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| The MediaCoach |  |
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Hi John, The first rule of crisis management is to tell the truth.The second rule is to tell it early, and the third rule is to tell it yourself. The tragic death of Adnan Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey has led to every rule being broken repeatedly by the Saudi government. Every day, fresh revelations have emerged, which have led to the Saudis changing their story. I have lost count of the number of different explanations they have given for an unforgivable act that clearly had the involvement of senior officials. The repercussions may be massive and long-lasting. It is one crisis I am glad to have no involvement in, as there is no way to save a their reputation. Some things are beyond help. Meanwhile here in the UK we had the bizarre spectacle of a leading businessman who had taken out an injunction preventing a newspaper from naming him over sexual harassment claims, then being named in the House of Lords. I'm sure his name is all over the media by now, so I have no need to name him here. But I do find it odd that a newspaper still cannot name someone in connection with allegations, but everyone now knows who he is. I now have a webpage with all the details of my professional speaker coaching programme for 2019. As of now, I have four places left on the one day a month option, and three places left on the two hours a month option. If you want to increase your fees, boost your bookings, and create killer keynotes, let me know very soon! Vanessa Ugatti coaches professional services firms and individuals enabling them to charge their true worth and get it while creating value for their clients. Hear how she does it in the Media Coach Web Radio Show. There is also a superb tune from Jim Boggia.
 The MediaMaestro award has to be handed to a perennial star who has unique interpretations of songs. No one is really sure whether he is being serious or playing us along. In this instance he has teamed up with Iggy Pop to deliver a unique rendition of Silent Night. Yes, William Shatner, Captain Kirk of old, has recorded a Christmas Album, nattily titled "Shatner Claus". I'm not making this up. Of course, there is nothing to compare with his version of Rocket Man, but nothing could top that. The MediaMug award goes to the BBC for what I, along with many other listeners thought was a daft move - pairing Simon Mayo with Jo Whiley for the Radio 2 drive-time show, previously hosted by Simon on his own. The reaction to the pairing was not good. They are both superb radio broadcasters, but putting them together was a disaster. It was announced this week that Mayo is leaving the station altogether, and Whiley is taking over a later slot. The new drive-time host has not been named, but I'm prepared to bet it'll be Sarah Cox, who lost out on the Breakfast show to Zoe Ball. All change at the Beeb.
BE IN THE MOMENT When you're preparing a speech, try to imagine yourself delivering it, at the right time and place. Why is that important? Because you wouldn't deliver the same speech in the same way at different times of the day, or at different venues. The way the audience reacts will be different according to the time of day, the location, previous speakers, even the time of year and external events. You need to anticipate as much as you can, and tailor your approach accordingly. For example, a pre-dinner and post-dinner speech about the same topic can be quite different in terms of length, humour and style. An end-of-conference keynote is different from one that starts an event. Consider the following aspects of a speech:
Even if you have given the same type of speech many times before, think about how giving it at a particular moment will effect its impact. Be in the moment, and delight your audience.
SOFT AND HARD INTERVIEWS When asked to do an interview, always ask what time you are on air. It is important that you know the precise time (at least the precise expected time), since this will have a significant impact on the type of interview, and therefore the type of preparation that you need. If your interview is at five past the hour, on the back of a news bulletin, it will be about an item in the news, and will back-refer to the headlines. You may be someone affected by the story, or even someone mentioned. In this case, do your research very thoroughly, and most importantly, listen to the way in which the story is being reported. If your interview is at five minutes before the hour, it will be soft and chatty, with the possibility of being lengthened, shortened or dropped altogether. In this case, practice your core message, and prepare yourself to have as little as 20 seconds on air (but also be aware that you may have 5 minutes to fill) Similar considerations apply around a half hour bulletin. If you're on at quarter to or quarter past, prepare for either type!
IS YOUR BUSINESS REALLY SOCIAL? Just about everywhere you go, there are little signs that say "Follow us on Twitter" or "Like our Facebook page". That's fine, since at least it shows an awareness of the importance of social media. But it only works if someone in the business is engaged with people on Twitter and Facebook. Here are three ways to be really social in business. 1) Limit your social networks It's perfectly OK to be only on Facebook. Everyone else is, so it's easy for people to find you. More importantly, it's easier for you to keep tabs on what is being said about you if it's all in one place. However, if you can be on many channels, and have conversations on each one, that's fine. Too many organisations spread themselves over dozens of channels, and respond on none of them. 2) Know how social channels work There are many horror stories about failures to understand how people behave on social media. It's not acceptable to delete criticism, manufacture good reviews or be abusive to customers. I know, it sounds obvious, but some people seem to think that an argument on social media is a one-to-one dialogue. It isn't. Even if no-one is watching at the time, the details can spread like wildfire. Make sure that your social media managers (or just you) understand netiquette. 3) Deliver on your promises If you offer a prize in an online competition, make sure you award it, and tell people about it too. People will find out if you haven't. I heard of a company that decided not to make an award because they received only a handful of entries. Bad mistake. They were asked "who won?" and had to admit their non-action. You must always do what you say you will.
Some presentations are truly terrible. I watched some of these from behind the sofa. For some reason, the product fails from tech giants are the funniest...
Only a few places left on my professional speaker coaching programme.
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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