Public speaking, media training, presentation training, crisis communications
About TJ
TJWalker.com is a news site featuring communications analysis of the top stories of the day. I am looking at the news through the filter of how the messages are communicated and how the newsmakers are communicating.
The site is for news junkies, public affairs hounds, and people who work in or have an interest in any of the communications industries, including public relations, journalism, marketing, public affairs, corporate communications, investor relations and crisis counseling.
The point of TJWalker is to create a better understanding of communication and to learn what to do from great practitioners in the news and to learn what not to do from people who screw up in the news. (And in any given week, a newsmaker might be used as an example for both).
Because TJWalker is all about communication, I don’t limit myself to just text on a blog. That’s why every day (Monday through Friday) at 2:00 PM (Eastern, USA) we have a live TV show right here at tjwalker.com. You and anyone else can ask me questions, give your opinions or just tell me you think I’m wrong. You can see and hear me and hold me accountable for everything I write and say. This is also why I put up at least several videos every day on YouTube and other video file sharing sits. And I put up our live daily show on iTunes for people who prefer to listen to their information. And yes, we try to put up new pictures and photos on a regular basis. I believe in trying to communicate with people in as many different formats as possible to make it easy and convenient for them. That’s why we do daily text articles, plus live and on –demand TV and radio.
So who am I to do this? First, I am a lifelong passionate consumer of news, media and speeches. As a boy growing up in North Carolina in the 70s, I marveled at how Jesse Helms rode to power as a TV, radio and newspaper columnist. For the last 25 years I have built a thriving practice teaching people how to be better presenters. I have personally trained Presidents of countries, Prime ministers, CEOs, U.S. Senators, Nobel Peace Prize winners, Miss Universes, Members of Parliament and professional athletes. You might not always agree with my analysis of a given newsmaker in the spotlight, but you can rest assured that I am giving opinions that are based on real world experience, not simply an academic or armchair perspective. And I try to practice what I preach. In any given week I may be a guest analyst on a dozen or more TV or radio news programs. I post all of them here for you to critique and judge.
I am fortunate to have a great teamwork with me here at TJWalker Interactive and at Media Training Worldwide. Kris Gentile, Mike Bako, Jennifer Wallerstein and our large team of interns do a fantastic job of reporting, producing, analyzing, and creating content for TJWalker and without them the site would look like one long email. But the site is primarily written by me and is a reflection of my voice and principles. So if you don’t like something here, you are better off directing your concerns to me.
A word about bias. Yes, of course, everyone has some bias. I am no exception. But the point of TJWalker is not to advance one political agenda over the other; it is to understand how ideas are communicated. For people who come to TJWalker for the first time, they may encounter me criticizing the public speaking or media skills of a politician or party they like, so their immediate knee-jerk reaction is to criticize me as being a partisan with an axe to grind for the other side. This is assuredly not the case.
For those who frequent TJWalker on a regular basis for a couple lf months, you will eventually see me praise AND vilify the people you like the most and do the same to people you find anathema. Indeed, I have praised the communication skills of Clinton, Reagan, Jesse Jackson and Hitler. And I’ve attacked another Clinton, John McCain, and Fidel Castro. If I haven’t offended you yet, then you aren’t trying hard enough.
The number one bias I have is in favor of interesting, memorable and moving communication over boring, unmemorable or un-planned negative communication. I leave it to the millions of other blogs to judge the policy and philosophy coherence flowing from the newsmakers’ mouths. I am focused on how they communicate and how effectively they communicate.
If you have suggestions on news topics you’d like me to comment on, please send them to me directly at tj@tjwalker.com
More about TJ Walker
CEO, Media Training Worldwide
TJ Walker has been called the leading speaking expert / media trainer in the world by Bloomberg TV, Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” and Fox News.
Best Selling Author: Walker is the author of 5 books including the #1 national bestseller “TJ Walker’s Secret to Foolproof Presentations,” (#1 USA Today, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and #1 Amazon bestseller. His newest title “How to Give A Pretty Good Presentation” will be in bookstores August 2010. Previous books include “Media Training A-Z” and “Presentation Training A-Z”.
Media Training / Presentation & Speaker Training: With more than 25 years of experience, Walker has been the personal presentation / media coach to Presidents, Prime Ministers, CEOs, US Senators, Super Bowl Winners, and Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Keynote Speaker: TJ Walker gives more than 100 keynote speeches and training sessions a year on leadership communication, media and presentation skills. His most popular keynote is “Bully Pulpits: Speaking Secrets of World Famous Leaders.”
Record Setter : A speaking record setter, in 2009 Walker set the Guinness record for most interviews given in a 24 hour period (112 stations.)
Newsmaker: TJ Walker is a communications commentator on the Reuters Insider Network. Walker is also a frequent news commentator, and been featured numerous times on the following networks: CNN, Headline News, ABC-TV, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Court TV, Bloomberg TV, CBS Sunday Morning,Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” National Public Radio, ABC Radio, NBC Radio, CBS Radio, and Westwood One.
Social Media : Host of the #1 daily speaking-related Internet TV show seen on YouTube and syndicated throughout the Internet, The TJ Walker Show. Walker is also seen frequently on Foxnews.com and WallStreetJournal.com.
Online Learning: A pioneer in adapting technology, TJ Walker has developed the first interactive online presentation and media training courses (at TJwalker.com) allowing students to rehears, record, and playback their video from the privacy of their home or office.
Education: Walker was a Merit Scholar at Duke University where he graduated magna cum laude. He has lectured or trained at Yale University, Columbia University and Princeton University.
Wordwide: Walker is also known internationally as a European Television Beauty Pageant Judge, and is a personal presentation coach to Miss Universes, Miss Teen USA, Miss Serbia, Miss Australia, Miss Panama, Miss Russia and others.
CLICKABLE VIDEO CLIPS:
#1 by yalanda comeaux on November 29, 2010 - 7:35 pm
Hello, I heard you on Cliff Kelly’s show this evening.
yalanda comeaux
19505 Lake Lynwood dr.
Lynwood, Illinois 60411
q24hrrn@hotmail.com
Thanks.
#2 by Tim Blau on January 19, 2011 - 10:13 am
Is this the TJ Walker that used to be in COPA? Tampa and Jacksonville FL? Let me know..and please visit my websites.
http://www.angrymlmguy.com
http://www.teamreactive.com
http://www.miracules.info
Tim
#3 by TJ Walker on January 19, 2011 - 10:23 am
I don’t know what copa is, but I did live in Tampa and Tallahassee at one point. There are photos and videos of me everywhere on my site fyi.
#4 by TJ Walker on February 8, 2011 - 4:53 pm
Thanks for sharing. I respect Seth a great deal.
#5 by David Breed on February 15, 2011 - 11:53 pm
based on your statement “A word about bias. Yes, of course, everyone has some bias. I am no exception.”
you seem to want people to know that you try to be as honest as possible in your reporting. so what are your bias’s. are you anti-christian, or anti jew, or anti muslim, or athiest or other faith or lack thereof.
are you anti homosexual. are you liberal, centrist or conservative.
is there some religion, way of life, or political ideology you have no problem reporting against or actually enjoy only the worst parts of in order to help attack said way of life in your reporting instead of reporting non biased facts.
are you a journalist before a nationality or religion.
#6 by TJ Walker on February 16, 2011 - 2:59 pm
Hi David,
Thanks for writing. Yes I do have biases, as all people do, and yes I try to be honest. But if I tell you every single bias/preference/belief I have in life, then anytime I criticize the speaking skills of someone I have to face a barrage of criticism that my criticisms are invalid because of my bias. And this is, frankly, a waste of time for everyone involved . A couple of clarifications regarding your comment. I don’t do “reporting” and I’m not a “journalist.” I am a communications/speaking/media expert. I am providing communications analysis of people and issues in the news. That’s it. I have a unique ability to critique people’s communication skills regardless of how I feel about their politics. I have praised Hitler as a speaker and Obama. If you look at my posts from 4 years ago, you will see that I wrote that Romney and Huckabee were the star communicators of the new Republican candidates in the first debate of that season. And now they are running first and second in most Republican polls for 2012. So I have a firm track record of objectivity in that no honest person can cite evidence of me criticizing people I don’t like and praising people I do like politically.