Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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We live in confusing times, eh? Wherever you are, you have to keep counting the number of people who are with you in order to stay legal. While at the same time a UK government minister stands up in Parliament an announces plans to break international law in a "limited and specific way".
Ah well. While I was away last week I found the perfect way to relax and forget all that nonsense. The shop in the village close to our holiday cottage had some craft beers from a local brewery. Their names? This, That and Whatever Next.
I can confirm that all of them are delicious. |
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I've been a member of the Professional Speaking Association for many years. Every year, we hold a convention for professional speakers. This year, of course, it's a virtual event, and we've decided to throw the digital doors open to anyone who would like to attend. Held over six days in October, I can't think of a better way to boost your speaking career. The cost to non-members is a mere £115.
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Oscar Scafidi is a travel writer, an international school teacher and an adventurer.
His book about kayaking the Kwanza is extraordinary. I spoke to him about his amazing life as you can hear in the Media Coach Radio Show.
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The MediaMaestro is Dame Diana Rigg, who passed away this week.
Her acting career spanned seven decades, from Shakespearean repertory in the 1950s to the global phenomenon that was Game of Thrones.
It was her performance as the cat-suited Emma Peel in The Avengers brought her international fame. The surreal psychedelia of The Avengers made it as much a symbol of the Swinging 60s as the Mini and the Beatles.
She excelled at playing sharp-witted female characters who carried steel fists in velvet gloves - but distanced herself from feminists who claimed her as one of their own.
"I come from a generation where, when my dad arrived and parked the car, my mother would rush upstairs and put some lipstick on," she explained. "Which I think is so charming. If a man holds a door open for me or pulls back a chair so that this old bag can sit down, I'm delighted."
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The MediaMug is paint company Dulux. In news you may have missed, they named their 'colour of the year" for 2021. It's called "Brave Ground", a neutral brown/grey shade.
They claimed that the colour "will enable people to draw upon the strength of nature to help them find the courage to embrace the future".
Some people were fans of the shade, describing it as "warm", "calming" and "lovely", but others thought it a bit "depressing" and said it would have been more appropriate as the colour to represent 2020.
One Twitter user commented: "Dulux announces its 'colour of the year' - isn’t this what we once called 'gre-ige'? How very 2020." Another compared the colour to "sludge" and wrote: "Yup that's 2020 for you!"
A third tweeted: "With everything going on in the world you have to admire Dulux’s sense of humour."
One person seemed to think the colour could have been worse though, adding: "I’m surprised that Dulux’s colour of the year is a snoresome beige and not the unrelenting blackness of the abyss that we’re all screaming into."
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Speaking Tip - Give a gift |
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Many of us give gifts on special occasions, or sometimes just to say thank you. It's important to give a gift to your audience too.
Delivering a speech is not about telling them your experiences. It's about using your experiences to give them something to take away. Just like giving a gift to someone you love, you need to think what they like and need, and tailor your gift exactly to their requirements. You need to plan carefully, wrap your gift in attractive paper and ribbons, and hand it over. Can you deliver a gift in a speech in the same way as you hand over a present? I think you can. Here's what I mean:
- Tailor every speech to every audience
- Give them exactly what they need, at the time they need it
- Make it simple to use
- Allow them to use it over and over again.
- Give them something than can be handed on to others
- Make sure it's something they don't have already
- Give it to them with a smile
So next time you give a speech, make sure that you also give a gift. You will be remembered for it, and the audience will be suitably grateful. |
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Media Tip - What I really mean is..... |
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There are some phrases that should never be used in media interviews. One of them is "...by that, I mean..." It's a phrase that is uttered for several reasons. One is that you had planned to use a technical term, or piece of jargon, and decided you should explain it. A second reason may be that you use a phrase or abbreviation, and see blank looks or confusion on the face of your interviewer, so you realise that an explanation is needed.
But hang on a minute. If you need to explain a term, then you have misjudged the level of understanding of your audience, which your interviewer is fully aware of. That's either poor preparation on your part, or you were provided with inaccurate information. Either way, you need to readjust.
Every time you use a term that requires explanation, you divert your audience from thinking about your main message. When you explain the term, they will think about it for a moment before memorising it or deciding it isn't important. That also distracts them from your theme. The safest approach is to use terms and expressions that you are sure your audience will comprehend (as you probably remember, the rule of thumb for broadcast interviews is to use language and terms that an eleven-year-old would understand). You need to give them the best chance of appreciating your message. Keep it simple, and keep it relevant.
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Social Media Tip - Pret a Tweet |
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I tweet a lot, but I don't always send the tweets I compose. Before I hit the "post" button, I make sure that I'm happy with what I'm sending. OK, you can delete a tweet, but as many have found to their cost, once a tweet has gone out and people have seen it, copies can be taken, and your words become permanent. Here's a mental checklist I run through before I set my tweets free in the twittersphere:
I try to make sure at least one of these questions is answered with a "yes" - Is it Interesting?
- Is it helpful?
- Is it funny?
- Is there a picture attached?
- Is there any point?
And I make sure that all of these questions are answered with a "no" - Is it personal?
- Is it offensive?
- Is it just a copy of someone else's tweet?
- Is it pointless?
- Is it libellous?
I appreciate that may sound like a lot of analysis for a single tweet, but it only takes a second or two to run though. It can save a lot of heartache, not to mention legal fees, if you pause for a moment before posting. Pret a tweet, as they say. |
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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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