Terry Fallis

Archived presentation: Ups and Downs of PR with novelist @TerryFallis (27:27)

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Award-winning Canadian novelist Terry Fallis presents his latest novel Up and Down.

Terry Fallis is the author of The Best Laid Plans and The High Road. In 1995, Terry co-founded Thornley Fallis with Joe Thornley, a full service communications consulting agency with offices in Ottawa and Toronto. Terry also used to co-host of the popular business podcast, Inside PR.

For more than 20 years, Terry has counseled corporate and government clients on various fronts including crisis communications, media relations, issues management, marketing communications, public opinion polling, public affairs and stakeholder relations. He has also written speeches for CEOs, cabinet ministers, and other community leaders.

Terry’s recent novel Up and Down was released in September 2012 and has since received notable media recognition across Canada and the United States.


Terry Fallis rings in the New Year with CPRS Toronto

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By Robin Smith, Coordinator at NATIONAL Public Relations

 

Members can also listen to the full presentation in the members’ blog. (27:27)

Terry Fallis is a jack-of-all-trades. After 25 years in the business, he is the consummate communicator. He is co-founder of the Thornley Fallis consulting agency, former co-host of the popular Inside PR podcast, and a three-times published award-winning author. He joined the CPRS Toronto community on January 15 at the Albany Club to talk about his new book, Up and Down and to field questions about his experience in communications.

In a lighthearted and humourous presentation that showed off the articulate communication skills that have brought him so much success, Fallis opened up about his childhood love of aviation and space travel, a subject that he recently brought to life in his new comedic novel, Up and Down.

Up and Down follows the tumultuous tumble of a former politico into the world of public relations consulting. Thrown into the fire, David Stewart has to learn fast as he joins the ranks of Turner King, a fictional consulting firm located in the heart of Toronto. His task: revitalize the waning public interest in NASA and space travel. If that’s not hard enough, throw in cross-border tiffs, office politics, and a dash of bold personalities and the job just keeps getting harder.

In Up and Down Fallis gives vivid detail to the quirks of agency life that many of us are familiar with, and shines a light on a business that is often misunderstood by members of the public. As he explained the craft of his writing, it became very clear how influential his experience in public relations is on the rest of his work.

Like any good practitioner would, Fallis injects elements of his own experience into his work as a novelist. He likes to make it clear, though, that while characters in his previous novels have dipped a toe into S&M, it’s tough to be in the agency business and not get whipped once or twice. Also, as a firm believer in planning, Fallis outlines his plot months before putting pen to paper. He credits having a clear and well-thought-out plan as being the key to a successful novel.

After explaining his methodical approach to writing, the conversation turned to Fallis’ experience as a practitioner, and he ended his time with very clear guidance for those looking to succeed.

“Pace, challenge and working with people smarter than myself. There lies the path to success.”

Terry reading  Terry and Vince