Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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I get confused at this time of year, as the clocks change here in the UK. Is it "Spring Forward and Fall Back" or the other way round? Do we get an extra hour in bed or do we have to get up earlier? I'm sure I'll figure it out.
On Sunday morning, I'll be going round the house changing the clocks one way or the other. Some of our clocks change themselves, but many of them don't, especially the oldest object in our house (yes including me) which is a grandfather clock made by William Shaw of Botsdale, Norfolk in 1760. And it still keeps perfect time and chimes on the hour.
Because the face of the clock has a sailing ship on it, people ask "Was it a ship's clock?". We let them figure it out.
And then of course there's Hallowe'en, the traditional evening when children dress up as Alice Cooper. No harm in that, eh? |
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The MediaMaestro goes to Her Majesty the Queen.
She was offered the award of "Oldie of the Year", but in a magnificent gesture turned it down.
The monarch believes "you are as old as you feel" and thinks she does not meet the "relevant criteria" for the trophy so has declined it, according to an aide.
Her Majesty has sent a message back to the organisers of the prizes with her "warmest best wishes", and saying she "hopes you will find a more worthy recipient". Well done Ma'am.
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The MediaMug goes to The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak. He was pictured this week in a busy market, surrounded by stalls piled high with fruit and vegetables.
The minister spoke about the government's levelling up policy, and the way that more investment would be made in the north of England.
He said "We're here in Burnley but if you are growing up in a village in the South West or even on the South Coast, people want to feel opportunity is there for them, wherever they happen to be.
"I put it down to two things. One is having pride in the place you call home and a lot of what we announced yesterday, the levelling-up fund, bids like Burnley market - world famous Burnley market - benefiting from £20m of investment.
"It is about improving the everyday infrastructure of our communities."
Unfortunately, he wasn't in Burnley, Lancashire. He was actually in a market in Bury, Greater Manchester.
Perhaps he'd been badly briefed. Greater Manchester Mayor, Labour's Andy Burnham said it was "nice to know he's very familiar with the north".
Oops. |
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Speaking Tip - Speaking is a con trick |
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Speaking is a con trick. In fact it's at least three cons; Conversation, Content and Consistency.
Conversation - You need to have a conversation with your audience. It's not a monologue, it's a dialogue. You need to respond to questions, encourage debates, and offer a strong point of view on issues. That's what engages people. Don't be scared of letting your audience have their say - after all, you're on stage with a microphone, so you can always restore order. Use social media as a back channel during your talk, so that people outside the room can offer a view too.
Content - You need to offer something useful and of interest. This may seem obvious, but it's probably the rule most broken by amateur speakers. Just because you find a topic fascinating doesn't mean anyone else will. You need to get inside the heads of your audience members, and find out what their big issues are. That's what you should be talking about.
Consistency - you need to be doing what you do on a regular basis. That way, you become known as a person who has a particular take on an issue, and not simply a person who speaks occasionally. It's not just about becoming known, it's also about honing your expertise. As many speakers say, it's all about stage time.
Of course, there is also Connecting, Confidence, Consideration, Congratulating, etc. |
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Media Tip - Get your timing right |
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There's an old line about the most important thing in comedy being - wait for it - timing. Like all old lines, there's some truth to it. The importance of timing when dealing with the media, though, is critical. Here are some key points about timing that you need to bear in mind -
* Timing is determined by the reporter, not you
* Overcome short-notice queries by having a stockpile of messages ready, and keeping them updated often
* You can't extend a journalist's deadline
* Watch and listen to the news, and anticipate events that might affect your business
* React within minutes, not hours
* Aim to become the quickest and best source of information
* Don't let your competitors comment first
* Make sure that someone is always available to take a press call. This means every hour, every day.
* Ensure that you know where your spokespeople are at all times. If some are unavailable, have reserves on standby
Get the timing right, and journalists will love you for it. |
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Social Media Tip - What's the point? |
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Someone asked me the other day "What's the point of social media?", and it made me stop and think. Like you, I use social networks on a regular basis. I make connections, find out interesting stuff, and let others know what I do. I've never really considered why I find social networks so useful. So here are four things that I think are really handy.
1) Speed. News stories often break on Twitter, which is why all journalists have Twitter accounts, and alerts set up on their topics of interest. However, speed is just speed. It's not analysis. Social media is really useful in alerting you to something that just happened, so that you can look into it on more detail. If you're the kind of person who needs to know stuff first, social media is brilliant. But there's a caveat. Because you don't usually know the source of the information, there may be no validity check. It's probably better to say that social media can alert you to something that may have happened, and you need to find a trusted source to be sure.
2) Structure. There's more and more unstructured information flying around the web. Social media tends to facilitate hubs and groups of interest that provide structure to that information. Again, you need to be aware of the possible bias of the curator. However, getting a current view of a topic you don't fully understand is much easier than it used to be.
3) Mood. Finding out what people think about an issue is also made much easier by social networks. Online campaigns and petitions are now seen as reliable indicators of the public mood. Once again, the usual warnings apply, but if a few hundred thousand people feel strongly enough about an issue to comment online, there must be something going on.
4) Knowledge. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Twitter is the collective brain of the planet. If you put a question out there, the chances are someone will supply the answer inside a minute. Usually it's several people (the only problem is when the answers don't match). But whether the answer is spot-on, or just close, there's no other way I know to ask two hundred million people a question. |
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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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