| What is sportsmanship?
Catherine Cunningham |
2010-02-22 16:25:39 Society |
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Recently, the Canadian Woman’s Hockey Team supposedly “lambasted” the Slovakian team in an 18 to 0 blowout. Admittedly, since hockey is not my favourite sport, I would not have paid much attention to the score, or even the game, where it not for the massive amount of media coverage surrounding this particular game.
Not only did major television, print and radio news outlet cover the story, but bloggers pitched in their opinions and comments too. There seems to be two issues that have everyone talking: 1. should woman’s hockey be an Olympic sport, i.e. is the calibre of international teams strong enough and 2. it seems as though the Canadian team acted unsportsmanlike. I’ll let the lobby groups and Olympic powers-that-be debate what sport will be allowed in the Olympics. I was rather taken aback by the kafuffle around the score and claim that the Canadians were unsportsmanlike. I have read articles and listened to debates on whether the Canadian team should have pulled-back their skill level and played a more “gentle” game. Well, no, I don’t think so, since both teams were on the ice to play their best and win the game. To those who say that the Canadian team didn’t show any sportsmanship, well, I say that they did. They respected their opponents and played the best hockey they could. By patronizing the other team, they would have been showing blatant disrespect and THAT is unsportsmanlike behaviour. It would have been worse if the Canadian team let the Slovaks score a goal because the accomplishment would have been worthless. It also would have sent the message that they didn’t deserve to be there, and that’s not the case as they proved their worth by qualifying for the Olympic Games. Not playing their best against the Slovaks would have been a display of arrogance and disrespect and would have likely humiliated the Slovaks far more that a lopsided final score. This is the Olympics, don’t hold back and play your best – everyone is there to win! |
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| Faut-il commenter une rumeur ?
Mylène Forget |
2009-11-13 09:45:57 Agence de RP |
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En général, nous recommandons à nos clients de ne pas commenter de rumeurs. Mais quand cette règle souffre-t-elle des exceptions ?
J’ai été confrontée à plusieurs reprises ces jours-ci à la situation suivante : des déclarations de personnalités publiques faisaient référence à un client. Afin de faire cesser les spéculations, nous avons choisi d’émettre de très brefs communiqués et de ne pas accorder d’entrevues. Et voici que je vois ce matin que la NASA elle-même a pris la peine de réfuter la fameuse rumeur d’apocalypse qui surviendrait, selon certains, en 2012. Calendrier maya, collision avec un corps céleste, alignement des planètes, toutes les théories catastrophistes s’étaient liguées vers cette date fatidique ! Évidemment, avec un peu de recul, on voit bien que la fin du monde est annoncée par divers groupes pseudo-scientifiques, très régulièrement. Et aussi régulièrement, cette date est repoussée. Il y a de quoi rire, ou de quoi pleurer. Avec l’avènement de cette grande page blanche qu’est la Toile, il y a de la place pour le pire comme pour le meilleur. Et bien souvent, ce sont les prophètes de malheur qui tartinent des inepties. On n’a qu’à penser, entre autres, aux tenants de la « biologie totale », aux détracteurs des vaccins, et autres obscurantistes. Espérons que la NASA saura convaincre… |
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| I’m happy to report I’m not an addict
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2009-06-08 10:46:06 Society |
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I recently read an article that diagnosed the ten signs of work addiction. While in my pre-parenthood days, I could easily work 60 to 70 hours of week without blinking, things have changed. That whole elusive work-life balance issue never hits you more forcefully than when you have a family to answer to. And yes, I still have the same drive and commitment to working hard, and I love the world of communications and public relations, but I’m happy to declare, according to the book Chained to the Desk, I am not a work addict.
Yes, I have some addict-like habits, like I am often in a rush and skip exercise (numbers 1 and 10), but I wouldn’t say I am “no fun” (number 6) or especially “irritable” (number 8). The authors have identified the 10 most common bad habits that would identify you as being a workaholic, a concept smacks of the late 90’s, for some reason, and seems a little dated. But it goes to prove, even in an economic downturn, the top 10 list concept always works. We want to know, preferably in ten, easily digestible steps, how to tell if our partners love us, if we’re working too much, how to improve our diet, stain our deck or get our in-laws to like us. The concept of Top 10 is such a common communications crutch that there is even a website devoted to the concept at www.toptenz.net. For example, today’s lists include the Top 10 Weirdest Political Parties, 10 Great Live Performances of the 1960’s and 70’s, and Top 10 Bizarre and Unusual Tragedies. Not that these are all attention-getters on their own, but group them together and name them the top 10 in their field/sector/domain/area of interest, and suddenly you have a topic worth debating. So, if I take the 10 top signs of work addiction to heart, I am relieved to know that I am not a work addict (just an occasional “user”?? Don’t get hooked, kids!). And in reading Harvard Business Review's Top 10 mistakes made by poor leaders, it seems pretty clear that being a bad leader and a workaholic are not unrelated (both are impatient, can’t collaborate and don’t have good relationships). So thank you Top 10 lists, and here’s one tip I’ve managed to grasp: it’s important to have good leadership and a healthy work life! |
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| The art of writing speeches
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2009-06-08 10:41:46 PR Agency |
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I must admit, I was pretty impressed on Thursday as I listened to Barack Obama give a speech from Cairo mainly directed towards the Muslim world. Intended to heal and build bridges but also articulate the positions of the new administration, it was an excellent example of skilled rhetoric at work.
An effective speech consists of a talented orator, which Obama is (appropriately placed pauses, punctuating hand gestures, fluidity and quality of tone) and great content. Great content is defined by impactful, resonant and concise messages, relevancy to the audience (in this case, multiple quotes from the Koran), allegory and anecdotes (references to his own personal connections with Islam). I have been writing speeches for years and it is one of my not-so-secret pleasures in the world of public relations that I get to do this from time to time for a variety of speakers. The key to good speech-writing, as I learned long ago working with an ex-speechwriter for Pierre Trudeau, is not to only compose good text but write it as though the person who will be giving the speech would have said these words naturally. Capturing tone and style is easier, of course, when you have a naturally gifted speaker like President Obama. Assuming his “voice” in a speech is made simpler because he has a definite mastery and approach that a truly good speech writer could capitalize upon. Obama has a couple of very talented speechwriters in his roster, and the architect of this particular speech was Ben Rhodes, the MFA-in-Fiction-bearing staffer who specializes in foreign policy. His creation was a smart blend of analogy and historical reference, solidly based on some clear position statements, what we would call key messages. I loved it especially for its simplicity, which is also crucial when you know you are going to be translated into other languages (at least 13 by the State Department itself). But I also thought it was particularly successful because it came across as authentic and genuine, not just statements being made for the sake of political expediency, but because they were meant and will be acted upon. And we all need a little more of the real thing. |
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| Prix d'excellence 2009 de la SQPRP...suite
Johanna Raynaud |
2009-06-04 09:48:45 Agence de RP |
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 Lors du gala de remise des Prix d’excellence 2009, nous avons eu le plaisir de voir 26 finalistes récompensés. La liste des récipiendaires des Prix est accessible en ligne au www.sqprp.ca.
Pour ceux et celles qui souhaiteraient voir le gala en images, voici les liens vers les sites des deux photographes de la soirée : Marc Gibert d’Adecom et Nicolas Gallenne. Merci à tous les bénévoles, partenaires et commanditaires de la soirée ! |
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