Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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I hope you didn't get fooled today. It's getting increasingly hard to distinguish the real from the jokes, especially on social media.
I've been away catching some sunshine for a few days in The Canaries, and being on holiday, I haven't taken a lot of notice of the news in the past week.
Someone tried to tell me that the Oscars was disrupted by an actor climbing onstage and slapping the host, before later collecting the award for best actor. A likely story!
Then I heard that a shower of snow had disrupted the start of season team photograph for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. Pull the other one!
Anyway, take care until mid-day. After that, anyone trying to fool you is the fool themselves. |
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I haven't held a one-day Exceptional Speaker Day for a couple of years, for obvious reasons.
However, the time is now right to restart my most popular course.
On Thursday May 19th, at a central London location, there will be a maximum of six places available for a full-day of advice and tips on how to deliver sensational speeches.
The cost will be £275 plus VAT for the whole day, including all refreshments, lunch and a signed copy of The Exceptional Speaker, plus a digital copy to access from your phone.
Not only that, but the cost of the day is fully deductible from any future coaching from me. So if you'd like some one-to-one coaching as a follow-up, the day is completely free.
If you're interested, just reply to this email and I'll reserve a place for you. |
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A couple of places are available on my Speaker Coaching programme. You can select either a six-month or annual option, and I'm happy to talk it over with you. It's the only one-to-one coaching I provide, and I garantee you will realise the benefits quickly.
Be quick - there won't be another space for quite a few months.
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 | This week's interview is a special one. It's with brilliant guitarists Paul Brett and Gordon Giltrap, and no surprise that we talked a lot about guitars.
Paul also designs guitars, and produced a wonderful instrument called "The Raven", which you can see in the background in many of my videos.
I've played a lot of guitars, and for me, it's one of the best I've ever used.
Paul and Gordon talk about their music, The Raven guitar, the album they made together with their Ravens. and about the Vintage company which makes them.
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This week's music is of course a tune on the wonderful Raven guitar. It's called The Kissing Gate. |
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MediaMaestro, MediaMug of the Week |
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The MediaMaestrois the BBC's political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, who is stepping down from her role after seven years.
She is to replace Andrew Marr as the host of BBC One's flagship Sunday morning politics show.
"I couldn't be more delighted," Kuenssberg said in a statement. “For decades Sunday morning has been the moment to explore the events that shape us and to challenge and listen to our politicians."
"It's an honour to take the chair for that conversation in the 2020s."
She's been in that critical role at a tumultuous time - through Brexit, COVID and various political upheavals. I wish her every success in her new role. |
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The MediaMug is P&O boss Peter Hebblethwaite.
Following mass sackings of his staff, and their replacement by cheaper workers, he was questioned by MPs at Westminster and MSPs in Edinburgh. He remained defiant throughout, even admitting that he knew he was breaking the law, but would do the same again.
Labour MSP Monica Lennon told Peter Hebblethwaite that he was a "failure of a chief executive" and might be "the most hated man in Britain".
He said the "very difficult decision" was the only way to keep the firm afloat and save thousands of jobs.
Time will tell how he is regarded in future, but I'd advise him not to look for his name in any honours list.
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Speaking Tip of the week - Time-travelling |
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When you prepare a speech, it's a very good idea to indulge in some time-travel.
Cast your mind forward to the end of you delivery, and imagine the questions or comments you may receive. They could be: - Asking for clarification
- Asking for evidence
- Pointing out an error
- Debating an issue
While you are time-travelling, note down all of the possible remarks in each category.
Now bring yourself back to the present. Your job is to construct your speech in such a way that none of those remarks are even made, and no-one even thinks of them.
It can also be helpful to present your speech to a friend and ask them to see if they can come up with a question that might catch you out.
Once you have dealt with all of the possible feedback that you can come up with by amending your speech to cover all those points, your time travel will turn out to have been well worth while. |
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Media Tip of the week - What if it all goes wrong? |
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My clients all know that if something goes wrong that could affect their reputation, they can call me immediately for advice on what to say. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, a quick and professional response is essential.
Here are the essential elements:
- Recognise that you have a media crisis (this is often the hardest part)
- Appoint (or preferably confirm) a spokesperson
- Gather the facts as quickly as possible
- Never speculate. Only ever say what you know to be true,
- Never set timescales for future statements. Simply say 'as soon as possible"
- Express your concern for people first.
- Make yourself the central point for information
- When appropriate, declare the crisis over
- Hold a full enquiry and publish the results
All too often I see those guidelines ignored, even by large and well-established organisations. That could mean the demise of a company. Don't let it happen to you.
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Social Media Tip of the week - Style it |
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Social media is immediate. Quick postings, fast responses, very much in the moment.
However, if you are looking to use online media to build a long-term reputation (whatever long-term means online), then you need to look beyond the immediate response.
For example, if you have several people managing your social media feeds, they need to have a common understanding of how to respond. Inconsistency is spotted and highlighted very quickly online, and can do untold damage to your reputation,
It's not just about how you respond. It's also about the style and content of your initial postings. Are they regular? Do they look as though they all come from the same source?
Here's a tip from the newspaper industry (ask your grandparents). Create a style guide for social media. Every newspaper reporter is given a style guide on their first day. It includes the type of vocabulary, how to use abbreviations and capital letters, and even how and when to hyphenate words at the end of a line.
Your social media is even more in need of a style guide than a daily newspaper. You'll know it works when people can read a post and know it came from you even if they don't check who posted it.
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If you appear on the media, or plan to, then I can help you perform even better.
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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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