By Peter Faur

If you're a speechwriter living anywhere in the Snow Belt, take a break and clear your head with a trip to Scottsdale, Ariz. You can do so guilt-free Feb. 24-25 by attending Communitelligence's two-day seminar on Executive Communications and Speechwriting in the New Media Age.

You'll learn:

• The best ways to keep the matter of reputation on the minds of senior executives.
• The strategic opportunities - and risks - for executive communications in the new media age.
• What executives want from their public relations staffs to help build and safeguard reputations.
• What the future holds for reputation management and corporate leadership.

A highlight of the seminar will be "Speechwriting Jam Session 2010," led by Vital Speeches of the Day editor David Murray. Through dramatic readings from winners of the 2010 Cicero Speechwriting Awards and highlight reels from the Vital Speeches YouTube site, Murray will share excerpts from speeches contemporary and classic, famous and rare. (In the true spirit of an improvisational jam session, you’ll have a chance to nominate some of your own YouTube favorites, so come prepared!)

For those living in and around Phoenix, the seminar also presents an opportunity for a close-up look at the area's most interesting new office building, the North American headquarters of Henkel AG, which owns the Dial Corp. This building is LEED-certified and incorporates a variety of sustainable building elements.

If you sign up by Feb. 15, you can deduct $100 from the two-day fee of $895. I'll be moderating one of the panel sessions, and I'd love to meet a few of you.

Grammar tip: There's no need to say "oftentimes." The word "often" will suffice.

        

By Peter Faur

We're not close, but I've had the privilege of meeting Kurt and Brenda Warner on several occasions. They were gracious enough to attend a fundraiser in 2008 for the Phoenix Zoo, which I serve as a board member, and my wife and I have had the opportunity to attend events in support of their foundation, First Things First. There's not much I can add to all that's already been said about both of them. I can testify, however, that they are the real deal.

I was living in St. Louis in 1999, the year Kurt emerged from obscurity to play a key role in leading the ragtag Rams from worst to first. I attended the last game he played for the New York Giants, against the Arizona Cardinals, before he lost his starting quarterback position to Eli Manning. Living in Phoenix, I watched his time with the Cardinals become the final, triumphant stage of his career. I was there at his last home game for the Cardinals, that heart-stopping 51-45 victory over the Green Bay Packers. I've never seen another career quite like his. What he achieved on the field is remarkable. What he achieved inside his head and heart is more remarkable still.

Kurt's not regretting his retirement for one second, it seems. He knows the roles of philanthropist, father and husband are still there for him, and he's eager to to take them on fully. It's been gratifying to watch Kurt and Brenda, through First Things First, collect winter coats for needy kids in St. Louis, help provide homes for single-mom households in Phoenix, and raise money for flood victims in their native Iowa. (You can see them in the photo above helping out during the Iowa floods. Brenda's in the white cap.) They'll be moving on to even bigger roles of service now.

I have friends who say the Warners' openness about Christianity makes them uncomfortable. The thing I respect about both Kurt and Brenda, however, is they appear in no way to be judgmental about other people. They're not here to judge, they're here to help. That, coupled with an unrelenting pursuit of excellence, make these folks unusual and extraordinary.

There are plenty of self-righteous evangelists giving Christianity a bad name as they declare that specific floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes are God's punishment against some group they don't like. Don't confuse Kurt and Brenda with these legalistic pot stirrers. They're not looking to put other people down but to pull them up. We should all be trying to join or emulate them.

Grammar tip: Keep related words together, or you'll confuse your reader. Don't say, "He noticed a large dent in the car that was on the side." Say, "He noticed a large dent on the side of the car."

        

By Peter Faur

I've been driving alone a lot this week. This afternoon, I began thinking about movies that have mattered to me, and I gave myself a quick exercise: Without any deliberation, name the first movie that comes to mind from each decade of my life. Here's my list:

• Decade One (0 to 9 years old): Old Yeller (1957). I still remember how the tears flowed when that dog had to be shot. I'd heard of rabies, but I had no idea how ugly they could be.
• Decade Two (10 to 19): Help (1965). Looking back on it, this film was more labored than the Beatles first movie, A Hard Day's Night. I remember it because I saw it with a good friend, John Northlake, and we saw it in one of the old, ornate movie palaces in downtown St. Louis, Loew's State. The music lives on, but there will never be movie theaters like this again - a single screen and more than 3,400 seats.
• Decade Three (20 to 29): Straw Dogs (1971). Ok, it's violent and it's crude, and for haters of Sam Peckinpah, it's all the ammunition they need to skewer him. I found it cathartic. Dustin Hoffman's character, David Summer, is a milquetoast mathematician who gets pushed once too often by a taunting wife and a gang of bullies. He becomes a one-man war machine as he stands up for a mentally disabled man. By the time the fighting ends, he's thrown boiling oil on some of the bad guys, killed one with a fire poker and taken out another with a bear trap around the neck! It's powerful, primitive stuff.
• Decade Four (30 to 39): Return of the Jedi (1983). The good guys won, and the special effects were state of the art. But the reason I remember this movie is that it was an early lesson in fatherhood. My son, Paul, was 3 at the time and wanted to see the movie. OK by me, I thought, underestimating how it might scare the bejabbers out of him. We stayed until the end, but he ended up sitting in my lap, turning away when it got too intense for him. Needless to say, I gave more thought to movies we saw after that. On a good note, he turned out to be a wonderful, creative young man, so no permanent harm, I guess.
• Decade Five (40 to 49): American Beauty (1999). There's no better film to capture the antsiness and anxiety of midlife. Too bad that Kevin Spacey's character, Lester Burnham, met such an untimely death. Once he worked all the craziness out of his system, there's no telling what he might have achieved.
• Decade Six (50 to 59): O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). After Fargo, I was already a fan of the Coen brothers. This movie was so quirky, so funny, and looking back, it seems like such a perfect way to launch the new millennium, a really good laugh before the downward spiral of the decade.

These aren't all great movies, and there are many that I personally hold in higher regard. But for whatever reason, these are the ones that came to mind first. That's my list; what's yours? Play along. We all know, of course, that the younger you are, the shorter your list will be.

Grammar tip: People often mistakenly use the word "if" when they really mean "whether." Use "if" to express a condition: You may borrow my car if you have proof of insurance. Use "whether" to express alternatives: She didn't know whether she should go or not.

        

By Peter Faur

If you find yourself struggling to decide whether it's the "people's court" or the "peoples' court," if you're not sure whether to use "like" or "as" in a sentence, help is just a few keystrokes away. There's an abundance of great grammar, usage and spelling resources on the Web. Here are nine I use often:

1. Grammar Girl - Mignon Fogarty has made a name for herself as the Web's grammar guru. Check out her Web site, and go to iTunes to subscribe to her podcasts.
2. AP Stylebook Online - A year's subscription will cost you $25, but it's well worth it to stay current on usage and grammar. This is the stylebook of choice for most commercial publications in the U.S. (Within the past couple of years, AP decreed that it's OK now to use "U.S." instead of United States as a noun, not just an adjective. It's not OK, however, to use "ok" or "okay."
3. Judy Vorfeld's Webgrammar - Not sure whether you should use "due to" or "because of"? Check with Judy.
4. Ask Oxford - This sounds very British, I know. The publishers of the Oxford dictionaries operate the site. Don't worry; they provide a link for American spelling.
5. The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar - SPOGG describes itself as a site for pen-toters appalled by wanton displays of Bad English.
6. The Purdue Online Writing Lab - Who knew that Boilermakers could be so passionate about English?
7. Suite101.com -  This will take you to a number of other helpful grammar links.
8. The Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar - You can even learn the lost art of diagramming sentences here!
9. Life123.com - This is primarily a site to help parents teach grammar to their children, but the rules are the same whether you're you're 8 or 80, right?

Can you help round out the list to an even 10? Where do you find grammar help on the Web?

Grammar tip: The word "try" should be followed by an infinitive. Say "try to fix it," not "try and fix it."

        

By Peter Faur

I've left a few jobs over the years, always for what I saw as better opportunities. Sometimes I was right, sometimes I was wrong, but I've never regretted leaving to try something new.

Often, as I was packing my belongings to move to the next assignment, a fellow worker would offer the observation that now, I was headed for "the real world." The implication was that our common employer was so hidebound or backward that it was out of touch. Also buried in the comment was the notion that somehow, we were being held back from doing our best work and achieving our best results.

I suppose my leaving lent support to the idea, but I never had much use for it. My employer must have been doing something right to succeed. It was at least holding its own in the real world. When I left, it was for greater responsibility or more pay and benefits. (Here's a tip: The one time I left only for more pay and benefits turned out to be a disaster. The temptation is strong, but if nothing else of substance is in place, resist it.) 

I've always believed that wherever I work, I'm in the real world, and I'm there to help my employer succeed. If I have some insights that might help the employer engage more effectively, I should share them, especially as a public relations practitioner.

The job of public relations is twofold. We help employers and clients engage and communicate more effectively. But even more, we help them understand the environment in which their words and actions will be received. In short, we help them understand the real world. (And the truth is, good clients and employers have taught me far more about the real world than I've taught them.)

If you believe you're being held back by your employer from engaging effectively in "the real world," it might be true. It might also be true, however, that you're creating an excuse for yourself. If you focus on finding ways to help your employer succeed, and offer your ideas in the right spirit, you just might find yourself in the real world after all.

Grammar tip: The phrase "in regard to" is often incorrectly written as "in regards to." The phrase "as regards" is correct, however, and means the same thing.

        

By Peter Faur

I've admired Roger Ebert's skills as a movie critic for three decades. His health setbacks of recent years haven't stopped him from telling us what he thinks of the latest efforts of actors and directors.

From the start, Ebert has given us an honest take on what he sees in the screening room. He didn't hesitate to call Dirty Harry "fascist." He stood up for Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ. He told Rob Schneider that his movie, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, in a word, "sucks."

What I like most about Ebert is his sense of self. He became widely known to most Americans during the years he and fellow critic Gene Siskel appeared together on TV. At times you thought they'd break out into a brawl over their disagreements. Of Siskel, Ebert once said: "The difference between us is this: Siskel thinks it's his job to beat Ebert. I think it's my job to be Ebert."

That's a great perspective, not only for those involved in creative occupations but for anyone. All we bring to our work, finally, is our skills and judgment. When we start to see ourselves in competition with others, we can ignore our best instincts and give our employers and clients the advice we think they want to hear, not what they should hear. That can be the way to win the career game short term, but those who truly make a difference know when to risk themselves and voice advice that's difficult to hear.

It's our job to deliver the best work and the best thinking we can. If you have trouble mustering the confidence to do that, check out this advice from the Harvard Business Review. It will give you some tips on dealing with another kind of critic, your inner critic. In Twenty Ten, learn to give yourself a break so you can contribute more of yourself to your employer, family and friends.

Grammar tip: Are you still unsure about whether you can start a sentence with "And" or "But"? Relax. You'll find some good advice about this at Get It Write.

        

By Peter Faur

The clock above serves as an entertaining (although agonizingly slow) timer that you can use on Web sites, blogs, etc. The penguins love to chase your cursor. Try it!

You can find these gadgets and more at the ABowman Web site. It's a little something to play with on Christmas Day. Enjoy, and have a Merry Christmas!

(There's no grammar tip today. Feel free to commit your favorite grammar mistake. Another gift from me to you.)

        

By Peter Faur

With 2009 about to fade away, let's take a quick look back at some of this year's public relations heroes, goats and villains. When faced with a communications opportunity or challenge, these folks handled it well, dropped the ball or tried to manipulate it unscrupulously for their own purposes.

The Good

1. Ford Motor Company. Ford has been impressive in so many ways this year. Its social media guru, Scott Monty (@scottmonty) has become an effective representative for Ford on Twitter and in other venues. He uses his position to foster honest, open relationships. Ford is developing a line of vehicles that are both appealing and keep environmental concerns in mind. The company was the only one of America's Big Three to work through its financial issues without outside help. It has turned in a solid performance on many fronts.
2. US Airways. The airline was handed perhaps the best commercial pilot story ever when Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger safely landed his plane in the Hudson River after a potentially tragic encounter with geese. Instead of leaning on its employee to hit the news circuit immediately, the company gave him time to recover and regroup. I never had the feeling that he was pushed to do anything more than he wanted. As a result, we got to admire him without tiring of him, and the airline was able to bask in the glow of uniformly positive coverage.
3. David Letterman.  Many people will never be able to forgive his indiscretions, but regardless, from a communications standpoint, he handled his story as well as it could be handled. He followed the tried-and-true advice of getting all the bad news out at once, being candid with his story, apologizing to those he had harmed and being as humble as possible.

The Bad

1. Kanye West. When your candidate loses, be gracious. Don't interrupt an award winner on national TV to say why someone else should have won! (And let's add Beyonce to the good column for being so gracious to Taylor Swift later during the Video Music Awards.)
2. The fired White House PR guy who flew Air Force One near the Statue of Liberty for a costly, panic-inducing photo op. Don't do that to the people of New York after all they've suffered!
3. Caroline Kennedy's on-again, off-again declaration about whether she wanted to take Hillary Clinton's seat in the U.S. Senate. She appeared simultaneously indecisive and opportunistic.

1. The birthers. It's certainly anyone's right to disagree with President Obama. But to keep up the allegation that he was not born in the United States, long after the issue has been laid to rest, is just irresponsible.
2. Sarah Palin and the death panelists. Again, we know there was no provision in the health care bill to set up government boards to rule on who lives and who dies and when they live and die. This was fear-mongering at its worst.
3. Rush Limbaugh. When dropped by the partnership looking to buy the St. Louis Rams because his past comments about race and other issues made him unwelcome in the NFL, Limbaugh couldn't just let it be. His take on the situation: "This is about the ongoing effort by the left in this country, wherever you find them, in the media, the Democrat Party, or wherever, to destroy conservatism, to prevent the mainstreaming of anyone who is prominent as a conservative. Therefore, this is about the future of the United States of America and what kind of country we're going to have."

In a special category, The Clueless, we can enshrine Tiger Woods. I'm sad to see him implode as he has, and at first, I was on the side of those who believed he deserved his privacy. At this point, however, he has dug himself a hole so deep that he will never re-emerge without engagement with the public, remorse, and an effort to somehow atone for what has happened. I doubt that he'll ever regain his stature or anything close to it. I know he won't have a chance without an intelligent strategy for public engagement.

There's my list. Who would you add?

Grammar tip: Take some time over the holidays to review Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. You'll see something new every time you read it. 

        

By Peter Faur