Ed Barks's Blog: C-suite Blueprint

We all hold inherent strengths and challenges when it comes to communicating in public. They manifest in many a forum: Delivering presentations, dealing with the press, and advocating before public officials.

That’s why mastering the use of your Video Tools — the way you look — and your Audio Tools — the way you sound — holds the key to improving your speaking abilities.

Here is the key that many people ignore or are ignorant of. It is paramount to focus first on emphasizing your strengths as a ...

As the summer winds down, this series from the August C-suite Blueprint concludes with an excerpt based on crisis communications taken from my forever free e-book (available wherever you prefer to download your books), Insider Strategies for the Confident Communicator: How to Master Meetings, Presentations, Interviews, and Advocacy.

Fret not if your summer vacation plans led you to miss out on any of the three previous entries. You can find them here:

The Truth About Public Speaking: The Three ...

The August C-suite Blueprint theme carries on with passages from all four of my books centering on communications strategy and training.

In recent weeks, I have delved into lessons from The Truth About Public Speaking: The Three Keys to Great Presentations and A+ Strategies for C-Suite Communications.

Now, let us turn to Reporters Don’t Hate You: 100+ Amazing Media Relations Strategies, and an examination of what the press needs and when they need it. Adhering to the book’s principles can take y...

The August C-suite Blueprint parade continues with advice gleaned from all four of my books. Last week’s feature was The Truth About Public Speaking: The Three Keys to Great Presentations.

This entry digs into A+ Strategies for C-Suite Communications. May you enjoy and profit from this excerpt.

Your C-suite Must Get Engaged

It is imperative for your CEO, chair of the board, and the board as a whole to assume responsibility for the company’s reputation. Smart organizations know that their board i...

The August lineup on the C-suite Blueprint features glimpses into all four of my books. We begin with a discussion about the importance of sharpening your communications edge through sustained professional development, as highlighted in my first work, The Truth About Public Speaking: The Three Keys to Great Presentations.

It is impossible for me to overstate the case for assessing feedback. Whether you are gauging your performance in the aftermath of a presentation, media interview, Congressiona...

Some speakers become overwhelmed by Q&A, worried that they need to memorize answers for dozens of possible questions. Not so. The trick is to think in a different way.

Here is the mental model I want you to use from now on:

A question is nothing more than an issue that ends with a different punctuation mark.

Yes, the question mark replaces the period, and the questioner’s vocal inflection goes up at the end of a sentence. But boiled down to its essence, a question remains nothing more than an is...

There is no question that your message is critical when dealing with audiences, reporters, and policymakers.

Also important, however, is your adversaries’ messaging. The more you comprehend their arguments, the better you can address and block them.

How can you get a handle on their approach? Assuming you have not bugged their premises to get the lowdown, I suggest that you conduct a messaging workshop much like the one you held to hammer out your stance (you did hold a session to plot your cour...

Let’s set the wayback machine a couple of decades and examine how methods we use to communicate have changed, both for better and worse. A shiny new object may not always be the best option for every circumstance.

How has communications evolved in (relatively) recent times? Here are some of the higher profile tools, along with how they are best used (or not) today.

The written word

When it comes to written communication, there is nothing like a handwritten note to add the personal touch. I canno...

Here’s a grabber of a headline: “You couldn’t create a more anti-news internet if you tried.”

The lede: “If there were a dictator of the internet who intentionally set out to destroy your ability to get accurate information, the result would look a lot like what’s already on your screen.”

How frightening — and true.

The article published by Nieman Lab is penned by Matt Pearce, a former reporter, now director of policy for Rebuild Local News.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

I find it hard to fathom that ...

Dust off your crystal ball and prepare to gaze into the near future.

With the advent of July tomorrow, here are some ideas designed to sharpen your communications and advocacy strategies, with one suggestion for every day of the month.

Hold on tight. Here goes:

Wednesday, July 1: Dust off your communications plan, update it as needed, and decide what facets of it you will execute this month.What?! You don’t have a written communications plan?! Today is the day to start getting it down on paper...