  This is a NON-partisan blog.  Its purpose is to point out the good, the bad and the ugly of giving speeches.

Day 1 of GOP convention

Best speaker:  Fred Thompson.   Worst speaker:  Bill Gross

If you have any uncommitted time, google “Fred Thompson’s GOP Convention Speech” and watch it.  He is a master, as you might expect from this senator-turned-actor-turned-presidential-candidate-turned-supporting-politician.  He gets an A ++.

Here are the positives you need to think about in your speeches before large crowds.  And some of these pointers might surprise you.

1.    He used “but,” “uh,” and “and” throughout his speech.  While there are speech coaches worldwide who will tell you to eliminate those words from your speech persona (and I do, too, if they’re an annoying habit) … his speech sounded so conversational with these 3 tiny words included.   Reason: There are very few people who never use these words in every day conversation.

Surprised?  These little touches show humanity.  I’d guess that the But’s & And’s were added to the text of his speech.  HINT:  Very easy to add “but,” “and,” “well,” “so,” & “therefore” to your speech text at the beginning of sentences.

The Uh’s were probably a part of his own “acting” technique to make it sound like he was speaking extemporaneously.   HINT:  It takes practice to be able to use “uh” and “um” effectively to give that effect.

2.    He coughed and wiped his lips with his hand.  This was good.  Surprised?  In its analysis, MSNBC made it sound like his coughs were mistakes that should have been technically corrected by giving him a microphone cough switch.  Come on!  This cough was real. It was NOT a nervous habit.  He obviously had some kind of tickle in his throat and probably spit while he was talking.  Ever happen to you?   HINT:  If you are a confident speaker, you can get away with this.  If it is a nervous habit, you’d better overcome it. Videotape your speeches and see if it is a problem for you.

3.    Lots of humor throughout the speech.

And I can say without fear of contradiction that she (Sarah Palin) is the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field dress a moose … with the possible exception of Teddy Roosevelt.

Also here tonight is John’s 96-year-old mother, Roberta. All I’ve got to say is that if Roberta McCain had been the McCain captured by the North Vietnamese, they would have surrendered.

Now, John’s father was a bit of a rebel, too. In his first two semesters at the Naval Academy, he managed to earn 333 demerits. Unfortunately, John later saw that as a record to be beaten.

4.  He moved from funny to serious very well.

Humor first:

He never violated the honor code. However, in flight school in Pensacola, he did drive a Corvette and date a girl who worked in a bar as an exotic dancer under the name of Marie, the Flame of Florida.

Thompson slowed down the pace of his words, lowered his pitch and gently eased us into the description of horrible events.

And the reason I’m telling you these things, is that, apparently, this mixture of rebellion and honor helped John McCain survive the next chapter of his life:  John McCain was preparing to take off from the USS Forrestal for his sixth mission over Vietnam, when a missile from another plane accidentally fired and hit his plane.

5.    He also knew that it was important to bring the audience back up after relating somber/serious/emotional part of a speech.  HINT:  a semi-funny part of the story helps the transition.

He was beaten for not giving information during interrogations. When his captors wanted the names of other pilots in his squadron, John gave them the names of the offensive line of the Green Bay Packers.

6.    He used irony to make his point.   WARNING:  Brain research shows that older people don’t process irony as well as they did in younger years.  Know the age of your audience members.

Now our opponents tell you not to worry about their tax increases. They tell you they are not going to tax your family. No, they’re just going to tax “businesses”! So unless you buy something from a “business”, like groceries or clothes or gasoline … or unless you get a paycheck from a big or a small “business”, don’t worry … it’s not going to affect you.

7.    He made use of a technique all of us can and should use—visual analogies.  In this speech:  Bucket of money = bucket of water.   Money = water.

They say they (Democrats) are not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket, just the “other” side of the bucket! That’s their idea of tax reform.

8.    Lots of variety in the pacing of his sentences.  Lots of variety in the pitch of his sentences.  Lots of variety in the length of his sentences.   Just listen to the first minute of his speech and you’ll understand what “vocal variety” means.

Listen to this part of his speech where he changed the pace to rev the crowd up.

This man, John McCain is not intimidated by what the polls say or by what is politically safe or popular.  (Thompson speeds up here.) At a point when the war in Iraq was going badly and the public lost confidence, John stood up and called for more troops. And now we are winning.

Here’s the example of how he went from complete sentences to phrases.

So then they put him in solitary confinement…for over two years.
Isolation … incredible heat beating on a tin roof. A light bulb in his cell burning 24 hours a day.
Boarded-up cell windows blocking any breath of fresh air.
The oppressive heat causing boils the size of baseballs under his arms.
The outside world limited to what he could see through a crack in a door.
We hear a lot of talk about hope.
John McCain knows about hope. That’s all he had to survive on.

9.  Finally, he used a very tried and true technique; he asked the audience questions.  HINT: By asking questions, you re-engage the audience and make them part of your solution.

It’s pretty clear there are two questions we will never have to ask ourselves, “Who is this man?” and “Can we trust this man with the Presidency?”

On second thought, I’ll give him an A+++.
More tomorrow on lessons learned from speeches…and a  review of the worst speaker on Day 1 with hints on what YOU should avoid.

If you’d like an analysis of your speaking style, please email me at  Jean@Real-Impact.com, or call me in the U.S. at 317-873-3772.