The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson

A media interview could lead to one of three outcomes:You nail it.You get through it. Your poor performance creates its own crisis. Knowing how to prepare for a media interview increases the likelihood of a positive outcome.Listen to a few of the mistakes we found in recent media interviews and livestreams to learn how to succeed in your next media interview.  The guffaw that turned a serious message from a member of the U.S. Cabinet into a joke. Don't call your own press conference on a whim on the side of the road, like Alec Baldwin. Make sure the news you share on the Today Show is accurate and does not infringe on trademarks. Mentioned in the Episode 115: The One Word That Will Stop a Crisis Dead in its Tracks 158: How to Respond Publically to a Tragic Event of YOur Own Doing: Ten Steps to Control the Narrative During a Crisis Alec Baldwin, wife Hilaria, speak on-camera for 1st time about 'Rust' shooting.Dave Hollis Live Instagram, October 30, 2021--- Need help writing a crisis response for your organization? Click HERE to download your Crisis Communication Rapid Response Checklist, a 10-point plan that guides you through communications, especially when it comes from within your organization.  Listen + Subscribe on Stitcher or Apple Podcasts © Molly McPherson 2021 Want More Behind the Breakdown? Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.Follow Molly on Substack Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter  Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting. Follow & Connect with Molly:https://www.youtube.com/mollymcphersonhttps://mollymcpherson.substack.com/https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcphersonhttps://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/...

If an employee causes a crisis for his employer due to actions that go viral, the company needs an immediate response. Case in point, Southwest Airlines pilot, who used the phrase "Let's go, Brandon," a euphemism considered to be a vulgar phrase aimed at President Joe Biden, over the plane's PA system.  On this week's podcast, the best PR response for a rogue employee who makes bad news for your brand. Learn the immediate steps communicators can take to manage reputation by dissociating the brand from the actions of the employee as quickly as possible.The plan  The statement The internal communications PLUS, one Indestructible PR tip that keeps your reputation solid during the crisis. - - -  Need help writing a crisis response for your organization? This episode provides a 10-point checklist to guide you through communications when a crisis arises, particularly from one you caused.Click HERE to download your Crisis Communication Rapid Response Checklist, a 10-point plan that guides you through communications, especially when it comes from within your organization.  Listen + Subscribe Stitcher or Apple Podcasts© Molly McPherson 2021 Want More Behind the Breakdown? Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.Follow Molly on Substack Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter  Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting. Follow & Connect with Molly:https://www.youtube.com/mollymcphersonhttps://mollymcpherson.substack.com/https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcphersonhttps://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/...

Making news for the wrong reasons is simple. Just screw up publicly, and you're on your way to going viral. Bad news spreads fast, especially on social media. To make a positive story newsworthy, you have to cut through a lot of noise to become a leading authority.Discover how to make your story newsworthy and become famous the right way. My guest on the podcast is former television journalist Kristi Piehl. She is the Founder & CEO of Media Minefield and the host of the Flip Your Script Podcast. Kristi shares how to think like a journalist to make your PR pitch land. Want to learn how to manage the bad news?  Click HERE to download your copy of the Crisis Communication Rapid Response Checklist. Listen + Subscribe Stitcher or Apple Podcasts© Molly McPherson 2021 Want More Behind the Breakdown? Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.Follow Molly on Substack Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter  Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting. Follow & Connect with Molly:https://www.youtube.com/mollymcphersonhttps://mollymcpherson.substack.com/https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcphersonhttps://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/...

Here's what we know about the fatal shooting on the set of Alec Baldwin's movie set. Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that struck cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in the chest, and the director, Joel Souza, in the shoulder.Baldwin is cooperating with the investigation and (as of now) in contact with Hutchins' family. Earlier, some crew members reportedly walked off set over working conditions. Alec Baldwin described the shooting as a "tragic accident." What we don't know?How will this tragedy affect Alec Baldwin's reputation? This episode provides a 10-point checklist to guide you through communications when a crisis arises, particularly from one you caused. Click HERE to download your copy of the Crisis Communication Rapid Response Checklist. Mentioned on the podcast:Alec Baldwin - Wikipedia Episode 115: The ONE Word That Will Stop a Crisis Dead in its Tracks Episode 155: The First 48 hours: Amtrak's Effective Crisis Response After the Derailment Listen + Subscribe Stitcher or Apple Podcasts© Molly McPherson 2021 Want More Behind the Breakdown? Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.Follow Molly on Substack Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter  Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting. Follow & Connect with Molly:https://www.youtube.com/mollymcphersonhttps://mollymcpherson.substack.com/https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcphersonhttps://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/...

Vaccines are on the minds of many businesses, especially small and midsize employers. About two-thirds of small employers believe their employees should be vaccinated, and more than half receive questions about vaccinations. If you want to learn how to communicate vaccination mandates externally, this episode is for you. No politics. No position. Just one PR tip for when vaccine compliance is 100%. Listen + Subscribe Stitcher or Apple Podcasts© Molly McPherson 2021 Want More Behind the Breakdown? Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.Follow Molly on Substack Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter  Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting. Follow & Connect with Molly:https://www.youtube.com/mollymcphersonhttps://mollymcpherson.substack.com/https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcphersonhttps://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/...

It only takes a few moments for people to form an opinion about you when they see you speak in public. If you nail it, your reputation is boosted. Bungle it - your reputation is at stake. If you want to appear confident on stage, you have to actually be confident in yourself. A challenge for nervous speakers. However, there are some tricks to help. Speaking coach Kerri Garbis discusses three effortless methods for capturing confidence on stage. Mentioned on the podcast:Kerri Garbis from Ovation - Get your speakers from the page to the stageEpisode 124: How to Speak with Impact: Tips for commanding the room with Allison ShapiraEpisode 18: The Secret to Being a Great Speaker Listen + Subscribe Stitcher or Apple Podcasts© Molly McPherson 2021 Want More Behind the Breakdown? Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.Follow Molly on Substack Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter  Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting. Follow & Connect with Molly:https://www.youtube.com/mollymcphersonhttps://mollymcpherson.substack.com/https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcphersonhttps://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/...

In the week since an Amtrak train derailed in rural Montana, killing three people and injuring dozens more, federal investigators are still trying to determine what caused the derailment.Despite the rarity of situations such as these, Amtrak needed a crisis plan to be ready at any moment. In this episode, we explore the first 48 hours of Amtrak's response to the Empire Builder derailment near Joplin, Montana. What communicators can learn from the rapid response of Amtrak and how they leveraged digital methods:  Media page on the website   CEO statement What was included in the statement and what was missing? Listen + Subscribe Stitcher or Apple Podcasts© Molly McPherson 2021Want More Behind the Breakdown? Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.Follow Molly on Substack Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter  Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting. Follow & Connect with Molly:https://www.youtube.com/mollymcphersonhttps://mollymcpherson.substack.com/https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcphersonhttps://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/...

What happens when an army of people begins to dig to solve a mystery? They quickly find answers. The intense interest in the Gabby Petito missing case (now murder) also led to an intense interest in discovering why the case became such a sensational news story.The answer: social media sleuthingYoung, social media-savvy women used TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook to desperately get to the bottom of what happened to the 22-year-old who documented her travels to state and national parks with her boyfriend / fiancé Brian Laundrie for their YouTube channel and Instagram. The same desire to help find the Gabby Petito killer is also used to investigate any wrongdoing by a company, organization or leadership. In this episode, connecting true crime obsession to why communicators must be a little obsessed with the online digging of their customers. And why social media sleuthing can bring it all down quickly if you have something to hide.Three ways to mitigate and control the chaos when people decide to start digging around about your organization. Listen + Subscribe Stitcher or Apple PodcastsWant More Behind the Breakdown? Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.Follow Molly on Substack Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter  Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting. Follow & Connect with Molly:https://www.youtube.com/mollymcphersonhttps://mollymcpherson.substack.com/https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcphersonhttps://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/...

We've all done it.The email is written.The email is sent.The email is WRONG.Even though sending a mistake via email is a universal problem, the feeling of having an entire distribution list open that email and see your error will always feel like a kick in the gut.But it doesn't have to. What if there was a way to turn that slip into an opportunity to make you look even better?On the podcast, three quick and straightforward steps of recovery for backtracking when you sent the wrong email. In this post, I’ll highlight specific use cases to show you how to transform your mistake into an opportunity to earn the respect back from your email list.  Listen + Subscribe Stitcher or Apple PodcastsWant More Behind the Breakdown? Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.Follow Molly on Substack Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter  Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting. Follow & Connect with Molly:https://www.youtube.com/mollymcphersonhttps://mollymcpherson.substack.com/https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcphersonhttps://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/...

In this episode, how to use the backpedal in a PR response - but only if you really need to.  Exploring the use of this response tactic as a communication for self-defense. This tactic is used as a result of an incident in which a person's character is called into question or a perceived wrongdoing.   Listen to four examples from the last few weeks and the rating given for their reputation outcome: a thumbs up or thumbs down. We'll look at the response tactic, as it refers to the restoration and renewal of their image. Let's discuss how they rate on the use of the backpedal: John Mulaney Rachel HollisAlex Murdaugh OnlyFansMentioned on the podcast 129: How to Avoid the Excruciating Public Shaming from Cancel Culture: Lessons from Rachel HollisListen + Subscribe Stitcher or Apple Podcasts© Molly McPherson 2021Want More Behind the Breakdown? Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.Follow Molly on Substack Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter  Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting. Follow & Connect with Molly:https://www.youtube.com/mollymcphersonhttps://mollymcpherson.substack.com/https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcphersonhttps://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/...