What to Look for in Hiring a Celebrity or Subject Matter Spokesperson

An interview with Deb Durham, President of SPOKESPERSONS PLUS NETWORK®

What do you look for in a spokesperson?

Whether you seek a subject matter expert or a celebrity spokesperson, credibility is the #1 quality to look for. You only want a spokesperson who can authentically get behind your brand’s messaging and has the credentials that support it.

post1 For example, my company secured Anna Post, Emily Post’s great-great granddaughter and an etiquette expert in her own right, for Intel’s Mobile Etiquette campaign.

Anna is 30-something, has the perfect background, and in addition to the media activities booked by Intel’s PR folks, Anna was able to incorporate Intel’s messaging into interviews she was doing on her own to promote the recently launched the 18th Edition of Emily Post’s Etiquette, of which she is co-author.

Secondly, make sure that the spokesperson has not …Read more…

How to Introduce the Speaker Without it Sounding Like an Obituary

“Now, without further ado…” Does that trite introduction make your eyes glaze over if you aren’t already half asleep from listening to a preview of the speaker’s obituary?Isolated angel character with halo and wings

On and on and on. The host endlessly reads every word of a biography submitted by the speaker or his PR Department.

Or, the introducer has done her due diligence, researching articles and books the speaker has written, his degrees, and every job he’s every held. Then she rolls them all up into an endless introduction that could easily double as the speaker’s obituary.

If you’re the speaker, …Read more…

Persuade the Audience to Your Point of View by Solving Their Problems

Every presentation you ever deliver is designed to persuade the audience to accept your point of view. Can you think of any other reason to make a presentation?

NGAudienceNot to nitpick, but a speech is not a presentation. A speech is a lecture by an authority, such as a researcher delivering the results of a 10-year study of a new drug to a medical association. It’s educational.

Taking that example a step further, a presentation of those results to the FDA would be …Read more…

Keep Your Eye on the Bottom Line to Build Your Career

An interview with Julie Morgenstern, a professional organizer, productivity consultant, speaker, author, and media personality.

The key to becoming a most valued player in any job is to know how to dance close to the revenue line. In other words, know what you are paid to produce and how it supports the mission of the company.

Career advancement

A job well done

What is your advice for professionals to advance their careers?

It’s also essential to know what your boss’s priorities are, and how that ties to the company’s mission. Use that knowledge to decide where your time goes each and every day.

Organize your work and tackle the most important activities first. You need to be fast and capture everything that comes at you. The order of attack is critical to maximize your energy and brainpower.

Avoid multi-tasking. If you just act on everything as it comes at you …Read more…