The Media Coach | November 17th 2023 |
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| Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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| As I mentioned, I was volunteering at the Billie Jean King Cup tennis competition at the Copper Box in Olympic Park last weekend.
The section of spectators I was looking after included the "Barmy Army", a group of fanatical fans who follow English sporting teams at all sorts of events. They include a six-piece band which managed to play between points in every game. Honestly.
Team GB won the tie. It may take my eardrums a few weeks to recover. |
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| It's been quite a week in politics here in the UK.
A Home Secretary sacked, a former Prime Minister back in the government, and a court ruling against the policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.
At least inflation is down. So instead of things getting a lot more expensive, they are now getting a bit more expensive. Hey ho. |
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| Places remain on my popular one-to-one speaker coaching services for 2024. I offer 12-month and 6-month courses that over a hundred speakers have already benefited from.
I've been involved in the speaking profession for over 40 years, and I'm sharing my expertise.
If you'd like to have a chat about it, email me at [email protected]. |
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| My guest in the radio show this week is iconic music producer Mike Vernon.
He was the founder of blues label Blue Horizon, which featured dozens of brilliant musicians, and produced hundreds of artists, including Fleetwood Mac, Status Quo, The Proclaimers, Duran Duran, Radiohead and the Bay City Rollers.
He's always been a huge fan of the blues, and now has his own band, Cat Squirrel, who play stunning traditional blues as well as their own material. I've been looking to interview Mike for years, so It was great to speak with him.
Hear our chat in the in the radio show. |
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| MediaMaestro, MediaMug of the Week |
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| The MediaMaestros this week are actors Prunella Scales and Timothy West, who recently celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary.
I was listening to BBC Radio 5 Live this week when I heard part of an interview with them both about their lifelong love, which Timothy has documented in a book, "Pru and Me: The Amazing Marriage of Prunella Scales and Timothy West"
Their devotion to each other was clear, and what was particularly touching was the way in which they have managed Prunella's vascular dementia, which has gradually worsened in recent years.
They were both very honest about her illness and clearly still very much enjoy their life together.
Colin Paterson, the BBC's entertainment correspondent who spoke to them, said that at the conclusion of the interview, as the microphone was removed, Prunella said "Oh good," a twinkle appearing in her eye."Now I can say…"
And out of her mouth came a four-letter word completely unsuitable for broadcast on the BBC.
Good for them!
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| The MediaMug of the week is season six of the Netflix drama series "The Crown" which covers the death of Princess Diana and its impact on the Royal Family.
The first four episodes have received scathing reviews.
In a one-star review, Lucy Mangan writing in the Guardian said "The Diana-obsessed series is the very definition of bad writing. It started teetering in season three, lost its balance entirely over the next two and is now plummeting into the abyss." Anita Singh of The Telegraph echoed the Guardian, writing that the "Netflix jewel hits a dead end" as the new season is "haunted by Princess Diana's bizarre ghost".
Of course, opinions always differ, especially about drama shows based on real events. This series may be one to avoid, though. |
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Speaking Tip of the week - What makes a speech weak? |
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| I've heard some stunning speeches recently. I was sitting in the audience in a break between speeches, noting down why they were so good. For some reason, I started writing down what they were not. Since knowing what not to do is almost as good as knowing what to do, allow me to share my thoughts about things to avoid.
1. Contradictions. Don't ever say something which you later contradict (even in part). I know it seems obvious, but many speakers do it. The audience will notice.
2. Poor or outdated information. Make sure you keep your facts (graphs and charts too) up to date and correct.
3. Truisms. Don't tell your audience what is blindingly obvious, such as "Too much of anything is too much"
4. Assumptions or Assertions that most of your audience won't accept, such as "We all know that global warming is really a myth".
5. Opinions delivered as facts. This can be tricky, especially if you feel strongly about an issue. It's important to remember that opinions are many, but facts are few. It's OK to have opinions (in fact it's very important), but make sure you say they're your take. In short, be relevant, engaging and thought-provoking, like the speakers I've been watching. Maybe I'll come and see you soon, too. |
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Media Tip of the week - Double double toil and trouble |
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| In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, the three witches play a pivotal role. They are the first characters to appear, and in Act 4, deliver prophecies that shape the future of the protagonist.
They tell Macbeth several things that seem impossible; "for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth" and "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him." Macbeth hears that he can never be killed or beaten, but he is proved doubly wrong.
So what is the relevance of the witches' prophecies to news? It's the fact that the events they predict are both rare and interesting. Had there been news bulletins in eleventh century Scotland, these would have been the lead stories.
News is about exceptions to the norm. That's why disasters and momentous political upheavals are reported widely. It's why the news is regarded by many people as "negative", since good news stories rarely feature. The importance for you and your publicity is twofold.
Firstly, you need to think what aspect of your business is unusual or unique.
Secondly, you need to think how you can present it is such a way that people will consider it almost impossible until you explain it.
Never put out a media release with "so-so" information. Only ever contact the media when you have a story that is so engaging, the reporter will immediately call you to find out more. Be a media witch.
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Social Media Tip of the week - Raise your video game |
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| Last week, I offered some tips for online video. This week I'm talking about online video trends.
There are at least three things changing:
1) Longer video limits on social media.
Instagram Reels can now be as long as 15 minutes, and TikTok is rumoured to be testing that length as well. Plus, X (Twitter) rolled out its premium subscription, which allows paid users to upload videos of up to two hours long.
2) User behavior is changing.
Users now frequently turn to social networks to answer questions they might normally pose to Google or other web search engines. Content creators on social media need to be able to answer questions in-depth in their videos, which takes more time.
3) The focus is on staying for longer
People are heading to social media to kill time and be entertained more than ever before. For example, the whole of the Mean Girls film was recently uploaded to TikTok.
What does this mean for you? It means videos can be longer (two to five minutes) and focus more on information. But then you do that already, I'm sure. |
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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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