The MediaCoach

Hi John,

One of my roles is to act as MC and/or auctioneer at charity events. They are often in large hotels, with lavish hospitality, and can raise huge sums for good causes. However, I have never been at the sort of event that has caused so much furore in recent days. The Presidents Club, which runs men-only charity evenings where millions of pounds are raised, has closed its doors, and will run no more events. The goings-on at their bash last week shocked many people when an undercover reporter from the Financial Times was there and detailed her experience. From the story, it sounded as though the event had taken place in the 1970s. Well done to her for exposing the sleazy nature of the Presidents Club.

Many people trace their ancestors. I spent some time a few years ago tracing back my mother's line, Godwin, and came up with a few interesting forebears. Like many Godwin descendants, I have a line back to Harold Godwinson, last Anglo-Saxon king of England, who took one for the team in 1066. More interesting (to me at least) was my seven greats grandfather, William Godwin, who married Mary Wollstonecraft, who gave birth to a daughter in 1797 in East London. That daughter, Mary, became Mary Shelley, and wrote Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus, published 200 years ago this month. Here's my TEDx talk where I tell her story.

Steve Bustin is a great speaker and MC who talks about getting your voice heard. He also has a video that is going viral. Hear how, and listen to our conversation in the Media Coach Radio Show. and there's also a great song from The Dustbowl Revival.
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The MediaMaestro was a tough choice this week. Mark E Smith from The Fall was an iconic singer. Both Elton John and Neil Diamond announced an end to their touring. But I've picked a real hero. A footballer who became a superb radio pundit. Jimmy Armfield was a one-club man. Blackpool named a stand after him and he sat in it proudly many times. He was a member of the England World Cup winning squad, but only received his medal years later, as he didn't play in the final. I remember him well as a gentle, expert voice on many football commentaries. A real pro.

The MediaMug is a late entry, spotted by my good friend Jeremy Nicholas. It is Leeds United Football Club. Why? They have decided to redesign their club logo, but without really thinking it through. The result has been a disaster, with 50,000 fans signing a petition in only 12 hours demanding a rethink. Leeds fans complained that the crest, which is intended to show the "Leeds Salute" looks like the label on a packet of the heartburn medicine Gaviscon. The popular Leeds fanzine Square Ball observed on Twitter: "A big glossy, exercise in branding done by a consultant in Shoreditch. We need to go for a soya milk latte and a lie down."

TEN THINGS PROFESSIONAL SPEAKERS DO (PART 2)

Here, as promised, is the second part of my list of professional speaking "dos". Follow this advice, and the five tips from last week, and you will stand out from the crowd as a real professional.

6) Make an early start. Make arrangements to get into the room long before the sessions start to do a full technical rehearsal. Check the audio, go through your moves on stage, run through any slides, and check the handover between speakers. If possible, ask the conference chair to be there too for a few minutes to check arrangements.
7) Be in the room as the audience arrives. This will provide the opportunity for some conversation with them, which will make an early connection, and help to relax both you and them. But don't ever rehearse your presentation while audience members are present.
8) Don't promote products. Unless you have made an arrangement with the organiser, you shouldn't promote your products from the stage. Even if it is agreed, make sure it is a minor part of your speech, and clearly separate from the main body of the presentation.
9) Tell them how not why. The audience has come to learn something that they can take away and use. Although they may be interested in the reasons, what they really want to know is how to make things different.
10) Have fun.. There's nothing worse than a presenter who looks like they are sucking a lemon. If you have fun, so will your audience, and they will be open-minded and relaxed, so they will learn much more

(Actually, I could have written another 20 things, but that's enough for now).

DES WILSON SAYS....

I've known veteran campaigner Des Wilson for many years. Along with a few other like-minded souls, I was involved with Des in the launch of Friends of the Earth (FOE) in the early 1970s (yes, I really am that old). He was always brilliant on the media, and the other day I came across an old FOE document that he wrote about how to run a successful media campaign. I think his words still ring true today, 45 years later -

I'M HERE AND I'M HUMAN

Social media is - well - social. The relationships are personal, or as personal as you can be in electronic form. It seems that those who achieve the most success from social media (success measured as a high profile and offers of gainful employment) are personalities. I'm thinking of the likes of Robert Scoble, Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan. They have profiles with pictures, they have strong opinions, and they get involved in conversations. In other words, they are there, and they are human.

Alas, some people attempt to create a faceless brand on social media, or automate all of their messages to make it appear that they are online when they are really asleep in bed. But people can see through that. Once it is discovered that there is no real person behind the messages, interest drops rapidly.

Some companies are terrified of identifying their staff. They fear that it will somehow weaken their brand, but in fact it can strengthen it immeasurably by giving it a human face. Even if you are using social media on behalf of an organisation, let us know who you are. Tell us about your emotions, your successes and even your rare failures. Talk to us. Be human and be there.

No apologies for including this collection of blunders from TV, since it contains my all-time favourite news disaster, as wrestler Giant Haystacks meets TV presenter Jackie Fullerton (it's 2 minutes 43 seconds in). I can still feel his pain.

I can show you how!

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."