Talking the Talk

Today’s attention economy is no joke. Key stakeholders from employees to investors are constantly connected, divisive politics play havoc and expectations for getting it "right’’ are sky-high. 

Indeed, a recent Harvard Business Review analysis found CEOs who are good and empathetic communicators are increasingly in demand over those with only operational skills. The researchers found C-suite job descriptions mentioning strength in managing material and financial resources plummeted between 2000 and 2017 in comparison to those mentioning strength in social skills. 

According to a recent Axios story: "sharp, persuasive communications have raced to the C-suite's inner sanctum as a vital ingredient in attracting and retaining investors, customers and employees."

But let’s face it, not everyone in leadership positions arrives with a fully developed ability to persuade those who matter. That's where smart, tailored, insightful and rigorous media and presentation coaching comes in. 

This exercise is different for every leader, but we see a few techniques helping advance skills: 

• Thinking through what you’re saying not just from your perspective, but from your audience’s POV. No one wants a marketing pitch, they want to be engaged.

• Relentlessly winnowing down your complicated message to its absolute barest essentials. Grab attention fast or someone else is guaranteed to steal it. 

• Carving out the time to really practice and hone skills. It’s no longer just a one-off, check-the-box exercise forced upon reluctant CEOs by their nervous comms teams. Executives increasingly seek media and speaking training with long-term commitments that mirror executive coaching. It’s a trend unlikely to let up.

Everyone wants a good reputation. In the digital world, that requires thoughtful online behavior and content strategy. But content is continuously shifting, and it’s not always in your control. External factors like bad search results or negative news coverage can quickly change the way people perceive you or your brand. 

Enter: Digital Reputation Management. 

At FGS Global, the DRM team develops and executes data-driven integrated digital programs to enhance the online presence and optimize search results of executives and organizations. Here’s how it works: 

1. Audit & Strategy: The first step is to take inventory of everything that exists for the client – website, search results, social, media coverage, any profiles – and assess where they stand. This will inform the ongoing strategy. 

2. Profile Building: A well-optimized digital foundation is core to the program. Social profiles with a complete bio on relevant websites will enable clients to better control their presence.

3. Content Creation & Distribution – The next step is to build a steady level of activity to influence search results. Negative search results can’t be removed entirely, but with enough patience and effort, owned profiles will outrank them. 

4. Reporting & Optimization – Finally, like with any healthy digital strategy, it’s important to keep track of the results. FGS Global’s team builds out monthly reports.

Though it may seem slow and steady, this process is a proven way to help clients enhance their online presence and optimize search results.

Interested in managing your business’ digital reputation? Email digital@fgsglobal.com.

Suffixes can be confusing. Luckily, our LA office recently shared some AP Stylebook tips on how how to bring your prose to a close. 

• General rules

  • If a word combination is not listed in Webster’s New World College Dictionary, use two words for the verb form; hyphenate any noun or adjective forms.

• -ward, wards

  • Virtually none of the words ending with this suffix end with an s: backward, forward, toward, downward, upward, onward, outward, inward, southward, skyward, Earthward, heavenward, homeward.

• -less

  • No hyphen before this suffix: tailless, weightless, waterless. 

• -wise

  • No hyphen when it means in the direction of or with regard to. Some examples: clockwise, otherwise, lengthwise, slantwise. 

  • Avoid contrived combinations such as moneywise, religionwise.

  • The word penny-wise is spelled with a hyphen because it is a compound adjective in which wise means smart, not an application of the suffix -wise. The same for street-wise in the street-wise youth (an exception to Webster’s New World College Dictionary).

• -over

  • Some frequently used words (all are nouns, some also are used as adjectives): carry-over, stopover, holdover, walkover, takeover.

  • Use two words when any of these occurs as a verb.

• -up 

  • Follow Webster’s New World College Dictionary guidance. Hyphenate if not listed there.

  • Some frequently used words (all are nouns, some also are used as adjectives): breakup, makeup, call-up, mix-up, change-up, mock-up, checkup, pushup, roundup, cover-up, follow-up, holdup, lineup.

  • Use two words when any of these occurs as a verb.