Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEN RICHARDSON; CLOTHING COURTESY OF DANIELA CORTE V eteran newscaster Liz Brunner possesses an uncanny ability to connect during a conversation. She looks at you dead in the eye. She leans in intuitively to listen, enthralled by your story. Then she pauses to ref lect and gather her thoughts before saying exactly the right words. You walk away from a conversation lighter on your feet. You have been heard. It isn't easy to shatter Brunner's poise, but she was tested last spring when she went live on the air to cover the Boston Marathon bombings. "My job was not to add to that fear, but to share the most relevant, important information in the calmest way possible," she says. "Instinctively, and perhaps even unconsciously, I relied on all of my years as a journalist, broadcaster, and more important, as a communicator, to do my job." Brunner is now using those skills to launch a new venture. After nearly 30 years in broadcast journalism and 20 years with WCVB Channel 5, she left the station last fall to start her own company, which focuses on developing high-level business executives, ath- letes, politicians, and celebrities into better communicators and leaders. "I am helping people develop their own brand," says Brunner, now the founder and CEO of Brunner Communications and the keynote speaker for the Boston Business Journal's Advancing Women conference on March 13. "We can all learn to present ourselves better." She has observed that there is a market of hugely talented individuals in Boston who could benefit from media training and executive coaching—mastering the not-so-simple art of get- ting their message across, whether it's at a press conference or in a boardroom. To Brunner, the magic formula is a mixture of authority, accessibility, and warmth. And more than any- thing, she says, you have to be real. Brunner's ability to connect with people secured her one-on-one interviews with Barbara Walters and President Barack Obama. "I kept writing In Liz We Trust ONE OF BOSTON'S MOST BELOVED NEWSCASTERS, LIZ BRUNNER TRADES THE NEWSROOM FOR THE BOARDROOMLAUNCHING A NEW COMPANY AND A NEW LIFE. BY JESSICA LANIEWSKI VIEW FROM THE TOP continued on page 44 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 43 Superlatives PEOPLE, CULTURE, TASTE, TREASURES 043-044_BC_SP_VFT_Spring14.indd 43 2/6/14 4:52 PM