The MediaCoach

Hi John,

Will you be watching the Winter Olympics from South Korea? I will. I love the drama of the broomsters and the curling stones, the terrifying tea-tray slides of the skeleton bob and of course, the first African representatives ever, the Nigerian bobsleigh team. It's a shame Eddie the Eagle is not there. Most of all, it's an amazing spectacle of incredible brave and talented sportspeople. Ring those cowbells.

I love dark chocolate (though, alas, you missed my birthday a couple of months ago, so I'm not dropping you a hint). So when I spotted a dark chocolate version of "Britain's Favourite Snack" (no, I'm not accepting sponsorship), I went for it. I was on my way home from seeing a client, late at night, and fancied a nibble on the tube, if you see what I mean. A huge error. Kit Kats are meant to be made of milk chocolate. Don't touch any other sort, be it orange, mint or even lemon and yogurt. You have been warned.

Julian Treasure is a speaker I last met with many years ago. He has delivered one of the most-watched TED speeches, and it was a pleasure to catch up with him this week to hear about his new book. Listen to our chat in the Media Coach Radio Show. and there's also a superb tune from Vancouver's own Geoff Gibbons.
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The MediaMaestro award goes to a brave and hopeful young woman. SuRie - real name Susanna Cork - was announced as the winner of Eurovision You Decide after a live ceremony in Brighton. She will represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon in May with "Storm". It seems unlikely that she will win, given the treatment given to UK entries in recent years, but at least she is having a go. Altogether now, Boom bang a-making your puppet up for me...

The MediaMug is Poundland, for a pre-Christmas advertising campaign that featured innuendo and depictions of sexual acts by a "naughty elf". The campaign has just been deemed "irresponsible" by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). One image featured the elf holding a tea bag in a suggestive pose with a plastic doll. The ASA ruled that this and eight other images breached its code of practice for advertisers."Poundland stated a large number of people found the campaign to be humorous, engaging, and in line with what it meant to be British," the ASA said. But in the end, the elf campaign was deemed too rude for the shelf.

SEND IN THE SEVEN-YEAR-OLDS

Some audiences can be tough. Some can be really, really tough. And then there are seven-year-olds. They have short attention spans, often little concept of civilised behaviour, and won't be afraid to let you know what they think of you. Imagine if every audience was like that. How would you cope? Well, if you manage your speech correctly, you'll do fine.

The toughest audience will pay attention if you follow certain rules.

The trick is to keep checking that they are paying attention and enjoying your talk. You can't do that if you just stick to a script. You have to be "in the moment" and prepared to respond.

Sounds simple doesn't it? That's because it is. It will work for seven-year-olds, and it will work for your next audience too.

LIVE ON AIR

The first time that you enter a radio studio, you will probably find it much smaller than you expect. You will be taken into the radio studio just before your interview, and shown where to sit. There will be a microphone on the table, and a set of headphones (often called "cans"). There is no need to put on the headphones unless you are directed to do so, since the interviewer is probably sitting just across the desk. They will be wearing headphones, so that the producer and technical operator can speak to them. Even if you put the headphones on, you won't hear the people in the control room.

If you are asked to put headphones on, it will be to hear someone from a remote location, or to listen to a recording. You probably won't be told, but there is a volume control at the end of the headphone lead, sometimes hidden just under the desk. Adjust the volume to suit yourself. You will also see a button on the desk in front of you marked "cough" or "PTM" (push to mute). Holding down the button turns your microphone off, should you need to clear your throat

When the red light is on, the studio is "live", and anything you say may be picked up by the microphones. Try to avoid rustling papers, swinging to and fro in your squeaky chair, or making any whispered asides. You may see various characters - news readers, sports correspondents and the like - entering and leaving the studio while the red light is shining. They (usually) know how to keep quiet. You should follow the instructions of whoever escorts you in and out.

Many radio studios have TV monitors tuned to news stations or information services. They are there to help the presenter keep up-to-date with breaking news. Try to ignore them. I remember being in a studio with another guest who was so mesmerised by a football match on one of the screens that he didn't hear his introduction, and was completely confused as he tried to answer the first half-heard question.

HOW TO DRIVE AWAY FACEBOOK VISITORS

Lots of companies and some individuals now have Facebook pages. However, there's always those annoying folk - potential customers - who keep landing on the page and asking for things. I've come up with ten things to keep those annoying likely purchasers away:

There, that should do it.

Take a trip - quite a weird trip - down California's favourite highway.

Don't worry, I can help you say the right things.

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."