Articles

It’s easy to be a spectator. From an armchair perspective, we can clearly see what’s happening and second-guess the calls being made. At ground level, it’s not so easy though, which is why many companies can make mistakes when they fail to see what’s happening in front of them during bad times. In a time of crisis, it is critical for businesses to be aware of how circumstances will affect the company as an organization, as well as those individuals directly involved.

Unfortunately, for every company there comes a time when you have to break bad news. Breaking bad news to stakeholders is never pleasant. But communicating in the wrong way can make things even worse. Therefore, it’s important to know the best practices for successfully breaking bad news.

Quarterly earnings conference calls are an important communications tool to reach analysts, investors, reporters and others who follow your company. Although publicly traded companies are not required to conduct these calls, most do. For good reasons. Among them – the calls help analysts develop more accurate earnings expectations.

When the economy starts to experience a downturn, investors start to feel uneasy. It is your job to reassure your investors that you and your team will be able to withstand this economic environment and set a course for success in the future. Here are three things they need to hear from you.

The investor conference call might not be the best part of your week, but a poor delivery may make it your worst. Conference calls are tough venues, with a recent study sharing that 65% of conference call participants are doing other work while on the call. So if you are leading the conference call, what can you do to make it memorable and keep everyone engaged? We’ve got three simple items that can put sparkle in your conference call and keep your listeners’ attention.

If you’ve flown United Airlines lately, you may have watched a video of Jeff Smisek, chairman, president and CEO of the company. It’s the video that runs before the safety briefing, and in it Smisek welcomes you aboard and shares some facts about United. He may be talking to you while walking through the terminal or standing in the aisle of a plane. He’s informal, relaxed, conversational.

In a recent interview in Sports Illustrated, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman expressed regret for not having responded publicly to an allegation made about him years ago by sports columnist, author and TV personality Skip Bayless. The allegation, which appeared in a 1996 book authored by Bayless, dealt with Aikman’s sexual preference.

Most of us think talking to ourselves is a practice that should be avoided – especially if others are around to observe it. But researchers say “self-talk” is more common than most people think. And it can make a big difference in mood, behavior and performance.

According to a January 2015 Harris Poll of some 2,200 hiring and human resource managers, employers know within the first five minutes of a job interview if a candidate is a good fit for a position.

Considered by many to be the greatest British band in history, the former rock group Queen easily sold out just about any stadium they played in. In a 2003 interview, band members Brian May and Roger Taylor talked about the structure of their concerts.