The MediaMaster of the week is completely fictional. He first appeared 50 years ago this week. He taught the band to play 20 years ago, apparently. They've been going in and out of style, but they're guaranteed to raise a smile. (That's enough lyrics - Ed). He is Sergeant Pepper, of Lonely Hearts Club Band fame, brought to life by the four lovable mop-tops The Beatles. The album is the third best-selling UK album (after Abba's and Queen's greatest hits compilations) with over five million sold. Billy Shears must be very proud.

This week's MediaMug trophy goes to Australian tennis legend Margaret Court. Mrs Court said said she would not fly on Qantas "where possible" in protest at its support of same-sex marriage, which is still not legal in Australia. She then told a Christian radio station "tennis is full of lesbians". Back in the 1970s, she was supportive of the apartheid regime in South Africa. There has also been a call from many current tennis players to rename the Margaret Court Arena, in which some matches are played at the Australian Open tennis tournament. Tennis Australia, the governing body, has so far declined to act. However, their hand may be forced.

COULD I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE?

One of the most disheartening things for a speaker is to arrive in front of a noisy or disinterested audience. In fact the only thing worse is an audience which is both noisy and disinterested. Of course, the person who introduces you should make sure that the audience is settled and ready, but that doesn't always happen. If you are faced with calming down the audience yourself, here are seven ways that you might try (hopefully you will only need one of them)

1. Stand relaxed at the front of the stage, facing the audience but saying nothing for ten seconds (this takes nerve)
2. Clap your hands sharply once, and then pause for a few seconds
3. Raise your voice to top level for your first few words
4. Lower your voice to a whisper for your first few words
5. Ask the audience a question, which requires a show of hands
6. If you are using a wireless mic, step off the stage and walk to the back of the room before starting
7. Ask if anyone wishes to leave, and give them 10 seconds to do so (then hope someone stays)

In short, do anything which causes the audience to stop chatting for a moment. Then start your speech with a killer opening line.

A REPUTATION UP IN THE AIR

If you were one of the thousands of passengers affected by the British Airways computer failure, it must have been awful. Any major disruption to air travel has no end of repercussions, not only for travellers, but also for the people at either end of the journey. Holidays are ruined, weddings cancelled, and reunions put on hold.

We all accept that things can go wrong, but there are things that can be done to make people feel a little better. Unfortunately British Airways failed in almost every aspect of crisis communication. As you know, I've been advising companies for years on how to communicate when times are tough, and I've developed some basic rules.

Here they are:

• Recognise that you have a crisis (the most broken rule)
• Be seen and heard doing the right things
• Talk to the media as quickly as possible
• Focus on your feelings about the situation
• Explain how it won't happen again
• Be the main source of information
• Monitor media coverage, responding to any criticism quickly
• Declare the crisis over when you are ready
• Perform an unrelated act of kindness

And of course, invest in some training.

YOU'RE DUNBARRED!

On the train to and from Scotland last weekend, we rattled past the beautiful Scottish coastal town of Dunbar. It put me in mind of a number. A hundred and fifty to be precise.

Anthropologist Professor Robin Dunbar came up with a theory twenty five years ago about the number of relationships we can keep up with. The number, known as Dunbar's number, is estimated at around a hundred and fifty. He based this on research into the size of ancient villages, Roman legions and nomadic tribes, but also upon the capacity of a region of the brain known as the neocortex. So how does this relate to social networking?

On the face of it, the Dunbar number seems ridiculously low. Many of us have thousands of contacts on social networks, and we exchange messages with them constantly. However, if you consider the number of people that you know really well, and have probably met at some point, it looks a lot closer to a couple of hundred. The implication is that most of your important interactions take place with a relatively small number of people.

If you think about your social media use, you will probably find that there aren't that many people you know and trust really well. Professor Dunbar also suggests that we have a close inner circle of just five people, and networks of up to 1500 who we recognise facially, but don't know that well. In short, it's worth remembering that despite having many thousands of friends and followers, the close circle that we know well is really important. Those are the people we should really value and spend time with.

This 12 year old ventriloquist is extraordinary. Trust me. You may need a hanky.

Let's make your speech great.

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."