David Snell

David Snell – the principal of Snell Communications – is a former ABC News Correspondent who covered everything from Vietnam to presidential campaigns; from Main Street to Wall Street. He has also taught television news writing and reporting at the Grady School of Jou alism, University of Georgia and in New Delhi, India where he was part of a team that prepared 250 journalists for the launch of CNN-IBN (Indian Broadcasting Network). In twenty years of consulting, David has worked with Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and major law firms, helping clients translate complex information into clear, concise, everyday language.

Experience

Network Television

David’s experience in network television gives him special insight about what goes into making effective presentations. During his thirteen years as a correspondent for ABC News, he had two tours in Vietnam, covered presidential campaigns and anchored the Houston Desk on Apollo moon flights. He also did hundreds of stories and thousands of interviews involving businesses large and small and a wide variety of government agencies.

Early Consulting Starting his consulting career by helping to prepare electric utility executives for media interviews surrounding a rate case, David ended up working with witnesses in that case as well. The principles, it turned out, were the same. To communicate effectively with a regulatory body – or reporters – it was important to simplify. KISS-Plus His early experiences included helping an engineer explain a multi-billion dollar cost overrun on the construction of a nuclear plant. David encouraged the engineer to begin by explaining how new regulations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had driven the cost of a simple bolt from ten cents to over three dollars. It was the beginning of the KISS-Plus Formula; combining Keep It Simple, Stupid with memorable, everyday examples and colorful analogies. Workshops

Growing out of his experience, David has developed media, speech and witness training workshops that give participants experience with real-world situations in a supportive environment. He also helped develop a Logic-In-Communications Workshop teaching a logic formula, which can be used in preparing all written and oral communications. It is especially helpful to engineers, accountants and others explaining complicated material to non-technical audiences.

Writing

In nearly two decades of consulting, David has written numerous speeches for executives and ghost-writte Op-ed pieces and articles, including one – in Public Utilities Fortnightly – that used humor to help defeat deferred tax legislation that would have been harmful to privately owned public utilities and their customers.

PUBLICATION

Mike Fright: How to Succeed In Media Interviews When Mike Wallace Comes Calling, (Published by Effective Communications, 1999)

“Your book is terrific.” Fraser Seitel, Publisher, The Public Relations Strategist

“I read your book. It’s damn good.” Mike Wallace, CBS News 60-Minutes

“This is the best book yet about handling the often rocky terrain of media interviews. Drawing on thirteen years experience as a network news correspondent and nearly twenty years as a communications consultant, David Snell delivers the goods in the same highly anecdotal style that has kept him in demand as a speaker and trainer. If you meet the media, Mike Fright is a must buy.” William C. Adams, Associate Professor of Public Relations, Florida International University

David graduated from Michigan State University with a major in Communication Arts and minors in Political Science and Psychology. He lives in Stone Mountain, Georgia (Atlanta) with his wife Mary Lou. Their family includes two sons, two daughters-in-law and grand-daughters Zoe, "almost 5" and Phoebe who is "two and two-thirds." They call him "Bop."