The MediaCoach

Hi John,

I was recently watching a remarkable piece of political theatre. The live coverage of the confirmation hearings in the USA into whether Judge Brett Kavanaugh should be elevated to the Supreme Court was more riveting than any political drama. I don't profess to be an expert on US politics, and I have no idea what the eventual outcome will be. However, I am hugely impressed by the courage of Dr Christine Blasey Ford who was being watched not only by the US public, but by many people around the world.

On a different dramatic note, it was a joy, albeit a very tense one, to watch the finale of Bodyguard on TV last Sunday. it was one of those now rare TV events when millions of people watched a show at the same time as it was broadcast. I suspect there was a huge nationwide electrical surge at 10.15pm as people could finally put the kettle on for a restorative cuppa. By the way, if you haven't started watching it yet, Killing Eve on the iPlayer is marvellous too.

It's the Ryder Cup in France this weekend. It's said that most sport at the elite level is all about attitude and motivation. An expert in the golfing arena is Nick Bradley. He coached Justin Rose from outside the top 100 to world number five, and was a crucial member of the support team for the victorious European Ryder Cup team in 2014. I spoke to him a few years ago about what he does, and where his career is taking him next. Listen to his wise words in the Media Coach Web Radio Show. There is also a superb song from The Dustbowl Revival.
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The MediaMaestro award goes to Jim Cunliffe, who died this week. He was the creator and writer of two iconic children's shows - Postman Pat and Rosie and Jim. The notice of his death was published in the Ilkley Gazette and read: "John Cunliffe left his Ilkley home in a deluge of rain on 20 September, never to return. Even the skies wept for John, the gifted creator of Postman Pat, Rosie and Jim, and author of many earlier published collections of poetry and picture story books for children. John's last poetry collection, significantly entitled 'Dare You Go', has now come to fruition for John [who] has dared to go and has gone." A beautiful tribute to a fine man.

The MediaMug award goes to the airline Cathay Pacific which became Cathay "Paciic" after an all-important "f" was left off its branding. Unfortunately, it was painted on the side of a plane. The Hong Kong carrier confessed to the error on Twitter, where it was roundly mocked by social media users. Cathay Pacific wrote: "Oops this special livery won't last long! She's going back to the shop!" Fair play to them for treating it with humour.

START AT THE END

You know, of course, that the first few minutes of your speech are very important. You need to think long and hard about how you will grab your audience from the very first thing that you say. When I work with CEOs and company spokespeople, I often surprise them by telling them to drop the "Good Morning" and "It's nice to be here" at the start of their speeches. They say "But it's only good manners", Well, true. But it's about making an impact. Your audience knows who you are, since you've been introduced. The assumption is that you're happy to be there. So you just need to start your speech.

You can start with a story, a question, a provocative statement, or whatever you like, as long as it is of interest to your audience. You may need to play around with several different openings as you prepare, before you decide the best one to use.

Think about films. The opening shot is crucially important, and is given a great deal of care and attention by the director. For example, the opening image of Citizen Kane is of a dark, rambling castle with much of the grounds in ruins. The camera finally reaches a bedroom in the castle, where an old man utters a single word before he dies. The rest of the film explains who he is, how he got there, and what his final word signified.

You can use a similar technique by telling your audience the outcome of a story, especially if it has an element of intrigue. They will be fascinated to learn the backstory, provided you tell it well and it has value to them.

Sometimes, starting at the end is the best way to start (if you follow me).

DOUBLE, DOUBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE

In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, the three witches play a pivotal role. They are the first characters to appear, and in Act 4, deliver prophecies that shape the future of the protagonist. They tell Macbeth several things that seem impossible; "for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth" and "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him." Macbeth hears that he can never be killed or beaten, but he is proved doubly wrong.

So what is the relevance of the witches' prophecies to news? It's the fact that the events they predict are both rare and interesting. Had there been news bulletins in eleventh century Scotland, these would have been the lead stories.

News is about exceptions to the norm. That's why disasters and momentous political upheavals are reported widely. It's why the news is regarded by many people as "negative", since good news stories rarely feature. The importance for you and your publicity is twofold. Firstly, you need to think what aspect of your business is unusual or unique. Secondly, you need to think how you can present it in such a way that people will consider it almost impossible until you explain it.

Never put out a media release with "so-so" information. Only ever contact the media when you have a story that is so engaging, the reporter will immediately call you to find out more.

HOW TO CON PEOPLE WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is a one big con trick. No, hang on, in fact it's at least three cons; Conversation, Content and Consistency.

Conversation - You need to get involved. It's no use simply posting messages saying how wonderful your company is, or what an interesting blog you have just written. You need to respond to questions, add to debates, and offer a point of view on issues. That's what engages people. Don't be scared of getting into a debate and then leaving it again, since it may run for days or weeks. Simply add to the debate while you are there.

Content - You need to offer something useful and of interest. This may seem contrary to what I said above (I'm even debating with myself here), but if you post an interesting and valuable article, other people will publicise it for you. Your comments on other people's blogs may also offer useful content, so don't simply say "I agree" or "This is rubbish".

Consistency - you need to make regular appearances. That does not mean every day, and certainly not every hour. However, if you only appear once or twice a month, post a ton of material and then disappear again, you won't attract many friends. Small, regular postings seem to be much more effective than rare long ones. Little and often - that's the way.

Of course, there is also Connecting, Confidence, Consideration, Congratulating, etc

There have been some dreadful British accents attempted in Hollywood films. Here is an assessment of the worst. And there are six worse than Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins.

My year-long speaker coaching programme is now taking bookings for 2019. Drop me a line for details.

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."