Reporters might end an article when they’ve run out of information, but composers don’t end symphonies when they’ve run out of notes. How much attention are you paying to the
Reporters might end an article when they’ve run out of information, but composers don’t end symphonies when they’ve run out of notes. How much attention are you paying to the
As PAOs, we should either be helping our boss and the members of our organization prepare to talk or talking ourselves. Preparation is key; normally, it is the audience who
In Afghanistan, I had to do plenty of local and regional TV spots. The public, the politicians and elites had to hear from the Coalition on a regular basis in
Respect their time: prepare to be brief with one clear message. Respect their intelligence. Assume they will understand complex things as long as you explain them properly. Respect their curiosity
GoodmorningSir. I’manempoweredbadge-wearingmemberofyourorganization. I’mnowgoingtoreadyousomewordsfromapieceofpaper. ThisisabriefIwastoldtogivethismorning. ThisscriptwasreviewedseveraltimesbyvariousstaffleaderssoIamnotgoingtodeviatefromit. Blahblahblahblahblahblahblah. IonlywrotelikethirtyperentofthecontentI’mbriefingrightnow. Theyremovedsomeofthemostimportantinformationfrommyscriptbecauseweweren’tsureiftheG2hadseenthatinformationyet, oriftheyagreedwithmyassessment. Wedon’twantyoutoknowtwoprofessionalstaffelementscouldpotentiallyhavedifferentperspectivesonacomplicatedtopic. Blahblahblahblahblahblah. Thisscriptwasapproved24hoursagosomostoftheinformationisoutofdate. Blahblahblahblah. Areyoulistening? It’shardtotellbecauseIdon’twanttotakemyeyesofmyscript. Blahblah. MaybeI’llsneakonepeek. Itlookslikeyou’rejusttalkingtotheCommandSergeantMajoratthefronttablewhileI’mbriefing. Maybethat’sforthebest. NowIcanjustgetthroughthisfasterandhopefullyyouwon’thaveanyquestions. Mysupervisorsdidn’ttellmewhattodoifyouaskanyquestionsorwanttohaveadiscussion. Thatisn’tinmyscript. Thiscould’vebeenane-mail. Blahblahblah. Pendingyourquestions. (Photo by Pfc. Andrew Valenza,
I coached kid’s soccer. Each season we played a very talented team and they beat us, until we prepared. This team, who we referred to as, “The World Cup 9
When I was a second lieutenant attending the Public Affairs Qualification Course almost a decade ago, I asked the Army’s Chief of Public Affairs what I needed to do in