The Public Relations Blog

How to connect with your audience at public speaking events

Public speaking engagements are your opportunity to deliver your company message personally to your key audience. Whether you’re announcing a new product, holding a news conference or even responding to a crisis, you want to make a positive impression and establish connection and understanding with your key stakeholders.

Get some of the same excitement and attention for your own company

The Academy Awards represent Hollywood’s biggest night. It’s a celebration of a year of movies that inspire, entertain, educate and explain the world around us. What you may not realize is that the Oscars also provide public relations lessons your company can use.

  1. Remember timing makes all the difference.

Although they create and release movies throughout the year, studios save their most buzz-worthy films for October through December so they can be fresh in the minds of the voting academy. They also seek media recognition for the film ahead of time, such as a nomination from the New York Film Critics.

A gifted spokesperson improves your image and grows your brand

Your spokesperson becomes the voice of your company as he or she shares your story with your target audience. It’s critical that you select someone who understands how to convey your message to the media, especially during a crisis. Here are four ways a great spokesperson benefits your company.

Use these PR tips to get back on track

Many executives shy away from any type of public speaking task due to fear of humiliation or embarrassment. However, if you avoid speaking in public, you do a disservice to your company, and you miss out on important opportunities for increased visibility and engagement with vital audiences. With tips and training from public relations, you can learn to correct mistakes or avoid them altogether.

4 tips for choosing the right person to represent your company

Identifying the right spokesperson for your brand is very important. When your company has special events, announcements or even a crisis, who should represent you? What are the qualifications you should be looking for in the individual who will be the face of your company?  

Why reading from notecards is not in your best interest

Anyone who has made a presentation or spoken in front of a large group knows how nerve-wracking it can be. So, wouldn’t it make sense to prepare notecards before your speech to be certain it goes smoothly? In a word, no.

Media training can be as involved as a daylong session with public relations professionals including everything from mock interviews to critiques. This is ideal for someone who has little to no experience speaking with the media. But media training can also be as simple as a quick meeting or call with the public relations team to discuss interview purpose as well as anticipated questions and responses.

How to find the right spokesperson without compromising the ethical standards of your company

One important decision your company will make is choosing who will serve as its spokesperson. Selecting the right spokesperson to represent your business isn’t easy. This person has to satisfy many professional and personal requirements to be the right fit for your company. On top of having high professional standards, your chosen candidate should comply with ethical standards. Here are four principles of ethics that every spokesperson should follow.

5 situations when you may not want your CEO to be your spokesperson

Steve Jobs said, “Great things in business are never done by one person. They are done by a team of people.” This begs the question of whether your CEO must always handle spokesperson duties. No one has more influence on what happens at your organization than the CEO. However, does that mean no one else can speak on your company’s behalf? When you learn more about the importance of the spokesperson role, you can better decide who it should be.

Can an outsider represent your company?

Finding the right person to represent your company is not easy. Often, small-business owners can’t afford to have a spokesperson on their staff; so when an event or crisis occurs that requires a company spokesperson, they need to hire someone who can temporarily fulfill that important role. What attributes should you be looking for in your temporary spokesperson?