The Media Coach

Hi John,

As I mentioned, we've been in Spain for the past week, taking the slow train (thirteen and a half hours) from Barcelona to Cadiz, which as you probably know is the oldest city in the Western Europe, having been established by Phoenecian seafarers over three thousand years ago.

I understand there's been a bit oif politics and a bit of sport while I've been away.

Anyway, that's for another time. I'm hoping that I've brought back a bit of sunny weather in my suitcase, but not as hot as Jerez, where we were yesterday in a temperature of 37degrees Centigrade, or close to a hundred as we used to say.

One of the things we were most keen to see in Cadiz was the Roman Theatre, which was discovered only recently and excavated to provide an idea of what it looked like.

And it was only an idea, since the original structure had space for ten thousand spectators, and a stage that could hold five hundred performers.

Apparently the plays were paid for by rich nobles who wanted to gain influence over the population by telling them what to think.

A good job that sort of thing doesn't happen now, eh?

My guest in the radio show this week is Bryony Thomas, who I know well and have worked closely with.



Bryony runs Watertight Thinking, and is the author of a brilliant book, Watertight Marketing.

I worked with her on an audio version of her book, as you'll hear in the interview.

Bryony is also a cancer survivor, and is nothing but an inspiration to many, including me.



Hear our fascinating chat in the in the radio show

Go to the MediaCoach Show

Follow me on X (Twitter)

And there's a superb song from The Dustbowl Revival

The MediaMug of the week goes to tennis champion Novak Djokovic.

He claimed the Wimbledon crowd were booing him during his victory over Holger Rune, who's supporters often shout "Ruuuuune".

“I am not accepting it,” Djokovic said in his post-match interview. “No no no. I know they were cheering for Rune but that’s an excuse to also boo. Listen, I have been on the tour for more than 20 years. I know all the tricks. I focus on the respectful people that pay for the ticket, and love tennis and appreciate the players. I played in much more hostile environments, trust me – you guys can’t touch me.”

Of course, he can say whatever he likes, but I wonder if he remembers how much audiences have paid to see him, and how much prize money he's won?

A speech is designed to deliver a message, and the best messages are often delivered as stories.

A story, as you know, has a beginning, a middle and an end, with a transformation taking place. Classic storytelling ends with a scene that calls back to the opening scene.

Rhetorically, that's known as closing the loop, by providing a satisfying conclusion to the issues and conflicts raised in the story.

Great speakers are nearly always great storytellers, and they know how this structure works. The best can open several stories at the start of a speech, and then close them at the end.

The sequence is important. The most significant story is the one you begin with, and that is the last to be closed.

So a speech structure with nested loops would be -

Open story A, Open story B. Open story C

Close story C, Close story B. Close story A.

It's not as hard as it sounds. You'll know if it works, and you'll also know - because your audience will tell you - if you fail to close any story.

If you've ever watched Friends, you'll remember the "pivot" scene ,where Ross is trying, and failing, to get a sofa up a flight of stairs.

You may also recall that during that during the pandemic, "pivoting" to online delivery was a popular thing to do.

Pivoting is also a very useful concept for media interviews.

A journalist asks a question that an interviewee wants to avoid, or perhaps can’t answer for legal or other reasons, so they move, hopefully deftly, to another topic. It's known as pivoting or bridging.

When an interviewee faces a tough question, sometimes it’s good to concede a point or even admit a mistake as part of the pivot. To admit you got something wrong is not necessarily a sign of weakness. It can be a sign of strength, since everybody makes mistakes.

Ideally, you should pivot back to the topic of the question after you've made your point. That takes some practice, but will avoid the accusation that you didn't answer the question.

You also need to avoid appearing evasive. Make your point as positively as you can, and then offer a response to the actual question, or provide a reason (such as confidentiality) why you cannot.

Responses to social media posts can get pretty heated at times. Here are some ways to manage the debate under your posts.

Remember - it's your debate, and you are responsible for managing it.

Victoria Wood knew how to run an opinion poll...

Investing in a one-day course could save you a fortune one day. Just get in touch. 07986 852621

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."