Posted by George
101: Writing a Business Book…Why and How?
If you are a business person with a lot of experience, fresh ideas and a desire to share your knowledge you may be thinking about writing a book. Over the next few weeks, I’ll address creating and publishing a business book. To put these entries together, I’m relying on my own experiences — as the [...]
Posted by George Merlis on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010Posted in 101
Tags: Books, Public Relations, Writing
So…The New Y’Know
Last time I took a swipe at the filler phrase “y’know,” which has invaded so many interviews that for some it’s become a reflex, like breathing when answering a question. A colleague of mine reminded me that a couple of years ago we began encountering another useless time-buying verbal gimmick — the word “so.” It [...]
Posted by George Merlis on Friday, March 19th, 2010Posted in 101
Tags: George Merlis, Media, Media Training
Tips to Avoid Fillers When You are Speaking
If you’ve been following the public pronouncements of Akio Toyoda, the CEO of Toyota Motor, you’ve probably heard him speaking Japanese before the English translation takes over. And you’ve doubtless heard him utter the word ano. A lot. In fact, Mr. Toyoda, says ano so much you might think it’s Japanese for a really common [...]
Posted by George Merlis on Friday, March 12th, 2010Posted in 101
Tags: George Merlis, Media Training
Toyota and Tylenol
If corporate crises were a game, the Toyota safety recall would be a Superbowl contender. Toyota Motors is a company that heavily promotes its engineering innovation, production quality and service reliability. In a haymaker blow to Toyota’s reputation, the company suspended production and sales of eight of its most popular models — including America’s (previously) [...]
Posted by George Merlis on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010Posted in Essays
Tags: George Merlis, Media, Media Training, News
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs and Steve Jobs
Originally, President Barrack Obama was going to give his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, January 26. But then someone in the White House realized that the address would preempt the season premier of “Lost” on ABC, so the SOU was moved to Wednesday, January 27. The focus of of the address was jobs. [...]
Posted by George Merlis on Thursday, January 28th, 2010Posted in Essays
Tags: Apple, Media, Media Training, News
Quotes and Soundbites from Oprah
One way to make a point in a media interview is to quote or paraphrase a quote from an authority figure. A favorite quote many of business clients have deployed is President Harry Truman’s “The buck stops here.” Another unfortunately relevant Truman line gets some exposure these days: “It’s a recession when your neighbor loses [...]
Posted by George Merlis on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010Posted in Essays, Quotes
Tags: Media, Quotes
Tarnishing the Brand: Tiger Woods as a Business
Don’t think of Tiger Woods as an athlete. Think of him as a business, a brand. Now let’s ask if Tiger Woods, Inc. was well served by its Founder/Chairman/CEO in the ongoing solo car accident scandal. From the public relations point of view, I think not. On November 30, Nancy Armour, a reporter for the [...]
Posted by George Merlis on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009Posted in Essays
Tags: Media, Media Training, News
Warren Buffett: A Media Master
In my media training workshops I always encourage my clients to read newspapers and magazines with new eyes and listen to broadcast interviews with new ears. In addition to absorbing the facts of a narrative, I urge them to analyze how those facts are most effectively presented. In other words, how good soundbites work. I [...]
Posted by George Merlis on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Posted in Quotes
Tags: George Merlis, Media, Media Training
Media Traning Basics: Mastering Tough Questions From the Media
Back in the early 1980s, when I was producing the “CBS Morning News” (now renamed “The Early Show”) Diane Sawyer, the co-anchor, booked an interview with former President Richard M. Nixon. This was a considerable time after Mr. Nixon had undergone the grilling by David Frost depicted in the play and movie, “Frost/Nixon,” and through [...]
Posted by George Merlis on Friday, October 9th, 2009Posted in 101
Tags: Media, Media Training
Three Step Self-Defeating Media Relations Strategy
For two decades I’ve urged my media training workshop clients to be candid with the press. In fact, the fifth of my Five Commandments of Interviews is: “Thou shalt not lie, evade nor speculate.” (Only five commandments? Yes, I haven’t the temerity to come up with ten.) While I teach this candor lesson to all [...]
Posted by George Merlis on Friday, September 11th, 2009Posted in 101
Tags: Business Tips, Media Training
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