Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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Today sees the opening of ABBA Voyage, a remarkable show featuring lifelike avatars of the Swedish popsters, a live band, a stunning light show and some astonishing film footage in a purpose-built venue just off Olympic Park here in East London.
It's a terrific show, and if you didn't know, you'd think you were seeing the real band, transported from 40 years ago.
I know it's a great show, because I saw it a week ago in a special rehearsal preview with a few hundred other invited guests. Benny Andersson was a few rows behind us, and I kept turning round to check he was still there and not on stage. I haven't been allowed to talk about it until now, and our phones were sealed into pouches so we couldn't take pictures.
All I will say is - if you like ABBA, and get the chance to go and see it, take it. It's one of the most remarkable things I've ever seen. |
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Speaking of musical heroes, we're off to see one of the greatest songwriters in the world (in my humble opinion) - Jimmy Webb.
Jimmy has written some wonderful songs - Wichita Lineman, Galveston and By the Time I get to Phoenix for Glen Campbell, Up,Up and Away for 5th dimension and McArthur Park for Richard Harris.
His book, Tunesmith, is one of the finest books ever written on the art of creativity.
And best of all, in my view, is a line in Wichita Lineman, which I consider to be the best line in any popular song - "And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time". |
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He grew up in rural Lincolnshire. His earliest influence, his father, Mick Broadbent, is a well-established musician, including a tenure with Bram Tchaikovsky. His father would take him to open mic nights as a youth, and by his early teens he was playing drums in his dad’s bands. He gravitated to guitar around the same time as he became interested in song writing.
He found acclaim and an audience after the Montreux Jazz Festival hailed him as, “The new master of the slide guitar.” Bootsy Collins famously proclaimed him, “The real thang!” He won over more fans touring with the likes of Ronnie Wood, Peter Frampton, and other musical legends.
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MediaMaestro, MediaMug of the Week |
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The MediaMaestro is basketball coach Steve Kerr, who is responsible for the Golden State Warriors from San Francisco.
He decided to use a pre-game press conference to make an impassioned plea for gun control, following the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas,where nineteen children and two adults died.
Alas, mass shootings are not uncommon in the USA, but the presence of an extremely strong and politically active gun lobby blocks any attempt to bring in checks or controls on gun owners and purchasers.
“In the last 10 days, we’ve had elderly Black people killed in Buffalo, Asian churchgoers killed in Southern California. And now we have children murdered at school,” he said, his voice quavering with emotion.
“When are we going to do something?” he roared, slapping his hand on the table. “I’m so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I’m sorry — I’m tired of the moments of silence.
“Enough!”
It was a powerful and passionate statement. I hope lawmakers were listening. |
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The MediaMug is film director Baz Luhrmann. The normally sure-footed Australian has had a bit of a mis-step with his new biopic of Elvis Presley. The star of the film, playing Elvis is Austin Butler, who has been widely praised for his portrayal.
However, the film itself has not gone down at all well with critics.
Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian described the film as "another pointless explosion of super-spangly sparkles in celluloid form. It's not a movie so much as 159-minute trailer for a film called Elvis - a relentless, frantically flashy montage, epic and yet negligible at the same time, with no variation of pace."
There was also a lukewarm response from Owen Gleiberman of Variety, who said: "What Elvis never quite shows us, at least not until its superior second half, is what was going on inside Elvis Presley. Luhrmann has made a woefully imperfect but at times arresting drama that builds to something moving and true. By the end, the film's melody has been unchained."
Tom Hanks is in it too, as Elvis's mentor, Colonel Tom Parker. His performance was described by the Hollywood Reporter as "arguably the least appealing performance of his career"
Ah well. There's always ABBA Voyage. |
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Speaking Tip of the week - Are you who you say you are? |
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I met Prince last weekend while I was working at the Hackney Half Marathon. Or at least that's what he told me (yes I know the real Price has passed on). It made me think - are you who you say you are?
Authenticity. It's a word used by a lot of people in the speaking world, but it seems to have a variety of interpretations. I think it's about being clear and honest, and behaving in the same way that you speak about. For example, I believe that one sign of authenticity is using your own stories. Another is being honest about your qualifications and experience. It's also to do with having experience in the field of expertise you talk about. Most importantly, it's about never making a claim to be something that you are not:
Being authentic on stage is very important. You are creating a bond of trust with your audience and taking them on a journey with you. They need to believe that you are a trustworthy guide who will offer them insights and techniques to help them in future. You can demonstrate your authenticity in many ways. Here are a few ideas.:
- Conduct your own research and present the results as summaries and case studies
- Show pictures and videos that you have taken to illustrate your message
- Relate your experiences both recently and some years ago, and show how the same point still applies
- Discuss collaborations with fellow experts
- Use your experience to solve problems posed by audience members as questions
- Consider a masterclass-style presentation, working with one or two audience members as a demonstration
- Refer to the work of other experts, and indicate how and why you agree or differ
- Agree to a Q&A session at least as long as your speech
Finally, make sure that you "walk the talk" offstage as well as on. If your topic is time management, make sure you are never late or in a hurry. If you talk about teamwork, work with a team. If you are a communication expert, keep your messages simple. It's all about authenticity. |
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Media Tip of the week - I don't know what they will ask me. |
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One of the most common questions that comes up when I'm preparing people for media interviews is "I don't know what they are going to ask - how will I cope?". Well, preparing them for the questions is my job, so we work through how they can deal with whatever is thrown at them. Many questions can be anticipated and answers planned. However, the unexpected question may always arise. Here are a few ways to respond to those tricky ones.
1) The Mind-Reader question You may be asked why another company or individual took a particular decision. Of course, you have no idea, and to speculate could get you into trouble. The classic response is to say "You'd have to ask them", but that can come across as a bit rude, and even unhelpful. It's better to say 'Well I don't know about that, but what I can tell you is why we came to our decision"
2) The Yes or No Question This is a trap for the unwary. Though interviewers rarely ask closed questions, they may do so in order to create a headline. For example, you might be asked "You don't please every customer, do you - a simple yes or no?" If you say yes, then the reporter can say that you agreed not all your customers are happy. However, if you expand your answer, even to a closed question by avoiding yes or no, you will remain in control of the quote. So you could say "The satisfaction of every customer is important to us, and we do everything we can to ensure that we do whatever is necessary to maintain that relationship".
3) The Mastermind Question This is a question you couldn't possibly get right, such as "Exactly how many of your ten thousand clients are in the London region?". You might amaze the interviewer by knowing the exact number, but it's more likely that you won't have a clue. Rather than say "I don't know", which makes you sound as though you aren't on top of things, say something like "Many of our ten thousand clients are in London, and just like in every other region, the numbers are growing rapidly". |
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Social Media Tip of the week - Are you sure that's a good idea? |
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There's an avalanche of social media advice dished out every day on the web. Some of it is helpful, some neither here nor there, and some is, in my view, just plain wrong. Yes, I'm aware I'm setting myself up by offering advice here, but I've never been one to duck controversy. Here are three bits of advice that I think are very questionable.
1) Automate your posts There are all sorts of tools for posting messages when you're offline or doing something else. It can be a good way of reaching people in different time zones. Alas, some people take things too far and automate everything. It soon becomes obvious that someone is sending and not receiving, because they never become part of the conversation. Even if you do automate some of your posts, be prepared to deal with the responses, even if it's a few hours later.
2) The more "likes" the better On the face of it, this seems pretty good advice, since if people are liking your Facebook page, it must be a good thing. That's why companies use competitions where the entry requires you to like their page. The trouble is, people are liking it just to win something, and they couldn't care less about your business. OK, so they have to visit your page, but the real prize for you is to get them engaged and talking about you. That's a much better metric.
3) Delete negative comments Again, this is something that appears to be a good idea. It isn't. Removing criticism is guaranteed to set off a storm of protest. Instead, respond to any criticism so that your point of view is also seen widely. Remain respectful and deal with the issues raised. If you're seen to be handling a problem with care and concern, your reputation will be enhanced. |
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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." https://em-ui.constantcontact.com/em-ui/em/page/em-ui/email# |
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