Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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My profuse apologies. I set last week's newsletter to be delivered at 6pm UK time rather than 6am. As a result, I received a series of messages asking if I was OK. I'm fine. I appreciate all the concern.
I hope you're fine too. It looks like we're going to be coping with COVID-19 for quite some time to come. I will make sure that the tips I share every week work whether you're online or offline. |
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There are still a few places left on my annual speaker coaching programme for 2021.
The coaching and mentoring is delivered either face-to-face or via Zoom. The monthly sessions can be split into two sessions a couple of weeks apart if desired. There is work to do in between sessions, and the programme includes reasonable ad-hoc calls for advice and guidance at no extra cost.
The programme provides customised coaching around all aspects of a speaking business, including fees, getting bookings, working with bureaus, creating websites and show-reels, marketing strategies and of course creating killer keynote speeches. And of course there's an emphasis on remote speaking.
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Bryony Thomas is a world-class marketing expert. She advises organisations globally about marketing strategy, and I was delighted that she agreed to have a chat with me this week, as you can hear in the Media Coach Radio Show.
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The MediaMaestro is Burger King. They spotted a brilliant opportunity to get their logo into the world's most-played football video game, without spending a fortune. They sponsored Stevenage Town FC, who were bottom of the Football League's lowest division.
The Burger King logo appeared on their real-world shirts, which meant that when the team appeared in FIFA 20, so did the logo. Then Burger King played their master stroke. They rewarded gamers who recruited the world's best players into the virtual Stevenage team.
As a result, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Neymar wore the Burger King logo (without having to pay them a penny), and they turned a small team in real life into the biggest team online.Stevenage Town won everything in FIFA 20, and the coverage for Burger King was massive. Sheer genius. |
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The MediaMug is an un-named resident of a little Welsh village.
An engineer has solved the mystery of why the entire village lost its broadband signal at 7am every day for 18 months: an elderly resident's old TV set.
Michael Jones said he detected “a large burst of electrical interference” at 7am in Aberhosan and traced it to an elderly local’s old television set. “As you can imagine, when we pointed this out to the resident, they were mortified that their old secondhand TV was the cause of an entire village’s broadband problems,” Jones said.
The villagers are now celebrating the restoration of the internet, so they can now look at pictures of cats and post pictures of food at 7am every day.
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Speaking Tip - Dealing with nerves |
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My clients often ask me this question, or one something like it; "Alan, I get nervous before I speak. Can you give me some techniques to take the feeling away?" I always give the same answer. "Absolutely not". However I then go on to explain why. When you are on stage, like it or not, you are giving a performance. In order to perform at your best, you need to have a bit of "edge". It helps you to be at your best. So what I help people to do is to channel their anxiety, and turn it into a great performance.
Of course, nerves can be so overwhelming that some people find it difficult to perform at all. As Howard Grossman said "The human brain is a wonderful thing. It works from the moment we are born until the time we have to give a speech". So how do you control this natural anxiety? Well, there are a number of possible ways. You need to find what works best for you.
Here are a few suggestions that you might consider if you're beset by nerves:
- Remember that everyone watching wants you to succeed. They're on your side.
- Don't worry about the odd fluffed line - just keep going. No-one will know.
- You don't have all the answers. Your audience knows that.
- You're there to offer your unique take, not to be a global expert (though if you are that too, good for you)
- If you act confident, you will appear confident.
- The more you prepare, the less nervous you will be.
- Smile. A lot.
Confidence comes with experience. Whenever you get a chance to speak, take it. You'll be surprised how soon you'll start to enjoy it. |
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Media Tip - How bad can it get? |
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Beware of being led into the trap of speculating about negative outcomes in a media interview. It's perfectly reasonable for a reporter to ask a question about a worst-case scenario, especially as it may be just what the viewer or listener is worried about. However, if you answer the question with your best guess about the worst thing that could possibly happen, that will be the headline and the focus of the story.
So how should you respond to a question like "What's the worst that could happen?" Here are a few possible responses:
"I don't want to speculate on what may happen, I want to focus on what is happening right now, and ensure that everything is done to resolve matters as quickly and as safely as we can"
"The outcome that I'm looking for is a return to normal working as soon as possible. We're doing everything we can to ensure that is the case, while also making sure that everyone who has been affected is properly looked after"
"At present, we're still gathering information, and getting the situation under control. Every precaution is being taken to ensure that the situation does not worsen and that matters are resolved with the minimum of disruption. All of our actions are guided by the need for safety and security"
In short, you should respond to such an enquiry by stating your priorities and creating confidence. I wish someone would tell those medical experts. |
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Social Media Tip - Debate, don't dominate |
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Social media is all about conversations. It's the way that you develop a relationship with your customers and potential customers, and often why they buy from you.
Unfortunately, social media is also about robust debate, which can veer into insult and abuse in a very short time. Your job is to steer away from that, while still getting your point across to people with different views.
Here are some tips on how to debate while keeping things calm:
- Make your point clearly - just one point per post
- Focus on the responses, and acknowledge their view
- Ask open questions that don't include assumptions
- Don't react to aggressive comments. They're just trolls
- Stay polite. Always
- Control the debate by responding to all points
- Tag experts that can offer an informed opinion
- Find a way to agree to differ
- Don't expect to "win" any argument
- Know when to walk away
Basically, as they used to say, do as you would be done by. Good luck!
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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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