Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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Hi John,
Once again, nothing on that topic. You know the one.
I was at a concert in St Pancras Old Church this week (more about the concert in a moment). I'm not normally given to wandering about in graveyards, but on this occasion I had a good reason to. Three of my family members were buried there in the 1700 and 1800s. I found their memorial, tidied up around it a bit, and took a picture (not a selfie of course). Alas, the markings on the memorial were so weathered they were almost impossible to see. But I was pleased to pay my respects.
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To a runner, there's nothing like the feeling of getting a new pair of shoes. OK, I appreciate this may be lost on you, but for me, it's a thing.
So I was pretty chuffed to pick up a new pair from my favourite running shop, Runners Need, last week. All I need now is a challenge to keep my training miles up. I am not really a marathon runner any more, but a half marathon, or even better a 10k, suits me fine. So over to you. If you know of a 10k or half marathon later this year, let me know. I will run it for your chosen charity if I pick your name out of the hat. Drop me a line before next week's ezine, and have a chance to raise money for your cause. |
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Roseanne Reid comes from a musical family. I will let you work out which one, but you won't have to walk 500 miles to find out. I spoke to her before a recent London concert (in Old St Pancras Church) about her background and her debut album, as you can hear in the Media Coach Radio Show this week. There is also of course, a wonderful song from Roseanne too.
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The MediaMaestro is a real maestro - music producer and all-round genius T-Bone Burnett.
“It must be becoming obvious to most people by now: the fact that we are in a battle. A battle for the survival of our species. And our enemy is within,” he said, citing the recent behaviour of companies like Facebook, and legislators’ efforts to regulate it.
His talk took in GDPR and data-privacy; the impact of artificial-intelligence technology on human jobs; and changing cultures of internet use. “No one’s even on the internet any more. We’re all just in applications,” said Burnett. “So they’re controlling the internet, which was supposed to be an open communications system…”
I urge you to take a listen. |
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Actually, I could have picked any one of a dozen politicians to be this week's MediaMug, but that was an open goal.
Instead, I have picked up on a bit of publicity from a company called Kove. They make swimwear. For people. And for dogs (I am not making this up).
The Kove Mate trunks are the dog version, and they come in teal or striped sage green. Rather than pulling them on, you put them over their legs, and fasten a strap round their tummy, leaving room for pup to go to the loo and not feel restricted.
Kove Nomad is the human option, and come in matching prints, but with the standard swimming short design you know and love.
On the plus side, each pair is made from eight recycled plastic bottles, helping towards clearing our oceans and make a difference to sealife. On the minus side - do you really want to swim with your dog in matching trunks? |
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Speaking Tip - Getting from here to there |
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Transitions occur in every speech of more than a few minutes (and sometimes in very short speeches too). How you manage them is very important, so that the listeners can follow the flow, and understand how your argument develops. Connecting the major parts of your speech together in a seamless way requires preparation and practice. You can't just flip to a different topic.
You can use single words, phrases, sentences or even a number to move from one topic to another. There are many options, such as; however, on the other hand, let's look at that in another way, for example. Whatever you choose to make the transition, pause before the transitional element. This will grab the attention of your audience as you lead them gently to another part of your speech.
You can use a question as a transition. For example, you could be talking about a global trend that affects a particular market sector, and then say; "What does this mean for you in practical terms?"
Setting up an opposing position is also a useful technique. You may be discussing a marketing tactic that works particularly well in the USA, and then offer the transitional phrase "However, in Europe, the situation is completely different"
Your audience will be barely conscious of the transitions in your speech. However, if you don't use them, your speech will be disjointed, and they won't understand your main point. Always make sure that you can get from here to there, and that you take your audience with you.
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Media Tip - I'm not here to talk about that! |
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Sometimes, interviewees (or their PR representatives) try to impose restrictions on their interviewer. This seems to happen most often with "celebs" who want to keep quiet about relationship issues, or politicians who want to avoid talking about a particular policy. Whether you could get away with this approach, or should even attempt it, is a debate I sometimes have with clients.
The basic rule is; If you will get more benefit from the interview than the show will, it's a waste of time trying to bargain, since they will simply drop you. Furthermore, it only draws attention to an embarrassing topic, which makes questions about it even more likely if you do agree to appear.
So, if there's a topic that you aren't prepared to discuss on the media, don't do a media interview. There is no point in trying to block questions during an interview either, since the audience will simply assume you have something to hide.
The best tactic is to learn how to cope with any type of question in a calm and measured manner. Of course, for that, you may need some media training. You know where to find that. |
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Social Media Tip - Same here, same there |
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What's your online persona? Is it the same as your real-life persona? (Hint: It should be). Of course, some people want to hide who they are online, often for dubious reasons, but if you're in business, it makes sense to be the same person everywhere.
There's a tendency for comments to be more pointed and direct online than they would be in a face-to-face conversation. That's always seemed strange to me. The person or people you are talking to are as real as you are, with the same feelings and sensibilities. Why not extend the same respect as you would to someone you met in person?
If you're in business, it's even more important to be authentic. The people you react with online are potential or existing customers. If a customer walked into your office, you'd offer them polite service. The fact that you are chatting to them online makes little difference. The only distinction is the way you are communicating.
Everything you do online and offline should be consistent - from your profile picture to the way you speak about your products and services. It's arguably even more important to be polite online, since there is likely to be a much larger audience for any poor service. Just be the same everywhere.
It's that simple.
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I can help. Just click the link |
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