Thoughts for leaders
Written by Mark Terry-Lush, here you’ll find viewpoints on the issues that matter in business communications, particularly authenticy, creativity, consumer trust, and brand purpose.
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In the clip economy, a dodge doesn't look like a dodge. It looks like a guilty face and a pause long enough to cut. Here's why "no comment" is never the answer, the four tools I teach spokespeople instead, and what the Palace, Ed Sheeran and Travelodge show about how to decline.
The spokesperson who gets quoted isn't the cleverest in the room. It's the one who spoke in headlines. After a BBC reporter couldn't use a second of my five-minute interview, I changed how I approach media training: learn your lines like a song, not a script.
Media training still prepares people for the interview. Nobody watches the interview. A five-minute answer now becomes ten to fifteen clips, posted by strangers on platforms you don't control. The question isn't "what are my key messages?" It's "which ten seconds of me will they use?"
A communications strategy lesson: most campaigns lose because they argue with the stated objection, not the structural one. Here's how reframing wins instead — with a worked example from a live Westminster test.
Caspar’s Chapter: The Boy at the Quay A dog knows a wrong thing long before a man can name it. That is
How do you turn three frustrated landlords into a 650-strong national movement in under six weeks? In this behind-the-scenes breakdown of HOOP – Hands Off Our Pubs – Mark Terry-Lush reveals the real mechanics of movement building: strategic clarity, coalition before coverage, disciplined media sequencing, and policy-led pressure that politicians cannot ignore. This is what modern PR leadership actually looks like.
