The Media Coach

Hi John,

On Tuesday, we went to see one of the world's greatest living singer/songwriters, James Taylor.

He not only put on a fantastic show, he demonstrated how a truly great professional behaves.

He started exactly on time. He played both halves of the show himself, with no support act. In the 20-minute interval, he stayed at the front of the stage, signing autographs and posing for photos.

He played several encores which had the whole crowd on their feet dancing and singing.

And as he introduced each member of the band, he went over to them and gave them a hug, making sure to explain to the audience why they were playing with him.

It's the best all-round performance from an artist that I've seen in many years. If he ever plays a show near you, do whatever you can to go along.

"Beleaguered" is a word that is sometimes used about politicians who have overstayed their time in office, and are finding that things are stacking up against them.

I can't recall ever hearing it about a Prime Minister who was been in office for only 38 days. Yet that is the word being mainly used about the UK PM, Liz Truss. She's suffering death by metaphor.

In the last few days alone, people have described her as "driving at a hundred miles an hour into a cul-de-sac", "having less empathy than a piece of wood", and one which I think is particularly creative which described her government as "like a circus where the lion tamer has run away and the lions are eating the acrobats one by one".

One of her own back-benchers apparently told a reporter "she's even less likely to survive Christmas than a turkey"

"Dear oh dear" as King Charles said this week when he met her for a weekly audience.

Thinking of working with me as your speaking coach? Here's what one of my clients, Prof Dr Nicole Jekel, says:

"Alan is my recommendation for persons who have already reached everything and want to improve their speeches to get above their 100%. Then Alan is THE COACH. All the persons I spoke to, told me: 'Yes. Nicole. Best coach I ever had.' Why? Alan knows so much. His content is king. His humour is great. His motivation is wonderful. His heart for people is so incredible, so that all feel good. And his English is also understandable for non-native English persons. Alan is amazing. Full recommendation!"

If you'd like to speak at the highest level, like Nicole, let's have a chat.

The Media Coach Web Radio Show is back with a bang.

Legendary music journalist Paul Sexton has written the authorised biography of the late Rolling Stones drummer, Charlie Watts.

Called "Charlie's good tonight" the book details the remarkable life of a man who once said of the Stones, a band he graced for 50 years “I have tried to resign after every tour since 1969, but each time they talk me back into it, It’s like being in the army. They don’t let you leave.”

The book has just been released and is a fabulous read. I chatted to Paul about it, as you can hear on the Media Coach Radio Show.

And there's a fantastic song from Rob Corcoran, who played a great set at the Dublin conference I organised recently. He was able to bring his mum to watch too!

The MediaMug was suggested by another good pal of mine, Niels Brabandt.

It's radio host Alex Jones, who has just been hit with a fine of $965million dollars for falsely claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

Jones, who founded the conspiracy-laden Infowars website and talk show, argued for years that the massacre was a "staged" government plot to take guns from Americans and that "no-one died". He called the parents of victims "crisis actors" and argued that some of them never actually existed.

He now acknowledges the attack was "100% real", a concession he made in August at a separate defamation trial in Texas.

However, it is unclear how much money the families will actually receive, with Jones saying on Wednesday there "ain't no money".

Regardless of the payout, it is a shameful episode in radio broadcasting, and hopefully will make others think twice before broadcasting ridiculous conspiracy theories.

I imagine Liz Truss will be having a lot of important meetings in Whitehall this week.

Even though you may not be in on them, it's likely that you will be speaking in meetings from time to time. For some people, it can be quite daunting, especially if other attendees are more senior in the organisation. Even the "this is my name and this is what I do" introduction can make people nervous, causing them to give a poor impression right at the start. So here are a few tips to help you to be more confident in those small gatherings.

1) Listen. In small groups, being a good listener is as important as being a good speaker. Show interest in others' comments, both by your expression and body language. Never interrupt, but make notes if you wish to refer back to a point when it's your turn to speak.

2) Talk to everyone. Don't just address your comments to the meeting chair or the last person to speak. In a small group it's easy to make eye contact with everyone in turn as you make your remarks. Making everyone feel included will help to lighten the atmosphere.

3) Ask, don't tell. Encourage feedback from the rest of the group, and actively seek their participation. That's the point of a meeting, to ensure that everyone's views are heard. Otherwise, you could just send the information by email.

4) Keep your language simple, Avoid any business jargon (don't mention "out of the box thinking" or "rocket science"). For example, look at the editorial in any national newspaper. That always has a strong message, in very simple language.

5) Be positive Focus on things that need to be done rather than things that went wrong. When referring to comments from others, find the positives to agree with. Summarise the points of agreement often.

Bonus Tip 6) Be ruthless. Only hold a meeting if you really need one!

I appear on national radio and TV, but far more often, I appear on local radio.

Some dismiss local radio as being a waste of time, with audiences dominated by retired people and stay-at-home parents. That's far from the truth, in every respect. There are many benefits which can stem from an appearance on local radio.

Listeners to local radio stations are very loyal, and trust what they hear. In fact it's because of the local news and sport that people feel a stronger bond with local radio presenters than national broadcasters. If you are interviewed by a well-loved local voice, and you get on well, with maybe even a recommendation for your services, your credibility will soar. As for the audience, evening shows will attract listeners of all types, including your potential customers. Even if you are interviewed during the day, clips of your interview may be played in news bulletins in the evening, or your entire interview may be repeated late at night.

If you ever are offered the chance to appear on local radio, take it. It's worth it.

My hair is grey, but I prefer to call it "distinguished". It's a sign of age (and hopefully wisdom). But that's not what I'm talking about here. I notice two aspects to "greyness" in social media.

The first is obvious - a grey silhouette where your picture should be. That won't do. It's hard enough to make a personal connection online without hiding yourself in the shadows. So, please, a nice smiling head and shoulders picture. That's better.

The other aspect of greyness is simply being dull. You do have to make a bit of an effort. There's no need to go over the top and tell everyone how wonderful you are, but you do need to say something of interest.

Focus on your expertise, and especially on what help you can offer others. Mention some specific examples of how your expertise has been of benefit to people. Be careful of overt marketing (social media doesn't work for that), but make it very clear what you do.

Don't be grey online. But no need to reach for the hair dye either.

Tonight, a few pals and I are off to see a brilliant stand-up comedian, Stewart Lee. He's not your standard stand-up as this clip shows.