The Media Coach | 9th February 2024

Building and Protecting your Reputation

Hi John,


Oops.


I missed an anniversary.


While I was browsing through back issues of this ezine, I noticed that I'd already sent over one thousand weekly editions since 2003.


This is issue 1,010. So whether you've been with me for many years, or have just subscribed (or somewhere in between), thank you very much.


As you know, this ezine is free, and will always remain so. Feel free to tell your friends about it. Here's to the next thousand!

Last weekend, I went to see comedian Daniel Sloss at the London Palladium. It was a birthday present from my daughter (thanks Ellie).


It was a brilliant performance. Sharp, funny and undoubtedly offensive. Not to us, but to some people.


Daniel made the point that all comedy is likely to offend someone. Perhaps not the majority of people, but some people. His point was that it's hard to do comedy at all without someone taking offence, but that doesn't mean it's a problem.


Many comedians, including Ricky Gervais, make the same point. It's an interesting debate. I come down on the side of comedians. I wonder where you stand?

My guest in the radio show this week is Robert Miller, a musician and podcaster.


Robert and his band, Project Grand Slam, have released a total of 13 albums including a Billboard number one (Trippin) and have had millions of video views and streams.


Robert is also the host of the Follow Your Dream Podcast which is ranked in the Top 1% with listeners in 200 countries. Robert releases all his new music through the podcast.


We found out that we had a lot in common - not just our taste in music.


Hear our chat in the in the radio show.

Go to the MediaCoach Show


Follow me on X (Twitter)

And there's a beautiful track from MediaMaestro Paul Brett, who we sadly lost this week, playing with the still lively Gordon Giltrap.

MediaMaestro, MediaMug of the Week

The MediaMaestro is TV presenter Kate Garraway, who returned to her role hosting the ITV show Good Morning Britain on Thursday.


It's been just a week since the funeral of her husband, Derek Draper, who she nursed and cared for over four years after he fell seriously ill with Covid complications.


Her devotion to her husband and family has been remarkable and she has been incredibly strong, at least in public, throughout.


She said it was "lovely" to be back but she felt a little "wobbly".


She added: "The make-up girls had me in tears this morning just by saying hello."


Co-host Ben Shephard said he would give Ms Garraway a bit of "leeway", before saying she did her husband proud with the "extraordinary funeral".


I wish her and her family well for the future.

The MediaMug of the week is the police force in Mumbai, India.


Eight months ago, they arrested a pigeon on suspicion of it being a Chinese spy. This week the pigeon was released after no charges were brought. (I'm not making this up).


The bird was detained by officers after it was captured in May last year. It was found with two rings tied to its legs featuring words that appeared to be Chinese. Detectives suspected the pigeon was involved in espionage and took it in.


However, the pigeon refused to talk and was eventually found to be a racing bird from Taiwan.


Clearly it wasn't meant to be a jail bird.

Speaking Tip of the week - Review and Renew

If you speak regularly, you will have a fund of stories that you use, examples that you quote, and people that you mention. It is a good idea to review these from time to time to make sure that they still resonate with your audience. You don't need to change that much (and may not need to change anything at all), but if you don't review your content, you could become less successful. 


As speakers, we all know that engaging an audience is key, since if they aren't listening, it doesn't matter what you say. If you make references to popular culture, try to find more contemporary examples that make the same point. For example, I heard a speaker talk recently about how difficult it is to "set a timer on a VCR". Fewer and fewer of your audience will know what a VCR is (it was a video cassette recorder, by the way), let alone why it is difficult to set it. 


Don't throw away all your good stories just because they are a few years old. However, make sure that you use vocabulary and examples that your audience understands. Otherwise, people will start telling stories about you, and "how good you used to be".


All good speakers continually hone their speeches, adding, subtracting and refining stories and anecdotes. However, there are dangers in changing a speech that works well, since you could ruin it for the audience (and you're not being paid to use them to experiment on). 


So, if you want to make changes to a story, keep the rest of the speech the same. If you want to add a new story, put it between two stories that work really well. After your revised speech, note down what worked and what didn't. 



Keep your speeches fresh by continually improving your material. But make sure you keep the good stuff in.

 

Media Tip of the week - Six things you should never say to a journalist

1)This is off the record” A phrase which will make the reporter carefully note everything that you say, and reproduce it to your acute embarrassment. 


2) I don’t think you’ll be able to understand this, so I’ll try to say it as simply as possible”. Never ever talk down to a reporter. They know when they’re being patronised.


3) “I’ve never heard of your website/TV programme”. More often than not, this will be true, but local reporters grow up to be national reporters and if you treat them well, you’ll remain a handy contact in their little black book.


4) “We’re the best in the business”. As soon as the reporter leaves, they’ll check up on your rivals to see whether you’re boasting.


5) “We’ve had fantastic press reviews in the States” Journalists prefer to make their own minds up. Being told that they should copy their overseas colleagues is not a good idea.


6) No comment”. A popular one this, which leads to one of two possible outcomes – “XYZ Ltd declined to confirm or deny rumours that….” Or “XYZ Ltd refused point-blank to talk to us about….” Neither of these is good news for you.

Social Media Tip of the week - Picture this

Back in the day, there was a popular beat combo called Blondie who had a song called "Picture This". I was listening to it the other day and thought about how people use pictures in their social media posts.


Marketing firm MDG Advertising discovered that content paired with an image attracted 94% more views on average than content without visuals. The same research found that 60% of consumers say they’re more likely to consider or contact a business that has an image appearing in search results.


So using images is a good idea. Here are a few tips.


  • Avoid stock images, even if you've paid for them
  • Use pictures as part of a story
  • Use your own images if possible
  • Make sure your lens is clean
  • Use natural light rather than flash
  • Use the grid feature on your phone
  • If you have brand colours, use them in the image



5-minute fun fling

Follwoing the Wikipedia penguin last week, several people have asked for a link to "Bash the Penguin". Happy to oblige. Can you beat my score?

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."