The Media Coach

Hi John,

Last weekend, Ride London took place with tens of thousands of cyclists riding through London and Essex, raising millions of pounds for charity.

I was volunteering at one of the pit stop areas in Woodford, where riders could take a break, get refreshments and have any repairs done.

I was incredibly impressed by the actions of the mechanics, who were able to fix almost anything in a couple of minutes. It's a shame that we can't have people who can fix anything in a matter of minutes. Of course, if you need a speech fixed, you know who to call.

Perhaps taking a lead from Rishi Sunak's sopping wet campaign launch last week, LibDem leader Ed Davey took a dip in Lake Windermere when he fell off a paddleboard.

But all was not what it seemed. He later admitted that he'd arranged the stunt to ensure that press cameras were present to record any mishaps, and that he fell off the board deliberately to make a point about the dreadful state of our polluted lakes and rivers.

So now it's Keir Starmer's turn to get wet. We shall see....

I've just opened new registrations for my annual speaker coaching programme. Seven spaces remain, so drop me a line today if you're interested.

My guest in the radio show this week is my old pal Steve Catchick.

Steve is known as The Secret Salesforce Strategist. He is the founder of The Secret Salesforce Programme and equips businesses to develop a team of Brand Ambassadors in order to drive engagement, reduce churn and contribute to profit.

His award- winning customer service programme at IBM, contributed to a substantial increase in sales, customer satisfaction scores and a record high employee morale. Once, as the senior account engineer working on customer site, he took back a £1/4m contract to the company. He knows what it takes to win sales through service.

Hear our chat in the in the radio show

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And there's a superb song from Simon Stanley Ward

The MediaMug of the week goes to Elon Musk.

During an interview at the Viva Tech event, Mr Musk, renowned for his unconventional remarks, reached new heights.

When the host jokingly suggested that Musk might be an alien, Musk responded with a straight-faced agreement, igniting a mix of amusement and curiosity.

He further added, "Yes, I keep telling people I'm an alien, but nobody believes me."

He has since said that he will soon be providing "proof" on social media of his extra-terrestrial origins. I can't wait.

If you are asked to speak in a debate, make sure you know the rules. Debates have a structure in order to make sure that everyone who wishes to speak can do so, uninterrupted, and that a vote can be taken to determine the outcome. Most debates are held simply to air views, and winning or losing is not the main point. Delivering an informed and entertaining speech is what matters, and is what people have come to hear.

You must defer to the person chairing the debate. They will call you to speak, keep time and allow other participants their turn. If you are proposing or opposing the motion, you will be allowed an opening speech and some closing remarks. The former should be prepared in advance, but the latter should include responses to points made during the debate. That means that you need to take notes, and use them to make sure that you respond to all the issues raised.

Here are some tips for an opening speech in a debate:

And for a closing speech:



Whenever I'm preparing a client for a media interview, their main concern is "What will the journalist ask me?". Of course, I can't read the mind of their prospective interviewer, but I can make a pretty good guess. There are three types of questions I suggest we work on.

1) The blindingly obvious. Most of the questions will be of this type, such as "How do you feel?" "What's your reaction?" "Can you tell us what happened?" These really are easy questions. If you aren't ready for this type of question, you shouldn't be doing the interview. Questions like this give you the opportunity to deliver your core message, and to repeat it several times. In short, this is an opportunity to make your case, as strongly as you can.

2) The irrelevant question. Remember that the journalist will know far less about the topic than you do. They may only have read the first line of a press release, or may simply know your name and job title. This presents you with an opportunity, since you are able to explain your point of view in some detail, as a way of correcting any misconceptions in the question. Never suggest that a reporter is ill-informed, though, since that will only make the remaining questions a lot tougher.



3) The question you don't want. Never go into an interview hoping that a particular question won't be asked. You should expect to be asked the trickiest question, and you should prepare to deal with it. If the question isn't asked, you could even refer to it yourself, as a way of demonstrating that you aren't avoiding the issue. You will earn a great deal of respect from listeners if you tackle the toughest question with confidence.

When I order a takeaway meal from our local curry restaurant (usually The Lane in Wanstead, since you ask), I have simple demands. There are only a few things that concern me. Is it hot and on time? Is it what I ordered? Does it taste good? So far, I haven't been disappointed.

It's the same with "bleeding edge" technologies. I was reminded of this following a phone call from an app developer (she obviously doesn't read this ezine), telling me about a great new piece of software to "enhance my Facebook customers' experience". I asked how many companies were using it. She told me "Some have it in beta test". I asked whether it had improved sales. She said "It's designed to do that". I asked for another client I could speak to. She said "We keep our client details confidential".

In short, she couldn't prove that it could deliver. That was the end of the conversation.

My view is that my customers don't care what technology you use, as long as it tastes good. I'm not against using a different feature - I'm a great advocate of audio and video for example - but if you use it, make sure that it delivers.

Otherwise your visitors will call another restaurant next time.

This shouldn't work at all, but it does. Californian Maneater featuringThe Eagles and Hall and Oates. Enjoy!

Investing in a one-day course could save you a fortune one day. 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."