| Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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One of the biggest stories this week has been the reversal of government policy over the provision of food vouchers in the summer holidays to children eligible for free school meals.
The campaign that forced a government U-turn was the work of just one man - Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford.
Great credit is due to him, and the way in which he mobilised his supporters on social media to get behind his appeal to the government.
His efforts to ensure children don't go hungry during the coronavirus pandemic are "more important than any game of football he could play", said Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
I agree. My brother and I grew up with the benefit of free school meals as a result of having a single parent who wasn't always able to work. We know how important it was to us, and I'm delighted to see the success of this campaign. |
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Wherever you are, restrictions are being slowly lifted. It's pretty confusing trying to keep up with the differences between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (not to mention the Isle of Man), but hopefully it won't be too long before we're a Re-united Kingdom.
I don't know about you, but one of the things I'm looking forward to is the re-opening of hairdressers, so that I can finally go and get a haircut.
It's now getting to the stage where I look like a member of a Sweet tribute band (one for the teenagers there). And thanks to FaceApp for the makeover. |
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My interview guest is the brilliant humourist Jeanne Robertson. I've admired her for years, and the chance to chat to her was a real honour. She gave me some invaluable advice on storytelling and story recording.
It was a couple of years ago now, but it produced an amazing response when I played it, so it's time to listen to it again. Hear what Jeanne said in The Media Coach Radio Show.
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The MediaMaestro is the wonderful Vera Lynn, who died this week at the age of 103.
Known universally as 'the Forces' Sweetheart", her wartime popularity was boosted by her signature song, We’ll Meet Again, released in 1939 and written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles. Its wonderful melody and determinedly optimistic lyrics – “I know we’ll meet again some sunny day” – proved powerfully uplifting for departing soldiers, and it has endured as the defining song of the British campaign. It re-entered the UK charts this year at No 55 amid the 75th anniversary celebrations of VE Day.
Her last public performance came in 2005, at the 60th anniversary celebrations for VE Day in Trafalgar Square. She performed a snatch of We’ll Meet Again, and told the crowd: “These boys gave their lives and some came home badly injured and for some families life would never be the same. We should always remember, we should never forget and we should teach the children to remember.” |
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The MediaMug is the UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Rabb.
Speaking with talkRADIO’s Julia Hartley-Brewer, the Cabinet minister said: “I’ve got to say on this taking the knee thing, which I don’t know, maybe it's got a broader history but it seems to be taken from Game of Thrones."
“It feels to me like a symbol of subjugation and subordination rather than one of liberation and emancipation.”
Pressed on whether he would kneel, Mr Raab responded: “I take the knee for two people, the Queen and the Mrs when I asked her to marry me.”
Clearly, Mr Rabb had forgotten, or maybe never noticed, that taking a knee was linked to American footballer Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protest against police brutality in 2016. But then he's only the Foreign Secretary, so why should he worry about what happens overseas?
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman has said: “The Foreign Secretary was very clear he was expressing a personal opinion.” That's diplomatic language for "You're on your own, pal" |
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| Speaking Tip - Where's your evidence? |
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Here are some phrases to remove from your speaking vocabulary:
It's a well known fact that.. Science has proved that.. Studies have shown that.. All experts agree that...
There are many phrases like this, and I'm sure you could come up with a longer list. Why should you avoid phrases like this? Simply because you haven't quoted the evidence to justify them. These days, everyone has a mobile phone, and can quickly check everything that you say. If it turns out that you are making unjustified statements, or even worse, making things up, then your credibility completely disappears.
When you start looking for evidence to back up your statements, you may find that some things you thought were true turn out to be unfounded. Take these for example:
"We use only 10% of our brains" "Only 7% of communication is words" "The 3% of Yale students who wrote down their goals earned more in total than the 97% who didn't" "In the year after Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile barrier, 37 other runners repeated the feat, showing that it was a mindset rather than ability"
A little research reveals that all of those statements are false. We use far more than ten per cent of our brains. The research done by Albert Mehrabian on communication cannot be applied to speaking in general. The Yale written goals study never took place. Only one runner broke the 4-minute mile barrier in the year after Roger Bannister. Just do your research, please.
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| Media Tip - The Sound of Silence |
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People are afraid of silence, especially in media interviews. Silence can be a very important tactic, in several ways:
1) The four-second pause. Before you answer a journalist's question, pause for a few seconds. This provides you with time to absorb and understand the question, and construct a response. It also gives you time to breathe and calm down if the question is aggressive. It may seem like a long time in your head, but it works.
2) The edit point. As well as pausing before answering, leave pauses between the sentences in your answers. If you deliver a particularly pithy or succinct response, it may be a candidate for a news clip. Leaving a brief silence either side of your sentences provides an edit point so that your clip can be used.
3) The silent ending. it's an old journalistic ploy to ask a question, allow the interviewee to answer and then wait quietly. The interviewee will often fall into the trap of saying something else to fill the silence, often delivering information they did not mean to reveal. Don't be fooled. If you have finished your answer, stay silent. The reporter will crack before you do. |
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| Social Media Tip - Punch above your weight |
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It can be hard to compete with big companies when you are a very small one. Here are some social media tips to help you create an online presence that makes people take notice.
1) Keep interacting. It's all about maintaining a constant presence (a bit like this ezine). Develop a regular habit of posting content, and make sure that you respond to any and all comments. When people see your name regularly, they will remember you, even if they don't recall exactly what you posted.
2) Be visual Post images and videos often. They are literally eye-catching, and may well engage people for much longer than a text post, especially if you title a video "Three tips for...", which almost guarantees that people will watch to the end.
3) Be conversational Get involved in debates, but never in an aggressive fashion. Be polite, back up your comments with evidence, and be consistent in your views. You will find that people start tagging you in posts asking for your comments.
4) Use hashtags Hashtags form the basis for how many people view Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. Use both popular hashtags, and those you create yourself to become more visible, and generate even more interaction. |
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| Need some remote speaking tips ? |
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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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