Hi John,

Beware of scammers.

We had a horrible experience this week. Heather had her Facebook and Instagram accounts hacked and lost access to both. The Facebook account has now been deleted by the scammer so the only option has been to start new accounts on both.

You can imagine how frustrating that has been, but everything can be rebuilt.

You probably have secured your accounts, but do ensure that you have two-factor authentication and change your password regularly.

Most importantly, if you receive an unusual request, even if it appears to be from someone you know, check it out by calling them or texting them. And if you're unsure, don't follow any request.

The Exceptional Speaker Masterclass will be an in-person day in Central London on Tuesday 23rd July from 9.30am to 4pm.

Learn how to plan, structure and deliver sensational speeches with energy and passion.

Practical, informative and life changing.

£247 (no VAT), including a signed copy of The Exceptional Speaker, all refreshments and lunch.

If you sign up for my 6 or 12 month coaching programme, the day is free.

Get in touch now to book your place.

My guest in the radio show this week is my great friend Andy Lopata.

Andy is an acclaimed professional relationships strategist, who has worked with global clients including Paypal, GlaxoSmithKline and Brother.

He has written six books on networking and professional relationships, with his sixth book, ‘The Financial Times Guide to Mentoring’ published in Spring 2024.

He writes a regular blog for Psychology Today and has often been quoted in the media, including The Sunday Times, The Financial Times and Inc.

In fact, the FT called Andy ‘one of Europe’s leading business networking strategists’ and both Forbes.com and The Independent called him ‘a true master of networking’.

We had an excellent conversation about his latest book.

Hear our chat in the in the radio show

Go to the MediaCoach Show

Follow me on X (Twitter)

And there's a great song from Iain Matthews, who I will be seeing playing at the Sound Lounge in Sutton tonight.

The MediaMug of the week goes to the current UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

As you know, I don't talk about partisan politics. However, when any politician makes a bit of a gaffe, I call it out.

This is not about Rishi Sunak leaving the D-Day commemorations early (though that was a huge error), but about an interview he did this week.

When pressed about his childhood, and what he had to go without, he struggled for a moment and kept saying "lots of things". Eventually he managed to come up with a specific response - "Sky TV".

Oh dear. It must have been awful.

A client of mine shared a video of a speaker who had been at the same conference they's recently spoken at.

They told me that the speaker was a complete mismatch for the audience. I watched the video, and they were right. I've never seen a speaker with such a poor connection to the audience. Obviously, I won't name them, or the event, but it did prompt some thoughts about how to make sure your speech works for the audience.

1) Never take a gig you aren't suited for

Whatever the temptation, never agree to a speech if you think you're not right for that audience. It will do your reputation a lot of damage.

2) Do your research

Find out as much as you can about the audience and what they are expecting to hear. See the next point too.

3) Talk to audience members in advance

It's perfectly OK - I fact it's an excellent idea - to ask the organiser for contact details of a few audience members, and have a chat with them about your speech. They will give you insights that the organiser won't know, and allow you to tailor your speech to them.

4) Be prepared to modify your speech as you go

Always watch the reaction of audience members. If they seem confused, or even worse, irritated, It's time to change course.

5) Never insult your audience

Not that you ever would of course! But the example I saw certainly did, and it removed any possibility of a good outcome.

We're seeing a lot of politicians being interviewed at the moment. I guarantee that a lot of people are at home shouting "Answer the question!"

The issue is that politicians (and others) are so desperate to get their message across that they will often ignore the question and plough on with an unrelated statement.

That's a technique known as "bridging" which I teach to interviewees, allowing them to "bridge" from the question to the message they want to deliver.

However, there is a second part to the technique that I teach and that is "bridging back". You have to be able to return to answer the specific question that was asked before moving on.

That's the part which many politicians overlook or ignore when being interviewed. However, if you use the "bridge back", you will achieve the dual objective of both answering the question and delivering your message.

Finally, use "bait" at the end of your answer to prompt a question that leads back to your message, using a phrase like "....but of course, there is one other aspect that often isn't discussed"

Last weekend, I was a volunteer at the Major League Baseball game in the London Stadium between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies.

I've seen games before, so I know the rules, one of the most important of which is that three strikes mean you are out. That's it - you walk off the plate back to your team and don't take any further part until the end of the inning.

For some time now, I've been applying the same approach to social media. It's really easy to get into a prolonged, and fairly pointless, debate. No-one changes their views, and the dialogue can become increasingly abusive.

So I apply the three strikes rule. After three abusive comments, I'm out. Maybe that's too generous - I could leave the debate after the first insult. But instead, I respond asking for respect, and even if the other party remains abusive, I give them a third chance. But that's it. There is nothing to be gained by continually escalating the debate.

Steven Wright is the absolute king of one-liners

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."