“Recommendation from experience” is the guiding principle of former sports journalist Christian Ortlepp.
He began his journalistic career in 1993, switched sides after 24 years in the summer of 2017 and has been working as a media and communications consultant ever since. “Without the personal experience I’ve gained as a journalist, I wouldn’t be able to give my clients, who are my partners, a serious recommendation when it comes to positioning and communication.”
His main focus is increasingly on project work. At FC Schalke 04, which was hounded by its own fans after relegation from the 1st Bundesliga and players and managers were physically attacked, the focus was on providing personal advice to Chief Sports Officer Peter Knäbel and Sports Director Rouven Schröder. During Felix Magath’s mission to keep Hertha BSC Berlin in the league, Christian Ortlepp stood by the iconic coach on a daily basis without appearing in public.
Since 2020, his partners have included BCW, one of the largest and globally active public relations agencies, currently working on the “World Cup 2030”. He is also involved in a start-up in the recruiting sector at SIMunich GmbH.
Christian Ortlepp Lecture topics
- Communication at eye level
How many people are downright afraid of using direct and honest language without immediately being confronted with accusations or recriminations?
Simplicity – clarity – truth.
These guiding principles, combined with respectful, open and effective communication, are the key to empathetic and equal communication – on an equal footing.
Simplicity: Speak the other person’s language and don’t put yourself one level higher!
Clarity: Avoid misunderstandings – the more precise and understandable, the better!
Truth: Name the topic, but do not evaluate it!
- Communication under pressure
How often do we lose our nerve and deviate from our strategic approach in crisis situations in which immense temporal and psychological pressure is built up?
Verbal communication – non-verbal communication
Emotions and self-control take on an omnipresent position in these extraordinary stress situations, developing into blockades. Sovereignty and composure are reflected in the words you choose as well as in your demeanor.
Christian Ortlepp can give you one guarantee in advance: “There is no solution for everything!”
- Timing and wording of communication
Did you have to communicate in this way and, above all, in this manner?
The right timing and rhythm are just as important as the right choice of words and tone. How many and how often have people communicated at cross-purposes due to the wrong time and place?
Stubbornly sticking to communication processes and strategies has put even the greatest people in awkward positions. Situational awareness, a target group-specific choice of words, empathy and emotional intelligence are the decisive factors, as are flexibility and adaptability.
He who asks, leads!
Christian Ortlepp tailors his presentations to each individual company. In doing so, he relies on his journalistic motto: If you ask, you lead!
“Interactivity should be lived in my presentations. Only those who communicate with each other can be helped.”
For over 25 years, he reported daily on FC Bayern Munich, starting in 1993 at Radio Gong 96.3 in Munich, via Premiere (= Sky) in Hamburg and for DSF/Sport1. He was able to experience everything with the German record champions: from the greatest triumphs and biggest disappointments to the biggest scandals. Above all, he experienced at first hand how controversial topics were dealt with in the media, how issues were medialized or deliberately placed and ‘swept under the carpet’.
A wrong sentence. A cryptic postscript. Or even just a carelessly uttered word. Christian Ortlepp made a living from this as a journalist, provoking these headline-grabbing sentences or words in interviews or press conferences.
“Only if you know how the other side thinks, works and functions – because you have experienced it yourself – can you propose an appropriate strategy and positioning to your partners today.”
Would you like to reach the hearts of your employees, customers or listeners with the right strategy and communication? Book communications expert Christian Ortlepp for a presentation, workshop or as presenter.