The Media Coach | 8th March 2024 |
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Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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| Hi John,
It's International Women's Day, and as someone with a wife and daughter, I'm very focused on the importance of ensuring equality of opportunity for everyone. i was also raised by two women - my mother and grandmother, after my father died when I was very young. I have great deal to thank women for.
I've also worked with several female speakers on speeches to be presented on International Women's Day. OK, maybe they should have chosen a female speech coach, but the point about equity is that people are free to choose whoever they want to work with. |
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| There have been many strong women in my family.
One of the oldest family pictures I have was taken just over a hundred years ago in the garden on Clapham of my great-great grandmother, Princess Charlotte Godwin. She's pictured holding my mother and uncle who were a toddler and baby respectively.
She was born in 1843 and lived in London with her husband William, with whom she had five children, and also raised five more children from a previous marriage. She died in 1939 at the age of 96.
She wasn't a real Princess. that was the name her father gave her. However, she was known by everyone who knew her as the "Princess of Clapham". To be fair though, she was. descendent of Harold Godwin, who was King of England for a while too. |
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| Carrie Martin first picked up a guitar at the age of four and made her first public performance at the tender age of nine, playing at a school concert.
In her teens, she dropped the guitar in favour of a ‘rock chick’ makeover and fronting bands as a singer. Her first band was named Foreign Affair, which may well be one of the most ‘eighties’ names for a band ever conceived!
She didn't pick up a guitar again until 2011, and with the support of her mentor Gordon Giltrap, has now made albums with a number of well-known musicians from the likes of Fairport Convention and Steely Dan.
We had a fascinating conversation abut her extraordinary career. Hear our chat in the in the radio show. |
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And there's great song from Carrie Martin too. |
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MediaMaestro, MediaMug of the Week |
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| The MediaMaestro is Sky News weather reporter Stephen Murphy, who I'm giving a belated award to after his weather report from the south of Ireland in a fierce storm went viral.
Trying to shield his face from the rain, Murphy began: “Welcome to the sunny, south-east of Ireland.”
“It’s pretty bad here and has intensified a great deal over the last hour or so,” Murphy said, as he wiped the rain off his face. “This isn’t even the worst of it – we’re not expecting the worst to hit until mid-afternoon or so.”
An hour later, Murphy did another segment on the weather – admitting it had worsened, as his audio crackled amid the high winds and rain. Then it cut out altogether.
Well done that man! |
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| The MediaMugs of the week are a number of social media users who claimed to have been "traumatised" by the label on a tin of Lyle's Golden Syrup. I'm not making this up.
In case you aren't a user, golden syrup is in my view, the best possible accompaniment to rice pudding.
However, I thought people knew the significance of the lion on the label, which relates to a Biblical story. Samson killed the lion which then became a home for bees to make honey. When he returns to the carcass a few days later he noticed a swarm of bees had build a hive inside. So, Samson took the honey and gave it to his parents. When asked where he got it from, he said: "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet."
However, Lyle's have now decided to replace the lion, which worried people, with a picture of a bee. Oh well. |
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Speaking Tip of the week - How to have stage presence |
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| Having a good script is one thing. Having presence on stage is another. Some people seem to have natural confidence on stage, others want to hide behind the lectern. Here are a few tips to enhance your presence on the platform:
- Ask for a wireless microphone, so you can move around
- Visit the stage before anyone arrives, to rehearse and become comfortable
- Plan the areas you can move in so as not to throw a shadow on the screen
- Mark your boundaries with small pieces of tape
- Learn sections of your speech, especially the open and close
- Look at the audience, not your notes, when speaking
- Use bold gestures from the shoulder
- Don't move all the time. Stand still to speak
- Stay near the front of the stage
- Show your passion
Above all, keep at it. There's an old adage among speakers; "The only way to get good on the platform is to get good on the platform"
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Media Tip of the week - Deliver a powerful interview |
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| Here are five ways to make your media interview a roaring success.
1) Keep your business head on However friendly the interviewer, stay professional. The danger is that you may either fail to deliver your message, or worse still, say something unguarded. Keep your focus at all times.
2) Don't hint at or hide bad news If you have bad news to report, get it out of the way early, and put it in perspective. Don't let the journalist drag it out of you.
3) Stay responsible Never speculate, and never make things up. You will be found out, perhaps not in the interview, but at some point. If you're not sure about an answer, say so, and promise to find out. A second interview will then give you another opportunity to deliver a message.
4) Set the boundaries If there's a topic that you are unable to talk about, perhaps for legal reasons or because of privacy issues, mention it before the interview. If you don't have time beforehand, be polite but firm, and say why you can't discuss it.
5) Keep going for goal Deliver your core message at the start, the end and at all points in between. You can use different words, but keep the same theme. |
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Social Media Tip of the week - Work with your superfans |
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| If you're any good at what you do (and I'm sure you are), there will be some people who hold you in high regard. They will listen to your advice and act on it, and more importantly, tell others how good you are. They are your superfans, and they are worth more to you than any marketing campaign.
How do you find out who your superfans are? Sometimes, they will simply tell you, either in person or digitally. More often, however, they will recommend you to others when they see an opportunity for you. They will repost your content on social networks. They will comment on your posts, even if just to say 'Great blog!"
Once you know who your superfans are, you can work with them directly for your mutual benefit. Invite them into private discussion groups on Facebook. Make them aware of products earlier then anyone else. Ask them to help you test new ideas or services. Make them feel privileged, and they will become more loyal than ever. However, don't try to control your superfans. Allow them to do what they do, even if it's not exactly how you would have liked it. They are your ambassadors, your sales force and your advocates. Work with them and everyone is happy. |
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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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