A Disaster is Coming. Are You Ready?
By GEOFF WILLIAMS, AOL SMALL BUSINESS
If our luck holds, you’re reading this, and it’s a perfectly normal day. The weather isn’t especially unusual, and if you turn on CNN or Fox, you’ll see them doing a standard report….
Once you actually reach people in a disaster, make sure you actually are “open and available,” advises Matt Eventoff, a communications trainer. “Nothing is worse than a CEO who stays behind closed doors and remains silent.” Eventoff stresses you should talk to your top talent, repeatedly, so they aren’t nervous and sending negative vibes to the rest of the employees.
Original Article
By Christopher Elliott
Sunday, February 7, 2010; F02
When a young woman named Carissa knocked at my door on a recent Saturday evening and introduced herself as a process server, I knew things were about to get interesting…
Matt Eventoff, an expert on crisis management and communications, recommends documenting everything, including any conversations with a travel company. If you think a lawsuit might be imminent, he suggests taking your grievance to the top. "Staff at corporate headquarters tends to be very aware of the public-relations implications of the messages sent in certain situations," he said.
Executives might have second thoughts about suing a customer who keeps meticulous records and isn't afraid to talk publicly about a grievance. "Everything that a company does sends a message, and any lawsuit filed against a customer would certainly send a message — and not a good one," he added.
Elliott is National Geographic Traveler magazine's reader advocate. E-mail him at celliott@ngs.org.
Please find the original article here. ent/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020401828_pf.html
PR, Perfected: Making The Video
From taping techniques to virality tips, pros share best practices in
By Lin Grensing-Pophal – November 23, 2009
In days gone by, PR professionals were primarily wordsmiths — if you could write well…
Matt Eventoff, a principal with Princeton Public Speaking who has worked on publicity videos for elected officials, corporate executives and entertainment figures, agrees. “Randomly shooting a grainy video — or any video — without having a message and some preparation is a recipe for disaster and usually results in such.”
Know How You Want to Say It
In PR video, specifically, the standard practice of using a spokesperson can add to the challenge of creating end-products that capture attention. Eventoff explains, “The issue that PR practitioners face first and foremost when putting clients on tape is one of authenticity. An over-coached, over-prepped executive or celebrity speaking into the camera in a sterile setting at best looks like an infomercial and at worst looks so phony that the client is set up for ridicule.”
The original article can be found here.
Fix My Movie’s Ad Campaign!
by Gary Gentile
The epic battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons has added two new combatants—Paramount Pictures, the studio releasing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the film’s director, Michael Bay…
Expressing misgivings privately is one thing. But going public, especially in the digital age where e-mails and MySpace posts last forever, can cause permanent rifts that could damage future projects, said Matt Eventoff of Princeton Public Speaking.
“Very simple, in our hyper-connected word, everything has a much longer shelf life then it once did – what you say can haunt you tomorrow and lot more easily than it could have ten years ago,” Eventoff said. “Think before you speak or hit send.”
http://boxoffice.com/featured_stories/2009/06/fix-my-movies-ad-campaign.php
Can Lindsay Lohan Ever Make a Career Comeback?
Today 2:15 PM PDT by LESLIE GORNSTEIN
…But LiLo stands a much better chance if she simply stays in and orders Domino’s.
“Long term, she should disappear for a few weeks, just get out the media glare and get out of L.A.,” celebrity public speaking consultant Matt Eventoff tells me.
And what to do after that? Well, selflessness always helps. After all, just when Angelina Jolie was starting to look a tad too skanky for the A-list, she offered herself up to the U.N. and adopted a Cambodian child. It worked.
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/ask_the_answer_bitch/b118150_can_lindsay_lohan_ever_make_career.html
Guide to hassle-free business travel
by Rosemary Black
Daily News staff writer
…Matt Eventoff, a communications trainer with Princeton Public Speaking and a frequent traveler, also thinks it’s worthwhile to explore a new city while there for business. He allows himself a little extra time, and talks with residents of that city to find out where to eat and where to find the best attractions. “There is simply no way to get a feel for a new city than to talk to locals,” he says. He does research online to find out the best coffee shops and diners – well in advance of traveling
http://www.nydailynews.com/money/business_travel/2009/03/13/2009-03-13_guide_to_hasslefree_business_travel.html
What savvy CIOs know about CFO speak
Source: CIO Update
…The secret to all successful communication, adds Matt Eventoff, a principal with Princeton Public Speaking in New Jersey, is know your audience—and then find out how to get the person’s attention. With a CFO, talking technology is the fast track to losing his interest, but talking numbers triggers his enthusiasm. It’s really that simple, said Eventoff.
http://www.cioupdate.com/insights/article.php/3800191/article.htm
How to defend your campus IT budget
IT administrators strategize to maintain technology programs as college budgets feel the pinch of a struggling economy
By Dennis Carter, Assistant Editor
Matt Eventoff, a partner with New Jersey-based Princeton Public Speaking, has helped chief technology officers nationwide better communicate with deans and provosts who pass down final budget decisions. Eventoff said “removing the tech speak and presenting in terms that a [university official] can understand” is vital to defending IT budgets, regardless of the economic outlook.
“In the majority of instances, anytime IT is seen as less essential than other departments, it is [owing] to the lack of messaging and communication. When competing for dollars, it’s important to note that the onus doesn’t fall on higher-education officials, who dole out funding, to understand the language of IT,” he said. “The onus falls on IT leadership to message the importance and relevance of IT in clear, coherent, compelling terms that a higher-education official would clearly understand.”
In explaining the importance of IT security funds, Eventoff said, CTOs should simply tell officials that a vulnerable campus network could lead to devastating hacks, resulting in stolen student information. This would directly impact enrollment–and therefore, tuition–as students lose trust in the school and leave for campuses with more secure, reliable technology.
“In the majority of instances, anytime IT is seen as less essential than other departments, it is [owing] to the lack of messaging and communication. When competing for dollars, it’s important to note that the onus doesn’t fall on higher-education officials, who dole out funding, to understand the language of IT,” he said. “The onus falls on IT leadership to message the importance and relevance of IT in clear, coherent, compelling terms that a higher-education official would clearly understand.”
In explaining the importance of IT security funds, Eventoff said, CTOs should simply tell officials that a vulnerable campus network could lead to devastating hacks, resulting in stolen student information. This would directly impact enrollment–and therefore, tuition–as students lose trust in the school and leave for campuses with more secure, reliable technology.
Read the entire article here.
