Hi John,

A very Happy St David's Day to you.

On days like this (and when the Welsh rugby team is not playing England), I call in my Welsh heritage.

After my grandmother died, I discovered that she was born in Wales (Swansea to be exact), so all those years I never knew that I was eligible to play for Wales, hampered only by my innate lack of skill at football and rugby.

I also had my DNA checked, and found out that I am just a little Welsh (3%) as well as Norwegian/Swedish (7%), Irish (10%) Germanic (13%) and English (67%)

Of course, we're all a mixture of backgrounds. If' only it translated into being easy to learn other languages.

We're taking a break in the beautiful Caribbean island of St Lucia right now.

So if you get it touch, it may take a little while to respond.

If there's anything urgent, especially offers of speaking gigs. my excellent colleague Nicola will be able to help.

She's contactable on nicola@mediacoach.co.uk

Dan Flanigan is a novelist, poet, and playwright, as well as a practicing lawyer in Kansas City and New York.

His recently published novel, Mink Eyes, is set in 1986 and explores the “greed is good” dynamic and the cultural tensions and gender complexities of that era.

It is a modern hero’s quest in mystery-detective form. He's also written a book of poetry and a collection of short stories. Interesting man...

Hear our chat in the in the radio show.

Go to the MediaCoach Show

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And there's another excellent song from Simon Stanley Ward.

The MediaMug of the week is Noh Huyn-soo, a South Korean art student, who visited the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul and reportedly ate a banana which was on display as an art piece called "Comedian" simply because he skipped breakfast and was hungry.

He then taped the banana peel back onto the museum wall.

The museum did not take punitive measures against Noh but instead replaced the banana peel with a fresh banana. Typically, the museum replaces the banana every two to three days anyway.

The museum stated that it does not have plans to claim damages or press charges against the student.

This isn’t the first time a hungry onlooker has eaten “Comedian.” In 2019, performance artist David Datuna snatched the banana from the wall at the Perrotin Gallery at Art Basel in Miami and ate the fruit in front of shocked onlookers.

But for the artist, Maurizio Cattelan, the frequent consumption of his work is “no problem.”

Cattelan acknowledges that his work is largely satirical and pokes fun at the absurdities of popular culture. Even for those who have ingested his art, like David Datuna, Cattelan’s art is a product of “genius,” The Guardian reports.

Well I never.

It's a good time of year to tidy up your speeches. Look at the references and study the stories. I tend to replace around a third of my material each year, to keep stories and examples contemporary. Of course, there are some signature stories that endure, but if your references are decades old, much of your audience may have no idea what you're talking about.

It's hard to take out stories that have served you well over the years, but you need to look at it from the point of view of your audience. Like it or not, many of them now come from a generation that was born thirty years after the moon landings and the break-up of The Beatles. If you see blank expressions as you tell your tale, or find yourself having to explain who the characters were, it's probably time to consign that one to the archives.

The thing is, there are so many new stories to include. In your area of expertise, stuff happens all the time, and since you're the sort of person who keeps up to date, you will be seeing a constant stream of new examples. Adding these into your speeches not only shows your audience that you have contemporary knowledge, it also helps to keep your delivery fresh.

So here's the challenge to you. Review your speeches, and add in one new story to each one. You'll probably have to take something out to make room, unless you decide to speak faster (not a good idea). Try it out for a few speeches. If it doesn't work, put the old story back. I doubt you will.

I find that ruthless pruning helps my speeches to flower much better next year. Get out those clippers. Good luck.     

There are lots of misconceptions about the media. Here are five.

1) I need to ring journalists to make sure they have received my media release, and see if they are going to use it

Er...No. This is the first job given to a press office trainee to make them realise that it is not a good idea. Never pester a journalist about press releases. They'll contact you if they want more information.

2) I should ignore freelance journalists - they move around too much

No again. Freelance journalists should be cultivated, because they move around. They work for more journals and broadcasters, are more experienced, and likely to be career professionals. Aim at developing a long-term relationship with them.

3) Journalists are out to get me

Probably not. Journalists rarely have vendettas against individuals or companies. It doesn't mean you will always get an easy time, but there isn't any hidden agenda.

4) I know I'll get good coverage if I pay for a big media conference

Unless you are a huge company with a great new product, don't even consider a press conference. No one will turn up. Instead, find better and cheaper ways to promote your goods and services, such as talking directly to friendly journalists.

5) They wrote about me, but didn't mention my new product - I'm going to complain

Talk to the reporter after publication by all means, but don't assume that it's their fault that your product wasn't mentioned. The editor and sub-editors make those decisions. Unless you have been libelled, it is not productive to complain, since that may jeopardise your future relationship. At least they mentioned you.

Many social media experts say that you should start out your social media activity by listening to your customers on social networks. I agree, but my advice is to keep listening, all the time. There will always be comments to read, questions to answer and debates to engage in, so it should be a constant element of your social media strategy.

A common response is "I don't have time", and of course, none of us can afford to be on LinkedIn and Facebook every minute of the day. That's where alerts come in. If you set up Google alerts on topics that you are interested in, you will be able to respond next time you log on. You should also set aside some time (half an hour each day if possible) simply to "be there", watching the flow of the conversation and commenting if appropriate.

There's no way that you will see everything that's posted about your area of expertise. However, you need to know what are the hot topics and current concerns of your customers, and equally importantly, the worries of your potential customers.

Never stop listening.     

You can travel the wold at random at MapCrunch, which displays random scenes from Google Street view. Beware - it's addictive!

A reminder to look no further. Just get in touch. 07986 852621

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."