25 April 2022 08:22

When interviews are interrupted by the publicist, what should you do?

Do publicists play a role in interviews, or should interviewees be expected to handle the entire interview by themselves?

22 April 2022 15:47

Stage fright: How to overcome your self-criticism and self-doubt

If you are like many people who suffer stage fright, your fear of public speaking is not the result of a critical audience. The criticism comes from within. Even if friends and colleagues cheer you on, it makes no difference. But this incessant self-doubt and self-criticism has its roots in a surprisingly positive aspect of their personality.

17 March 2022 08:00

Two press conferences - two different ways of steering clear of questions

Two press conferences over the past three weeks provide an interesting clue as to how to respond when you are asked questions you can't possibly be expected to answer.

15 February 2022 09:25

Stage fright: What to do if you can't think quick on your feet

The ability to respond quickly to questions from conference moderators, delegates, and journalists is certainly an asset. But most people are either flummoxed by a difficult question, or they shoot from the hip. Whatever your starting point, you can deal with the situation, as Mark explains in this post.

18 January 2022 09:22

Hong Bao Media introduces ContactsBook.Media

In the past, we have trained your spokespeople for media appearances. we are now offering to promote them to the media as well.

12 January 2022 16:45

VIDEO: Do more with your CliftonStrengths report

You've taken the CliftonStrengths assessment, you're convinced of its benefits. Now do more with it by learning to apply your talents to public speaking and playing to your strengths when taking part in media interviews.

17 December 2021 07:00

How to interview a comedian, how to be interviewed as a comedian

John Cleese's walk-out of his interview with Karishma Vaswani on BBC World News makes for an interesting case study in what happens when an interview goes off the rails – with some unsolicited ideas for how to avoid it.

2 December 2021 07:00

What I learned from reviewing 1,000 Gallup CliftonStrengths reports

A milestone reached: Since becoming a Gallup-certified CliftonStrengths coach in 2019, I have now reviewed just over 1,000 “CliftonStrengths 34” reports. When you’ve painstakingly gone through this many reports, some patterns do emerge and you inevitably find some trends and draw some conclusions.

5 July 2021 08:00

Stage fright: why telling presenters to "just relax" just doesn't work

Presenters suffer stage fright for a variety of reasons, which shows that a variety of solutions is required.

24 February 2021 08:00

How to overcome three problems unique to hybrid events

Hybrid events are not just a matter of throwing together all the aspects of physical and virtual events into one. As a presenter, here are three critical learnings you must get your head around.

2 February 2021 10:00

How to be an introvert and still feel comfortable speaking in public

Everyone can present well. Even if you are camera shy and reserved there are bound to be facets of your personality that allow you to step confidently on stage, without stepping out of your comfort zone.

31 January 2021 10:00

When a part of you can't speak in public, apply a part of you that can

We are all multi-faceted personalities. No one is totally, consistently in the same frame of mind all the time. Sometimes you're up, sometimes down. Sometimes you prefer to do things a certain way, at other times you want to try a new approach. Every day you make unconscious decisions about which facet of your personality to apply in any given situation. These decisions are within your control.