Brazil's Presidential Election Run-off To Rely on Candidates' PR & Communication Skills

Online, October 5, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The Brazilian presidential election, which has narrowed to two candidates headed towards an October 31st run-off, will depend upon the two candidates honing and developing their communication and debate skills, according to communications and media strategist and coach, Matt Eventoff, founder of Princeton Public Speaking and one of the country's leading experts on public speaking, debate preparation and media training.

Eventoff notes: "For those who still believe communication skills do not matter in elections, look no further than Sunday night's upset in Brazil. President Lula da Silva's handpicked candidate and former chief of staff, Dilma Rousseff, is now headed toward an Oct 31st runoff against Jose Serra. Ms. Rousseff was widely predicted to win easily on Sunday night. The question: Why did this happen? The answer: Communication skills. Ms. Rousseff is widely viewed as lacking the charisma and communication skills of her mentor. Even though 'winning' the only major debate a week ago, Ms. Rousseff, along with Mr. Serra and the other major candidates, failed to impress in the final debate. President Lula has an 81% approval rating and could not have supported Ms. Rousseff more, proving once again that popularity and charisma are not necessarily transferable. One thing is for sure, the race is now truly a race and the candidate who connects in the next four weeks wins. In a runoff the debates matter; Politics often offers second chances, and both candidates now have one."

Eventoff remarks that both candidates would benefit from speech coaching/media training, as communication skills over the next several weeks may determine the next President and suggests that each candidate might want to take the following recommendations into consideration: "Ms. Rousseff needs to establish herself as an independent personality - I would advise actually using self-deprecating comments around Lula's popularity and the press hits calling her a 'techno-crat.' Mr. Serra needs to be more forward when debating, especially addressing his opponent directly. The debate will really offer him the best opportunity to capture public opinion as a once crowded field is now down to two."

For over 15 years, Matt Eventoff and Princeton Public Speaking has served as a communications and media strategist and resource for Fortune 500 CEOs, political leaders in the United States and abroad, nationally-recognized litigators, celebrities and leaders from various other industries. Matt's specialties include message development and training, media coaching, and crisis media management. He has successfully prepared clients to appear on nearly every network and major cable news program, including 60 Minutes, 20/20, Nightline, Dateline, Frontline, Hardball, and Good Morning America. Eventoff is also regularly retained by prominent litigators for his ability to identify key messages that have led to multi-million dollar settlements.

Eventoff is a frequent lecturer on crisis communications, public speaking and interacting with the media at top universities - including Wharton, University of Pennsylvania, University of Maryland, Rutgers University, Notre Dame and Academy of Science in Ukraine. He is also an active participant in the community, serving as a board member with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters-Mercer County and the Cinque Foundation. In addition, he regularly volunteers with young men and women from disadvantaged backgrounds, helping them to discover their individual communication style.

Matt is the co-author of "History's Greatest Leaders and You," and is frequently cited by leading publications and news outlets on issues related to communication, including Business week, Bloomberg Report, Associated Press, BBC, Newsweek and the Washington Post, among others. In 2010, his efforts were recognized when he was named to NJBIZ's prestigious "Forty Under 40" list. Matt received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Maryland and his master's from the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Nicole, reside in Lawrenceville, NJ.

For more information on Princeton Public speaking, visit:
www.princetonpublicspeaking.com