| Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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It's been a funny old year. On Sunday, I will be working as a volunteer at the finish line of the London 10k Winter run. Yes, I know it's September, but the event was postponed from February.
Oh yes. I will also be dressed as a polar bear, as part of the theme for the winter event, now taking place in late summer. Yes, I will be posting pictures next week.
In the meantime, I will also be carrying on as a volunteer for Team London, giving advice to tourists and visitors on behalf of the mayor. It's been a bit less busy than usual, but at Piccadilly Circus where I lead a team, the questions have been much the same:
"Where is M&Ms world?" "How to I get to Buckingham Palace?" "Where's the nearest loo?"
Of course, we do get the less usual queries too. My favourite so far was "If Nelson's Column falls over, could it crash into Waterstones?" I advised them to go to a different bookshop. |
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Three years ago, I took part in a trial of an autonomous vehicle - one without a driver. It was only running at around seven miles an hour in the north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. I was conducting a survey of passengers, some of whom were quite nervous. There were no accidents, and the vehicle followed a precise route, but it did stop when it rained heavily, and also slowed down to a crawl when a group of ducks walked in front of it for a few hundred yards.
So when I heard that a new generation of driver-less Toyota vehicles was running at the Olympic village in Tokyo (there must be a thing about Olympic sites), I was looking forward to hearing how they'd improved.
Alas, the news just came through that one of them knocked over a paralympic athlete on a pedestrian crossing, inuring him only slightly, but enough to prevent him competing.
The CEO of Toyota, Mr Toyoda (honestly) said "The accident illustrated just how difficult it was to operate self-driving vehicles in the special circumstances of the village during the Paralympics, with people there who are visually impaired or have other disabilities."
I think that must be one of the worst excuses I've heard in a long time. |
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Oh yes, and a popular beat combo from Sweden has announced plans for holographic concerts.
A venue is being built right now on the edge of QEII Olympic Park in East London, adjacent to the romantically-named DLR station Pudding Mill Lane. |
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| My guest in the radio show this week is Jessica Lee Morgan.
She comes from a musical dynasty. Her father is the producer, musician and singer Tony Visconti, who produced many of David Bowie's albums. Her mother is the much-loved singer Mary Hopkin.
But Jessica is a rare talent in her own right. As well as curating and playing her mother's musical heritage, she has written prolifically and performs regularly to crowds of fans.
Her new album is remarkable, mixing electronic music with her wonderful voice. I spoke to her about it, and about how lockdown has made her so creative.
You can hear our chat in theMedia Coach Radio Show
And there's also a great song from Jessica's new album. |
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The MediaMaestro is Paralympic swimmer for Team GB, Ellie Robinson. She finished fifth in her final. But that wasn't the story. It was the powerful and emotional interview she gave after the race.
She holds the world record and the Paralympic record in the S6 50m butterfly and the World record in the 100m. However, she described in detail the challenges that she faced over the last couple of years, just in order to swim at the Paralympics at all.
I defy anyone to watch it without shedding a tear or several. She described how proud she was of her parents, her coaches, and of course herself. It was a perfect example of how the Paralympic spirit is not about winning medals, it's about doing the best you can.
I wish her every success in the future. |
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The MediaMugs are Transport for London (Tfl) and Channel 4.
They have been criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for an advert on the side of London buses which people have complained about.
Tfl, Channel 4 and the Global media group were criticised on social media for the campaign, which included a suggestion the person in the top front seat "loves being naked".
The advert was described as "tone deaf" by many, with others saying it put passengers at risk of sexual assault.
There were also concerns children could be in the indicated seats.
A TfL spokesperson said the organisation works to ensure public transport is a safe environment "and any report of sexual assault or inappropriate behaviour is investigated and treated extremely seriously".
The spokesperson added: "We have reviewed the ad campaign and decided that it should not continue to run on our bus network. It will be removed as soon as practicable."
It's a shame that a common-sense filter wasn't applied. |
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| Speaking Tip - The Double Close |
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The end of a speech is the time to put over your main message as powerfully as possible, so that the audience takes it away with them. In order to deliver a passionate and powerful close, you need to plan and rehearse. It's a good idea to arrange the closing minutes of your speech so that the final line comes as a climactic summary of everything you have said, with the entire speech building to that moment.
The impact can be undermined in several ways. One is by the MC coming on stage to congratulate you, and attempting to summarise your key point again. If you suspect this may happen, make sure that you have a word with them beforehand, and politely suggest that they simply thank you as you leave the stage. Another way to diminish your impact is to remind the audience that your products are for sale at the back of the room. You can avoid that by mentioning it briefly much earlier in your speech, making it clear that it is a "commercial break".
The most common way to unravel the closing message is to have a question and answer session. Either don't have one (say "I'm happy to chat to you in the break"), or use the double close. That requires you to deliver your powerful message once more, at the end of the Q&A session. You might use different words, but I'd advise sticking to the same ones. Simply say. "So, may I remind you of the key message today". That will really make it stick |
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| Media Tip - Can I check it before you post it? |
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If you ask a hundred reporters whether you can check their copy before it gets posted, ninety-nine will say no. On a rare occasion, you may be offered the chance to look over a piece to check for accuracy. However, in all my time in the media, I have never seen a piece re-written by the person it is about. It's about objectivity. A reporter is an impartial observer, telling the story to the reader. If there is any suggestion that their independence has been compromised, the reader will no longer trust them, or their publication.
That doesn't mean that you should never speak to a reporter after an interview. it is perfectly acceptable to send them some more detailed information, or an update on the position. However, you will have no control over the finished article.
When the piece is live, you may well find inaccuracies. You need to ask yourself whether it is worth calling for a correction, or even an apology. Minor details, such as a mis-spelling of your name, or adding a year to your age, are not worth commenting on. If there is a clear factual error that could be damaging, you should challenge it, in a communication to both the reporter and the editor. They may offer to post a correction. Alas, it is usually far less prominent than the original story, and it may be better to simply contact the editor in the hope of getting a piece of your own posted.
I generally advise overlooking errors unless they are very serious. The chances are that no-one will see the correction anyway, and it may damage your relationship with the reporter. It's better to make yourself as clear as possible in the interview, and provide the reporter with a fact sheet, including quotes from you about the issue. |
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| Social Media Tip - Plan before you film |
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Video is becoming an increasingly important online tool. Every smartphone is a video camera, and shooting and uploading is easy. If you're out and about, capturing a clip and putting it in YouTube is quick and easy, and any imperfections just add to the immediacy.
If you're creating video that is more permanent, perhaps for the front page of your website, different rules apply. You may review it and think - there's one small problem - it needs tidying up. That's where the edit comes in. Actually, that's where you think to yourself - "hang on, I should have planned this better". Exactly. Before you shoot a second of "permanent" video, you should have a clear idea what you are trying to achieve. You should have created a storyboard, setting out the main shots, the sequence, and the timings. It may be a pain to do, but the benefits are enormous.
Right, back to the edit. You created a storyboard and filmed the relevant shots. What now? Well, there are numerous software packages that will help you to edit your video, some of which are very expensive (and will probably require you to upgrade your computer's memory). However, if you have a PC, there is a perfectly adequate, free editing package already in place. It's called VIdeo Editor (there's a surprise). If you're a Mac user like me, you have iMovie. Both are easy to use and provide all the basic editing functions you need.
One more thing. Keep the edits simple. Just cut from one shot to another without using fancy transitions. The content of the video should be the important thing, not the fact that the next image spirals in from the top right corner. |
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| 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." |
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