Civiello Communications Group Blog

Conferences that Keep your Attention

Everyone battles with keeping an audience's attention. Fortune magazine had to capture and keep techies attention! Here's 3 ways they succeeded at FORTUNE BRAINSTORM TECH in Aspen:

1) Great line up of speakers - Big names in the tech business and beyond and they were interviewed in different groupings in different parts of the room. 

2) Reinforcing takeaways - They immediately captured a speaker's best thoughts, best quotes on a monitor beside the stage.

3) Working WITH the audience - They encouraged you to tweet...about what you were hearing onstage..everyone in the audience read your tweets in a crawl on monitors placed throughout the audience. 
 

Sticks n' Stones n' Bachmann

When Chris Wallace asked Michele Bachmann if she is a flake, my first reaction was to feel a little sorry for her. She looked hurt. But I don't want to feel sorry for someone who wants to be President. It wasn't a tough question, it was a nasty label that she could easily have written off as left wingers who "dismiss my views when millions agree or I wouldn't be sitting here." You might say hindsight is 20/20 but Bachmann had to be forewarned about the criticism. Indeed Wallace's question was quite long..plenty of time to lighten up..maybe retrieve the old saying "sticks and stones can hurt my bones but words can never hurt me." But then maybe she feared she'd get that wrong.

 

spitzer's apology - reading doesn't say sorry

Reading you're sorry doesn't work. Today the governor of New York Elliott Spitzer apologized for participating in a high end prostitution ring. He apparently got caught cavorting with a hooker. He called a press conference and Spitzer said a lot of the right things. He apologized to his family and to the public who I said he "owed better." Problem was, he READ just about all of it. There was very little eye contact and he never once met the eyes of his wife at his side. People in trouble often read statements when there are legal ramifications for saying things the wrong way..but he could have paused, looked at the camera and said simply "To my family and the people of New York, I am sorry." He could have and should have. 

"Off the record" probably isn't...

The story of Samantha Power, the Harvard professor who just resigned from the Obama campaign after calling Hillary names, offers a good lesson for anyone thinking about getting some information out there without getting your name involved…in other words…off the record:

In an interview with a newspaper reporter from the Scotsman, Power said, "She is a monster -- that is off the record -- she is stooping to anything." I tell my business clients that just saying “off the record” probably isn’t. It is not something you can simply toss out and expect the reporter will freeze. “Off the record” is a contract, and like all contracts, it requires both parties to agree in advance of the information you intend to share. In journalism school at the University of Missouri, I learned that as a reporter you should not agree to those terms too readily. To be credible, you have to attribute information to good sources. Bottom line, I tell clients to be very careful if you really want to maintain anonymity:

·        Discuss the terms of your agreement.

As a reporter for 20 years I saw that “off the record” means different things to different people on both sides of the microphone. For some it means “not for attribution” but others use it to mean the information may not be used and the source must be protected.

·        Discuss who else will be quoted in the story.

Even if you aren’t attached to a certain piece of information, it won’t be difficult to figure out you said it especially if you are quoted elsewhere in the story.

·        Know and trust the reporter.

This probably the most important criteria. While reporters want to attribute information, they also want to keep valued sources. The reporter from the Scotsman apparently didn’t know Powers, and now she should know that relationship counts.

campaign style and substance

All the talk is whether Bill is helping Hillary Clinton's candidacy. In my view, Bill needs to stop upstaging  his wife. He needs to listen to the advice campaign wives used to get, don't raise controversy. Look good and listen. That way we are more likely to remember what we liked about him. We don't want to hear him pontificating. It isn't helpful and sends a message that Hillary, potentially the first woman president, can't do it all on her own.. www.civiello.com

hillary's style

Lately the campaign focus has been style and Hillary Clinton has been trying to warm up. There was that close to tears moment after losing the Iowa primary and for weeks now she has been laughing a lot when challenged. Most recently on Meet the Press yesterday Tim Russert mentioned her old claim about a right wing conspiracy and she roared. I thought it seemed fake..She can't possibly think that reference was funny especially mid-stream in a broadcast grilling. There is a lesson for others trying for a style adjustment. There is nothing wrong with trying to become more likeable and lightening up but just make sure it is authentic for you. I personally like the smart and tough Hillary. That is what I like in a leader male or female.