Wednesday, January 28, 2015

FIR on Higher Education #27: Professor Cynthia Bulik on How to Deliver Your Message to the Media

This link will take you to a terrific CBS media interview conducted by University of North Carolina Professor Cynthia Bulik, an expert on eating disorders. Impressively, she answers six different questions in a three-minute time period. She communicates all her key talking points and even gets her book mentioned. How does she accomplish this, and how can you do the same? On episode 27, Cynthia shares some of her best practice. Among her key points:

• “Research doesn’t do a whole lot if it just stays in the ivory tower.”

• “My goal is to take what I do and find the lowest common denominator of vocabulary so that the maximum number of people can understand it.”

• “A concise message is a clear message. You don’t want to have to go digging through to find what the kernel is. I want the kernel to be front and center.”

• “Get media training and do it often.”

• “Watch yourself. So many people will do an interview and then say ‘Oh I can’t watch or listen to that.’ But you are your best critic. Have your parents watch it, have your friends watch and have them give you honest feedback. Find someone who can tell you what you are doing wrong.”

If you want to improve in how you come across in media interviews, you won’t want to miss hearing Cynthia’s insights. Ditto if you are communicator looking to provide insights to your colleagues. 

In our reports section, I share some thoughts on academics can avoid jargon, while technology correspondent Harry Hawk previews an interview he did with Dan Zaiontz, author of #FollowTheLeader, which highlights lessons in social media success from university presidents.

About Cynthia Bulik
Cynthia M. Bulik, Ph.D., FAED, is Distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders in the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is also Professor of Nutrition in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and founding director of the UNC Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders. She is also Co-Director of the UNC Center for Psychiatric Genomics. Dr. Bulik is also professor of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. She is passionate about translating science for the public.

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This episode is sponsored in part by Experiential Communications’ Media Training for Academics program.

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About Your Host
Kevin AnselmoKevin Anselmo is the Founder and Principal of Experiential Communications, a consultancy focused on education. He helps brands within academia - whether individual or corporate - communicate with stakeholders. He also is the creator and instructor of the Media Training for Academics program.

Previously, Kevin was Director of Public Relations for Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and prior to that managed the media relations for IMD Business School in Switzerland. In addition, he was an adjunct communications professor at Nyack College in New York.

Currently based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Kevin lived and worked in Switzerland for eight years and in Germany for two years. He has led public relations initiatives in various countries around the world.

Find Kevin on Twitter: @kevinanselmo.

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Posted by Kevin Anselmo on 01/28 at 03:27 AM
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