Now is an excellent time to think about your 2020 PR reading list and start the new year with big ideas. Whether you are a communications professional on the lookout for case studies from leaders in your field, a chief executive or an entrepreneur wanting to improve the way you communicate, there is something in my list of PR & communications books for every professional. 1. Known - Mark Schaefer Known is a collection of case studies, exercises and personal branding stories f

Now is an excellent time to think about your 2019 PR reading list and start the new year with big ideas. Whether you are a communications professional on the lookout for case studies from leaders in your field, an influencer learning how to revitalise your campaign strategy or, a chief executive wanting to improve the way you communicate, there is something in my list of PR & communications books for every professional. 1. Spin Sucks: Communication & Reputation Management in

The one thing that you will notice in almost all brand advocates is that they all have an emotional connection with the brand they are loyal to. They even feel that they are being personally attacked when someone says anything negative about the brand. But how do you get people to feel this way about your organisation? How do you get them to invest their feelings into your cause, your products or services? To win your stakeholders and customers’ loyalty, you need to engage on

In June 2015, BBC journalist Ahmen Khawaja, tweeted that Queen Elizabeth "has died." The reporter apparently considered a BBC practice for the woman's death to be real. Part of the repetition coincidentally occurred at a hospital that England's monarch was visiting for an annual check-up. The reporter, realising her mistake, immediately deleted the tweet and issued a "false alarm." She also claimed the mistake was the result of a "silly prank." The BBC contradicted Khawaja’s

Now is a good time to think about your 2018 PR reading list. Christmas is approaching and you are looking for the ideal gift for family, friends, and of course, your clients and stakeholders. Books about communication is a fantastic idea. PR used to be all about gaining exposure and generating buzz for organisations through the media, but with content marketing, new technologies and social media coming to the forefront during the last years, comms must continuously adapt. Lea

About a month ago, I received a message from Euractiv, the pan-European media platform : "You are ranked among the Top 40 EU digital influencers. We are writing to invite you to join us at an event in Brussels". Wow, but how do you become an influencer - an authority in your field? How do you gain celebrity-like status on social media? Being an influencer means many things, but it really comes down to being someone who actually influences decisions of others. It’s not about

In the digital age, crisis has become a part of our lives. An unexpected crisis, in combination with the immediacy of social media, makes crisis communication and reputation management critical. Whether it is an airplane catastrophe, a nuclear accident, an institutional crisis, a terrorist incident, a dioxin affair, a stock market crash or a company closing down, crisis has become an everyday topic. Crises can be complex with unpredictable effects for both private and public

In the book Trust Inc. Strategies for Building your Company’s most Valuable Asset, Robert Easton notes that "trust is an essential agent of social development and organisational sustainability. It operates in, and allows for, the intricate web of interaction between individuals, institutions, communities and society. We use words like “the glue”, “catalyst”, “energizer” and “connector” to describe trust. Yet most trust dialogue in today’s world is about the trust deficit. 95%

​ I grew up in Belgium and Greece. As son of a Greek maritime officer I have been in contact with foreign cultures since I was a child. Some times traveling with my father. Other times impressed by the amazing stories he had to tell when coming back home from his journeys in the 60’s and 70s in countries like Canada, Argentina, the Soviet Union, Japan or China. Intercultural communication is one of most ancient human activities. It is a form of communication that aims to shar