Building and Protecting your Reputation | |
Hi John, Well it didn't take long for the news agenda to fill up did it? Ever-worsening bush fires in Australia, a US strike that killed an Iranian military leader, and now a couple of new parents deciding to do different jobs. Of course, the third of those has now become the dominant story, with what we used to call "thousands of column inches" devoted to the decision of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to step aside from royal duties and become what they describe as "financially independent". As ever, I am not going to offer a view on whether their action is a good or a bad idea. However, I will comment on the aspect of their decision with regard to the media. The couple have launched an official website - Sussexroyal.com, which promptly crashed under the weight of visitors. They have pulled no punches when it comes to their new approach to media relations, with this comment about Royal Correspondents appearing on their site: "Britain’s Royal Correspondents are regarded internationally as credible sources of both the work of members of The Royal Family as well as of their private lives. This misconception propels coverage that is often carried by other outlets around the world, amplifying frequent misreporting." Ouch! Nicholas Witchell, a Royal Correspondent at the BBC, was clearly upset, saying "“I have never known Buckingham Palace to be disappointed with other members of the Royal Family”. Perhaps he missed the reaction to Price Andrew's recent interview. | |
My old friend TJ Walker is a New York-based expert on communication and media. He's also prolific on Udemy, and has developed a new line of expertise, which I spoke to him about this week. Hear about his brilliant ideas for self-improvement Media Coach Radio Show. And use this link to get a 95% reduction on his Complete Daily Positive Habits Building Course - just for you, dear reader. There's also a great song from London troubadour, Mick Terry. | |
The MediaMaestro is someone close to home. Very close to home in fact. It's my wife Heather Waring. I hope you will forgive me on this rare occasion for mentioning my better half. She's just written and published her first book "How Walking Saved My Life", and in its first week it was listed as the number one new release in the Walking category on both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Here's part of the book description: "This book will show you how the simple, often under-rated activity of walking can transform your life.... It doesn’t matter whether you walk short or long distances. Whether you walk alone or with others. It doesn’t matter where you walk, be it urban, rural or in wild mysterious places. What matters is that at any level most of us can do this and we can reap the many benefits both physically and mentally." I'm a rather proud husband. You can grab a Kindle copy here. Paperback coming soon. | |
The MediaMug is Professor Samuel Perry, from the University of Oklahoma. He has conducted some research which seems utterly pointless. His conclusion is that church-goers are less likely to own a cat than atheists - partly because some of the latter see cats as a "god substitute" A study of more than 2,000 people in the United States found that those who never set foot in a place of worship own two pets on average, while faithful worshippers have 1.4. It also noted a "strong, negative association between worship attendance and cat ownership", adding that "frequent worship attendees and the most conservative evangelicals report owning fewer pets". I'm not sure what all of this means, but one of my heroes, the late writer Christopher Hitchens, an atheist, said that if you provide a dog with food and water, it will "think you are god. Do the same for cats and "they draw the conclusion that they are god". | |
Speaking Tip - Please welcome to the stage... | |
Being the master of ceremonies (MC, which I intend to cover both genders) is a critical task at any event. It's a role I play often, so I thought I'd offer some tips on being the person who links everything together on stage. Firstly, and most importantly, the job of the MC is to make the other speakers look as good as possible. It's not about stealing the show. You aren't there to tell jokes and stories (unless you have to fill, but more of that in a moment). Preparation, as ever, is very important. As soon as the speakers have been selected, make contact, explain your role, and ask them to supply an introduction. Be sure to ask if there are any matters that are concerning them, such as rehearsals and audio-visual requirements. It isn't your job to resolve these issues, but you should act as a go-between to ensure that everything is covered. There will usually be an event organiser who will arrange a timetable for the event. They are a critical contact for you, and you should keep in close communication with them at all times. When the speakers arrive for their rehearsal, you should be there with them to check their introduction, handover, and what to do if the technology fails. You will be expected to literally step in and cover if anything should go wrong. It's perfectly acceptable (in fact essential) for the MC to take notes on stage. There may be formal announcements, or a precise form of words that a speaker insists on. You don't have to learn their introduction, but you should practice the technique of reading a phrase at a time and looking at the audience when delivering it. Ideally, you should mention the name of the speaker only at the end. During the speech, you need to keep an eye on timing, and alert the speaker with a pre-agreed signal if time is running out. Your job as a professional is to keep the event on time. If that means shortening a break, that's what you do. Slippage through a day is a common fault, and is disrespectful to both the audience and the later speakers. Finally, ensure that everyone is thanked before the event closes. Then you can relax and have that refreshing beverage you've been looking forward to all day. | |
Media Tip - Twelve media don'ts | |
Sometimes, it's important to know what you shouldn't do when working with journalists. Here's my list of twelve things to avoid: Never thank a journalist for the content of an article or broadcast piece. They may think they were too soft on you, or were acting as your PR person. Instead, praise their professionalism. Don't criticise their headline. They didn't write it, the sub-editor did. Don't say 'No Comment". It sounds evasive, especially if they quote you. Don't ask when the piece will appear. They probably don't know, and will have no control over it. Don't ask to be notified when it appears. They are too busy. Don't ask for editing rights. Trust them to do their job. Don't complain if the piece isn't used, or your quote was omitted. It probably wasn't their decision. Don't go "off the record". Just don't say it. Don't be evasive. It will count against you. Don't ramble. When you are at the end of an answer, stop. Don't ever lose your temper. Don't repeat your message in every answer. Maybe every other answer, though. In short, act professionally and efficiently. Do your job well as an interviewee, and trust the professionalism of the reporter. | |
Social Media Tip - Be who you are, everywhere | |
Are you always who you really are? I know, it's a silly question. Of course you are. But think again. Do you post in a different way on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter? Many people do, since the advice from "experts" is that you should treat different audiences in different ways. I'd tend to agree, if it wasn't for the fact that the people I know on LinkedIn are often the same people I know on Facebook and Twitter. OK, I can hear you muttering "Come on Alan, LinkedIn is for business networking. It's full of serious business people. Those guys don't want to know that I just enjoyed watching Love Island or that I finished 3,478th in the Great North Run". I beg to differ. People do business with people they like. More often than not, the first few minutes of any business meeting are taken up with what is wrongly called "small talk". In fact, this apparently idle chat about holidays, shared friends and experiences is the social glue that holds society together. We do need to get down to the serious stuff, but not until we feel comfortable with the people we're getting serious with. Provided you lead a fairly blameless life (you do, don't you?), then sharing your photos of family barbecues and tweets from rock concerts is not going to lose you any business. Quite the reverse, in fact. I used to find it was quite stressful to remember what sort of content I could post where. Can I put a blog about business strategy on Facebook? Can I mention a great film on LinkedIn? Is it OK to have a conversation about business in the public Twitter stream? In just about every case, I now think the answer is "yes". Sure, you wouldn't breach any confidences, or make personal remarks, but that's always been the case. So here's an idea. Why not, just for a day or two, not worry about what content you post to what social network. Just be yourself. You may be surprised to see that the reaction is positive, and good for business too. | |
Improv is a brilliant art that is much harder than it looks. The late Robin Williams was a master of the art. But who did he look up to? The answer is in this brilliant clip. | |
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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