MediaMaster Sir George Martin was much more than the 'fifth Beatle". He was a musical genius who revolutionised popular music. His technical knowledge and love of experimentation saw him produce incredible sounds from equipment that modern musicians would consider crude and primitive. In 1962, Brian Epstein introduced him to The Beatles. Sir George said "They were raucous. Not very in tune. They weren't very good." Nonetheless, he signed them and used his production skills to turn them into icons. He later worked with Dire Straits, The Rolling Stones and Ultravox. He was held in the highest regard by all musicians. Here's a wonderful video of a meeting he had with fellow genius Brian Wilson.

MediaMug Leung Chun-ying, the chief executive of Hong Kong, has told reporters that workers should swim in the harbour during their lunch breaks. He he said that the waters have "leisure and athletic values", and "one would be able to swim for 20 minutes after lunch". However, the local paper, The Standard, has said "Victoria Harbour's waters are so polluted it could take up to 20 years to make them safe for swimming, with anyone brave enough to take a lunchtime dip would be facing E. coli and salmonella infections" It's not just the risk of disease. A lifeguard told the South China Morning Post that "everybody knows you should not swim after lunch". Mr Chun-ying is unrepentant, but hasn't, as yet, taken his own advice.

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE

No, this is not about whether or not you use swear words in your speeches, though I assume that you don't. This tip is about choosing the right words for your speech. The important thing is whether the message that your audience hears is the one that you intend to convey. If, after your speech, you talk to members of your audience and hear yourself saying "that's not what I meant", then you have failed in your mission.

In short, you need to use language that -

• Is clear
• Supports your message
• Is authentically yours

Clarity should not be a problem. There is no trade-off between short words and great speaking. In fact many of the most powerful messages have been delivered in the most simple language - "I have a dream..", "We will overcome.." "The lady's not for turning".

Using the right words that support your message is very important too. How you describe something will determine how your audience perceives it. Do you talk about "developing new and powerful habits" or "stopping doing those stupid and damaging things"?

Lastly, being authentic is important for every speaker, in every speech. Try to avoid clichés. Make up your own comparisons, based on your own experiences. Tell your own stories. That's what people want to hear.

THE TEN PEOPLE YOU MEET IN THE MEDIA

The other day, I was sitting in the newsroom at Sky News's studios in London, waiting to go live on the four o'clock news to talk about reputation management. It occurred to me that although I spend half my life in studios (or so it seems), many people will visit a TV or radio studio much less often. So I thought I'd make a few notes about who does what.

Yes, I know, I ripped-off the title from a best-selling book I've never actually read. That's the journalist in me. Anyway, I thought I'd try to present a summary of ten important media roles that can confuse people, so here goes:

1. The editor's decision is final. Go to them if you want something done, or seek redress.
2. The leader writer is often anonymous, and seeks to summarise a newspaper's views.
3. The specialist correspondent is your friend, so find out their interests and talk to them.
4. The staff reporter is a fixture - be nice to them too, and remember their name
5. The researcher may be a reporter or editor one day. Never patronise them.
6. Presenters are not usually experts, but don't underestimate them.
7. Technicians will help you if you are nice to them
8. Producers are often on the way to becoming editors, and have a lot of power over how you appear
9. The floor manager must be obeyed at all times.
10. As a last resort, keep in touch with a good lawyer.

So, in summary, my advice is "be nice", whether you're dealing with media folk or not.

I BEG TO DIFFER

People don't get famous by agreeing with everyone around the world. Controversy sells. It's the same online as offline. When you make a blog posting, or put a comment on your favourite social network, consider how you might challenge conventional wisdom and take a contrary view, You should be able to back up your opinion with some evidence, otherwise people will see it as fake.

You should use a headline or title of your piece to attract attention by stating your view. A question is a good way to do it, since that creates interest to see how you have answered. Whatever title you use, you must follow through with good content that makes your case. A cracking headline over a mundane article is cheating your readers.

Consistency is also important. Once you become known for a certain point of view, people will seek out your articles, either to agree or complain. You also need to believe in what you write, since insincerity is also obvious. There are over a billion postings on Facebook every day, so how will you make yours stand out?

This has proved to be the most popular fun fling ever. I haven't posted it for a few years, so here it is again.My best score is 320.1, by the way.

If you are at all concerned that reporters might arrive on your doorstep, you can rest easy if you've had a day of crisis media training.

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."