Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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I've been doing some research into my family tree. I've been dabbling in it on and off for a decade, and some years ago was delighted to find out that Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, was my six-greats aunt. I even created a speech about her.
A few days ago I decided to see how far back I could get. I know that parish records don't go back much further than 1700, but there's always the chance of getting into a noble line. I already have a family tree that takes my mother's line, Godwin, back to King Harold, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. But it was a document produced by my uncle, and I wanted to verify it. I did find a noble connection - the de Vere family, Earls of Oxford are also ancestors of mine. They were easy to trace back to Robert de Vere (that's him in the picture), the third Earl, who was one of the 25 Barons who signed the Magna Carta. He's my 22nd great grandfather. Time for another speech.... |
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It's been a tough week for Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister.
He's faced a barrage of question from both the press and his political opponents in the wake of allegations about gatherings in Number 10 Downing Street where adult beverages were consumed.
I'm not arguing the rights or wrongs of what went on (apparently we have to wait for the outcome of the enquiry), but I'm interested to see that two phrases have now entered the national lexicon, and spawned a thousand memes:
"Bring your own booze" and "I thought it was a work event" |
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The Exceptional Speaker Academy is open for six-month memberships. Sessions are delivered by Lesley Everett, Sean Weafer and me. You receive:
Two group sessions a month: - 90-minutes of expertise shared by the experts
- 60 mins of Q & A
Plus: - PDF copy of The Exceptional Speaker
- Access to all recorded sessions (while your membership is live)
- Discounted coaching sessions at any time with any of us
- Discounts on our public programs
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Jesse grew up basking in the US west coast sun and a steady glow of music from his parent’s record collection that included James Taylor, Elton John, Paul Simon, The Beatles and all the other luminaries of the singer/songwriter greatest generation.
After graduating from Azusa Pacific University in 2000 and marrying the love of his life, Marisa, Jesse and his band, Daily Planet, headed for Nashville and a record deal. And The Six String Rocketeer was born.
Hit records, chart topping songs, awards and accolades, covers by other luminary artists and fronting the critically acclaimed band, Daily Planet, Jesse’s career seemed quite literally unstoppable.
In 2003, he had a freak accident and shattered his leg in the middle of a show after doing a Davie Lee Roth-esque toe-touch off of the drum risers.
His story since then, his struggles and his recovery, and his magnificent new album recorded at Abbey Road, is a real inspiration.
And of course there's a wonderful song from him too. |
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MediaMaestro, MediaMug of the Week |
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The MediaMaestrois Wordle App developer Steve Cravotta.
Now before you get in touch, I know that the developer of Wordle is actually Josh Wardle, and Wordle isn't an App,
Allow me to explain. Steve Cravotta created an App called Wordle five years ago. There were very few downloads. But after the launch of Mr Wardle's Wordle, there were more than 200,000 downloads of Steve's Wordle App in a week, as its namesake went viral.
When Mr Cravotta noticed people were spending money in his app, he decided to contact Mr Wardle."I figured we could turn this very strange, once-in-a-lifetime scenario and make it something amazing", he tweeted.
Together, they chose to donate the proceeds to BoostOakland, a charity offering mentoring and tutoring to youngsters in California.
Well done them.
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The MediaMugs of the week have been revealed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA).
They've listed the most ridiculous call-outs of 2021. Luckily the people who called them out - the MediaMugs - have not been named.
One officer rushed to help a ‘swan tangled in electric fencing’ after the River Stout burst its banks in Dorset.
A passing driver had pulled over to call experts out when she saw the bird in peril.
Describing the incident, officer Graham Hammond said: ‘I went out to check on the bird and had prepared to call out the water rescue team for back-up.
‘But before they hit the road, I managed to get closer and get a good look at the ‘bird’ – which turned out to be a white plastic chair floating in the water!’
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Speaking Tip of the week - The Seven Deadly Assumptions of speaking |
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There are many ways make your presentation better, and I share my tips with you regularly, From time to time (this time to be precise), I like to recommend what NOT to do when you're presenting. So here are my seven deadly assumptions to be avoided by all speakers.
1) One speech fits all. No it doesn't. Every audience is different, and even if you are telling them the same story, you need to consider their interests and background.
2) More is better. Trying to pack in a huge amount of information is counter-productive. It's far better to focus on the key message that will be of most benefit.
3) You're there to impress. Your sparkling wit and well-crafted visuals may be impressive, but that's not the reason you're there. It's about serving the needs of the audience.
4) You don't always need to prepare. You should prepare for every speech. You're there to deliver your best performance, every time.
5) You're there to speak, they're there to listen. Not any more. Audiences are much keener to interact, whether via direct questions or social media. You need to be ready to engage with them.
6) You're not expected to be there all day. Just being there for a few minutes before and after your speech is short-changing an audience. They and you will benefit from a longer stay.
7) You're the most important person in the room. You know this isn't true. The only successful speech is one that the audience benefited from. That makes them the focus of attention.
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Media Tip of the week - It's all new to someone |
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It's easy to become a bit lazy in media interviews, especially if you are doing a number back-to-back. It's very important to remember that many of your audience will be hearing your message for the first time, and so you need to explain it in the simplest terms. You should never assume any prior knowledge of your organisation unless you work for a household name, and even then it does no harm to remind people what you do.
There's a simple three-part formula that ensures you place your message in the appropriate context:
1) Remind people of the purpose of your organisation. For example, a spokesperson for a supermarket may say "Our aim has always been to deliver the freshest food at the lowest prices"
2) Summarise your achievements to date. This need not be a long list of awards, but simply a statement such as "For the past five years, we have had a higher percentage of repeat customers than any other car dealer in London"
3) Make a promise. Of course, this must be something you are certain that you can deliver (or may already be delivering but haven't publicised yet). An example might be "We aim to ensure that no caller waits for more than thirty seconds before having their call answered"
You may have a specific message in addition to the statements above. That's fine, as long as you remember that many people are hearing it for the first time too.
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Social Media Tip of the week - What to post, where to post it |
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I write a lot. Perhaps you do too. Sometimes it's random jottings, but more often than not, I have my audience in mind. In this case it's you. Here are the four things I have in mind when I create content:
- What are the biggest problems faced by my audience?
- How do they like to receive information? (blogs, videos, audio, tip lists, books)
- What form of engagement to they use?
- What channels do they prefer?
Producing great content is a combination of knowing what to produce and where to put it. In addition, some degree of interaction may be required from you after posting. There's a tendency from some content producers to spread their material far and wide, but fail to monitor the comments and questions that arise. That's bad for two reasons; it annoys people who have asked for your view, and it lets you know about potential customers who are interested in your content.
Next time you post some content, think who it is for, and what their reaction might be.
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Speaker coaching - a reminder |
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A reminder about my speaker coaching programme for 2022 - find out more at the link or reply to this email
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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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