| Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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Well for a start I'm not going to talk about that thing. I don't always avoid politics in this missive, but on this occasion I am giving it a wide berth. Passions run too high, and I have no intention of upsetting you, dear reader.
I am going to be on my travels over the next few weeks - Germany, The Netherlands and Greece. I fully intend to make use of freedom of movement while it lasts (Oops - almost got political there). However, as usual, I will still be offering tips and advice as well as the occasional opinion every week in your inbox.
I don't know if you're a cricket fan, but even if not, you can't have missed the goings-on between England and Australia last week. I listened to the commentary on dear old TMS (Test Match Special), and the wonderful crew of commentators and summarisers showed once again how they could create an atmosphere of tension and excitement every bit as powerful as actually being at the game.
It may have been even better than TV |
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The MediaMaestro is Greta Thunburg, the young environmental campaigner who has just arrived in New York after crossing the Atlantic on a yacht.
Whether you like her or not, there is no denying her impact.
Ms Thunberg was expected to arrive sooner, but rough seas slowed her progress. She has been documenting the voyage on social media. As she departed the UK two weeks ago, she told the BBC that travelling by boat sends a signal that "the climate change crisis is a real thing".
When asked if she could make US President Donald Trump listen she answered with a simple "no". "I'm not that special. I can't convince everyone," she said. "I'm just going to do what I want to do and what will have most impact."
She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year. Ms Thunberg has been diagnosed with Asperger's, a form of autism, which she told the BBC allowed her to "see things from outside the box". |
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The MediaMug is influencer and Instagram celebrity Tupi Saravia who's amassed a large following thanks to her travel content.
However, how much Tupi actually does travel got called into question after a follower noticed an odd detail about the clouds in her photos - specifically, the formation in nearly all her pictures is identical.
It was first picked up on by Matt Navarra who captioned his tweet with: "This travel 'influencer' spookily has the same clouds in every photo."
After noticing some of the comments in response to the "revelation", Tupi struck back with her defence, explaining:"Its an app called QUICKSHOT that Ive always been open about with my followers," she said. "Actually there is a highlighted story on my feed where you can see how I edit my pics changing the sky. No big deal, I use it for better composition in my pictures when the actual pic has a burnt or overexposed sky"
But her followers are not all convinced. One commented "She changes the sky - what else does she change?" |
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| Speaking Tip - Never, ever wing it |
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Although many people are still terrified of public speaking (or "potential clients" as I call them), there are those of us, maybe including you, dear reader, to whom it holds fewer fears. Therein lies the danger.
There are two common situations when an experienced speaker may be tempted to speak without due preparation. The first is when they have given the same speech many times before, and become over-confident about delivering without any rehearsal. The second is when asked to "say a few words" and deciding "I'm a speaker - I don't need to prepare".
Let's consider the first one. You may indeed be able to deliver a competent speech. You may get a good reception. However, have you really done a good job? If you don't consider the needs of each and every audience, you won't be doing a professional job. In fact, you might as well give them a video link to watch at home. You must prepare for every speech, even if you know your topic inside out. To do otherwise is disrespectful to your audience.
The second example is equally important. You must prepare, even if you take only ten minutes to yourself before speaking. Otherwise, you risk making a faltering speech, possibly getting names or titles wrong, and an unimpressive finish. It is quite acceptable (and probably necessary) to work from notes for an impromptu speech, so preparation is essential.
Don't ever wing it! |
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There are two speeds in local newsrooms - too slow and too fast. On slow days, they'll be looking for any stories that will keep viewers or listeners from changing the channel. However, when a big story is breaking, there's nothing you can offer them that they will be interested in. So, always ask if they are able to talk before trying to pitch your story. If they are madly busy, say you'll call back another day, and your action will be much appreciated.
Don't try to sell your story to the reporter you see or hear, since they rarely make the decisions about what to cover. Instead, contact the editors directly, preferably by finding out their names and phoning them. Early morning is OK, prior to the morning meeting that decides the stories for the day. If you're aiming at a teatime local news show, don't call in the late afternoon. No-one will have time to talk to you
Most importantly of all, find a local angle. It doesn't matter where in the world a story happens, if you can find a link to something you do, tell your local media about it. For example, I was in Stafford a few years ago. The local news "Midlands Today" had a five-minute piece about a local film maker, who was a black boy adopted by a white couple. He has offered to send his documentary about his upbringing in the Midlands to Madonna, who was in the news because of her wish to adopt an African child. It was a good story, with a great local angle. Mind you, there was a four minute piece about a sheepdog that climbed trees later in the bulletin. Hmmm.
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| Social Media Tip - Are you grey? |
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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.
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| One more question before you go... |
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Nervous about unexpected questions in a media interview? I can help.
Just click the link. |
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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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