Matthews was shaking his leg SO much that a guest laughed at him and they spent time talking about THAT instead of what he wanted his message to be. During my media training seminars, this is one of the main things I try to teach nervous folks about television.

The Bandwidth Music & Technology Conference in San Francisco last month featured discussions where attendees shared some incredible data points.

“Communication is dismal in corporate America,” Lickerman argues. “Entry-level employees trust the messages of top-tier management and their direct supervisors. Yet when a company rolls out a new initiative, internal communication is often the last thing they think about.”

A recent AP poll says that “some 66 percent of those surveyed continue to disapprove of BP’s performance, down from a whopping 83 percent in June.” Though still dismal, it does look like the ad spending is helping. However, it’s also certainly due to the fact that time has passed and the oil spill isn’t leading the newscasts anymore. The public has turned to the latest Sarah Palin Facebook pronouncement, Paris Hilton’s cocaine possession arrest and even something important, like the president’s new rug.

This isn’t about changing who you are. Certainly, you gotta be you. This is about putting your best foot forward, and thinking of how you will be perceived and what effect that perception will have on your bottom line.

In your public relations efforts, is there something holding you back or getting in your way?

Retainers for smaller agencies run $2,000 to $5,000 or so per month. But don’t begin on retainer. Set up a specific project with a price tag attached so you can evaluate results.

“People are reasonable. They know companies make mistakes, and people will forgive an honest mistake. They will not forgive a dishonest cover-up.”

From the public relations perspective, monitoring is critical in protecting your brand’s reputation and credibility. One of the services we provide at AlexanderG Public Relations includes online brand monitoring and image management. This helps us head off potentially bad PR by indentifying and addressing problems before they become full-blown crises; it also helps our clients determine where best to apply their messaging and online resources–often increasing market share in the process.

Mistakes owned-up to quickly are a matter of forgiveness. Drag your feet, dissemble or lie and it becomes a matter of corruption, criminality or mistrust. Ducking or covering up and apologizing only after you have nowhere else to hide–or under court order–will effectively destroy your reputation and cost you in money, energy, time and brand equity.