NYC Public Relations Firm Challenge: Teaching Executives How to Speak

Whether it is to a reporter or before a group, one of the most significant challenges for those of us who work for a NYC public relations firm is teaching CEOs and other executives how to speak (and answer questions, I might add). This problem is not limited to a NYC public relations firm; I believe our counterparts globally face the same challenge… Of course there is a fine line between saying too much or too little… The problem is that most people have no idea where the happy medium exists… The pros at a particular NYC public relations firm possess the skills necessary to teach their clients about self-editing and about how to deliver an interesting speech (of course, most of us at a NYC public relations firm are capable of writing an interesting and thought-provoking speech for an executive) and how to answer questions without getting into trouble. As an aside: we often don’t follow the rules we instill in our clients. For example, I’ve attended numerous events as a member of a NYC public relations firm during which one speaker after another themselves veterans of public relations firms droned on ad infinitum, ad nauseum… Media and presentation training for executives is essential as most NYC public relations firm professionals have long recognized. It is best to bring in a neutral party or a professional media trainer (so you or your firm don’t get beaten up by the client for being subjected to such scrutiny). The best practitioners of the trade are former journalists who have been trained in asking questions that may make the subject squirm. That’s the idea – prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Subject your clients to the “Murder Board” by having a team pose the most difficult questions possible. Work through optimal answers – namely, those that get to the point quickly and answer the question and then “bridge” to those messages you want your client to deliver. It is a good idea to capture such sessions on film (the wonders of modern technology have made this quite affordable). Of course, the subject executive will not enjoy the results. That’s the point. As most a member of a NYC Public Relations Firm can readily attest that everyone benefits from constant practice and rehearsal. The media can be unforgiving and appearances in front of the camera can be quite daunting. The old age that you never get a second chance to make a first impression truly applies – so it is advisable to enlist the aid of a NYC public relations firm to assist in preparing your executives for meeting the press.