The MediaCoach

Hi John,

It's all about communication, isn't it? I travelled up to Birmingham this week by train, and had a thought - perhaps Jane Austen has just been appointed head of train announcements at Euston and on trains to Birmingham. Here are three announcements I heard.
"Please be aware that passenger movement controls will be in place at busy times to assist egress"
"In case of inclement weather, the concourse may be hazardous"
"Please take care when alighting from the train via the vestibules"
I feel sorry for tourists.

I produced a new paperback book this week. It's already on Amazon. It took me about an hour. To be fair, I already had put the Kindle version on Amazon, but creating a real book was so easy, I recorded a video about it. You might like to try it yourself.

And speaking of books, let's hear from an expert, a great author, the late Dan Poynter, known as "The Book Guy" in the Media Coach Radio Show. There's also a track from one of my favourite bands, The Dustbowl Revival, who are crowdfunding their latest album. Take a look!
Go to the iTunes Archive of the MediaCoach Show
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The MediaMaster award goes to the residents of the village of Hopeman in Moray in Scotland for their innovative idea to slow down traffic. They have taken turns to put on high-visibility vests and point hairdriers at cars. The drivers slow down, thinking that they may be caught in a radar speed trap. Moray councillor Dennis Slater, who lives in Hopeman, told BBC Scotland: "It's very dangerous, the speed that the traffic is doing through Hopeman is quite serious, especially when the kids are going to school in the morning - it's quite alarming. This is why some of the residents have resorted to taking out hairdryers and putting on hi-vis vests. It works."

I feel a bit sorry for this week's MediaMug. He's been a bit naive. He lost his job. But it does make a good story. When Sutton United hosted Arsenal in the FA Cup this week, the cameras picked up an image of the Sutton reserve goalkeeper Wayne Shaw eating a pie (though it may have been a pastie). He looked as though it wasn't his first pie. Alas, it transpired that a bet of eight to one had been offered that he would be pictured eating a pie. He knew of the bet. There is yet to be a full enquiry, but it has already been a pie too far.

PLAY YOUR INNER GAME ON STAGE

Some years ago, there were a couple of books by W Timothy Gallwey that were on the bookshelf of every sports coach. They were The Inner Game of Golf and The Inner Game of Tennis. The inner game principles are to do with overcoming self-imposed obstacles like fear, doubt and low self-esteem, and focusing on achieving the best possible performance. The techniques are now used not only in sports coaching, but also in life and business coaching.

I read the books in the 1970s, shortly after they were published, and recall how the phrase "swing, hit" was used to describe the rhythm of both tennis and golf shots. There was also the description of how a professional golfer stood on the tee and visualised where the ball should land on the green, while an amateur visualised it landing in the lake. Both often ended up achieving their visions.

So how does this help on stage? Here are some ideas:

ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN

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.

THREE SOCIAL MEDIA MYTHS

There are more social media experts around than you can shake a stick at. Not that I'm encouraging you to do so. Instead, here's my take on some of the most popular advice offered about social networking.

1) Always include a call to action. While it's fine now and again to suggest that people visit your page or even buy your course, constant selling is a real turn-off. It's about creating relationships, not constant marketing. If you're well-liked and respected, business will come in without you having to keep asking for it.

2) You can't do it all yourself. I'm here to tell you that you can, and you don't need to spend all day online, either. Being present on social networks for a few minutes each day will maintain those relationships. Posting a few comments each time you're online, commenting on your areas of expertise will keep your profile high. A few good conversations each week will pay dividends.

3) Older people aren't on social media. OK, that depends what you mean by "older". From where I sit, I guess that's me, and most professionals that I know of any age are using social networks. Surveys suggest that users of Facebook and Twitter are skewed toward the more mature users.

As with all advice (including what I've just offered you), it's best to try things out and see what works for you. There are no hard and fast rules about social media, so just get involved as much as you wish.

Peep Show is a superb comedy, and doesn't always go according to plan.

I can help.

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."