For spokespeople, being as repetitive as possible in a media interview is generally accepted as a pathway to success. Why? Perhaps the answer lies in 7s and 13s.
A spokesperson can reasonably expect a broadcast media interview to last around seven minutes. An interview with a newspaper or blog lasts a little longer, about thirteen minutes, since that medium allows for deeper analysis and probing.
I received a terrific first wave of questions for this feature — thanks to all for participating! To maintain my post-brevity rule, I’ll post three answers at a time and queue up other questions in future editions.
Keep those questions coming by posting here, or through Twitter.
Onward — to your questions….
You may have heard me say this before: crisis simulations are not trainings. Simulations are great exercises to identify gaps for improvement. Participants may get tangential experience through artificially applied heat and time pressure. But do simulation participants emerge as better crisis managers? Probably not.
Trainings, when done well, are customized improvement labs. Covering each component of a crisis management capability requires different modules of training…. Continue reading Crisis Management Training: Choose Wisely
With this post, I’m launching a regular segment on this blog called “ask the crisis manager.” Here, I will attempt to address any relevant question thrown my way. Start sending me your questions through Twitter direct messages, or through the “Contact / Ask” form. (I’ll also respond to “ask the communications coach” questions, if you’re so inclined.)
The main goal of this feature is to help readers gain insights on an experienced crisis management mindset — which is rooted in credibility, focus and imagination. I also hope this feature will be an ongoing, stimulating experiment for me.
Q: What can communicators learn from architects? 
A: PechaKucha 20×20.
Huh?
According to the movement’s Web site, PechaKucha 20×20 was born to limit architects’ long-winded presentations. In February 2003, the first PechaKucha (pronounced pe-chak-cha) night was held at a gallery in Tokyo. It established two rules for speaking architects. 1) Presenters were limited to twenty slides; 2) each slide must have auto-advanced every 20 seconds.
Continue reading 20×20 = A Winning Architecture for Presentations