Message Development 101
Developing and communicating an effective message is not easy. That being said, I have always found three questions to be extremely useful in the identification and development of a message: 1. What am I/are we trying to accomplish? 2. Who cares? (Who is my/our audience?) 3. Why should they/do they care? Answer those three questions and while you won’t have the complete message, but you will be well on your way to developing an effective message.   What is the biggest danger to any message? ( I would call it “message kryptonite”) Confusion. If the message you send is confusing, mixed, is contradictory or even worse hypocrit

The Truth About Public Speaking
There is a saying in boxing that holds true for public speaking – “Styles Make Fights.”  Styles also make presentations, speeches and media appearances – every person is unique and every person has a unique style, something that works for them.  This is why I have always felt that the idea that you can become a great orator after reading a book on public speaking is like being prepared to go on the Tour de France after reading a book on bicycling– not really possible. I have worked with speakers in situations where every “traditional” rule” for media training and public speaking gets thrown out the window because it DO

How To Talk To Terrorists…
“People who are carrying out such heinous crimes, they want to shake our resolve. And I want to address them. We will not buckle. We will fight you. We will fight you because we want stability and peace in Pakistan. You are on the run, and we know that. We defeated you in Swat and Malakand. And the brave soldiers and officers of the Pakistan army will defeat you in Waziristan. You think by attacking innocent people and lives, you will shake our determination?

A Leader Emerges
“People who are carrying out such heinous crimes, they want to shake our resolve. And I want to address them. We will not buckle. We will fight you. We will fight you because we want stability and peace in Pakistan. You are on the run, and we know that. We defeated you in Swat and Malakand. And the brave soldiers and officers of the Pakistan army will defeat you in Waziristan. You think by attacking innocent people and lives, you will shake our determination? No, sir, y

Entrepreneurs Behaving Badly?
Breaking news….If you are a startup pursuing funding, you have more in common with a politician or athlete caught behaving badly then you might think.  A politician caught misbehaving, an athlete photographed doing something he or she shouldn’t be doing, or a celebrity who finds that one heated moment has turned into tabloid fodder for weeks on end all have one thing in common – how they communicate will likely determine whether the incident is a speed bump or a career ender. So what does this have to do with entrepreneurs pursuing VC funding? Everything! Crisis communications is usually identified as the effort to protect and defend an individual, organization