TJ’s Insights

Yes, the technology for podcasting has never been easier. Microphones, editing equipment, mixers, the equipment keeps getting cheaper AND higher in quality. But the most important part of any podcast is the human quality. Namely, are the people talking saying anything interesting, and is their style tolerable?

More major corporations are starting to use podcasting technology to communicate with their most important customers and prospects around the globe. But once you start a podcast, there are a lot of tough questions to answer.

1. Do we try to write out an entire script for our executives to follow?

Arnold Schwarzenegger is either, depending on your perspective, the future president of the United States (if the constitution can be amended) or a laughingstock who has made a mockery of California Democracy. I will leave it to others to judge his political strengths and weaknesses.

However, I judge Schwarzenegger to be a master at the media interview. The governor appeared on the February 26th Meet the Press with Time Russert and received quite a grilling. Russert pounded away at Schwarzenegger’s shortcomings, failures and flip-flops. Each time, the governor answered with substance, detail AND a big smile on his face. He left the impression that he was having the time of his life and that he still thought that it was an honor, a challenge and a thrill to be governor. Stylistically, those are themes any politician should want to send out.

The childhood adage of “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me,” doesn’t always apply of you are a politician or public official. On February 23, 2006 the Mayor of London, England, Ken Livingstone was suspended from office for four weeks. What was his crime? He compared a Jewish reporter to a Nazi concentration camp guard.

Many years ago I conducted a media training session for the inventor of the DeFuzzIt, a device that took the fuzz off of sweaters and other garments. I’ve often wished I could create a similar device for taking the fuzz out of speeches.

Sooner or later you will be asked to give a speech with specific and exact time limits. It may be at a financial conference where each speaker is allowed only 20 minutes or at a Chamber of Commerce event where each attendee is given only two minutes to speak. Please keep in mind the following top ten rules for time-limited presentations:

Sooner or later you will find yourself at a Chamber of Commerce meeting or some other trade association event and everyone (including you) will be asked to stand up and speak for one to two minutes about their company or themselves (some times there will even be a buzzer or a gong to let you know exactly when your time is up). Don’t make the mistake of assuming that this “isn’t really a speech,” or that “it’s such a short period of time, nothing can really be accomplished.”

It is only human nature to want to hide or suppress bad news. I don’t care who you are, whether you are the Vice President of a mom and pop grocery store or vice president of the United States.

There are always going to be various strategies you can use to try to deflect or minimize the severity of the damaging story. Every strategic decision must be made based by factors regarding the severity of the story, the prominence of the individuals involved, and the story’s relevance to larger issues in the zeitgeist.

Professional entertainers know that it is critical that their audiences not see them openly interacting with notes during a speech, presentation, or performance. And yet, entertainers, like the rest of us, have fallible memories. So what do they do?

One technique I’ve seen that is particularly clever works when an entertainer is on an elevated stage. If the performer is on a stage that is higher than the eye level of the audience, then anything placed flat on the floor can not be detected by the audience. I’ve seen comedian Bill Maher use this technique for his various one-man comedy specials for HBO. He had what appeared to be 16 separate 8 ½” x 11” pieces of paper taped to the floor of the stage. The notes (presumably numbered) were secured well in advance of Maher walking out on stage, so the studio audience never saw the comedian touching or fiddling with notes.

Clients come to me all of the time looking for some secret on how to eliminate their nerves before giving a speech. I hear them out and then listen to them give a version of their official speech.

While many athletes invest in fancy cars, expensive jewelry and elegant mansions to project the right image to their fans and sponsors, the savviest celebs. know that a strong performance at a press conference during troubled times can trump all of those things. Occasionally, It can even be more important than a stellar performance in the sports arena.