Disaster Preparedness: Getting Personal

“Compared to other disasters, how does this one compare?”

I have been asked this interview question numerous times. My answer to reporters goes something like this: “Whether there is two inches of water your home or flooding covers a rooftop, disasters affect and impact individuals. The month before I graduated from college, my family's experienced a large house fire. I may work for FEMA, but believe me when I say that when disaster hits, it is personal, individual and comparison doesn't matter.”

No one was at home when our house fire started. A neighbor spotted smoke and called the fire department. My mom, on her way home for lunch, followed the fire trucks to our house already engulfed in flames. We were all in shock. In addition to the damage to the house, the fire ruined or burned many things. My great-great aunt’s antique crystal candlesticks melted. Mom’s wedding crystal and china burst into tiny pieces. Her beautiful handmade draperies burned. Paintings were ruined from water or smoke. My prom dresses were destroyed, my dolls turned brown from the heat, and smoke blackened the covers and pages of our books. My brother lost collectibles and the furniture in his room. Dad’s workshop burned to the ground as it was the first area struck by fire.

Fortunately, everyone, including our dog was safe. Our family had planned and practiced what to do in case of fire or tornadoes. My brother and I knew how to tie sheets together if we needed to climb out a second-story window. We knew which tree to stand under in order to account for everyone's safety. 

My parents had homeowners insurance. The insurance agent was onsite within hours and quickly hired a company to clean up the water and fire damage. The burned structural areas were reframed. Scorched living spaces were reconstructed. Insurance reimbursed my parents when they purchased new décor, furniture, clothes and replaced the molten appliances. Insurance funds covered a rental house during the months our home was being put back together.

In the midst of that situation, I would never have imagined how our house catching on fire might positively impact my future. I now know that fire was a pivital experience that helped prepare me for my work in emergency response and recovery.

I'm not very patient when driving on I-4 because I detest bumper-to-bumper traffic. Yet, as a disaster survivor shares their story, a heavenly amount of patience kicks in and my heart goes out to them. My ears are wide open to listen and between each deep breath, silent pauses and tears, I hear myself saying, "I've been there. I'm so sorry. I hear you. I understand. I'm here for you. People are here to help." I listen, encourage, share how they may recieve federal, state or local assistance, and occasionly we pray together.

Though I or the team aren't handing out money or fixing problems on the spot, once people learn help may soon be on its way negativity and tears become expressions of "Thank you," "You will be blessed you for what you do," and in the South, "God bless yall." I can say, this audible and visual feedback keeps me going the next day, sustains my faith and answers the call of my purpose.

Thanks to my mother, I learned how to plan (she's a big time list maker). I'm also strategic, creative, positive, an obsessed learner, and good at thinking on my feet - all valuable skills in the midst of a crisis. Extensive emergency management training and disaster field work are what I bring to government agencies, nonprofits and private industry when the time comes to plan, set up practice drills or manage crisis issues.

If you need help to create or update your plan, contact me at 407-341-9866 or at mmonte@hotmail.com.

Crisis Management: The Ambush Interview

A reporter sticks a microphone or camera in your face. What do you do?

Avoid these common mistakes:

1. Never ever say, "No comment."
2. Don't do the duck...i.e. acting like the reporter, camera or microphone are not there by continuing to go on about your business or leaving the area without saying a word.
3. Garbling an answer or blurting something out to satisfy the reporter quickly. In all likelyhood, even if you know your topic and the answers to their questions, you will look and/or sound ambushed and surprised.
4. Don't ask the reporter to call your office to schedule an appointment.
5. Don't say, "If you give me a list of your questions, I'll be happy to look at them and get back to you."

Keep in mind that the camera is rolling! Anything you say or anything you do can be put on TV! The only way a to engage with a reporter in this situation is the following:

1. The CEO should, stop, smile, look the reporter in the eyes (not at the camera).
2. Politely say, "Thanks for your interest in interviewing me. I would be more than happy to speak with you, but right now I am about to...step into a meeting, leave to pick up my child from school, file a report, meet with my staff, rehearse for an important presentation, etc. (something credible and real).
3. Now, let's set something up for (later this afternoon, this evening, or in the morning-the CEO inserts time of day to allow for prep time).
4. This way, we can sit down, and I can be sure to have plenty of time to answer all of your questions.
5. As well, I'll be happy to stop by your office/station if that is convenient or you may drop by my office."

Remember, a reporter is a person and they appreciate being directly spoken to and politeness counts! Never brush off a reporter! They have an assigned story to do and the CEO (good or bad) has a story to tell. How the ambush is handled can turn a story from bad to worse and bad to much better, maybe even decent.

As a spokesperson, you'd be surprised how many times they have asked me to stop by their station when I offered. Reporters are usually on a deadline and I have found that by offering to do the interview at their station, you are meeting them more than halfway when an interview is put off for a later time. Plus, sometimes it is in the company's best interest to not have reporters roaming around the office and an interview disrupting the workplace. By going to the station, the location is actually more neutral.

There is also something to the fact of the reporter/station playing host to the CEO vs. the other way around. As the host, the reporter may not be as agressive or "in-your-face" with questions...Note: May not...

So, the interview is set for later. Now what?

1. The CEO calls the communications team to advise them of the scheduled interview.
2. The PR person should call the reporter and ask, "If there are any specific questions or areas of interest for the interview because I may be able to provide backgrounders, bios, or fact sheets that will be helpful for the interview."
3. It is fine to email information to the reporter, especially if the background materials are technical or detailed in nature.
4. Staff gathers other appropriate information for the CEO including key messages, talking points, FAQs, backgrounders, fact sheets and answers to hard-hitting questions.
5. Then, if needed, the CEO has time to review the materials before the well-prepared and relaxed interview.

For more information about how to come across as a success on camera and nailing that interview, contact me to set up media training for your CEO, staff or key management.

B-roll: More than pictures

B-Roll is video footage, with or without sound, used by broadcasters to supplement the main elements of a news story. In addition to the video, B-roll includes key images, copy and back-up material. It may include short quotes from spokespeople as well as sounds and images. It typically contains video without sound for broadcasters to select their own segment of the video for their story and they will match it with a voice over or on-screen explanation from the reporter or anchor.

For the most part, B-roll enhances, adds dimension or visually tells the story, but the origin of B-roll was footage shot that could cover an editing jump cut.

In the world of film and documentaries, B-roll is quite often thought of as back-up footage. For film, the producer uses the footage to edit together unconsecutively shot clips or scenes. This is done by changing from the A-roll to the B-roll while the audio from the A roll shot or another source plays under the B-roll. The footage allows the editor to cut back to footage, so that it appears as if the two scenes, visual and audio, were shot together as one piece.

In the context of news, B-roll has a different use. B-roll footage is provided to a broadcast news station to complement a story. It is shot in advance of the story that will run on the news. Producers set up the the provided visuals, but add their own or provided script from a news release or fact sheet and the reporter or anchor does the audio narration so the story appears like it was all done by the news station.

B-roll for news includes the picture stories followed by a series of soundbytes from spokespeople, people interviewed, sounds or "words from the man on the street". Each section of the video is introduced by what is know of as a slate. A slate is a black frame that runs for a few minutes before the B-roll footage is shown. The slate typically includes the title of the slate/segment, spokesperson's name and title, a short description of the footage and the the time the footage runs (usually in seconds).

When footage is provided in this format, editors and producers use the copy provided such as a suggested script, talking points, a fact sheet, a backgrounder or other important information to describe the story with the visual B-roll footage to backup the story for a segment in their news program.

Video publicity needs high-quality, timely, newsworthy footage to get the attention of news decision-makers. Broadcasters are likely to use B-roll of events with celebrities, action-packed stories, and new products or services.

B-roll works best when it is carefully and concisely edited. Accompanying interviews or sound bites always follow the B-roll footage.

Remember to always include a table of contents of slates, logo(s), graphic(s), photo(s) and the contact name and number on a slate at the end of B-roll.

Ten Tips For An Awfully Unappealing Presentation

Watch paint peel...Slow. Tedious. Messy.

Great presentations require a bit of skill, forethought, a lot of work, and practice (even when doing the same presentation over and over). Giving a poor presentation is easy. Try any or all of the following tips that are guaranteed to be as exciting as watching paint peel off bricks.

1. Misspell words. To for two. Lie for lay. Delete the “i” in Public Affairs. Don’t run spell check! Forget spell check to generate laughter that isn’t a joke.
2. Use too dark or light type on a too dark or light background. Green on blue, red on black, light blue on white or yellow on peach...all are especially difficult to see.
3. Be creative with type. Combine Old English uppercase, Comic Sans italic, Times New Roman bold, Brush Script, add shadows and several underlines for emphasis and several font colors. Make it look pretty. (fyi...the design rule of thumb is no more than two fonts including different styles i.e. bold, italic, condensed of the same font)
4. Use 6 point type. Pretend you are an optometrist! With a free vision test you can say, “This isn’t readable, but here is what it says…”
5. Stttttrrrrreeeetttttcccchhhh logos and photos. This way they fit. Who cares if the circle is now an oval? Or the square is a rectangle?
6. Insert low-resolution logos, photos and graphics. They look fuzzy and faded on your computer screen and even worse when projected or blown up. Be sure to use less than 75 dpi or and smaller than 900 pixels wide by 720 pixels high.
7. Dress down. Wear a shirt “worthy of discussion.” Wear your “holy” jeans. Flip on those flops. If dress down was good enough for the White House a few years ago, it is good enough for anyone.
8. Read every word of every slide, poster, handout. Keep your back to the audience. Then you can't tell who is sleeping.
9. Use free clip art. Why spend $5 for stock images, photos or illustrations when free means kudos for being budget conscious.
10. Don't practice. Don’t rehearse and never arrive to set up early. You don’t want to seem overly polished.

Seen it, heard it or slept through the presentation? If so, may these memorable tips be memorable enough for you to remember not to use them.

Measuring Public Relations: Seen and Heard

"Seen and heard...looking great and saying all the right things."

Spokespersons.

By analyzing spokespersons mentioned in a story, it allows for whether a point of view is communicated by the person "authorized" to speak to the media.

Status, respect and effectiveness of the spokesperson can be tied to media exposure and can play an important role in image and branding.

Things that may be measured for spokespersons include:

• Key message (s) on target;
• Appropriate tone and body language for the topic; (i.e. smiling when giving good news)
• Believability;
• Concise answers;
• Number of quotes attributed in each story;
• Note repeated message (s) used by a number of media outlets;
• Influence on positive or negative coverage with a particular outlet or reporter; and
• Confidence.

By tracking spokespeople, their role in effectively communicating the message and brand can be measured. No one is ever gives a perfect interview...most people can improve upon something...so "measurable" feedback can help a spokesperson for the next interview.

The spokesperson is the "expert" for the interview and they should be as comfortable as possible when speaking to the media. It is OK for everyone to be a bit nervous, but consider including annual media training as part of any marketing plan.

And always...always...always...provide key messages, along with talking points for even the most interview savvy person.

In photo above, B.B. King and Tommy Peters (owner of club) were interviewed at a media conference before the opening of B.B. King's Blues Club Orlando. (Patricia James of WLOQ is doing the interview. Dave and Leslie of Magic 107.7 wait in the wings)

Mr. King is certainly an expert when it comes to "working" the reporters! He didn't need any talking points and he had a lot to say. In fact...he could have talked all night.

He loves telling stories and even more, enjoys hugging female reporters and PR ladies ; - )

The media, B.B. King staff, PR event volunteers and I probably could have stayed in the "green room" and listened to him all night! Unfortunately, after 30 minutes, we had to remind him that he had a concert to play. An appointment to play Lucille before a crowd of 800+ was the only way we got him to end the press conference!

Measuring Public Relations: Visual Analysis

VISUAL ANALYSIS.

"In the spotlight!"
That is my client and friend for life Josh Johnson of HGTV in the photo!

So who doesn't like to see their business in a photo or video? Many organization's products, services and activities are well-suited to visual coverage. To really grab attention, be sure that all print or broadcast media stories are matched with great visuals.

Here are a few tips:

1. Visual. Photographers and videographers are usually able to find a visual, but it is ok to have a couple of options expecially for broadcast interviews.
2. Squint factor. Think about where the sun will be located as people or the camera should not be directly facing the sun.
3. Branding. Showcase logos and brands.

• Place a logo on the podium;
• Put a small logo on the microphone;
• Wear a logo'd shirt, hat or jacket and be sure it shows in the shot (exagerate the rotation of the body to be sure a logo on a shirt or jacket clearly shows even if the person is looking a bit right or left with their head);
• Have company vehicles in the background(perfect for governments, utilities, service companies and fire departments); and
• Include a banner, flag or sign in the shot;

When measuring news clips, definitely emphasize the locations of logos in the clips.