http://www.lynnespinoza.com Presentation Training - Media Training - Message Development Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:44:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en You've been tapped to be the speaker at an industry event.  There is a nagging feeling deep inside your gut that you are being set up for failure.  The content for the speech is not your own, and in fact this is not your area of expertise. You feel like ... http://www.lynnespinoza.com/2008/when-you-should-not-be-the-spokesperson/ Christmas, for me, comes once every four years.  I bathe in the political season - all 18 months of it. I love the oratory, the drama and of course  those "you can't make up this stuff" surprises.  I marvel at the maneuvering, and snicker at the snide.  I also watch closely ... http://www.lynnespinoza.com/2008/straight-talk-depress/ It seems to me there is a fair amount of passive-aggression going on, and I don't think it serves the process of election well. The ads, you may have noticed, have gone crazy.        "He called her a pig!" Can we just stop for a moment? We all know that both campaigns were blowing ... http://www.lynnespinoza.com/2008/putting-lipstick-on-the-negative-ads/ I loved watching Michael Phelps.  We knew he could win eight golds, but we didn't know for certain that he would.  Especially with two relays, there were things out of his control.  High stakes. High drama.  Delicious! So as the athletic Olympics close and the political Olympics begin, there are some similarities. ... http://www.lynnespinoza.com/2008/let-the-games-begin/ I am enjoying a summer of celebration. One year ago, Speak! Communications was launched. I never dreamed I would be so happy, work so hard, or enjoy life so immensely.  It's scary leaving a safe, corporate job. Now I'm doing work that truly matters to me, but it's far less predictable.  I had ... http://www.lynnespinoza.com/2008/reason-to-celebrate/ Not long ago, the local high school speech teacher pulled me aside with some alarming news. Speech communications, it turns out, is no longer part of the district core curriculum. No Child Left Behind has left districts few choices. Teachers now have to teach their students how to take tests ... http://www.lynnespinoza.com/2008/no-speaking-required/ I ran across a terrific video interview on my favorite web site for communicators, Ragan.com.  It's an interview with veteran speech writer, Hal Gordon. He wrote speeches for Ronald Reagan and Colin Powell - universally accepted as powerful speakers, regardless of your politics.  Mr. Gordon drives home the importance of peppering ... http://www.lynnespinoza.com/2008/on-giving-speeches-and-telling-stories/ If anyone can pull it off, master-orator Barack Obama can.  Still, delivering his democratic nomination acceptance speech at mile-high Invesco Field is risky. A lot has changed since 1960 - the last time a party acceptance speech was delivered from an outdoor stadium. Then it was John F. Kennedy. The stadium was ... http://www.lynnespinoza.com/2008/a-most-critical-speech-is-barrack-a-mile-too-high/ It's spreading faster than the California wildfires this afternoon. Disparaging remarks made by Jesse Jackson about Senator Barack Obama. Reverend Jackson believed an interview was over, and the microphones were off.  As is so often the case, Jackson was right on only one count. The interview was officially over.  Jackson's ... http://www.lynnespinoza.com/2008/media-training-tip-1-you-are-never-off-the-record/ Recently I was honored to be the featured author on Biznik.com, one of the more useful business networking sites. There is a huge amount of information sharing going on there.  Check it out! Let me know what you think. http://www.lynnespinoza.com/2008/article-on-authenticity-hits-biznikcom/