The date for the UK’s historic referendum on continued membership of the European Union has been set, and those of us who are politically neutral by profession are going to have to watch our mouths closer than usual. Neutrality is sometimes an uncomfortable place to be – you’re more likely to be viewed as an enemy than an ally, and the more argumentative the person you’re dealing with, the truer this is. But take it from us; although neutrality is great for the interviewer, it’s also very helpful to grease the wheels of social interaction, particularly over something as divisive as the EU. Continue reading →

Dispatches from the Gorkana & Eventopedia Crisis Media Management Masterclass – February 2016 – Nadine Dereza, Media Director, PS Programmes

Nadine and Ian took a PS Programmes team trip to the Langham Hotel in London on Tuesday 9 February to deliver a crisis media management masterclass exclusively to some of the UK’s most senior PR industry figures.

Hosted in partnership by Eventopedia, the event industry search engine and reviews site, and Gorkana, a media intelligence company, the masterclass was attended by more than 200 communications specialists from a diverse range of businesses and organisations. Continue reading →

In Part 1, I looked at the questions: What’s the job? and What’s your budget?
The next two questions focus upon the right fit and the right avenue for finding and gaining the greatest value.

2. Does the face fit?
Once you have a selection of potential candidates in the right fee range who can actually do what you are asking of them, you need to narrow down a couple of individuals to approach for a diary check.
This is the part where booking a speaker becomes more art than science…

A conference on a serious subject might need a presenter with gravitas. Or you might feel that it needs someone who has a light touch to stop the day from getting too heavy.

Will booking a comedian be seen as a ‘thank you’ or frivolous expenditure? If half the audience doesn’t speak English, would a musical artiste make more sense than spoken-word comedy? Continue reading →