Not what you say, but how you say it!

“It’s often not what you say, but how you say it.” Look for yourself. The words in this PSA were reflective and respectful, but Johnny Depp’s and actress wife, Amber Heard’s deadpan delivery was not. In it, they used the medium to show true disdain for Australians and their laws. Video Courtesy The Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water …

Rubio’s Robotic Repeats

“It’s a good thing to stay on message until it’s not” wrote Forbes’ Magazine contributor, John Baldoni in response to Marco Rubio’s 4-time robotic repetition of the phrase ” Let’s dispel this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s trying to change America.” Every public speaker should get in touch with …

A+ for Characteristic Candor

Personalizing a presentation with candor is one of the C’s of good communication. Other C’s include: Conversational, Convincing and Compassionate which help to create a speaker’s Charisma.  As Bloomberg News reported on a recent Chicago conference for the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care, Ben Bernanke was refreshingly and characteristically candid: “I recently tried to refinance my mortgage …

The Anatomy of a Good Apology

It seems like the past week has been one full of guilt and regrets. Pop-star Justin Bieber and Wolf of Wall Street star Jonah Hill found themselves in two different, yet very similar sticky situations. On the one hand we have Mr. Hill, who after being followed by paparazzi all day, finally snapped and said a “disgusting and hurtful” homophobic …

T.M.I. (Too Much Information)

Probably every poor reader and/or contact wearer in the audience of Sunday night’s Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas felt vindicated when TV reality star and aspiring model Kendall Jenner fumbled her teleprompter introduction of Australia’s boy band, “5 Seconds of Summer.”  She said, “And now we welcome, One…” before stopping abruptly. Everyone, including 5SOS’s British rival “One Direction,” assumed that …

Behaving Badly

When Richard Sherman sealed the Seattle Seahawk’s spot in Super Bowl XLVIII in his game-saving play against the San Francisco 49ers, he also sealed his spot as the sports world’s latest “classless” wonder. His adrenaline and aggression were at an all-time high in a post game interview with … “Well, I’m the best corner in the game! When you try …

Having to Say You’re Sorry

In the past year, Lululemon has been under fire not only for the “sheerness” of its yoga pants, but also for the explanations of the brand’s founder, Chip Wilson. “Yoga pants become see-through when women buy sizes that are too small for them.” Backlash from women all across North America registered shock that a company who promotes “quality is at …

Louder Than Words

@NATSECWONK, the mysterious snarky Twitter voice on all things national security, has disappeared from the Twittersphere. After 2 years of leaking internal administration information and tormenting the foreign policy community, the anonymous individual behind @NATSECWONK has been revealed: Jofi Joseph. On the verge of a leading job at the Pentagon, the  Georgetown and Princeton graduate was fired and put under investigation …