Official Blog of Bannon Leadership Consulting Founder Shawn Bannon

Archive for the ‘Personal Brand Management’ Category

Truth or Consequences and Public Relations

Monday, May 24th, 2010

When I was a kid, I was a fan of professional wrestling.  I watched the greats of the 1980s – guys like “Macho Man” Randy Savage and the “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase – battle it out with Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan.  And I loved every outrageous storyline.  Because I was a kid, […]

Breaking My Silence Before Tiger Breaks His — Mr. Woods, the Media and Today’s Non-Press Conference

Friday, February 19th, 2010

So, I’d originally planned to not say much publicly about the Tiger Woods story, but the tone of the coverage since word broke that he’d be speaking today has moved me to comment on Tiger’s troubles, the media and what I hope we hear during his remarks this morning.  When the news of Tiger’s infidelity […]

Bannon Communications Featured by Vital Speeches of the Day

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Special thanks to Vital Speeches of the Day, which is currently featuring my article about improving state-of-the-village speeches on its home page. Click here to read the article on the Vital Speeches Web site.

Lackluster State-of-the-Village Speeches Suggest Alarming Decline in Quality of Leadership

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Earlier this month, David Murray, a respected voice in the field of speechwriting and leadership communications, wrote an article for The Huffington Post about the lackluster state of recent “state-of-the-village” speeches.  David is editor of Vital Speeches of the Day and is the former editor of Ragan Communications’ Speechwriters Newsletter.  He probably reads more speeches […]

A PR Pro’s Defense of Sarah Palin’s Palm Reading

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

The political world’s been abuzz this week with pundits on the left and right trying to score points over former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s use of some hand-written notes during a recent question and answer session.  And by “hand-written notes” I mean to say notes that were literally written on the palm of her hand.  Some on […]

Tips for Speechwriters (and Other Communications Professionals): Getting Your Speaker to Deliver the Speech that You’ve Written — Part 5

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

Here’s tip five in my series of tips to help speechwriters frustrated by speakers who abandon the approved script in favor of extemporaneous remarks that, more often than not, seem to miss the mark. Tip 5.     Let your speaker tell his own story. One sure-fire way to craft a speech your client will be able […]

Tips for Speechwriters (and Other Communications Professionals): Getting Your Speaker to Deliver the Speech that You’ve Written — Part 4

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

Here’s tip four in my series of five to help speechwriters frustrated by speakers who abandon the approved script in favor of extemporaneous remarks that, more often than not, seem to miss the mark. Tip 4.      Write the way your speaker talks.  And if you can’t do that, keep the language simple. We’d all like […]

Tips for Speechwriters (and Other Communications Professionals): Getting Your Speaker to Deliver the Speech that You’ve Written — Part 3

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Here’s tip three in my series of five to help speechwriters frustrated by speakers who abandon the approved script in favor of extemporaneous remarks that, more often than not, seem to miss the mark. Tip 3.      Keep it short, and give your speaker a cheat sheet. Of course, there will be times when you’re asked […]

Tips for Speechwriters (and Other Communications Professionals): Getting Your Speaker to Deliver the Speech that You’ve Written — Part 2

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

A few weeks ago, I posted the first in a series of five tips I’m offering to help speechwriters build stronger relationships with their speakers in order to help their speakers become more effective at delivering their messages.  At least some of these tips can probably help out other communications professionals who may be focused […]

Tips for Speechwriters (and Other Communications Professionals): Getting Your Speaker to Deliver the Speech that You’ve Written — Part 1

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

A few years ago, I was asked to write a piece for the Washington Speechwriters Roundtable about the frustrations of writing a speech only to watch your speaker go off the page and, more often than not, bomb.  So, I thought I’d take a little time to update that piece and to share a few […]