Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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Hi John,
A very happy May Day to you. It isn't a holiday everywhere, and here in the UK, our early May Monday off has moved to next Friday (if you see what I mean).
Anyway, I think May Day deserves a poem, so allow me to offer you the first stanza of William Wordsworth's May Day Ode:
"While from the purpling east departs The star that led the dawn, Blithe Flora from her couch upstarts, For May is on the lawn. A quickening hope, a freshening glee, Foreran the expected Power, Whose first-drawn breath, from bush and tree, Shakes off that pearly shower."
Beautiful.
Of course, May 4th also brings out the social media posts about "Star Wars Day". Here's how I suggest you respond:
Your acquaintance posts: "Happy Star Wars Day" You post: "I don't get it" They post: "May the 4th be with you" You post : "I still don't get it" They post "It's like may the force be with you" You post: "I still don't get it" They post "It's a quote from Star Wars - so it's like today's date" You post " Never seen it. Not very funny is it?"
Try it! |
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As a final reminder (and thanks if you're also a subscriber to it - I won't mention it again), I also produce a weekly video with media and speaking tips. I've just switched the format to include tips for a book to read, a speech to watch, and a general piece of advice. If you don't already receive it and would like to, just drop me a line. Episode four is below. |
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Elise Quevedo is a social media expert. I met her a few years ago at a conference in North Macedonia where I was the MC and she was a speaker. I was very impressed by her extensive knowledge and energy, and we've stayed in touch ever since.
I spoke to her this week about social media strategies that people can employ right now to boost their businesses.
Her advice was pure gold, as you can hear in
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The MediaMaestro is Irrfhan Khan, the Bollywood star who became known to a global audience in films like Slumdog Millionaire and The Life of Pi.
His breakthrough came in the British-Indian film The Warrior. It was shot in the high Himalayas and the roasting deserts of Rajasthan.
The film won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film at the Baftas. It was short listed for the UK's official entry for the Academy Awards but had to be dropped on the technicality that Hindi was not a language indigenous to Britain.
In 2008, he teamed up with Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire. Khan played the police inspector who beats Dev Patel's character, Jamal - believing him to be a cheat. Boyle described the performance as "beautiful to watch".
He left us way too young, and leaves behind a legacy of over 80 superb films. |
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The MediaMug is The British Museum, which has been putting its collections online.
The museum described "Her Hakki Mahfuzdur" as "Turkey's largest producer of postcards".
But a Turkish diplomat on Twitter pointed out the phrase means "all rights reserved" - and is not the name of a stationery company.
The British Museum replied: "Whoops! Thanks for pointing this out."
One person on Twitter said the mistake was "pretty concerning for a museum of record".
"Not just misunderstanding it and creating an erroneous catalogue entry, but then extrapolating purely on the basis of one's own catalogue that this was the 'largest producer of postcards'," said Dr Lisa Gilbert.
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Speaking Tip - The secret shared by Smokey and Keith |
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Smokey Robinson knew the trick. So did Keith Richards. They know how to grab an audience in a couple of seconds. People of a certain age (actually, people of many ages) only have to hear Keith's first two fuzzy notes of "Satisfaction", or the six bell-clear notes from Marv Taplin's guitar on "Tracks of my Tears" and they're hooked.
OK, some of the emotion when you hear a song now comes from the familiarity, and memories it evokes. But there are some openings so good that the first time you hear them, you want to hear more. That's not only the secret to a great song, it's also the secret to a great speech.
If you can evoke a strong emotion in the first few seconds, your audience will be with you for the rest of your delivery. However, if you stumble to the mic, slightly embarrassed at your introduction, and begin with a phrase like "I'll do my best to tell you something of interest", then you may as well forget it and walk off again.
You need to seize the opportunity, make a promise of great things to come, and then launch into the melody. Still don't believe me? Then listen to this
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Media Tip - Going with the news flow |
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The time to respond to a news story is while it is happening. That's when there is a need for expert analysis, contrary opinions and future predictions. It is possible to plan your media strategy for events like the release of reports, or anniversaries. Much of the time, news just happens, so you need to be aware of what is happening, and able to respond quickly and effectively.
If you see a story running, what can you do to make your comments heard? Here are a few ideas:
- Write a blog post commenting on the story
- Tweet about the story, using a hashtag if possible, and a link to your article
- Get in touch with any relevant journalists that you know, and offer to be interviewed (have your quote ready before you phone)
- Comment on the blogs of any companies involved
- Comment on news sites about the story
- Make one strong point
- Post your message on a range of sites
- Make a two-minute video about the issue
- Set up a Google alert on keywords in the story
- If you receive a message from a journalist, make it your top priority to respond,
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Social Media Tip - E M Forster on LinkedIn |
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The British writer Edward Morgan Forster (known as "E M Forster to most) coined a phrase in the epigraph to his superb novel, Howard's End. The oft-quoted phrase was "Only connect".
Alas, many people in in social networks appear to have taken him literally. Every day, I receive around half a dozen connection requests from people I don't know and have never met. They may be on Facebook, Skype, LinkedIn or Instagram. I don't have a problem with that if there is a genuine common interest, and they have contacted me to explain it. However, that is rarely the case, and it leaves me puzzled as to whether to accept.
Of course, it may be that I have met my potential connection, and simply forgotten. It may be that they are a friend of a friend. it may be that they heard me speak or read one of my books. Unfortunately, if they don't make the basis of the connection request obvious, and I don't recognise them, I just don't connect.
I'm aware that some people accept every request, on the basis that a bigger network is a better network. There are LIONs on LinkedIn, for example (Linked In Open Networkers) who always say "yes". But not me. I prefer to know something about a person before a virtual handshake. Actually, I suspect that E M Forster may have been equally circumspect, though we will never know. His books are a wonderful read regardless.
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Those clips of mistakes on TV shows and news bulletins are everywhere on YouTube, but I just found a small gem that is much earlier than most, when the world was in black and white. James Arness explains. |
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Need some remote speaking tips ? |
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Get in touch and we'll chat.
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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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