Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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Heather and I have just spent a few days in Porto.
No surprise that we managed to fit in a port tasting on the banks of the river Douro. (more of that in a moment).
And of course, we also sampled some of the wonderful local pastries, Pastel de nata - an egg custard tart pastry, dusted with cinnamon. We visited a cafe where the natas were so fresh that mine exploded as I bit into it. No harm done, fortunately. |
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As I mentioned last week, I've been on a few podcasts recently.
One was Andy Lopata's Connected Leadership podcast, where we spoke about reputation (of course), and how various political leaders managed theirs.
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There are a few places available on my speaker coaching programme.
I also explain what I offer through the medium of port - as you can see. |
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 | Professor David Crystal is the ultimate expert on the English language.
He was very kind about the book I co-authored with Paul du Toit, The Exceptional Speaker. I'm replaying the interview I did with him when we published a couple of years ago.
He has written over one hundred books, including a number of best-sellers.
It was a huge privilege for me to chat to him.
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MediaMaestro, MediaMug of the Week |
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The MediaMaestro is athlete and national treasure Dame Kelly Holmes.
She has announced she is gay, saying she was nervous and excited about coming out in a move that could have saved her years of heartache.
Dame Kelly, who won gold in the 800 and 1,500 metres at the 2004 Games in Athens, said on Saturday she had known she was gay since she was 17.
Not only will her story inspire gay people in the military and in athletics – both areas that have work to do to overcome their treatment of the LGBTQ+ community – but it will also give strength to countless young people struggling right now.
"I needed to do this now, for me. It was my decision. I'm nervous about saying it. I feel like I'm going to explode with excitement," she told the Sunday Mirror.
Well done to her, and I wish her every happiness.
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The MediaMug is an un-named audience member who attended a show by the brilliant stand-up comedian Joe Lycett, and then reported him to the police for an "offensive joke".
The police spoke to Joe and decided that no action was required.
Several things here. Firstly, it's a bad idea to attend a comedy show if you're easily offended. Secondly, if you don't like a joke, reporting it to the police is daft. And thirdly, the only impact has been to provide more publicity and sell more tickets for Joe's shows.
He said "Charmed, and hopefully amused, the rozzers have since closed the matter. You'll be pleased to know that the joke - which I consider to be one of the best I've ever written - remains firmly and proudly in the show."
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Speaking Tip of the week - There's too many of them! |
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Some speakers are happy to talk to small groups, but go to pieces when faced with an audience of several hundreds, or even thousands. There's no need to worry. In fact, having once spoken to an audience of several thousand, I can tell you that it's easy, since you can't see them in the darkness beyond the footlights anyway.
But let's assume you can actually see the audience. What's the best way to cope with a much larger crowd than you are used to? Here are some tips
- Don't change your style
- Always use individual language, such as "Have you.." rather than "How many of you have..."
- Do not try to play a "character"
- You may need to enlarge your gestures - "from the shoulder" as actors say
- Look into their eyes - and look out for friendly faces
- Smile and enjoy it
- Don't be afraid to respond to comments or reactions
- Use the stage and scan the audience
- Rehearse on the empty stage well beforehand
- In fact - don't change much at all!
As you watch the audience, you may spot a few people apparently not paying attention. How dare they! You should ignore them. There will always be a few in every audience, and the larger the crowd, the higher the chance that you will spot them.
Keep it conversational too. Address the audience directly, asking them questions and responding to their interests. Don't be afraid to pause, and help yourself to a drink of water. Remember that you can only ever look into one person's eyes, and talk to them directly. The number of people surrounding them doesn't matter.
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Media Tip of the week - An honest tale speeds best, being plainly told |
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The title of this piece is from Shakespeare's Richard III (Act 4, Scene 4). It's a pity that Leicester University researchers didn't read it a few years ago. If they had thought about things in more detail, they may have realised that keeping the assembled hacks at a press conference in suspense about the skeleton found under a Leicester car park may have been a mistake.
There had been much excitement when the skeleton was found, with speculation that it was the remains of the last Plantaganet king of England. The press conference was the "reveal", but the researchers were coy to begin with, planning to make the big announcement as the event concluded.
Alas, academics aren't aware of the pressure of 24-hour news, and the hierarchy that naturally occurs as stories break. Before they could say "Richard Crookback", a fair proportion of the assembled media had headed for the door. The reason was that their iPhones had buzzed with the news that a former Cabinet minister had pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice, which is a far bigger honeypot for media bees than even a rediscovered royal.
What's the message? If you've got news to share, don't tease the media with it. Tell them the big headline to grab their interest, and then talk in more detail. Otherwise a bigger story may make them head for the door.
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Social Media Tip of the week - Do as you would be done by |
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Victorian author Charles Kingsley wrote ‘The Water Babies’ and included the character of Mrs-Do-As-You-Would-Be-Done-By. Though fictional, it's a great example of nominative determinism, like Mrs Bunn the Baker, or Mr Plod the police constable.
I remember reading the book as a child and the name stuck with me.
It's a given that you should always offer help to others when you are using social networking sites. Of course, it's fine to ask for help too. Alas, there are some social networkers who only ever ask for advice, and never give anything back. That's not just a feature of social networks. All of us know contacts who only ever "take" from us (and presumably they don't remain contacts for long).
However, on sites like Linkedin and Facebook, the impact of being a "taker" rather than a "giver" is more apparent. Because replies and comments are often public, your behaviour towards others is seen by the community at large. Just as being helpful will enhance your reputation, being unhelpful will damage it.
So take the initiative. Don't just wait to be asked for advice, but post articles and features which others will find useful. Your reputation and influence will grow, and as a result, business will come to you.
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Should you ever want to live (or re-live) the days of disco, it's useful to know the moves. Finnish dance legend Åke Blomqvist shows you how. It's a wild and groovy party at the end. |
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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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