Storm Warning! RAT Rain May be in the Forecast

The Florida rat story has a fascinating sponsorship chapter!  

Written by Robyn T. Braley

Tonight is the night! The Stanley Cup will be awarded to whichever team perseveres. The question is! Will the ice surface be covered with orange and blue Oil, or will there be a Rain of Rats?

If Mathew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers win, it will be rats! If Conner McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers win, it will be rabid fans who have flown 4,120 km on an 8-hour flight to spill onto the ice dressed in colorful orange and blue costumes the minute the final whistle blows. Either way, the cup finals have been the stuff sports legends.  

Rat Legend

As the Florida Panthers emerged from the NHL's Eastern Conference to meet the Western champion Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 Stanley Cup final, the story of the rat storm of 1996 bubbled to the surface.

Do you remember the story? A legend grew out of a single, slightly disgusting act involving a rat! Disgusting, that is, unless you are a fan of rat extermination.

Sponsorship Basics: What You Need to Know

 

Sponsorship can play an important role in your marketing strategies. 

Written by Robyn T. Braley

Do you find sponsorship confusing? If you are a business or community leader, you must understand how and why it works.

I was the sponsorship manager for several years for Alberta's provincial educational TV and radio network, ACCESS NETWORK. Later, with my company, Unimark Creative, I set up and managed client sponsorship funding. Finally, as a Rotarian and community activist, I have helped package sponsorships supporting various projects.

Brand Synergy

You must ask two questions before digging too deeply into sponsorship function or structure.

1. Is there brand synergy between the sponsor and the cause or event?
2. What could go wrong?
3. What would the consequences be? 

The Big Question

Does sponsorship work? That's a good question.

Master the Art of Writing for an Online Audience

 

Practical ways to help readers better understand what you mean.

Written by Robyn T. Braley

Tips for improving audience engagement when writing emails, social media content and website posts!

We’ve all received them—emails with random subject lines and content that rambles on forever. We’ve all seen Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blog, or website posts, which are one big blob that is a challenge to read!

Writing online content requires a different approach than writing for essays, reports, magazines or newspapers. What I share will also make information in printed proposals or reports easier to read. 

Why is this Important?

Strong online communication skills are important for leaders and frontline workers. We want to be better understood by others and to better understand them as we exchange ideas online. 

Make Them Listen! Performance Tips for Speakers

Speaker performance tips to help make your audience listen!

Have you spent hours preparing for an important speech only to have it fail to connect with your audience? Raise your public speaking game by incorporating my performance tips to help engage your audience and leave a lasting impression. 

The worst review any speaker can receive is to be called boring. Creating engaging speech content is the first step to engagement. 

The second step is to bring life to your presentation through performance. What you say is often less important than the way you say it.  

Seven Cs For Success

1. Confidence – preparation, presentation, owning the stage
2. Credibility – being seen as the expert
3. Content – relevant, resonating
4. Connecting – read the room to engage
5. Context – know the room's physical properties
6. Control – microphones, music, slide show, video
7. Communication – putting it all together

Connecting – Reading the Room

Reading the room helps understand the mood of the audience. Non-verbal cues signal whether their emotional level is high or low. When people nap, it's time to adjust your delivery style. 

Other Posts in This Series

How to Write Speeches That Move People!

Speech Presentation Options for Successful Speakers

Tech Check Tips For Public Speakers, MCs, Comics, and Funeral Eulagizers