Most young authors would be ecstatic at a review by the distinguished historian and war hero, Michael Howard, which claimed your book was the best about war since John Keegan’s Face of Battle. As Professor Sir Michael Howard MC also reviewed Keegan’s book back in 1976 the commendation was based on a very considered opinion.
All posts by Noel Turnbull
History of PR conference live
The International History of Public Relations Conference 2013 keynote speech will be streamed live on Monday June 24 from 0910 BST at http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/live/. You can tweet comments to #ihprc.
The Telstra Directories international time app that’s 6.10pm Australian eastern time but it might be worth checking the blog’s calculations. The keynote speech will be by Professor Tom Watson and will open another conference which looks really exciting.
What employers want versus what they need
“The communication curricula of Australian universities were singled out as an area of growing concern by several executives we spoke to. These practitioners believe undergraduates are generally ill-equipped to become advisers to senior management,” the 2013 Trends and Issues report from personnel consultants Salt & Shein has said.
Spruiking your IP more effectively
The blog was lucky enough to meet David Maister while David was still writing his first books about managing and promoting service businesses.
Maister was then at Harvard Business School and had come to Montreal to run a two day workshop for the WORLDCOM Group of which the blog’s firm was then a member. This by the way was not the telco WORLDCOM group but was a network of independent PR companies around the world.
Ongoing practice survey (with a PS about the revolution panel)
Something the industry has needed for many years – a longitudinal study of public relations practice around the world – is going to be launched later this year.
The study will be a joint venture by the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA) and the Strategic Communication and Public Relations Centre at the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism.
What makes a good speech? (part 3)
It’s easy to be ambivalent about presentation training because of its tendency to homogenise outputs. At its best it helps people package their thoughts in effective ways and make speeches more comprehensible and enjoyable for audiences. At its worst it makes speakers sound like rejects from some Dale Carnegie school.
Surviving the media revolution
The blog is appearing on a panel at the mUmBRELLA360 (http://mumbrella360.com.au/) conference next week June 5 and 6.
We are part of a panel called First Against the Wall: surviving the media revolution. Other participants are Kate Mills, Fairfax; Sam Walch, AFL Media; Richard Carr JWT; and, moderator Vanessa Liell of n2n communications. After a teleconference last week which involved a preliminary chat about what we might talk about it was interesting to see the extent of disagreement and agreement on various issues. The blog was also flattered by mumbrella’s plug for the blog but a bit dismayed by their knowledge of PR history. (http://mumbrella360.com.au/panel-to-discuss-how-to-survive-the-media-revolution-3453).
What makes a good speech? (Part 2)
Passion, sincerity and authenticity make for a good speech as the blog mentioned (22/5/13) in the context of the recent Anzac Day speech by Dr Brendan Nelson, Australian War Memorial Director, which rather failed to display any of those qualities.
There are also a number of technical rhetorical devices, known from ancient times, which also help although over-use of the formulas can make speeches seem too formal and contrived. The history of these techniques, and speech-writing generally, is discussed in more detail on this site in the review (under Articles and Reviews) of Don Watson’s book Recollections of a Bleeding Heart.
What makes a good speech?
Recently the blog heard a speech delivered in which the speaker spoke without notes, had a well-ordered and well-thought out presentation and interspersed it all with evocative (indeed potentially moving) quotes from historical figures. Was it a good speech? Well actually it was very ordinary.
The speaker was Dr Brendan Nelson, Australian War Memorial Director, at the Wheeler Centre’s April debate on whether Anzac Day was more puff than substance. The blog previewed the debate (24/4/13) in an item. The video of the debate can now be seen at http://wheelercentre.com/videos/video/intelligence-squared-debate-anzac-day-is-more-puff-than-substance/ so readers can judge for themselves.
The norm not the exception
The current US controversy about the IRS targeting political groups obscures a number of important issues. First, using the IRS to target political groups – particularly liberal or leftist groups – has been the norm for much of the 20th and 21st centuries. Second, while the IRS actions are outrageous, whatever the groups’ political leanings, the waters have been muddied by the way various conservative groups have recently been exploiting the Supreme Court’s decision to allow open slather on corporate and other funding of political action campaigns. Third, the increasing lack of clarity and transparency in US election and campaign funding.