Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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We're going to have to find another word for unprecedented.
The events this week in the USA have continued to make history, and it looks as though that trend is going to continue for a while.
By this time next week, there will be a new President and Vice-President, after what seems like a very long time since their election. I look forward to taking a professional view on their initial speeches. |
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Clubhouse is a new social nework that has grown using a mixture of exclusivity and viral stories.
I've been on there for a couple of weeks, and I can see its potential, though it does seem to include an extraordinary number of social media experts and property developers.
Anyway, I'm giving it a go, and if you're on it, feel free to join me at 11am GMT on Friday 15th Jan (probably today as you read this).
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I mentioned last week that I was launching a new speaker coaching programme.Two places have gone already, so two are left.
It's a six-month version of my annual speaker coaching programme, aimed at people who want some intensive one-to-one coaching, but aren't yet able to put a year aside to work on their speaking.
Just like the annual programme, it includes one-to-one sessions every month (a two hour session or two one-hour sessions), work to do in between sessions, and reasonable email, WhatsApp and phone support at no extra cost.
It's priced at £300 a month, with VAT if applicable. However, for you, as a valued reader of this ezine, you can get it for £275 a month plus VAT. Just reply to this email if you are interested. |
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This week's interview guest is a speechwriter and expert on rhetoric who has worked in the White House (quite a few years ago).
I played his interview a couple of years ago, but given this week's events, his advice bears repeating.
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The MediaMaestro is Scottish postman Nathan Evans. When he isn't delivering parcels, he's posting viral videos on TikTok.
He's emerged as the source of a worldwide trend on the video sharing app.
But instead of dance videos, life hacks and make-up tutorials, the 26-year-old from Airdrie in North Lanarkshire has become "TikTok famous" for singing ancient sea shanties.
Since December, Nathan has racked up millions of views for his sailor songs and he is responsible for what is being called "Sea Shanty TikTok".
The centuries-old songs were traditionally sung by sea farers around the work, but after a few requests to Nathan's social media accounts and other landlubbers duetting, the craze grew.
Fans have even taken to Twitter to declare 2021 the year of the sea shanty.
Well done him. |
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It's the Royal Mint. They released a new coin (you remember coins, don't you), which featured a tribute to the writer, HG Wells.
The new two pound coin, issued to mark 75 years since Wells' death, includes imagery from two of his most celebrated books, and was described by the Royal Mint as a "spine-chilling design" when it was unveiled recently.
But it was the coin's inaccuracies that terrified fans of the author. Several of Wells' admirers reacted in horror to the sight of a four-legged depiction of the tripod, a war machine used by the Martians in "The War of The Worlds."
It also features a lovely quote "Good books are the warehouses of ideas", but Wells never said it. It's said by a character in one of his books - Select conversations with an Uncle. And its not ideas, it's ideals. Ah well. |
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Speaking Tip - As Churchill put it |
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Many quotes on the Internet are attributed to Winston Churchill. Some of them he actually said. But he also had great technique. Here are four things that he used so well that you can try out in your speeches.
1) Rhythm and Repetition Like many great orators, Churchill loved to deliver repetitive phrases that gave his speeches an almost musical rhythm. Here's an extract from his "Fight them on the beaches" speech. "A miracle of deliverance, achieved by valour, by perseverance, by perfect discipline, by faultless service, by resource, by skill, by unconquerable fidelity, is manifest to us all." The repetition of "by" and the wonderful language used makes the words sing.
2) Analogy Churchill was an expert at delivering a ringing phrase that became what we'd now call a meme. For example "an Iron Curtain" or "the Few". You may not be able to deliver phrases that are so widely used, but consider what analogies you can invoke to make an idea more memorable
3) Cut, and cut again The length of your speech is not a measure of its impact. Churchill used to pare down his speeches to the bare minimum by taking out every word and phrase that didn't support the main message. It meant that his speeches were often only a few minutes long, but they were immensely powerful.
4) Try out phrases beforehand Churchill was well known for asking friends what they thought about elements he was considering using in a speech. He would test phrases over and over again, and use them only if people reacted well. Never be afraid to try out parts of your speech on people you trust - and take their advice! |
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Media Tip - What do reporters want? |
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There's a commonly-held view that reporters are out to make you look bad, or misrepresent you in some way. That does happen occasionally, but it's much rarer than many people think. The vast majority of journalists are focused on doing a good job and getting thanks from their sub-editor.
So what do reporters really want? Here's a list:
- They want to be first with the story
- They want human interest
- They want to talk to you about your involvement
- They want to surprise and maybe shock listeners and viewers
- They want to prevent any abuses of power
- They want to highlight important trends
- They want exclusives
- They want stories that some people wouldn't want aired
- They will settle for less as their deadline approaches
And what do they definitely not want? - They don't want to be fooled
- They don't want to be lied to
- They don't want half the story
- They don't want old news
- They don't want to do your advertising or PR
- They don't want boring stories
- They don't want to be last
In short, they want to work with you so you both get the best outcome. |
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Social Media Tip - The Streisand Effect |
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It's very hard to control information on the internet. No, let me re-phrase that. It's almost impossible to control information on the internet. Social media is designed to spread the news, not hide it. Barbra Streisand found that out in 2003 when she unsuccessfully attempted to sue photographer Kenneth Adelman and Pictopia.com for US$50 million.
She was attempting to have the aerial photograph of her mansion removed from the publicly available collection of 12,000 California coastline photographs, citing privacy concerns. In practice, her attempt to censor the pictures raised the issue across the news media, resulting in nearly half a million visits to the California Coastal Records Project site where the pictures were displayed. That was a huge increase over their normal traffic. Blogger Mike Masnick dubbed it the Streisand Effect, where an attempt to stifle publicity increases the exposure far beyond what it otherwise would have been.
There have been numerous examples since, indicating that celebrities (or at least their internet advisors) just don't learn. It's one of the reasons that injunctions rarely work to hide news. As John Gilmore, one of the founders of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says "The net treats censorship as damage, and simply routes around it". So, if you are thinking of dealing with "damaging" information online, think twice, and beware the Streisand Effect. |
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It's that time of year when Bash the Penguin is the only thing to do. Can you beat my best? (see the pic) |
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An online or in-person speech to make? 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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