The MediaCoach

Hi John,

I've been all over the world this week, but virtually. I've worked with people in the USA, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Germany and The Netherlands. Last week I co-presented to a meeting in South Africa. All without leaving my office in London. The remarkable thing about this is that it's unremarkable - it's the sort of thing that many of us do. All of the people I worked with were already people I'd met face to face. I think that's the real value of the virtual world - keeping in touch with someone we've already met.

Back in the real world, I had two great gigs this week, working with some close pals. One was with a group of Swedish business people who were interested in speaking skills and I co-presented with the excellent Jeremy Nicholas. The other was a day working with athletes brought together by Special Olympics GB, working with Lee Jackson and David Hyner. Both events were set up by the brilliant Andy Lopata. There's noting better than working with great friends presenting to great audiences.

Elise Quevedo is a social media expert with a "kick-ass attitude" (and a book to prove it). Hear why in the Media Coach Radio Show. There's also a superb song from Slim Chance.
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The author of an unlikely best-selling philosophy book died this week. MediaMaster Robert Pirsig wrote Zen and the art of Motorcyle Maintenance in 1974, and it became influential for a generation. It was the father-son story of a motorcycle trip across the western United States. Loosely autobiographical, it also contained flashbacks to a period in which the author was diagnosed as schizophrenic. US radio host Glynn Washington said: "A long time ago, everyone kept telling me to read this book. Everyone was right. One love, Robert Pirsig." He was right. I'm off to read it again.

President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan takes the MediaMug award this week. He has insisted that whenever he is referred to by the state-run media, they must use his full official title. This is: "The Founder of Peace and National Unity, Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, His Excellency Emomali Rahmon". I'm not making that up. It's not from a film script about a fictional country. It's real. The move has been met with predictable humour and resignation on social media, with users offering further titles such as "the man in the moon", "the creator of the universe" and "the magnificent ruler of Tajiks". Oh dear.

WHERE DO I BEGIN?

The start of your speech is crucial, but you know that already. You know that you need to grab the audience and make them keen to hear more. You may already have a great opening line. But would it make more sense to start your speech near the end?

Let me explain with an example. Here's the opening of a speech I gave a few years ago.
"I have no idea why I agreed to sit at number three in a four-man bobsled on Cresta Run in Switzerland. As we reached a top speed of seventy miles an hour, and we rocketed round a corner with my head lower than my feet, the brake man patted my helmet and whispered 'Keep your head down, Alan, someone died here yesterday of head injuries' ".

Then I went back to the start of the story and explained what was going on (that story is true, by the way, and it still makes me feel wobbly even to write it). The thing is, you don't need to tell your story in a linear fashion. It's OK, or even preferable, to start with a dramatic moment and then roll out the back story. The audience is grabbed immediately, and wants to know more.

It's a trick often used by film directors (see Citizen Kane, American Beauty, The English Patient, etc....) Try it yourself.

FIVE MINUTES ON AIR, FIVE HOURS PREPARATION

There tend to be two different ways that people look at media interviews, Some people feel that since they know their topic inside out, they barely need to prepare, since they will able to deal with any question. Other people are so terrified of being interrogated by a reporter that they spend days analysing the worst questions, and practicing avoidance tactics.

I advocate a different approach. Your five minutes of airtime is a golden opportunity to deliver a simple, effective, relevant message. When I'm preparing a client for a media encounter, we spend a lot of the time preparing the message, and then practicing ways to deliver it in an answer to any question. That doesn't mean avoiding the question altogether, but it does mean focusing on your message rather than trying to figure out what the journalist wants to know.

Preparing for a five-minute interview on national radio or TV, I generally split the time up roughly this way:

That may sound a lot of work for a five-minute interview. But the reputation of your company could hinge on it. How much is that worth?

WE DON'T ALL HAVE TO AGREE

Creating controversy is one way of getting noticed. Strong opinions spread rapidly across social networks, and can generate debates that involve thousands of people. So it makes sense to say something that everyone will disagree with, right? Well, up to a point. You need to have some reason for your opinion, preferably in the form of solid evidence. If not, a well set-out argument will do. But controversy for its own sake won't keep people interested.

Many people in the professional speaking world challenge traditional wisdom on stage, yet can be quite bland on social networks. The reverse is also true. I've seen blogs that express radical views from people who never make such remarks in conversation. I'm not suggesting that either approach is wrong, simply that they are inconsistent.

If you believe something to be wrong, post an article explaining why. If you don't accept conventional ways of doing things, tell us what to do instead. Respond to feedback, especially that from your harshest critics. You will soon build an online following who may not agree with everything you say, but who will always return to find out your latest views.

This is a few years old, but still utterly brilliant.

As dear old Rod Stewart used to sing. But if you are in the spotlight, you may need some 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."