Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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I spoke at a hybrid event this week, which went extremely well. It was the annual convention of my professional body, The Professional Speaking Association.
We had a couple of hundred remote delegates, a room in London with thirty people, and presenters from the USA, South Africa, the EU and various parts of the UK and Ireland, as well as some people (including me) speaking live to an audience in London.
Thanks to the great skill of the technical team and organisers, it all ran extremely well. I'm very proud of the team, and I was pleased to be a part of an event that demonstrated how good a hybrid event can be.
I suspect it's the sort of event that many of us will attend in the months and years to come. We all need to get the skills required to make the most of our input. |
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I provide a one-to-one speaker coaching programme for a limited number of speakers who wish to grow their speaker business. It is only for speakers who wish to make a full-time or part-time income from speaking, and it is suitable for speakers anywhere in the world. All programmes provide customised coaching around all aspects of a speaking business, including fees, getting bookings, working with bureaus, creating websites and show-reels, marketing strategies and of course creating killer keynote speeches. |
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 | Carrie Martin first picked up a guitar at the age of four and made her first public performance at the tender age of nine, playing at a school concert.
In her teens, she dropped the guitar in favour of a ‘rock chick’ makeover and fronting bands as a singer. Her first band was named Foreign Affair, which may well be one of the most ‘eighties’ names for a band ever conceived!
She didn't pick up a guitar again until 2011, and with the support of her mentor Gordon Giltrap, has now made albums with a number of well-known musicians from the likes of Fairport Convention and Steely Dan.
We had a fascinating conversation abut her extraordinary career.
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The MediaMaestro is the brillaint Irish musician and co-founder of The Chieftains, Paddy Moloney who died this week at the age of 83.
Paddy was a member of the iconic band for sixty years, and became known as one of the finest players of the tin whistle and uilleann pipes in the world.
The band won six Grammy awards, played for the Queen and the Pope, were the first group to perform at the Capitol Building in Washington, and collaborated with an astonishing diversity of artists – ranging from country stars and Galician musicians to Mexican artists, Tom Jones, Joni Mitchell, the Rolling Stones, James Galway, Van Morrison and Mike Oldfield.
Once asked how uilleann pipes differed from bagpipes, Moloney replied: “The Irish aren’t silly – they’re designed so you can play with one hand while holding a drink with the other.”
I'll be raising a glass to Paddy. |
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The MediaMug is North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott.
He resigned from his post this week after making comments about the Sarah Everard murder case.
He had faced multiple calls to stand down since the first of October, when he told BBC Radio York that women should educate themselves about powers of arrest, saying they should know "when they can be arrested and when they can't be arrested".
The North Yorkshire branch of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), which had earlier said members were "outraged" by Mr Allott's comments, welcomed his resignation.
In a tweet, the FBU said: "Hopefully his resignation will offer some comfort for Sarah Everard's Family and friends and all those affected by his disgraceful comments."
I agree. Blaming a victim of an appalling attack is an outrageous thing to do. |
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Speaking Tip - I'm on fire |
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Sometimes you can really get into your flow in a speech. Your words tumble out and the audience is loving it. You're on fire. How do you get into that state more often?
Do your Homework - Find out exactly what the audience is concerned about, and make sure that you address it. Ask to speak to audience members in advance and find out what they really want to hear.
Plan, plan and plan again - The best way to deliver a powerful speech is to know it so thoroughly that you don't have to remember your lines. Run through it out loud as many times as you need to.
Keep it personal - Personal stories have the advantage of being unique and fresh. They also provide proof that you know what you are talking about.
Invoke emotions - Talk about how you were feeling as you tell your stories. Don't just stick to the facts. You want the audience to be able to experience similar emotions in a vicarious way.
Close the loops - Never leave a story unfinished. Explain all of the outcomes, and never leave the audience wondering what happened.
Stay on time - The hardest thing to do when you are really in flow is to keep an eye on the time, but you have to. The impact of your speech will be undone if you over-run by even a minute or two.
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Media Tip - 57 Channels (And Nothin' On) |
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How hard is it to get on TV these days? Is it worth it?
It's a lot easier that you might think, and yes it is definitely worth it.
However, a one-off TV or radio appearance is not the objective. Like many things, it's repetition that works.
So here are a few tips to boost your media career:
- Respond to every media request, no matter how busy you are. If you can't make it, explain why. Never ignore a contact from a journalist.
- Put yourself out to do an interview. If it's the middle of the night to do a Zoom interview in Los Angeles, do it
- Always plan a great sound bite or two in advance
- Expect the final question and have a great out line to deliver
- Radio often leads to TV, so never ignore a request from a small radio station
- Accept that sometimes you will be cancelled at the last minute. it happens to everyone
- Smile while you are on air.
- Always thank the presenters and the researcher who speaks to you when you have finished
- If you have agreed any follow-up actions, do them immediately.
- Be the best interviewee they've ever had!
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Social Media Tip - Born to Run |
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I'm sure I've mentioned before that I'm a runner. These days it's half marathons, but the principles for success also hold good for social media. Here's what I mean:
1) Set a target Without a target, activity is literally aimless. You need to know why you are training, or why you are on social media. That doesn't mean a certain number of followers, since that's often an unhelpful statistic. It does mean that you have reason and purpose for what you are doing.
2) Stay focused You need to avoid heading down the wrong route. It's very easy to get distracted. When training for a race, it's tempting to say "I'll take a few days off". However, if you only dip in from time to time, you will miss the regular contact and visibility.
3) Pace yourself Most first-time runners set off too quickly, and pay for it later. Some people have a very active few weeks on social media, and then their activity drops to almost nothing. Slow and steady is the way to do it. 4) Go the distance Don't give up. It takes a long time to complete a marathon, and a long time to gain a reputation on social media. Many fall by the wayside. If you keep going, you will be the one to reap the rewards. |
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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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