Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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This time of year is incredibly nerve-wracking for young people and their parents/carers as the exam results are released, and they determine the next step for hundreds of thousands of students - often whether or not they go to their preferred university.
Of course, there has been tremendous disruption this year as the coronavirus crisis means that the exams could not be held, so a massive exercise has been under way to produce predicted results. As a school governor, I have been well aware of the massive amount of work that teachers have done to produce the results.
I've been very disappointed to see the way in which the results have been arrived at, with around forty per cent of the predicted grades being downgraded. In my view it's been a complete fiasco, and I feel very sorry for the students who have missed out on their preferred course as a result.
My expertise is communication and it is here that I think there has been a massive failure. People will accept what they see as a fair and transparent process. What they object to is a confused message, poor communication and changes at the last minute. |
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I've been very impressed by a duo called the Mona Lisa Twins (real twins called Mona and Lisa). They are making a big splash online, using YouTube and Facebook to promote themselves. They are heavily influenced by 60s music, and persuaded 60's legend John Sebastian to play on their latest album. Hear their story in the Media Coach Radio Show. There's also, of course, a song from the Mona Lisa Twins, featuring John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful. One for the teenagers, there. |
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The MediaMaestro is Amazon Prime, which has donated half a million pounds to a fund to support theatre workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Olivia Colman and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who set up the fund, said they were "blown away" by the "extraordinary" support. The streaming service is also donating £1m to a new grants scheme being set up by the Film and TV Charity.
The Theatre Community Fund will help provide hardship grants of up to £3,000 to UK theatre workers and freelancers. Colman, Waller-Bridge and producer Francesca Moody said the donation was "a game-changer" for a community that "has never been more threatened or fragile".
Well done to them, and well done to Amazon Prime. |
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The MediaMug is Carol Kirkwood, BBC Breakfast's favourite weather forecaster.
She's also made a bit of a name for herself with occasional slip-ups, which is no surprise, as she often has to present a complex weather forecast on location from memory without the aid of an autocue.
She also has a bit of a chat with the studio presenters, that may mean she fluffs her lines occasionally. This week she was in Greenwich Park, and meant to say that she had seen a lot of dog walkers and joggers. Unfortunately she mixed up to the two and told the studio that she'd seen plenty of doggers.
Of course, being the professional that she is, she quickly corrected herself, but she must have known it was a YouTube moment |
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Speaking Tip - Good relations |
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It's extremely important that your audience relates to what you are saying. Here are four elements of a speech that will help your audience relate to your content.
1) Tell them what they know to be true. Of course if your whole speech is old information, they won't be very impressed. However, if you open with remarks like "You already know that hard work brings rewards, and that the luckiest people are those that practice the most...", you will engage them immediately.
2) Talk in terms they relate to. Never talk down to an audience, but take care to use words and phrases that are part of their everyday speech. If you are speaking to a sporting audience, using terms like "training regime" and "personal best" will make them listen.
3) Pose questions they know the answer to. That's a technique that has often been used by national leaders at times of crisis. As Winston Churchill said "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life".
4) Find the argumentative baseline. This is the point at which the audience no longer questions your assumptions. For example, in his "I have a dream" speech, Martin Luther King said "I have a dream that one day Negroes will be able to buy a house or rent a house anywhere that their money will carry them". That line drew some of the loudest applause of the whole speech. |
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Media Tip - How dare you! |
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Sometimes, interviewers can be irritating. In fact, they can be downright annoying. They make assertions, impertinent assumptions, and ask questions that are nothing to do with what you want to discuss. How dare they!
Of course, they are just doing their job. They represent the viewer or listener, and they are asking the tough questions that their audience wants them to. They are also receiving instructions through their earpiece, urging them to push you a little harder. In short, it's nothing personal. The worst thing you could do is to get annoyed.
So how do you handle a tough interviewer? Here are my top ten tips:
- Anticipate the worst question, and have an answer ready in advance
- Expect to be given a hard time, and you will almost certainly be pleasantly surprised
- Rehearse tough questions with a colleague in a role-play shortly before the interview. Tell them not to hold back
- Stay calm and relaxed, however tough the question
- Smile and pause before responding
- If the question contains a factual inaccuracy, refute it calmly before answering
- Never raise your voice or wag your finger
- Practice the bridge - "That's a good question but the real issue is.."
- When in real trouble, simply deliver your core message
- Thank the interviewer at the end of the interview
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Social Media Tip - What's your take? |
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There's a trend for people to share articles, videos and news items on social media, without making any comment themselves. If you haven't seen the information before, you may be interested, but you're probably still wondering "What did they think, and why did they post it? Are they pleased, outraged or wanting you to pass it on?"
There's an easy solution of course. Whenever you post anything, say why. Pose a question. Start a debate. Offer your own take on events. If you can't think of a reason, and you just feel like posting something, stay your hand and don't post it.
The activity I find most bizarre is simply re-posting a headline with a link to a news site, such as "Explosion in Beirut". The chances are, people will already have heard the news, so it's much more helpful to express your sympathy, mention a personal connection, and in this particular case, include a link for donations.
People really want to know what you think. Just tell them. |
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Running an online event ? |
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An online 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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