The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson

Can you believe it’s been a full year since we launched the Confident Communications Podcast? Well, here we are! One year later and one year wiser. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting at Pat Flynn’s Power-Up Podcasting boot camp ( Pat was also a guest on this podcast in episode 40 ) which played a major role in helping me get this podcast out into the world. I wanted to celebrate this year...

Executive Presence is a term you may hear a lot, but do you know what it means? Simply put, having it means you own a room the second you stand in front of it. It's a mix of confidence and savvy communications that inspire your peers, subordinates and leaders. Lauren Sergy, an expert on all things communications, walks us through the steps for building your executive presence in the workplace...

As a business leader, employee or owner, you have the opportunity to interact with many people from all walks of life and places. Just as important as why you interact with people, is that you’re able to greet them appropriately so you get off on the right foot. But greeting etiquette depends on so many factors, aside from culture--how you know the person and who is hosting the meeting also plays...

Someone at your organization was accused of sexual harassment. Perhaps the harassment was in the form of an inappropriate remark, behavior, incident or outburst.  You work in leadership and have to respond. Or you may even be that person accused of harassment.  Now what?  This episode looks at recent news stories of how organizations dealt with a sexual harassment issue when it became public.  Dis...

It's October, and all four major professional U.S. sports leagues are in full swing, making it the busiest sports month of the year. The sports industry is a very profitable one as well, which means there is a lot to learn about it from a business point of view.    My guest today is Emmy-award winning supervising producer Stu Kirshenbaum, who worked over 20 years in network sports television...

This month is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. A perfect time to remind people that we live in a world increasingly reliant on technology, which makes us all vulnerable to cyberattacks.  This week's guest helps companies prepare for the days they hope will never happen -- a cyberattack. Mark Hoffman discusses how phishing attacks occur and why organizations need cybersecurity plans. Mentioned i...

Matt Lauer is having is a very bad week. This week, former MSNBC correspondent journalist Ronan Farrow released his book, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators . The book highlights the claims of sexual misconduct claims against the former host of The Today Show and how his employer, NBC News, handled the fallout. This special edition of the podcast looks at the PR eff...

We live in the time of the internet, where information travels at the speed of your WiFi connection or data plan. That’s just one reason communication is so important--because communication online isn’t anonymous and anything you post (or say, tweet, etc.) can and will be used against you. This week on the Confident Communications Podcast, I’m speaking with Diana Peterson-More, who has worn many h...

No business or individual is immune to online attacks. If you want to be visible and a leader, it’s bound to happen. Groups of unsatisfied customers taking to Facebook to build a community to rise against you--warranted or not. What you need is an action plan so you can quickly respond to these online attacks professionally and appropriately. But unfortunately, too many business owners and leaders...

Sorry, but here we go again.  Poor judgment turns up online, and someone now needs to apologize.  School photos of a high-profile politician wearing blackface surface online before an election and the masses call for a resignation.   A cast member on a popular television program is hired, then quickly fired for comments made on a podcast. Why do some people survive the PR crisis while others peris...

Leaders in business juggle communication challenges from all angles--their teams, the media and even their families. On the plus side, if we’re open and communicating, we’re able to choose the message that others hear. Unfortunately, that’s not always what happens in the real world. As this week’s guest, Scott Harvey, tells us, too many people aren’t good at actively listening. And in some cases f...

What were you doing 18 years ago this week, on September 11, 2001? If you’re like most people in my talks and workshops, you know exactly where you were, what you were doing and what you thought about first when you heard about the first plane crashing into the World Trade Center. But have you thought about how the way you find and react to the news has changed since that day? Today, we wouldn’t r...

LinkedIn is for Leaders Facebook is a bit too young and social for business leaders, but with 252 million people logging in each month, LinkedIn is the place to be. If you know how to use it.  In this week’s episode of the Confident Communication Podcast, how to get started on LinkedIn and how to make sure your profile is working for you. It’s a professional social platform that can help you netwo...

Leaders want to be heard, but often leaving that message up to the news media bring stress and unease. In his new book, Gary Schneeberger hopes to reduce the acrimony toward news reporters and teach the secrets to being in control of the interview. We talk about this and more in this week’s episode of the Confident Communications Podcast. In the digital age, the news cycle has gone from 24 hours t...

Podcasts have become one of my favorite innovations in the 20th century. They’re easy to listen to on the go and offer both valuable information and entertainment. The downside? We have so many to choose from these days, it’s hard to know what to tune into. As a self-professed podcast junkie, I wanted to share with you some of my own favorite podcasts right now (aside from my own, of course!). Her...

We hear about authenticity all the time, but what does it mean and how can you use it as a leader? Actions speak louder than words and as a leader, you have people who look to you for information and guidance. Good leaders are authentic in their communication--what they say, how they say it and what they do. But that doesn’t mean that everyone likes them. In fact, often their authenticity repels o...

Communicating effectively and being authentic are two components in building not just fans (of you and your business) but superfans. And in today’s online world, securing the marketing real estate you need to attract the right people can be tricky. This week on the Confident Communications Podcast, I'm speaking with Pat Flynn, entrepreneur and host of the Smart Passive Income Podcast . He sha...

Back in the day, press releases were typed up then mailed or faxed out to news organizations. Today, thankfully, we can toss the snail mail and fax machines and email them out. But because of the changes in technology, communications professionals need to change their methods if they want their news releases to get picked up by the media and published. How do you get the attention of the media out...

The revelation that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was facing sex-trafficking charges in July 2019 left a wake of fear among many big wheels who considered Epstein - at one time or another - a friend.  From Washington D.C. to Manhattan, to even (gulp) The Palace, people who have a history with Epstein needed to say something, and say it quickly. A lot of well-known people connected with him h...

In the early hours of July 17, 1999, the world watched and waited to find out the fate of America’s son, John F. Kennedy, Jr. The night before, he took off from Essex County airport in his single-engine plane carrying his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette. They were bound for Martha’s Vineyard but never arrived. I was a reporter in Cape Cod at the time and had a fr...

My job is professional development. I teach business leaders how to up their communication game in workshops, talks and online forums...and podcasts.  I’d like to think that I have my presentation and curriculum development skills up to par with some of the best--a requirement when you’re trying to keep high-achieving students engaged. But I hear two things from many of my audience members: either...

No matter your profession, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to be on camera (whether you welcome the idea or not). But like speaking in front of a crowd, not everyone is a natural at it.  You worry about looking frumpy, saying the wrong thing, sweating through your suit jacket or stuttering through your remarks. These are all common concerns, but with some practice and the tips on this episode...

I’ve heard a lot of disparaging remarks about Millennials during my talks and workshops, and after asking other generations their thoughts on these so-called youngsters I’ve decided it’s time to give them a break. The thing is, most people’s perceptions of Millennials are wrong. Not only are they not the lazy, entitled narcissists I’ve heard them being called, they’re also not even in the age brac...

LinkedIn is the online version of walking into a conference or big networking event, according to this week's guest on the Confident Communications Podcast. Kristal Hicks is the founder of JOBTALK, where she helps everyone from new college graduates to those looking to transition in their careers to optimize their LinkedIn profiles for success. With LinkedIn, professionals can connect with ot...

Leaders must continue to work to be more relevant in modern times. As technology changes, it can become more and more difficult to stay in the know. But if you’re off the grid and not online--or struggle to keep up with new communication trends--you’re hurting your brand. This week, I share four ways in which you can be seen, heard, and remain relevant.  Yes, social media is a big part of the puzz...