Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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After 17 years of featuring music in my web radio show, I've decided to start a dedicated music show. I will be featuring extended interviews with musicians telling the stories behind their songs, and playing their music, old and new.
My existing web radio show, linked to this ezine, will continue every week, but I wanted to give musicians the chance to tell their stories in detail.
Al's backstage pass will launch in October, with some legendary names. It will be free to listen to, of course. I already have a lot of interviews ready to go, but if you're a musician, or know a musician who'd like to be interviewed, let me know. You can email me by replying to this ezine.
See you backstage! |
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Many, many thanks to those who have donated to my appeal for Cancer Research. Thank you for your generosity.
When I started this appeal, it was on behalf of my brother, who was diagnosed with cancer just over a year ago. He had an operation, which was successful, and a year later he is still clear. I'm very grateful to the skill of the doctors and nurses who supported him. Alas, just a matter of weeks ago, one of our very closest friends received a diagnosis that has led to her now being in a hospice, so I'm running on behalf of her too.
I am really close to my fundraising target of five hundred pounds. Just a bit more to go. If you could spare even a fiver to get me toward my goal, I'd really appreciate it. |
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 | Sean Weafer is an international communications, performance and leadership coach and a virtual and live professional event speaker.
He specialises in transforming experts into compelling influencers who can communicate their expertise and be recognised and rewarded for their value at team, board and client level.
His clients include Grant Thornton, Microsoft, Indeed.com, Elavon, Bank of Ireland and many more where he transforms experts into Highly Trusted Influencers and Advisors. He's also a fine man and my best pal.
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The MediaMaestro is tennis sensation Emma Raducanu, who at the age of eighteen, not only showed tremendous poise on court in winning the US Open, but then demonstrated that same grace and composure in a series of media interviews.
She is no stranger to media interviews. Sky News dug up an interview she gave as an eleven year old when she lost the final of a junior tournament. I wonder what happened to the girl who beat her?
She appeared on most of the news shows in America, and no doubt will visit many shows now she's back in the UK. She is nailed on to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year in December.
She even delivered a message in Mandarin to her Chinese fans. |
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The MediaMug is Nicki Minaj, who came up with some utterly bizarre claims about the side effects of COVID vaccines.
The rapper tweeted disinformation about side effects of the coronavirus vaccine - saying that when a friend of her cousin had the jab, his testicles swelled up and he became impotent.
She claimed it happened in Trinidad.
As a result, Trinidadian health minister Terrence Deyalsingh said officials investigated the claims, since they "take all claims seriously".
"As we stand now, there is absolutely no reported side effect or adverse event of testicular swelling in Trinidad... and none that we know of anywhere in the world," he said in a press conference on Wednesday.
Things really escalated when Nicki and the swollen genitals were mentioned to England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty.
Professor Whitty said that Nicki "should be ashamed" when asked about people spreading misinformation online and whether coronavirus might have caused her cousin's friend's testicles to swell.
"There are a number of myths that fly around," he said.
I hear that Ms Minaj's music is not on Boris Johnson's Spotify playlist. |
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Speaking Tip - Let me be clear |
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When you deliver a message, you need to make it as clear as possible. It's impossible to over-simplify it. There's an old set of rules about how to make your communications as clear as possible -
- Emphasise what is important
- De-emphasise what is not important
- Remove what is irrelevant
Easier said than done, perhaps. But it's a good discipline to review your speeches in the light of those rules. You may get a shock the first time you do it. You need to consider your speech as though you were in your own audience and think why each sentence matters to you. And if you think "everything is important", you'll never get a message across.
Don't forget that the clearest messages are also concise. In other words, as long as necessary, but as short as possible. Like this tip.I hope that's clear. |
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Media Tip - And one more thing |
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Live media interviews are a great opportunity to deliver a message. However, you need to be seen as a "good guest', not just someone trying to promote their product or service. There's a little phrase - "and one more thing" that can either trip you up, or can make your airtime very effective, depending on who says it, and how it is used. Here's what I mean -
If you are interviewed on a breakfast or drivetime show, there will often be two presenters, one of whom will ask the questions, with the other possibly adding a comment or two. As the interview ends, you may relax, as the quiet presenter leans forward and says "and one more thing", before hitting you with the question you had hoped to avoid. You need to stay alert until the interview is really over.
But you can use the phrase too. When you sense the interview is ending, deliver your closing phrase, pause for a moment, and then say 'and one more thing". You will be able to deliver a few words with no chance of a response. It's a great chance to reinforce your message. |
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Social Media Tip - Ten rules for anti-social media |
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With all the attention paid to Social Media, there's been little focus on its related discipline, anti-social media. Here are a few tips to make sure that you know how to use anti-social media for no gain and scant profit:
- Promote yourself relentlessly, at all times. Make sure that every message is a selling one, so that your friends and followers understand what you are really about
- Never offer help. Why give away something that people should pay you for?
- Re-send messages from experts, to give the impression that you have the same thoughts. Occasionally "forget" to mention their name to reinforce this impression
- Hide your identity behind a silly name or jumble of letters. You don't want to end up on a spammers list, do you?
- Try to get as many people to follow you as possible, but ignore them completely. They are just your potential customers, so they have nothing to offer you
- Cut and paste articles and pretend that you wrote them (or at least hint at it by making it hard to spot the name of the original author)
- Automate everything so that you never have to be at your computer, There are better things to do than listen to the dull conversations in social networks
- Constantly promote money-making schemes that you don't use yourself (because they don't work). You can make loads of money selling these as an affiliate
- Insult and abuse others, to damage their reputations and reduce their chance of getting work
- Never miss an opportunity to tell people that they are doing it wrong, and you are doing it right. They will get the message eventually, and give up, leaving you the winner
There you go. If you follow these rules on a daily basis, your business will change dramatically, but in the wrong direction. You may even end up with an ASMO (Anti-Social Media Order). |
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Sometimes fun comes from music. This makes no sense, but it's a cracking song and a cracking video. Ex-footballer Stuart Pearce, menacing as ever, and The Stranglers on top form. |
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An online or in-person speech to make? I can help.
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The information in this ezine may be freely re-used in any online or offline publication, provided it is accompanied by the following credit line - "This information was written by Alan Stevens, and originally appeared in "The MediaCoach", his free weekly ezine, available at www.mediacoach.co.uk." |
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