By Melissa Lewelling, Account Executive, The Hoffman Agency . As a former journalist, I tend to find PR events featuring journalists and the ethereal question, “How can PR help you do your job better?” — frankly — comical. These types of events often feature panels of journalists who don’t want to be there, don’t really …more
I came across this video “Never Estimate the Power of a Great Story” back in 2009. Even knowing the ending, the humor still slaps you across the face. After a recent watch, I realized the video delivers a few pain-free lessons in business storytelling. . Sure, the protagonist manages to escape death several times — machine …more
Why don’t companies care about job descriptions? It makes no sense. Every company claims “people are our most valuable asset.” Every company is fighting competitors for talent. Every company recognizes that first impressions count. Yet, most companies churn out job descriptions that sound like they came from the same HR 101 handbook. The end result …more
Failure. Point to a movie or a book that captivates, and I’ll show you failure. Shrek. Absolutely. Something more high-brow, like the best-selling novel “A Little Life.” Again, failure underpins the story. For it’s the failure — something going horribly awry, the more pain the better — that creates the tension in a story. As …more
I’m a big believer in visual storytelling. This can be a tough one for PR professionals who come from the world of words. Yet, between assignments overlapping into owned media and the increasing use of mobile devices to access content, visual storytelling takes on greater importance. With this in mind, my blog — which doubles …more
TechCrunch is the latest publication to play the tired narrative that the public relations industry is behind the woes of modern day journalism, GMOs and global warming. In the latest bullish show from TechCrunch, Alex Wilhelm looks into the camera, laments the state of the journalism and recites these “horrifying” statistics: There are 4.6 PR …more
I’ve said this before and continue to believe it. The PR profession under-appreciates interviewing expertise. It starts in college. Try to find a curriculum for mass communications or PR that offers a class on interviewing. Good luck. Every journalism program in the country tackles the art of the interview like this one from the University …more
The science behind persuasive language makes one point clear. Words alone don’t win the day. For speakers, non-verbal communications ranging from posture to voice intonations to dress have just as much impact — some would argue even more — as the actual words in determining how the audience responds. The same dynamic holds true for …more
The Year of the Horse officially kicked off on January 31 with the 15-day celebration coming to an end today (known as the Lantern Festival) Our Singapore team saw an opportunity to bring the Chinese New Year and the PR profession together as an infographic, part of our push to experiment with visual storytelling using …more
