| Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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Hi John,
Firstly, and most importantly, I hope you are safe and well. It's a really tough time, and none of us has a plan of how to get through it. But like all things, it will pass, and I will continue to do my best to offer you advice, and a little humour as we all self-isolate. |
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In the "news you may have missed" occasional feature, I found a wonderful headline in the archives: "There are fears that 'sheep high on cannabis' could start rampaging through Welsh village". The story from Wales Online tells of sheep that "may have eaten dumped cannabis" and become "psychotic". Apparently local people have heard chilled music wafting from the pastures and there are reports of sheep visiting the local Spar shop looking for ice cream and pizza.
References to the Green Green Grass of Home appear to have been missed by the headline writers. |
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The MediaMaestro is Annemarie Plas, the organiser of the #clapforcarers campaign which led to millions of people at doors and windows across the UK last night applauding the work of NHS staff.
It comes after similar movements were created in Italy, the Netherlands and France to show support for medical staff treating people during the current crisis.
Ms Plas, who also works in software sales and has no connection to the NHS, saw the videos of people clapping on their balconies and felt inspired, and decided to start a campaign to do the same thing here. On Friday 20 March, she posted an image on Instagram and forwarded it to her friends on WhatsApp, urging people to "clap for our carers" last night.
If like me, you took part, you will have felt the massive surge of emotion. Amazing. |
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The MediaMug is Simon Beach, vicar of St Budeaux Parish Church in Plymouth.
While recording his first ‘virtual’ service, he accidentally set his arm on fire with a church candle. He was not harmed during the mishap and was able to see the funny side – posting the ‘out-take’ online. In the video, Mr Beach is seen leaning in to deliver the final part of his sermon before exclaiming calmly: ‘Oh dear, I’ve just caught fire.’ He said he had been teased by fellow vicars, who joked about ‘being on fire for Jesus’ and telling him that he ‘should have waited for Pentecost’. ‘People have laughed and laughed, really,’ he said.
‘I just felt my arm getting a bit hot. The nice thing is, it did damage my pullover and my shirt but my arm is fine – there’s no burn on my arm. The funny thing is, I told my wife and daughter what I’d just done … and while I got the video my daughter said “All Dad will say is Oh dear I’m on fire”, which is what I said.’ |
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| Speaking Tip - Study rhetoric |
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if you happen to have a little spare time, you might study classical rhetoric. These are devices that can help you to keep an audience interested by varying the way in which you deliver your ideas. Here are four examples:
1) Hypophora A question raised and answered by the speaker. A rhetorical question is one posed without an answer, but when using hypophora, the answer is also given. For example: "You ask, what is our policy? I will say it is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalog of human crime. That is our policy" Winston Churchill, 1940.
2) Apostrophe When a speaker breaks off and directs speech to an imaginary person or abstract quality or idea. This is often used by politicians to direct a message to people who are not present. For example: "And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take-off. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery." Ronald Reagan - The Space Shuttle "Challenger" Tragedy Address
3) Irony Many things are described as "ironic" when they are simply coincidence or chance. True irony is when something implies the opposite of its literal meaning. For example: "Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest. For Brutus is an honourable man; So are they all, all honourable men" William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar - Antony's eulogy for Caesar.
4) Antonomasia Substituting a title or a descriptive phrase for a proper name in order to describe a class or group. Referring to business people as "suits" is an example. The "Soup Nazi" in Seinfeld is another. Here's one of my favourite uses: "When I eventually met Mr. Right I had no idea that his first name was Always." Rita Rudner, comedian |
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| Media Tip - Oops - did something go wrong? |
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When disaster strikes, you will find that the world beats a path to your door. Everyone will want to know what happened, who has been affected, and when things will be back to normal. You need to say, and do, the right things even though you're under pressure.
The first rule of crisis media management is to recognise that a crisis has occurred, which may seem a daft thing to say if your house is burning down, but not every crisis involves fire engines. This means having good internal communications in place, especially out of hours. For some reason, most crises seem to occur at the most inconvenient times. If a call from your local radio station is the first knowledge that you receive of a crisis, never admit as much. Always stall for time, by explaining that you are trying to find out as much as possible, and that you will be more than willing to talk to them soon
Secondly, life will be much easier for you if you have already practiced what to say and do in the event of a disaster. Many companies employ "white-hat hackers" to try to break into their computer systems, to see how secure they are. The same companies rarely think of doing the same thing with a TV crew. Being "doorstepped" is one of the worst experiences you can suffer, so if you're prepared for it, you'll be in the tiny minority who know exactly what to say.
All sorts of people may be offering their views to reporters, including witnesses, other workers, unions, police and industry experts. You need to establish yourself, or your spokespeople, as the most important source of information. Do not assume that the media will be hostile to you, or looking to blame you for causing the problems. To begin with, it is likely that they will be sympathetic, or at worst, neutral. Make yourself available, and accept all requests for interview if you possibly can. If you are traumatised by events, make sure that a spokesperson you can trust speaks on your behalf.
Lastly, never, ever speculate about the cause of a problem. Inevitably, one of the first questions asked by a reporter will be "Do you know what caused this?" Even if you have a good idea what happened, always say "It's too early to tell". Most importantly, never lie to a journalist. They will find out. Maybe not that day, or the day after, but at some point. The consequences for you will be worse than the original crisis. |
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| Social Media Tip - Providing value online |
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There are many different styles of online behaviour. Some argue that you need to keep sending out your message on a regular basis to your "friends" until they finally succumb to your smooth patter, and decide to buy your products or services. I'm sure you know of people among your online connections who exist only in broadcast mode. Of course, social media is all about interaction, engagement, and being helpful, isn't it?
Not entirely, in my opinion. I follow some people online who have never acknowledged my existence, and probably never will. So why do I connect to them? Because they provide value. They are often experts in their field who provide original content or controversial views that make me think. Seth Godin is a good example. Though I've met him a few times at conferences, and even once shared a platform with him (no, not at Marble Arch tube station), I doubt if he has any idea who I am. He doesn't follow me, or respond to any messages I send him, telling him how much I enjoyed his latest blog posting. Yet I stay connected to him because his writings are always interesting.
You can provide value by being interactive, or just being really interesting. Just sending links to the same piece of content, or news sites, won't do it. But if you produce great stuff on a a regular basis, and people love it, you're providing value. |
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| Need some remote speaking tips ? |
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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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