Malaysia Prime Minister's News Conference About Missing Flight

The prime minister of Malaysia spoke about missing flight MH370 at a news conference. He begins by showing respect for the families, which is appropriate, and then provides what little information he knows. Most of the conference focuses on the search process.

His English is difficult to understand, but couldn't someone do a better job of captioning his speech on YouTube? Surely, he had a script that could be shared with the press and other organizations. Are these "Automatic Captions" worth posting?

 

Discussion Starters:

• Assess the prime minister's news conference. What works well about the content, organization, and delivery, and what could be improved?
• What are the main messages you take away from his presentation?

Mary Barra's Video Message to GM Employees

As communication experts question GM's "no comment" strategy with the press, CEO Mary Barra continues her communication with employees. In a four-minute video, Barra addresses what a New York Times article calls "a decade-long failure to fix a defect tied to 12 deaths."

While people and companies are increasingly criticized for false apologies, Barra tries to go beyond a simple apology: "We have apologized, but that is only one step in the journey to resolve this." Of course, the company has little choice considering the federal investigations; it must take more action.

The video complements an intranet post for employees on March 4 that outlined GM's investigation plans and expressed confidence in the future.

Discussion Starters:

• Assess Barra's video. What works well, and what could be improved in the organization, content, and delivery?
• What key messages do you take from the video? How do they compare to Barra's message to employees on March 4?
• Why is Barra choosing employee messages as her primary communication vehicle? She has declined interviews with the press. On the other hand, the video is public on GM's website and YouTube. What's her strategy?

Academic Gestures -- Very Funny

A "Glossary of Gestures for Critical Discussion" pokes fun at us academics, who merely try to spice up a lecture and keep students engaged. My favorite is the "Italian waiter: Use when making a cultural observation."

If you're inclined, you can order rulers or coasters with the gestures.

At least the gestures answer Will Farrell's question in the movie Talledega Nights: "What do I do with my hands?"

Discussion Starters:

• Watch you professors during the next class: how many can you identify?
• What other gestures do your professors use?
• Do you notice a difference in how business and other faculty use gestures?

Ellen Page Comes Out

In a speech hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, Actress Ellen Page came out as a lesbian.

Her voice is shaking, and she's doing this bouncing thing with her arm. She's clearly nervous. So what? To me, this is a good example of someone who's understandably uncomfortable. Does it detract from her message or endear her to the audience?

Discussion Starters:

• What's your view of Page's nervousness? In what ways did it help and hurt her speech?
• Why was Page so nervous? Is it a big deal to be gay today?

CVS Announces No More Cigarette Sales

CVS will stop selling tobacco products in its stores. Under the heading, "This is the right thing to do," the company explained the plan on its website.

Business Insider calls the move "a clear victory for public health" and "a shrewd tactic to bolster the public image of the pharmacy chain, which is increasingly positioning itself as a health care provider, not just a one-stop shop for greeting cards and cosmetics."

Management expects to more than make up the expected $2 billion revenue loss with other services. Without tobacco sales, CVS can boost its in-store MinuteClinics, which operate like health clinics, offering flu-shots and services for minor ailments.

Discussion Starters:

• Assess the CEO's video message. What works well, and what could be improved?
• Assess video messages by other CVS executives on the company website.

President Obama's State of the Union

Yesterday, President Obama delivered the State of the Union address.  

A Wall Street Journal graphic summarizes the 86 times the President's speech was interrupted by applause. The winning comments were about a military officer who almost lost his life in Afghanistan and about equal pay for women. 

Although the graphic headline reads, "How the President's Speech Was Received," the reaction represents only those listening to the address in person.

Discussion Starters:

• How do you think the general population might have reacted differently than the in-person audience did? What specific parts of the speech might have received less applause?
• A former student emailed me: "Don't these speeches seem to lack any structure?" Do you agree? If so, what can politicans do differently?
• What are the strongest and weakest parts of the President's speech? 

Christie's Timely Annual Address

Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, already had a scheduled annual address, so he took the opportunity to discuss the bridge controversy.

Admitting that "our citizens deserve better, much better," Christie took responsibility for "what happens on my watch" and promised to cooperate with investigations. Christie also tried to reinstall confidence by saying that what happened "does not define us or our state."

To a standing ovation, Christie said he "will not allow the work that needs to be done to improve the people's lives of New Jersey to be delayed for any reason." 

Discussion Starters: 

• Analyze this section of Christie's speech in terms of delivery style, content, and organization. 
• Watch the entire address. What's your assessment of this section of the speech? Is the placement appropriate? Is it in keeping with the rest of the speech? What other observations do you have after seeing this section in context?

Emails Plague NJ Governor Christie

Emails obtained by The New York Times provide convincing evidence that the New Jersey Governor's office caused traffic problems as political retribution. One of Chris Christie's aides sent emails to David Wildstein, a high school friend of Christie who worked for the Port Authority that controls the George Washington Bridge.

 The New York Times describes the political context and related messages: 

"The mayor of Fort Lee, Mark Sokolich, is a Democrat and did not endorse Mr. Christie. In the emails and texts, Mr. Christie's staff and appointees appeared gleeful when the abrupt lane closings gridlocked the town for four days, beginning with the first day of school and including the anniversary of Sept. 11. Mr. Sokolich, who had not been informed of the closings, texted Bill Baroni, the governor's top appointee at the Port Authority, asking for 'help' because the lane closings were making children on buses late to school.

"'Is it wrong that I am smiling?' Mr. Wildstein texted Ms. Kelly.

"'No,' she texted back.

"I feel badly about the kids,' he texted.

"'They are the children of Buono voters,' she said, referring to Mr. Christie's Democratic opponent, Barbara Buono, who was trailing consistently in the polls and lost by a wide margin."

References to "the kids" relate to children who were late to school because buses were delayed on the bridge.

The emails and texts are making it difficult for the governor to continue denying his office's role in lane closings. Wildstein and another Port Authority official resigned in December.

UPDATE: In a news conference, Christie apologized and said he was "embarrassed" and "humiliated" about the situation. As in his speech at the Republican National Convention, he used a heavy dose of anaphora.

Discussion Starters: 

• So far, Christie is not commenting on the emails and texts. How should he respond to the controversy? 
• Christie's staff used personal Gmail accounts and text messages to communicate. Why weren't these safe from exposure? 

Marissa Mayer Gives CES Keynote

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer gave the keynote speech at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. CES is a gathering of gadget geeks and tech enthusiasts, and Mayer's presence was a nod to Yahoo's place in the future of the Internet. 

Mayer emphasized the shift to mobile technology and announced Yahoo News Digest, news delivered to users twice a day. 

At some point, Katie Couric joined Mayer on stage. Couric, former TV talk-show host, was recently hired as global news anchor for Yahoo News.

Watch CNBC's analysis of Mayer's keynote.

Discussion Starters: 

• Assess the excerpt of Mayer's speech: what do you notice about the delivery style, content, and organization? 
• What's your reaction to CNBC's analysis of the speech?

Target's Response to the Security Breach

Giving new meaning to Black Friday, an unknown number of credit card numbers were stolen from almost all of Target's 1,797 U.S. stores. The security breach seemed to happen through Target's point-of-sales terminals, where credit card information is collected. For students of business communication, perhaps the worse offense is Target's response to the incident. 

Target was too quiet for too long. When the news became public, customers reported being unable to reach the company through its call center and website. With information stolen from 40 million credit and debit cards, that's a lot of affected customers. A Forbes article criticizes Target's response as a "PR mistake," particularly for "burying the lead" in its website message to customers: 

"...the question of whether it is now safe to use your credit card at the company's stores is relegated to the fourth question of a FAQ at the end of a 1,500 word statement.

"So after eight minutes of reading time, Target finally answers the question on everyone's mind directly: Has the issue been resolved?"

The writer has a point: compare Target's messages to emails from companies after a security breach in 2011, and you'll see a big difference. In those emails to customers, companies were clear about actions to take: don't respond to emails that appear to be spam. 

The CEO's video message is divided into several parts on the company's media website. Here's the first part:  

Discussion Starters: 

• Analyze the CEO's video message: delivery, organization, and content. What works well, and what could be improved? 
• Compare the CEO's written message and his video message. What similarities and differences do you notice, and how is each appropriate (or not) for the medium?
• Prepare advice for Target's senior management team to improve their crisis communications. What are four or five communication principles should they be sure to follow in the future?

Newspaper Regrets Referring to Gettysburg Address as "Silly Remarks"

Imagine a newspaper dismissing Lincoln's Gettysburg Address as insignificant. This week, a Harriburg, Pennsylvania paper retracted a 1863 editorial:

"We pass over the silly remarks of the President. For the credit of the nation we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them, and that they shall be no more repeated or thought of."

Patriot & Union Editorial, 1863: On the Gettysburg Address

It's a little late, but the timing is appropriate: on Tuesday, we'll celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• Why wait 150 years? Why not 100? Or 50? Why publish a retraction at all?
• What justification do you see for the initial review? What other reactions were prevalent at the time?

WSJ Article on Narratives

A Wall Street Journal article reminds us to tell stories to engage our audiences.  The article isn't new for business communication students, but the advice is sound:

"Move beyond facts and figures, which aren't as memorable as narratives, says Cliff Atkinson, a communications consultant from Kensington, Calif., and author of 'Beyond Bullet Points.'

"Many people in business think raw data is persuasive. But when you're dealing with people from other departments and in different fields who don't understand how you got that data, you can lose them pretty quickly.

"'You have to step back and put yourself into their shoes and take them through the process of understanding,' says Mr. Atkinson. 'That requires you to distill the most important facts and wrap them in an engaging story.'"

Discussion Starters:

• Think about a presentation you delivered recently. Where could you have included a story?
• In that same presentation, how could you have expressed data in a more meaningful way?
  

Should Jamie Dimon Resign? CNBC Says No.

CNBC is accused of being less than objective in assessing whether JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon should resign. In a pointed blog post, Reuters reporter Felix Salmon refers to CNBC producers and hosts as Dimon's "biggest cheerleaders" and criticizes them of not considering the whole story. Titled, "The JP Morgan apologists of CNBC," the post includes a clip from CNBC showing hosts asking leading questions. 

Readers may recall that JP Morgan Chase lost a risky trading hedge that could amount to to $20 billion in fines.

 Salmon highlights this excerpt from the video as an example of CNBC's tone:

Maria Bartiromo: Alex, to you first. Legal problems aside, JP Morgan remains one of the best, if not the best performing major bank in the world today. You believe the leader of that bank should step down?

Alex Pareene: I think that any time you're looking at the greatest fine in the history of Wall Street regulation, it's really worth asking should this guy stay in his job. In any other industry - I can't think of another industry. If you managed a restaurant, and it got the biggest health department fine in the history of restaurants, no one would say "Yeah, but the restaurant's making a lot of money. There's only a little bit of poison in the food."

The arguments on both sides use several reasoning types we discuss in class: criteria, analogy, dissocation, and others.

Discussion Starters:

• How do you assess the interview? Is CNBC biased in its view?
• How are principles of persuasion used in the arguments? What examples do you see of reasoning types, fallacies, and evidence?

Former Stand-Up Comedian Takes His Company Public

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has applied for an initial public offering. The process will be interesting to watch because Dick Costolo is interesting to watch. And, of course, we're all hoping Twitter avoids Facebook's IPO disaster.

As a former stand-up comedian, Costolo is known for his sense of humor. At a commencement speech at the University of Michigan, Costolo spoke of his failed attempts to appear on Second City TV and Saturday Night Live. According to The New York Times, at the 2012 opening of the Cannes Film Festival, Costolo started the keynote speech as follows:

"Since I've got 45 minutes, if we can just start with some quick introductions," he says, gesturing to the front row. "Start over here. Stand up, say what company you're from and what animal you could be if you could be any animal."

The Times article also quotes Costolo as saying, "People have Plato's form in their mind of what a leader is, or what a C.E.O. is, and it is a bunch of elements that I really don't conform to at all. I've given this a lot of thought, and I came to the conclusion that I don't care."

I remember writing about Facebook's IPO Roadshow video, full of emotional appeal, yet light on financials. It will be interesting to see how another non-traditional company-with a non-traditional CEO-handles the communications.

Discussion Starters:

• How can Costolo use humor to his advantage during the IPO process?
• What potential pitfalls does he need to avoid?
• How can Twitter differentiate itself from Facebook's experience?

Reflections on MLK's "I Have a Dream" Speech

The news and websites have an abundance of reflections on Dr. Martin Luther King's infamous "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered 50 years ago, on August 28, 1963.

• PR Daily identified five "lessons for speechwriters":
  • Emphasize phrases by repeating at the beginning of sentences
  • Repeat key "theme" words throughout your speech
  • Utilize appropriate quotations or allusions
  • Use specific examples to "ground" your arguments
  • Use metaphors to highlight contrasting concepts

• The New York Times "Critic's Notebook" column explored "The Lasting Power of Dr. King's Dream Speech." Part of the article summarized the power this way: 

Why does Dr. King's "Dream" speech exert such a potent hold on people around the world and across the generations? Part of its resonance resides in Dr. King's moral imagination. Part of it resides in his masterly oratory and gift for connecting with his audience - be they on the Mall that day in the sun or watching the speech on television or, decades later, viewing it online. And part of it resides in his ability, developed over a lifetime, to convey the urgency of his arguments through language richly layered with biblical and historical meanings.

• Marketplace espeakers created this infographic:

Ashton Kutcher's Teen Choice Award Speech

Natural, self-deprecating, and personal, Ashton Kutcher's speech at the Teen Choice Awards is winning critical acclaim. Kutcher dressed casually and took a casual approach to his speech, as he accepted the award for his portrayal of Steve Jobs in the new movie, "Jobs." Observers say he was channeling the Apple founder's presentation style. 

Starting by saying, "This is the old guy award. This is like the grandpa award," Kutcher endeared himself to the audience of screaming teens. (He's 35 years old.) He then revealed something personal: "I feel like a fraud. My name is actually not even Ashton. Ashton is my middle name. My first name's Chris." (Cue audience cheers.)

As of this writing, the video on YouTube garnered nearly 3 million views.

Discussion Starters:

• Does Kutcher's speech deserve the attention it is getting? Why or why not? 
• What is appropriate about his speech for the teenage audience? What, if anything, feels out of place? 

Miss Utah's Illogical Interview Response

Good thing she's so beautiful. Top-five Miss USA contender Miss Utah badly flubbed a question about income inequality. NeNe Leakes (Desperate Housewives of Atlanta) asked the interview question: 

"A recent report shows that in 40% of American families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men. What does this say about society?"

Download Miss Utah's Illogical Answer

Discussion Starters:

• What are the (many) logical flaws in Miss Utah's response?
• What organizational strategies would have helped her answer the question?
• What strategies for preparing for an oral presentation and handling questions might have helped the candidate?

McDonald's CEO Answers Questions About "Predatory Marketing"

McDonald's CEO Don Thompson addressed tough questions from stakeholders at the annual meeting, among them a nine-year-old girl.

Although the company has expanded its menu to offer more healthy items, members of an advocacy group at the meeting said it's not enough. At particular issue is the company's strategy of marketing directly to children through products such as Happy Meals. McDonald's has shrunk the size of fries in the meals and added apples, but the company has a long way to go, according to critics at the meeting. One request is for McDonald's to stop opening stores in hospitals.

As the girl said to Thompson, "It would be nice if you stopped trying to trick kids into wanting to eat your food all the time." In response, Thompson said, "We sell a lot of fruits and veggies and are trying to sell even more."

During another exchange, Thompson was asked whether McDonald's targets African Americans, and he responded, "This one's kind of close to home. We do not have not, will not try to target people of color."  Thompson is an African American.

Thompson's other points include the following:

• "We're not marketing to schools. We don't do that."
• "We are not the cause of obesity. We are not marketing unjustly to kids. Ronald is not a bad guy. ... He's about fun, and I'd encourage you to let your kids have some fun, too."

Image source.

Discussion Starters:

• Read McDonald's annual report. What messages about nutrition do you find? How could the company do a better job of communicating its points? 
• How do you assess Thompson's responses to the questions? How did he do?

Apple Responds to Tax Criticism

Apple CEO Tim Cook is using his persuasive communication skills to address the company's avoidance of billions in taxes.

Cook appeared on Capital Hill and received a surprising number of compliments from the nation's lawmakers. Committee Chairman Senator Carl Levin, for example, said, "We love the iPhone and the iPad." Libertarian Ron Paul also defended the company: "I'm offended by the spectacle of dragging in Apple executives. What we need to do is apologize to Apple and compliment them for the job creation they're doing."

Still, the panel accused Apple of creating offshore "ghost companies" to avoid paying taxes. Apple shifts as much as $100 billion to these entities, saving $7 billion in taxes in 2011, according to one estimate.

Rather then deny the accusations, Cook blamed the outdated tax system: "Unfortunately, the tax code has not kept up with the digital age." By deflecting attention away from Apple and towards loop holes that should be closed, Cook effectively "disarmed" (to use The New York Times' word) the Senate committee.

Of course, Apple isn't the only company avoiding taxes. According to one study cited by Senator Levin, 30 of the country's largest multinationals "paid nothing in federal income taxes over a recent three-year period. Zero."

Discussion Starters:

• Watch Tim Cook's opening statement in the Senate hearing. What are his strongest and weakest arguments?
• Watch the  rest of the Senate hearing. Which questions are most and least effective?
• How does Cook use delivery skills to persuade the committee?

Twitter CEO Gives Commencement Speech at Michigan

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, University of Michigan '85, rejoined to give a funny commencement speech.

Costolo used his share of self-deprecating humor, discussing his "crushing disappointment" after having ambitions of working for Second City TV and Saturday Night Live. Although he did improv for some time (and rubbed elbows with Steve Carell and others), he ended up working at Pier One Imports, as he joked, putting to work his Computer Science degree from the University of Michigan.

Costolo said Twitter was the best example of making "bold bets." The founder acknowledged that he never expected the site to become the success it is today: "You cannot draw any of your paths looking forward."

He also gave the predictable commencement advice: "You have to figure out what you love to do...and go do that." Yep, got it.

Discussion Starters:

• Evaluate Costolo's speech. What works well in his content, organization, and delivery, and what could be improved?
• Watch two or three other commencement speeches on YouTube. Which do you like best and why?