The MediaCoach

Hi John,

So there we are. Been an interesting week, eh? Yes I know it's taken a long time, and the waiting has been frustrating. It's felt like a lifetime, but finally we know the outcome. Personally, I'm very pleased with the result. I think it's much better than last time, and that was already good. Of course, not everyone agrees, and there's already been a lot of debate on social media. But I'm giving it a big thumbs up. Yes, this year's John Lewis Christmas advert is a classic.

Oh yes. Over in the USA, there's been an election. Well done to Donald Trump. A man with no political experience, no time in office and very little support from his party is about to assume the most powerful position in the world. Political pollsters can pack their bags. They've called it wrong again. Political analysts are in for a lot of work. Was it "people power", a disdain for the political establishment, a yearning for a Putin-like strong leader (check irony levels) or a revolt by the white working-class who feel disenfranchised and put upon? Probably all of these and more. Whatever it was, there are interesting times to come.

Ninety-eight years ago today, at eleven o'clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, a document was signed that signalled the end of The First World War. William John Godwin, my great uncle, was one of my grandmother's beloved two brothers. He joined the infantry in 1914, aged 18, and volunteered for the Machine Gun Corps. In 1916, he was posted to The Somme. On September 23rd, 1916, he fell in battle. His brother, Arthur, was in the Merchant Navy, and drowned on April 3rd 1917 when his ship, HMS Jason, was torpedoed. My grandmother rarely spoke of her brothers. It was too painful. On the rare occasions when she did, it was with great sadness, but also great pride. War is hell, as they say, and happens when politics fails. I hope you will observe a brief moment of remembrance on this anniversary.

Someone that Mr Trump could benefit from speaking to is my interview guest this week. He's Duncan Bhaskaran Brown, known as the Civic Coach. He helps civic dignitaries to communicate effectively - a much needed service. Hear my chat with him in the Media Coach Radio Show. There's also a terrific song from Simon Stanley Ward, who had the most wonderful review in Q Magazine - "Simon Stanley Ward, an old-school country singer at heart. His eponymous debut honks and tonks in a way that fits both bird-wire covered roadhouse stages and the hipster bars of Hackney!"
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A radio legend passed away this week. Sir Jimmy Young, who had a successful career as a crooner in the 1950s, became one of the nation's most-loved DJs, with his show pioneering a mix of music and current affairs. He interviewed every prime minister from Alec Douglas-Home to Tony Blair - with Baroness Thatcher a guest 14 times. He left the BBC after more than 30 years behind the desk after he was replaced in a revamp at the station, as part of new controller Jim Moir's efforts to attract younger viewers. Sir Jimmy made no secret of the fact it was not his choice to leave, and a motion was even put down in Parliament to keep him on.But he made up with the BBC in later years, hosting a one-off special for his 90th birthday. A genuine MediaMaster.

MediaMug civic officials in St Petersburg are facing criticism over claims that they've used shoddily photoshopped images to make it look like they've carried out maintenance work that hasn't actually happened. Last week, a resident submitted a request on the city government's website for advertising stickers to be cleaned from a lamp post, and an official responded on Tuesday that the work had been done. Alongside the message was a photo of the lamp post in question, supposedly after being scrubbed clean. But those who gave the photo a closer look - using the handy zoom feature provided - thought something was amiss. "St Petersburg officials used Paint to clean adverts off the lamp post," reads the headline on Baltika FM website, referring to the rather basic Microsoft image editor. An un-named official said the work had been done, but the picture may have been "enhanced by an over-zealous person". Clever way of saying "fake". Oops.

WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?

Using a pithy and memorable quote can make a huge impression on your audience. Be careful how you use quotes, though, since they may end up being the only part of your speech that is remembered. It's important that your message is delivered effectively, so quotes should be used to support rather than overpower it.

It's very poor form to quote yourself. It sounds pompous, and looks even worse on slides. I once saw a speaker display a quote of their own between one from Plato and another from Confucius. It didn't go down well with the audience, and created quite a stir on Twitter.

Please try not to do that quotation marks thing with your fingers before a quote too. It's not necessary if you make it clear, as you should, that you are using a phrase coined by someone else. Attribution of quotes is important. It may require a little research, but try to discover the earliest user of a phrase. That may mean looking beyond Wikipedia. If you can't find a name to go with the quote, simply say "Who was it that said?" or "As it was once expressed far better than I could put it"

And unless you are a talented mimic, please don't try to deliver the quote in the original accent. Just use the words, and give credit where it is due.

THE MEDIA AMBUSH

You're just leaving your house at 6am when you notice a bright light moving towards you rapidly. You blink as it almost blinds you, and you hear a voice shouting questions at you as a boom microphone is pushed towards your face. The questions are about your company, but you don't know what happened overnight. Was it a fire or a crash in the share price? You're being asked to comment for the early morning TV news. You've been in a media ambush.

Hopefully, that will never happen, but imagine if it did. How would you cope? Luckily, you can prepare for this sort of thing. Like everything in life, preparation can make things much easier. Here are some tips:

Most importantly of all, make sure you and senior staff are trained.

DON'T OUTSOURCE YOUR VOICE

I've met many people who say that they are too busy to use social media. I've also met many companies who offer to run social media as an outsourced service. It seems like a natural fit for one to work with the other. Indeed, I know of examples where outsourced social media services work really well. I also know of examples where things have gone spectacularly wrong.

I post all of my social media messages myself. If someone receives a reply that looks as though it comes from me, it really does. For me, social media is about building and maintaining relationships, often with people that I know in person. We have a shared history of experiences and contacts that no-one else could ever be fully aware of.

I believe that it is better to send a few personal messages each day than dozens of impersonal ones. It really doesn't take long to respond to a tweet, post a few lines on Facebook, or upload a picture to Instagram. All of us have plenty of "downtime" when we are travelling (though not when driving), waiting for an appointment, or sitting in a bar waiting for friends to arrive.

Of course, if you work for a huge organisation, you have to outsource, don't you? Well maybe. However, even Richard Branson sends his own tweets at times.

"Couldn't stop a pig in a passage" or "It's looking a bit black over Bill's mother's" are phrases that have almost died out, but still linger here and there. Where did they come from, and what on earth do they mean? The article at the link below explains.

You might need a bit of help.

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."