Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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We're still living life online.
Even though there's a slow emergence from some of the restrictions, we're going to be chatting to friends and colleagues via the little screens on our desks for quite a long time yet.
In this issue, I'm offering some advice on how you can create a home TV studio at very little cost. I've also got some Shakespearean advice too.
I managed to get to a pub for the first time since lockdown began, for a couple (OK maybe more than a couple) of drinks with a pal (Hi Frank). It was a bit surreal, with table service (what a treat) and plastic screens everywhere, but I'm glad to report that the beer tasted the same as ever.
Over the next few days, Heather and I will be walking the 74Km of the Peddars Way in Norfolk. We will be staying overnight in pubs. I'll let you know how the beer is there. |
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Do you know where you’re going to?
If you don't, Roger Fairhead can help. He is an expert on Leadership. His system, Prize-Winning Leadership, is used by many large organisations to grow and improve.
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The MediaMaestro is fitness and nutrition expert Joe Wicks, who delivered his final live show of lockdown this week.
His first workout began in late March, just hours before Boris Johnson went on to tell the UK it was entering lockdown. Schools had already closed and the sessions were billed as "PE with Joe". The following day, his second video was watched by nearly one million people, breaking a world record.
There have been repeated calls for him to be knighted or be made the BBC's next Sports Personality of the Year.
And although the workouts were aimed at children while they were not able to go to school during lockdown, the workouts have been done by people of all ages.
At Longmoor Lodge Care Home in Nottingham, 79-year-old resident John was filmed taking part "He didn't need any persuading," home manager Barbara Parkinson says. "He just stood up and he even kind of took the lead."
Well done Joe. |
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The MediaMugs are a host of cannabis companies that Clint Eastwood says have falsely used his name to endorse their goods.
He accuses the firms of spreading fake articles and tagging their websites with his name to make it look like he had backed their products.
Nearly 20 firms are named in the suits, accused of trademark infringement and defamation among other violations.
One firm, Sera Labs, said it had stopped the fake ads "immediately".
All of the companies sell goods with CBD, an extract from the marijuana plant that does not have psychoactive properties. It is used in products such as creams, oils and food.
However lawyers for Mr Eastwood - who has starred in films such as Mystic River and Dirty Harry, as well as been a director - said he "does not have and never has had" any association with CBD.
Even at 90 years old, Clint Eastwood is not a man that you should upset.
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Speaking Tip - Advice from Old Bill |
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William Shakespeare gives Hamlet a speech (Act 3, Scene 2) which provides advice to those about to speak to an audience. It's become known as "Speak the speech". His advice holds good today. Here are a few extracts:
"Speak the speech I pray you as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue"
How you deliver is of crucial importance, which is why you must rehearse a speech out loud. You need to ensure that you are comfortable with the phraseology, and that you know how to pronounce any technical terms.
"Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature".
Even online (Shakespeare was great on Zoom) the way in which you use movements and gestures, can add power and passion to a speech. There's no need to be too "theatrical", but using gestures to emphasise your words will give them greater impact.
"And let those that play your clowns speak no more than is set down for them, for there be of them that will themselves laugh, to set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too" Humour is essential, but beware of laughing at your own jokes. Some people, including me, tend to work "deadpan", but whatever your style, don't start laughing before the audience does (unless you're Billy Connolly) |
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Media Tip - Live from your home office |
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I was interviewed this week on Sky Sports News (thanks to Andy Lopata for the picture), about the impact of social media abuse on sports people, especially footballers.
Off air, the interviewer remarked on how professional my "home studio" was. I recorded a video (below) to explain how I set it up at very low cost.
Here's a summary of the basics for a home studio that looks and sounds professional, but doesn't break the bank:
- Camera - you probably already have one in your laptop/desktop. Give it a clean with a soft cloth - it'll be fine
- An external microphone - important for good sound. I use a Blue Snowball
- A backdrop - I have a roll of white vinyl on a pole with two stands and a couple of clips
- Lights - I use two soft-box lights, on either side of my desk and facing me at a slight angle.
That's it. under two hundred pounds the lot. Of course you can add in more, but that's good enough for TV news.
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Social Media Tip - Become a Twitter Chatmeister |
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Twitter chats are a great way of engaging an audience and building your reputation, particularly if you become known as a source of great advice. Here are a few tips about how you can establish yourself as a Twitter chat organiser.
1) Claim your topic. Decide what subject you want to discuss, which is preferably something to do with your business. Create the hashtag (hint: just make one up). Let people know that you are hosting a chat, and when it will occur. Talk about it on your favourite social media channels, not forgetting to mention the time and time zone.
2) Get help. It's a good idea to bring in other experts, at least in the early days. For one thing, they will make the twitter chat look busier, and for another, it will provide chatters with more helpful responses. Make sure that you all use the hashtag when you tweet, and encourage all participants to do so too. Ensure that you are online five minutes before the advertised start time, and just go with it.
3) Keep records. Tweets may disappear after a while. so record your chats in a form that can be studied and searched later.
4) Repeat at regular intervals. A weekly chat is fine. You may wish to schedule chats for different time zones. Whatever you decide, make it regular. You will get to know participants, and begin to connect outside the chats. That's when the magic starts to happen. |
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A hybrid event to plan? I can help.
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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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