Speaking, Writing and Presenting In SOCKOS

Allan Bonner

Description

Speaking is the #1 fear among North American adults. Twenty percent of all business communication is designed to clear up the confusion that the last piece of business communication created.

Allan is passionate about solving these serious business problems with clear, short, effective communication.

As a consultant to international diplomats in world capitals, Allan learned the value of five minute meetings, one sentence directions and one page briefing notes. In his work with the military, he learned how clear communication protects lives and unclear messages can result in death.

With chapters on witness preparation, sales, negotiation, media, public speaking and internal presentations, this is a comprehensive guide for anyone who must direct others or ask for help in writing or verbally—and that's everybody.

Sujets

• Communication persuasive
• Meetings
• Business Communication
• Presentations
• Marketing et communication
• Economics
• Business
• Communication médiatique

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 16 octobre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781926755106
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

By Allan Bonner, MA, MSC, DBA, LLM, MScPI (Cand.)

Also by the author:
Doing and Saying the Right Thing:
Professional Risk and Crisis Management
Media Relations
Political Columns
Behind the Scenes with Powerful People
Tough Love at the Table
Power, Culture and Diversity in Negotiations,
Mediation and Conflict Resolution
Political Conventions
The Art of Getting Elected and Governing
An Ounce of Prevention
Navigating your Way through
Damage Control and Crisis Response


Speaking, Writing and Presenting in SOCKOs®

First printing, April, 2012

Published by Sextant Publishing, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

© 2014 Allan Bonner, MA, MSc, LLM, DBA, MScPI (Cand.)

All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication, reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior consent of the publisher is an infringement of the copyright law and is forbidden.

Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com

ISBN: 978-1-926755-04-5

For educational or institutional discounts or for information
about seminars and speeches, please contact:
Sextant Publishing, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
or
www.allanbonner.com
1-877-484-1667
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
SOCKOS® A Definition:
A Multi-Purpose Tool
Improving the Odds in Communicating
Putting SOCKOs® to Work
SOCKOs® versus Qs & As
Sample SOCKOs®
SPEECHES AND PRESENTATIONS
The Need
Words: Making Sense
Preparation
Writing your Speech
Rehearsal
Before your Speech
The Big Event!
WRITING
The Need
Good Writing and Good Writers
The Power of Writing
Writing for Others
MEDIA RELATIONS
What is News?
The Value of Media Relations
Working with the Media
Communications Matrix
Writing for the Media
Speaking with the Media
The Press Conference
CRISIS AND RISK COMMUNICATIONS
Managing a Crisis
Communications Matrix
Making Public Remarks
Public Meetings
Risk Communication versus Risk Analysis
WITNESS PREPARATION
Some Background
Preparation
Clearing the Way for Meaning
In Action
NEGOTIATION
The Need for Informed Partners
Negotiations about the Negotiations
Complexity
SALES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE: Political Communication
FOREWORD
There’s an old saying on the lecture circuit that if you don’t produce a book about every two years, you’re forgotten. Allan is unlikely to be forgotten. This is his seventh book in ten years. Since we took over the publishing-rights of his first two books from other companies and reprinted them, we can now say that all seven are Sextant Publishing titles.
I always know when Allan is busy on the road—I receive new chapters and ideas from him. He practises what he preaches in this book.
He doesn’t stop for writer’s block and is quite productive on planes, in airports and hotel rooms on five continents. He also follows an exercise routine that keeps him fit and energetic for writing. A result is this book.
This book began as a vehicle to capture the major applications of Allan’s SOCKO® communication system not dealt with in earlier books. The main subjects then are writing, speaking and presenting—as the title indicates. However, because of his practice in the field, and the fact that I’m a lawyer, I asked Allan to add a strong section on witness preparation. Small sections on the sales, media, crisis and political applications of the SOCKO® system are designed to whet the appetite or get someone who has occasional and rudimentary needs in these areas over a bump in the communications highway. For more, it’s worth consulting the full treatment of these topics in the books listed at the end of this volume.
Allan, I and all Sextant authors share a passion for the environment, civility in public policy and lasting initiatives. We are hoping to leave our world and jurisdictions a little better than we found them. I worry we won’t succeed. But I do know that SOCKOs® are a time-saver, a way to focus the mind and a way to have impact. This book shows how versatile they are, too.
Ken Chapman
Edmonton, Alberta




“Whether you are today’s Cicero or
facing your first time behind a podium,
Allan Bonner can enhance your performance.”

~ AMBASSADOR KENNETH D. TAYLOR
CANADA’S AMBASSADOR TO IRAN
DURING THE HOSTAGE CRISIS
AND REVOLUTION
INTRODUCTION
The words ‘communications’ and ‘technology’ are so closely linked today that there’s a danger of the two becoming confused. We may be lulled into thinking that because we use the latest communications technology, we are communicating effectively. “It ain’t necessarily so.”
Technology can help us communicate more widely and more swiftly, but we still have to speak or write our messages. The more clearly we do that, the more likely we are to be understood. With Twitter, we have to be clear and short.
Speaking and writing are such basic human activities, most of us give them little thought—until we are called on to “say a few words” to a group of people or write a formal report for the management committee or article for the local newspaper.
Most people are very fearful of speaking in public. It would be nice to be able to say this fear is just a matter of inexperience and that after one or two outings and a little practice it becomes easy, like riding a bicycle. Unfortunately there are too many examples of people who never get over their fear of speaking in public. Even some well known actors admit that their stage fright never goes away completely.
However, th is fear can be controlled, even if not completely conquered. Just as many people who are terrified of flying continue to climb into relatively flimsy and cramped aircraft tha t fly several miles above the earth for hours on end, so people with stage fright continue to stand up and make interesting presentations.
It’s much the same with writing. We can dash off emails, Tweets, notes and sometimes letters to colleagues, friends and family but ‘freeze up’ when i t comes to preparing a formal report or other document. We think we know what we want to put down, but it never seems to look right. So we change it, over and over again, consuming valuable time and fraying our nerves .
These issues become an even greater challenge in a time of controversy. You want to say or write something and give it just the right weight and tone, but time is running out. Interested parties want details and information. Shareholders, regulatory agencies, concerned citizens and the media may all be calling you at once.
How do you cope?
The most important thing to remember is that good communicators are not born. There are skills that can be learned—and those skills are in ever-increasing demand.
The days of the monosyllabic folk hero are long gone. In today’s fast-paced and challenging world you have to be able to formulate ideas and concepts and present them to busy people to understand and act on. It’s a challenge, but it can be done.
As a broadcast journalist for many years, I was appalled at the number of well educated, well meaning people I interviewed who did not know how to marshal their thoughts and express them clearly and concisely. My experiences as an interviewer led me to study the problem academically and eventually to develop the SOCKO® system—the most powerful communications learning tool available anywhere. SOCKOs® (Strategic Overriding Communications and Knowledge Objectives) help you decide what you want to say or write about. SOCKOs® then help you present your ideas effectively.
SOCKOs® make you think and speak clearly, no matter how much pressure you are under. If you ever have to address an unsympathetic audience, justify your actions in writing to a dissatisfied customer, appear as a witness in legal or other formal proceedings or deal with the media, then this system is indispensable.
The SOCKO® system has already helped people all over the world. It has proved its value in high-profile situations with politicians, diplomats, military leaders, trade negotiators and other public officials. It’s also worked with business executives, police officers, lawyers and social institutions. The SOCKO® system is user-friendly and versatile.
This book will show you how to use the knowledge you already have about your organization, activity or interest and mould it into a series of SOCKOs® that will add authority and interest to all your communications—written or spoken. Best of all, it will help ensure that when you speak or write, your message will not only be received but also understood.
The sections that follow deal with specific communications needs— speeches, presentations, writing, dealing with the media, sales, risk and crisis management, political communication and witness preparation. At the very beginning, because it’s the core of all effective communications, is a section on SOCKOs®: what they are and how they work. You can ‘cherry-pick’ how you use the rest of the book. But you will need to be familiar with SOCKOs® before you can really improve, polish and hone your communication skills.

SOCKOS® A Definition :
(soko) n. acronym for Strategic Overriding Communications and Knowledge Objective. A short, positive, sharp, memorable, honed, polished, true, unassailable statement. A 'media-genic' clip or quotation on radio, on TV or in newspaper stories. A quotable quote with impact, often showing caring, knowledge and/or action, lasting 15 seconds or less. A rough equivalent to a headline, cutline or lead, best delivered after full rehearsal at least three times: e.g. "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat;" "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country;" "Just watch me;" "Yes, we can!"
Most of us know the term ‘soundbite’—the all-too-brief part of a report in broadcast journalism. A SOCKO® will often become a soundbite, but, sad