The Media Coach | 15th December 2023 |
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Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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| Heather and I went to see a wonderful theatrical production this week - The Lost Library of Spitalfields Market.
A disused shop in Spitalfields has been turned into a small theatre for a pre-Christmas show that is absolutely magical.
It's a one-hour play about storytelling, love, loss and redemption, brilliantly staged by the Greenhouse Theatre Company.
Isla (Ronay Poole) happens upon what appears to be a shop. There she meets Max (Eoin Lynch) and they share spellbinding stories.
It runs up until Christmas Eve, and tickets are still available.
I recommend it very highly. |
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| It's nearly Christmas and it's nearly my birthday too. My mother used to tell me I was due on Christmas Day and was due to be called Noel, so I clearly sensed that and arrived on the 17th instead.
Anyway, to celebrate, I'd like to give you a present. I'm giving away five half-hour coaching sessions for anyone who needs any help with their speaking. I'll pick five at random from every any emails received up until the 21st of December. To respond, simply email me at alan@mediacoach.co.uk, with the subject line "Free coaching". Good luck! |
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| My guest in the radio show this week is Emily Wolfe.She is a dynamic vocalist, accomplished guitarist and sharp songwriter, delivering a brand of rock ‘n’ roll that is raw and relevant, anchored by emotionally charged lyrics and a powerhouse stage presence.
Inspired by the likes of Hole, Nirvana and Alanis Morissette, she envisaged a specific sound for what would become her new album ‘The Blowback’, opting to self-produce the new album in order to fully realise it She was an amazing guest.
Hear our chat in the in the radio show. |
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MediaMaestro, MediaMug of the Week |
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| The MediaMaestro is Leslie Horton, a traffic reporter with Global News Morning Calgary. She was giving her usual traffic report when she took the opportunity to address a negative email she received from a viewer earlier that day.
“I’m just going to respond to an email that I just got saying: ‘Congratulations on your pregnancy,’” Horton said on-air, as she stood in front of the studio’s green screen. “If you’re gonna wear old bus driver pants then you have to expect emails like this,” the message read.
“So, thanks for that,” she replied. She then spoke directly to the body-shamer for criticising her outfit choice.
“No, I’m not pregnant. I actually lost my uterus to cancer last year, This is what women of my age look like. So, if it is offensive to you, that is unfortunate.” She concluded her on-air message: “Think about the emails that you send.” |
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| The MediaMug of the week is ex-footballer and outspoken pundit Joey Barton.
He's been sounding off about female football reporters, saying men who enjoy listening to women commentating on men's football matches "need their heads testing".
He's now raised the stakes by inviting two women commentators who responded to appear on his podcast, saying
“Anyone who wants to come and debate me in this space? All genders are welcome. It will be 2 hours of raw debate. Unedited. Any of you brave enough? Bianca Westwood and Laura Woods had a lot to say recently, I’ll do you both in the same sitting if you like. You can team up. I’ll park you both up together".
The women have so far not responded. I'd advise them not to. He's an unreconstructed idiot.
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Speaking Tip of the week - To what do you refer? |
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| Do you have good references? No, I don't mean testimonials from previous employers. I mean do you have some strong reference points in your speech. While no-one warms to the insincere "It's good to be back in Hull..." speech opening, there are a number of ways to include a reference that will strengthen your connection with your audience. Here are four examples.
1) Location OK, I just rubbished that one. But if used more cleverly, it can be a really good way of making people feel you care about them. If you have a genuine family link, or there are similarities between your home and where you are speaking, use them. If not, find out something that local people are very proud of, and use that. It could be a local food, industry or famous individual. It can even be a humorous reference, as long as it demonstrates that you've put some thought into it rather than paying it lip service.
2) Personal This can be a bit tricky, since you don't want to sound self-serving. It's best to use self-deprecation instead. No-one will mind if you poke fun at yourself.
3) Literature Though you shouldn't fill your speech with other people's quotes, using a line or two from a book or poem can work well, provided it has a strong relevance to your topic. For example, you might open by saying "As Dickens put it in The Tale of Two Cities, 'it was the best of times, it was the worst of times'. That sums up my analysis of the business environment perfectly".
4) Anniversaries You can always look up a matching date in history and make a connection. If you're reading this when it arrives on December 15th, you may not be aware that on this day in 1970, the Soviet Venera 7 was the first spacecraft to land on another planet (Venus). Well you know now! |
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Media Tip of the week - On the panel tonight |
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| Panel debates often feature on broadcast news channels or may be set up to give audiences a chance to ask questions of politicians. If you find yourself on a panel, here are a few tips which may help:
- Find out who else is on the panel, and do some research on their opinions
- Prepare a couple of stories that make your point
- Never interrupt. Listen and plan your response
- Lift your hand to indicate you wish to speak
- Address your responses in general to the person chairing the debate.
- If you speak directly to the audience, make it brief.
- Never insult another panellist, or use abusive language
- Respect the views of others. Don't react. Directors love reaction shots.
- Stay calm, even if others become angry
- Have a prepared and powerful statement to finish on
Finally, stick around after the debate to chat to the presenter (if they have time) or production team members. You could find that you are asked for a one-to-one interview.
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Social Media Tip of the week - Are you really social? |
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| Just about everywhere you go, there are little signs that say "Follow us on Instagram" or "Like our Facebook page". That's fine, since at least it shows an awareness of the importance of social media. But it only works if someone in the business is engaged with people on Insta and Facebook. Here are three ways to be really social in business.
1) Limit your social networks It's perfectly OK to be only on Instagram. Everyone else is, so it's easy for people to find you. More importantly, it's easier for you to keep tabs on what is being said about you if it's all in one place. However, if you can be on many channels, and have conversations on each one, that's fine. Too many organisations spread themselves over dozens of channels, and respond on none of them.
2) Know how social channels work There are many horror stories about failures to understand how people behave on social media. It's not acceptable to delete criticism, manufacture good reviews or be abusive to customers. I know, it sounds obvious, but some people seem to think that an argument on social media is a one-to-one dialogue. It isn't. Even if no-one is watching at the time, the details can spread like wildfire. Make sure that your social media managers (or just you) understand netiquette.
3) Deliver on your promises If you offer a prize in an online competition, make sure you award it, and tell people about it too. People will find out if you haven't. I heard of a company that decided not to make an award because they received only a handful of entries. Bad mistake. They were asked "who won?" and had to admit their non-action. You must always do what you say you will. Every time.
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Looking for a speaker coach? |
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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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