| Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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As I mentioned last week, we've been away celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. I've even managed to deliver a remote speech for a client from this remote location (a cottage in rural Herefordshire).
The ability to work from anywhere is not new, Nor is it universally available. However, it's clear that the pandemic has forced a change in working practices that some companies, and many individuals, now regard as the best approach. |
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The changes in lifestyle that we're all experiencing are the same all around the world. In the past couple of weeks, I've spoken to people in Cleveland (Ohio), Brisbane, Sofia, Jo'Burg, Brussels, Dublin, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai. Everyone is reporting the same thing - wearing masks, travel restrictions, closures of schools and shops, re-opening of shops and schools etc.
It's as though we have all become players in the same game with similar rules. Unfortunately, none of us knows the end game. |
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Julian Treasure is a top-rated international speaker on sound and communication skills.
Collectively, Julian’s five TED Talks have been viewed over 100 million times. How to speak so that people want to listen is in the top 10 TED talks of all time. Julian delivers engaging, entertaining and transformational content, and is equally potent and effective with live or virtual delivery.
I spoke to him a few days ago about a brilliant service to reassure people returning to offices, and he was kind enough to make an offer to you too, as you can hear in the Media Coach Radio Show.
There's also a great song from The Lost Hollow Band |
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The MediaMaestro is Joe Ruby, the creator of the cartoon series Scooby-Doo. He died a few days ago at the age of 87. Ruby created the much-loved characters alongside his creative partner Ken Spears.
"He never stopped writing and creating, even as he aged," said his grandson Benjamin Ruby.
Warner Bros' animation president, Sam Register, said Ruby "made Saturday mornings special for so many children, including myself".
Ruby, Spears and character designer Iwao Takamoto tried out several incarnations, including making the characters part of a rock band, before settling on the well known line-up of Freddie, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy and the crime-solving titular great Dane, Scooby-Doo.
"We started thinking about all the kinds of dogs we might use, and characters we might have," said Ruby "We finally settled on a feisty dog or a big lovable cowardly - which we modelled after comedian Bob Hope - great Dane."
Altogether now - And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids |
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The MediaMug is the popular soap Eastenders, which is returning to screens after a break of a few months.
Why? They have made the weird decision to recruit the real-life partners of the actors to be body doubles in case any kissing scenes are required.
The BBC said the move was just one of several measures being taken to keep the cast and crew safe on set.
Clear Perspex screens - which are invisible to the camera - are being placed between actors who share a scene; and computer-generated composite shots are also being used.
The perspex screens allow the producers to "bring people really close together and that's really good because it gives an intimacy to performance that wouldn't be possible otherwise", said a producer of the show.
Of course they could have simply not had kissing scenes. Maybe that wasn't "Eastend" enough.
'Get out of my social distance!" as they might say
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| Speaking Tip - They think it's all over |
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There are some magic words that will make your audience perk up, stir from their dreaming reveries, and pay attention to your every word, at least for a couple of minutes.
The magic words, of course are "And finally", or "May I close by leaving you with this thought" or something similar. Having uttered the words, you then have to deliver a snappy, concise message that will stay in their memories as they put on their coats, push back their chairs, and head for the exits.
It should be easy, shouldn't it? After all, it's only a couple of sentences to reprise the theme of your talk. You know what your message is, they've heard it several times from you, and all you have to do is remind them what you said. It should be really easy. Alas, some speakers fail to deliver. They set up the closing phrase, and then drone on for another ten minutes, or look at their final slide, puzzled, and say "Er - that's the last slide - thanks very much".
But not you. You know how to finish with style and panache. Summarise your (few) key points. Remind them what you promised at the start of your talk. Then hit them with your carefully-rehearsed closing line, and takeaway message, delivered with passion. Leave them wanting more, and that's when you will get a huge round of applause.
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| Media Tip - Go far and wide |
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Too many businesses, large and small, rely on one type of media outlet to generate publicity.
Well-meaning PR companies suggest a radio campaign, a series of posters, or a high-profile picture opportunity. That's all well and good, but the problem is, even the most experienced PR people don't always know what will work
Since many publicity opportunities are free (or as cheap as to be almost free), it make sense to use them. Position yourself as an expert, write articles, comment on blogs, keep in touch with reporters, piggyback on current events, go to networking events, offer yourself as a speaker, etc, etc..
People these days want participation, not propaganda. You need to get out there and deliver your message. Now that the lines between Marketing and PR have become blurred, you can generate new business in all sorts of ways. I was chatting to a fellow speaker recently, and he was asking the usual question "How's business?" I gave the usual response "Good thanks". When we talked in more detail, it was clear that both of us were picking up more business than six months ago. Funnily enough, we'd both invested a lot of time recently in writing blogs, articles, social networks and professional relationships. Co-incidence? I think not.
One of my favourite publicity experts, Pam Lontosfrom Florida, sums up effective PR in a pithy phrase "I see your name everywhere". Put your message out, in whatever medium you can. You never know who will be listening.
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| Social Media Tip - Think about it |
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When you create messages on social networking sites, you may need to change the way you think about information. Here are a few things to think about:
Think collaboration, not competition. It's how you help that matters. Think in headlines, or short phrases, like Twitter. Think about your audience. It's not what you know, it's what they want to hear. Think carefully. Your message can be misinterpreted. Consider how it might be perceived. Think permanence. There's a site that takes snapshots of the Internet on a regular basis. Deleting messages doesn't hide them completely. Think twice. Don't send a message in haste (see above).
Developing a different way of thinking takes time, since many of our habits are deeply ingrained. One discipline I employ is to write a tweet or Facebook post, and then leave it for at least a minute before posting it. Often, I will amend it, and sometimes not send it. Just like emails, you can't get posts back. Even if you delete them, someone may have taken a copy or a screenshot.
You just need to think.
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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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