| |
| |
|
PR Information |
|
|
|
Three Communication Secrets of The Great Communicator
I've worked in media and public relations for 20 years, and experience has taught me that communication is an essential skill to master in order to be successful in all aspects of one's life. No one person can do many things without the involvement of other human beings; having superior communication skills, then, is a highly enviable quality, and those who manage such a feat serve as role models to the rest of us. Ronald Reagan, "The Great Communicator", exemplified this quality so well that people elected him President. 1. Confidence, such as Reagan had, is one of the essential non-verbal aspects of communication. Confidence can help one talk to others with ease and makes people want to listen to what one has to say. One way to gain confidence is to gain understanding. If one has a firm grasp of what it is one wants to say, one will have fewer reservations about speaking out. Reagan had confidence in what he was saying. He believed in his material and was familiar with it, which gave him the confidence to communicate well and be well received by his audience. Similarly, believing in one's own goals and ideas, communicating them without doubt, will gain them a better reception than an uncertain, mumbled communication would. 2. Reagan's confidently-delivered speeches were crafted to give his American audience hope and a sense of optimism. His 1984 re-election campaign slogan, "It's morning again in America," exemplified his vision of a better future for the country, especially after the traumas (Watergate, Vietnam, etc.) of the sixties and seventies. No one likes hearing bad news, and a positive attitude inspires one's listeners, improving their outlook on the topic and on the speaker. Reagan's use of symbolism- "morning"- is a particularly effective method of communication, as it solidifies an abstract concept in the listener's mind with an image, making Reagan's idea of a positive future more real. In communicating an idea, one would best be served by finding a positive expression for the idea, and finding an evocative symbolic form for the positive idea. 3. The third key to being a great communicator is wit. One must have a sense of humor and be able to tell stories, jokes and anecdotes. Telling a joke will help break the ice and get people interested in what one has to say, enabling a better connection with them. Doug Gamble, one of Reagan's speech writers said, "Unlike Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, whose use of humor often seemed less than heartfelt and somewhat mechanical, and George W. Bush, who is uncomfortable doing it, humor glowed from Reagan's very soul." Reagan expertly used his genuine sense of humor and excellent comedic timing to not only amuse his audience, but also to convey his political points. For example, Reagan illustrated a key principle of his political philosophy with the quip, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" One effective manifestation of wit is the strategic deployment of self- deprecating humor. Making oneself come across as more human and down-to- earth will more readily draw people's interest in one's message. Returning to a Reagan example, the late President enjoyed poking fun at himself, not only for entertainment purposes, but also to disarm his opponents. When Reagan's opponent in the 1984 campaign, Walter Mondale, described Reagan's reign as "government by amnesia," the president reacted, "I thought that remark accusing me of having amnesia was uncalled for. I just wish I could remember who said it." Similarly, Reagan jested about his alleged tendency to fall asleep on the job, "I've given my aides instructions that if trouble breaks out in any of the world's hot spots they should wake me up immediately - even if I'm in a Cabinet meeting." Self-deprecating humor is a very effective communication tool. With "The Great Communicator" no longer with us and with no role model to replace him, it remains up to each of us to become our own great communicator. Be confident, be witty, be optimistic, and you can interact effectively enough with others to realize your goals. Michael Levine is the founder of the prominent public relations firm Levine Communications Office, based in Los Angeles. He is the author of 7 Life Lessons from Noah's Ark: How to Survive a Flood in Your Own Life. GuerrillaPR.net is a resource for people that want to get famous in the media, without going broke. http://GuerrillaPR.net
MORE RESOURCES:
PR - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Public Relations & Your Small Business The practice of public relations is often misunderstood, thus overlooked by small business owners. There is an assumption among small businesses that PR exists only to serve corporate giants who are looking to dodge impending negative fall out of their reputation, following a catastrophic blunder on the part of their company. How Real PR Works For some, public relations works well when their news release or special event winds up in the newspaper or on the radio.For others, public relations works best when it does something positive about the behaviors of outside audiences that affect their operations the most. How To Write More Powerfully For PR, Offline And Online Years ago when my Dad owned a group of local newspapers I spent my school and college vacations working in the editorial office. We used to amuse ourselves over our sandwiches at lunchtime looking through and trashing the endless press releases that would arrive in the mail each day, all beautifully produced with glossy photographs (this was in pre-internet days). PR Where it Matters Most What's more crucial to the success of a business, non-profit or association than its most important outside audiences and stakeholders?Nothing.Those stakeholder behaviors directly impact virtually every management and operating activity of the organization. How To Write A Press Release A well structured press release in an excellent way of receiving free publicity for very little effort and cost. It is simply the process of writing a newsworthy story about your company, products or services in a reasonably standard format, and then distributing it in the correct way to relevant media contacts. Public Relations Success Starts Here For discerning business, non-profit and association managers, PR success is pretty much a matter of achieving their managerial objectives by altering perceptions leading to changed behaviors among those important external audiences that MOST affect their department, group, division or subsidiary.Period. How Would You Ever Know? Your important outside audiences behave in ways that stop you from reaching your objectives.Because you haven't paid much attention to their care and feeding, is it likely you'll know they are placing a hammer lock on your business in time to limit the damage?With some luck, you might save the day, but why let matters fester until you have a bad situation like this on your hands?Especially when a proven sequence can help you alter the perceptions, and thus behaviors of your most important external audiences making the achievement of your business objectives much easier. Marketing-Minded Financial Planners, Join Your Professional Organization to Get Free Publicity Unlike some professionals like lawyers and doctors, financial planners aren't required to be members of a professional association.However, if you want to take advantage of a great way to get free publicity, you marketing-minding financial professionals will join an association like the Financial Planning Association or the Society of Financial Service Professionals. Managers: Heres a PR Template for You Let's start out with a caution for business, non-profit and association managers: the premise of public relations implies that the work you do BEFORE you use PR tactics, such as press releases, brochures and broadcast interviews, will determine the success of your public relations effort.Reason is, if you are one of those managers, the PR plan that flows from that premise will call for achieving your managerial objectives by altering perception leading to changed behaviors among those important external audiences that MOST affect your department, group, division or subsidiary. Creating Your Online News Room: How To Build a Site The Media Will Love From time to time, people ask me how public relations has changedduring the two decades in which I've been seeking publicity. Myanswer: technology. PR: Advice You Didnt Ask For Although, as a business, non-profit or association manager, you may be glad this came your way.Especially if your current public relations effort is delivering more publicity plugs than real behavior change among your most important outside audiences. PR Campaigns - How To Get To Grips With The Media If you're serious about getting great results from your PR you may find that you have to severely challenge your current reading habits. A recent client completed her PR assessment form with a comment about how she had always read a certain paper because her parents had and she'd just fallen into the habit too. R.O.I. -- O.K., Heres The Deal! You can SO measure return-on-investment for a public relations program!Try this.Accept the fact that people act on their own perceptions of the facts, and that this leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. Building Credibility Through Bylined Articles As if making sure your company runs smoothly on an operational level isn't responsibility enough, as a business owner, you're probably overseeing all aspects of your company's public relations program, as well.PR can keep a company above water when times are tough and help the business soar during a fair-weather economy. PR Buyers Beware! It can bite you and waste your public relations budget when the program emphasizes communications tactics instead of how to make certain your key outside audiences understand who and what you are.Especially sad when tactics are placed in motion before you really know how your key target audience views your organization, and exactly at whom those tactics should be directed. Generating Publicity: Will The Media Be Interested In My Product/Business? When it comes to launching a new business or product, some marketing consultants might say that EVERY product is appropriate for a publicity or media exposure campaign. That is true to a degree, but as a PR/publicity professional and former media person, I would qualify that statement by saying that although new products would benefit from a solid publicity campaign, not all businesses or products and their pitches will grab the attention of the media. Media Relations: How to Get Your Letter to the Editor Published You may remember Forrest Gump's Vietnam pal - the one who grew up shrimp farming and was fond of listing the dishes he used to make. "Pepper shrimp," he started, gearing up for his lengthy monotone monologue. Effective Public Relations: Why Did Bec And Lleyton Do It At 3:15AM? If you are in Australia at the moment, it is hard to miss the engagement news of superstar couple, tennis ace Lleyton Hewitt and TV soap Rebecca Cartwright.They are everywhere . Marketing-Minded Financial Planners--Appearing on TV? Tell the World! It doesn't matter how cruel the reality programs get, there always seems to be an endless supply of people willing to humiliate themselves to get on television. There's just something exciting about appearing in front of millions of people. Passion with Purpose - The Winning Combination The power of PassionPassion is an extraordinarily powerful spring. Without it religion, history, romance, and art are useless.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
