Just a quirky little note regarding Murdoch's appearance before parliament and something that really only PR folks will find interesting.
When managing a crisis you want as few 'suits' around you as possible. The more suits, the more it looks like you are trying to 'control' the crisis - which as discussed in my previous post is the opposite of appearing honest and accountable.
But if you ever find yourself on television managing a crisis, if you can, be very aware of the background. While you can't quantify it, the human mind processes TONS of information outside of the executive / frontal cortex or conscious level.
Some poo-poo this kind of stuff. Myself, my view is why risk it? Additionally, why not take advantage of it? The overall 'image' and environment - foreground, background, noise, etc. - all enter a viewer's eyeballs and ears and then get stored in the brain and later drawn upon (in processes we don't yet understand) to come up with an 'impressions' and 'memory'.
With this in mind, when I was watching the Murdoch session, I cringed and shook my head. Sitting directly behind him was a guy in a suit and his white collar gave the impression of what look like Devil horns. Thank God he wasn't wearing a red shirt (but just for fun I shaded in his collar red to show you what I mean).
Now, you can't always control these things, and it's fair to say it's debatable as to whether they even matter. But why take a chance? If only that lady in pink had taken the seat to her right (or the camera angle were just a little more to the right).
This stuff sounds silly, I know, but hey, if you are in PR it's your job to mitigate every potential negative that you can.
When managing a crisis you want as few 'suits' around you as possible. The more suits, the more it looks like you are trying to 'control' the crisis - which as discussed in my previous post is the opposite of appearing honest and accountable.
But if you ever find yourself on television managing a crisis, if you can, be very aware of the background. While you can't quantify it, the human mind processes TONS of information outside of the executive / frontal cortex or conscious level.
Some poo-poo this kind of stuff. Myself, my view is why risk it? Additionally, why not take advantage of it? The overall 'image' and environment - foreground, background, noise, etc. - all enter a viewer's eyeballs and ears and then get stored in the brain and later drawn upon (in processes we don't yet understand) to come up with an 'impressions' and 'memory'.
With this in mind, when I was watching the Murdoch session, I cringed and shook my head. Sitting directly behind him was a guy in a suit and his white collar gave the impression of what look like Devil horns. Thank God he wasn't wearing a red shirt (but just for fun I shaded in his collar red to show you what I mean).
Now, you can't always control these things, and it's fair to say it's debatable as to whether they even matter. But why take a chance? If only that lady in pink had taken the seat to her right (or the camera angle were just a little more to the right).
This stuff sounds silly, I know, but hey, if you are in PR it's your job to mitigate every potential negative that you can.
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