April 2006 Archives

Cynthia McKinney needs some serious media training and PR counsel right now.

You may remember the recent incident in which the Congresswoman from Georgia's 4th District "punched a cop" according to WXIA-TV in Atlanta. Unfortunately, it seems Ms. McKinney's PR nightmare is not going away any time soon. In a recent interview with a CBS affiliate, the Congresswoman provides a classic example of why media training is so important.

Last week, in my post on The Power Network for FPRA Blog Week, I recommended perfecting your elevator speech. I noted you have to focus on the listener and his or her needs, not you or your business.

In this month's issue of Guerilla Marketing, Michael McLaughlin concurs:

"The trouble with the typical elevator speech is that it’s focused on the speaker, not the listener...the pithy hook is a waste of time, and it can damage your credibility. Clients are not looking to play word games with you, but to solve a problem."

Michael acknowledges the need for an engaging introduction and offers some great tips on how to craft your speech so its delivery will move the conversation in the right direction.

Congratulations to FPRA's Orlando chapter on the success of FPRA Blog Week. Kudos to Bob O'Malley and Josh Hallett for their tireless efforts in putting it all together and updating the blog all week. A big "thank you" to all the participants who took time out of their busy schedules to share their wisdom and insight in a variety of entertaining and educational posts.

My post on adding pizzazz to events kicked off this final day of FPRA Blog Week (special thanks to Josh for the extra fast assistance this morning on he-knows-what). My post on power networking was featured on Wednesday.

The Orlando chapter of FPRA has always been an association leader in launching new initiatives (think Roast & Toast) so it's no surprise they were the first to the table, er, blog, on this one. I've enjoyed being part of it all and am honored to have been included on the list of esteemed professionals who were asked to participate.

Interns can be an exciting addition to your business team. They bring energy, excitement and fresh perspectives.

FPRA Blog Week continues with an outstanding post on the Keys to Dealing with Interns from Dr. Bob Davis, a professor with the Nicholson School of Communication at UCF.

Within just a few hours of launching, FPRA's Orlando chapter had over 160 unique visitors stop by to check out FPRA Blog Week. For a complete list of who will be posting and what topics will be covered, see the schedule .

Nothing can stall a project like the approval process. PRSA is hosting a teleseminar designed to help you run the approval process so it doesn't run you.

Only one registration per site is required, so register now and invite your colleagues to join you, all for one registration fee.

The one hour teleseminar is this Thursday, April 13, at 3:00 p.m. EST.

The Florida Public Relations Association's Orlando chapter kicks off FPRA Blog Week today.

Modeled after Global PR Week, FPRA's blog week is Florida-focused and will feature PR professionals from the Orlando chapter offering their wisdom and insight on a variety of topics. Yours truly will have two posts during the week, one on special events and one on networking.

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don't miss anything. Of course, as web man extraordinaire Josh Hallett notes, if you just read the RSS feed you'll miss all the great commentary. So be sure to visit the site...and add your comments!