Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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A change of image this week. I had a new set of photos taken by the excellent Baz Seal. I rather like the image, so I'm using it here for a while. If you're looking for some new photos, visit Baz's website. Tell him I sent you. |
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Heather and I are heading off for a week to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary, so next week's ezine won't be quite as up-to-the-minute as usual, but worry not, there will be plenty of great advice, and a link to a cracking interview in my web radio show.
I'm a very lucky man indeed....
And yes, beige suits were very popular in 1995. |
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Last week, I mentioned an online discussion about hybrid events, hosted by my friend and co-author Paul du Toit and also featuring Maria Franzoni and Saama Azzam.
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Devin Miller loves startups. He runs his own patent and trademark law firm to help startups and small businesses. He also founded his first startup while earning his Law & MBA degrees. Since then, he has founded several more startups and enjoyed every minute of it.
As you might expect, I interviewed Devin about the current landscape for startups. He has some fascinating insights as you can hear in the Media Coach Radio Show.
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The MediaMaestro is Sir Ken Robinson. His TED Talk entitled "Do schools kill creativity?"is the most watched of all-time with more than 66 million views. His influence on the thinking of educators around the world is unparalleled in history and his legacy of critique about schools will have a lasting and profound impact for decades to come. Sir Ken’s loss offers everyone in the field of education an opportunity to honour him by reflecting and acting on his wisdom.
As a school governor myself, as well as a speaker, I was full of admiration for Sir Ken. His combination of great wisdom, easy speaking style and self-deprecating humour will probably never be seen again.
As the world grapples with a global pandemic and educators, students and parents navigate the challenges of the upcoming school year, it is a perfect time to reflect on the wisdom of Sir Ken Robinson. Can we stretch our own thinking about the kind of thinking we want students to engage with? Can we create more opportunities for them to ‘draw from a blank canvas’ and put their ideas into applied action? Can we find more ways to allow students to flourish in their own unique ways using their own unique strengths?
We should just say thank you, Sir Ken |
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The MediaMug is Hell’s Basement Brewery in Alberta, Canada. They started marketing Huruhuru, a New Zealand craft ale, last year.
However, they were forced to apologise after unwittingly naming the beer after the Māori word for pubic hair.
The brewery picked the name because it understood the word meant ‘feather’ or ‘fur.’ But Te Hamua Nikora, a Māori living in New Zealand and well-known former TV personality, said that the word ‘huruhuru’ also has an altogether different meaning for the Kiwi indigenous community.
Hell’s Basement co-founder Mike Patriquin told news site RNZ that the company thought huruhuru meant ‘feather’ and didn’t realise it was a reference to pubic hair. ‘We did not realise the potential to offend through our artistic interpretation, and given the response we will attempt to do better in the future,’ Patriquin said. He said it was not the company’s intent to infringe upon, appropriate, or offend the Māori culture or people in any way. ‘To those who feel disrespected, we apologise. We also do not think pubic hair is shameful, though we admit it may not go well with beer.’ |
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Speaking Tip - MLK and the dream |
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57 years ago today, on August 28th 1963, Martin Luther King Jr delivered one of the most-quoted speeches of all time.
"I Have a Dream" is a speech that was delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The speech was a defining moment of the civil rights movement.
What rhetorical lessons can we learn from it? Here are three.
Most noticeable, and frequently used, is Anaphora, defined as “the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses”: "Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children."
Antithesis. This is a contrast made clear by using contrasting language: " I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Parallelism. Parallel phrasing with engaging, memorable rhythm: "We will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together…" |
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Media Tip - Know where you are going |
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As the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland said, "If you don't know where you are going, every road leads you there."
When you are on interviewed on TV or radio, you must have a clear aim in mind, or you cannot be satisfied with the outcome. For example, someone called the other day to tell me that she had a radio interview coming up. "What will you be talking about?", I asked. "I have no idea" she said, "but it's bound to be great for raising my profile".
Hmmmm. Of course, we had a chat, and decided exactly what she was going to be talking about. In the event, the interview went very well. However, if she had simply turned up at the studio, looking forward to "raising her profile", things could have been very different.
As I keep saying, media interviews are a chance for you to get your message across. That means you must have a message, and know how to deliver it. When you are called to do an interview, ask what the topic will be. Prepare a message related to that topic, and practice delivering it, regardless of the question being asked. You have to know where you are going, or how will you know when you've got there? |
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Social Media Tip - News or Fake News? |
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, many people now use social media as their primary news source. But how can you tell if it is genuine? Here are a few tips:
- If it's a shared article, look at the source. Is it reliable? Look at other stories on the source site
- Is it current? People often post old stories without seeking updates
- Look for verification. Google the topic and look at "news"
- Does it use political insults? That's a likely sign it has its own political bias
- Does it seem unlikely? It probably is.
- Do the images match the story? A reverse image search on Google, or a site like Tineye will help you check if the image is what it appears to be
- If in doubt, ignore it and move on
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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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