Hi John,

It's been a rough old week for the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer,

Set-piece speeches are something of a rarity these days for politicians, but conference season means that they are a requirement.

I think we all know the feeling when we slip up and use a word we didn't mean. To be fair, he recovered very well. And hopefully those sausages will soon be free.

Although this ezine will be closing down soon I'm continuing to offer speaker coaching.

You can find out more on my website, or you can drop me a line.

If you want to deliver exceptional speeches, I'd be happy to help.

My guest in the radio show this week is former member of The Rubettes, Mick Clark.

Since he parted company with The Rubettes' original lead singer Alan Williams, who emigrated to Australia, he has struck out with fellow band member John Richardson, recording the self-penned track Honey Love which recently reached number 5 in the Heritage Charts.

This year is for Mick and John a particularly important year as it is the 50^th Anniversary since they knocked ABBA off the number one spot in the UK charts with Sugar Baby Love, which went on to sell over 3 million copies! 

They are hoping that Born To Do It will also create a memorable impact in the hearts and minds of the general public, reminiscent of the catchy doo wop style and falsetto laden vocals of their 70s smash hit.

Hear our fascinating chat in the in the radio show

Go to the MediaCoach Show

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And there's a terrific song by the Sugar Baby Loves!

The MediaMug of the week goes to Bournemouth Council.

They issued a £500 fine to a woman who left an Ikea cabinet outside her house for someone who wished to have it for free.

Isabelle Pepin told Sky News she left the medium-sized IKEA cabinet, which had stored children's toys in her son's room, against her front wall.

The graphic designer and artist said after five days a council officer knocked on her door to tell her there was a problem with it being there so she moved it back onto her property and then disposed of it.

But she said she was left "very surprised" when she got another knock on the door three weeks later and was presented with a £500 fine for fly-tipping. She is intending to appeal. And quite right too.

it's likely that you will be speaking in meetings from time to time. For some people, it can be quite daunting, especially if other attendees are more senior in the organisation. Even the "this is my name and this is what I do" introduction can make people nervous, causing them to give a poor impression right at the start. So here are a few tips to help you to be more confident in those small gatherings.

1) Listen. In small groups, being a good listener is as important as being a good speaker. Show interest in others' comments, both by your expression and body language. Never interrupt, but make notes if you wish to refer back to a point when it's your turn to speak.

2) Talk to everyone. Don't just address your comments to the meeting chair or the last person to speak. In a small group it's easy to make eye contact with everyone in turn as you make your remarks. Making everyone feel included will help to lighten the atmosphere.

3) Ask, don't tell. Encourage feedback from the rest of the group, and actively seek their participation. That's the point of a meeting, to ensure that everyone's views are heard. Otherwise, you could just send the information by email.



4) Keep your language simple, Avoid any business jargon (don't mention "out of the box thinking" or "rocket science"). For example, look at the editorial in any national newspaper. That always has a strong message, in very simple language.

5) Be positive Focus on things that need to be done rather than things that went wrong. When referring to comments from others, find the positives to agree with. Summarise the points of agreement often.

Bonus Tip 6) Be ruthless. Only hold a meeting if you really need one!     

A short while ago, I was sitting in the newsroom at GB News's studios in Paddington, waiting to go live on the 8 o'clock news to talk about Elon Musk. It occurred to me that although I spend much of my life in studios, many people will visit a TV or radio studio much less often, and rarely speak to a print journalist.

Yes, I know, I borrowed the title from a best-selling book I've never actually read. That's the journalist in me. Anyway, I thought I'd try to present a summary of ten important media roles that can confuse people, so here goes:

• The editor's decision is final. Go to them if you want something done, or seek redress
• The leader writer is often anonymous, and seeks to summarise a newspaper's views
• The specialist correspondent is your friend, so find out their interests and talk to them
• The staff reporter is a fixture - be nice to them too, and remember their name
• The researcher may be a reporter or editor one day. Never patronise them
• Presenters are not usually experts, but don't underestimate them
• Technicians will help you if you are nice to them
• Producers are on the way to becoming editors, and have a lot of power over how you appear
• The floor manager must be obeyed at all times
• As a last resort, keep in touch with a good lawyer

So, in summary, my advice is "be nice", whether you're dealing with media folk or not.     

A crisis can develop on social media very quickly, and before you know it, like a bushfire, it's out of control. There's a natural temptation to respond to every comment, engage with every critic, and keep putting forward your side of the story. Alas, that often makes things much worse by prolonging the crisis, and keeping it in front of the online community.

I'm not suggesting that you should ignore a crisis. Far from it. However, once you have put forward your side of the story, and apologised if necessary, you should think long and hard about making further remarks. If you feel you have been libelled, or been the subject of strong abuse, then another intervention may be helpful. However, if the comments are simply grumbles about what you did, it may be better to let the fire burn itself out.



Rather than make matters worse, here's a positive strategy for dealing with a crisis on social media:

• Acknowledge the issue. As soon as you realise something is wrong, simply say 'We are aware of issues with our service, and will post an update as soon as possible"
• Respond where the crisis broke. If it appeared on Twitter, respond on Twitter, not Facebook.
• If you need to apologise, do so fast, and mean it.
• Give people a place to complain. They will do it anyway, so offer them a place where you can see their comments.
• Become the prime source of information about the issue.
• Declare the crisis over, and step away from the keyboard
• Analyse what went wrong, and how to prevent it in future.

Here's one of my favourite speakers, the late Jeanne Robertson, with a wonderful story. A brilliant piece of storytelling. 

You know I can help. 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."