| Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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Aand.... we're back.
Last week was a rare break in the 19-year history of this ezine, but I felt it was appropriate to give centre stage to Her Majesty The Queen on the unique occasion of her Platinum Jubilee.
Like many people in and around London, I spent some time in town seeing the streets clear of traffic and the miles of Union Jack bunting. It was one of those occasions, like the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, when everyone seemed to be smiling. We need more of that! |
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Someone who had a less joyful week was the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
He survived a confidence vote when 41% of MPs in his own party voted against him. Boris described it as a "decisive victory", which I thought was a fascinating piece of communication, given that he was the only candidate and yet received only 59% support.
That's politics. I wonder if the party may be over for him soon? |
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As a regular reader, you'll know how much I enjoy going to music gigs. And I've been to hundreds if not thousands over the years.
However, I was at a gig last week where I was virtually in the band. It was at a basement bar called The Pheasantry in Chelsea (apparently it used to be used to house pheasants),
Jessica Lee Morgan and her band, including her partner Chris, played and sang songs from great female vocalists of the 60s and 70s, including her mother, Mary Hopkin.
My table was so close to the stage that I spent the evening in conversation with the drummer, Vince. It was a great gig too, and you can hear Jessica sing in my radio show this week. |
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| My interview guest this week is Jeffrey Klubeck
He's written a book called The Integrity Game, and we spoke about his philosophy, what integrity is, and how it can be enhanced.
It was one of the most fascinating interviews I've conducted for some time, and I guarantee you will benefit from listening to it.
Hear our chat in the Media Coach Radio Show. |
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| MediaMaestro, MediaMug of the Week |
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The MediaMaestro is actor Matthew McConaughey.
He was born in the small Texas city of Uvalde, where at least 19 children were killed at Robb Elementary.school in a shooting incident
He delivered a moving and powerful address at the White House on the need for "responsible" gun legislation.
In the highly personal 22-minute speech to a silent White House press briefing room, the Hollywood star described how he and his wife Camilla had spent the past week with the grieving families and spoken at length about their loss - and the need for "making these lives matter".
It was a remarkable speech, and whether it has any impact or not, it was a valuable contribution to the debate, and probably far more persuasive than any speech from a politician. |
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The MediaMug is a pizza company in Wales which is proud of its joint Welsh/Italian heritage.
They are called the Welsh Italian Pizza Company. Nothing wrong with that, you might think.
However, when their domain name was displayed on a stall at the International Convention Centre in Newport last month, it was evident that their choice of name may have been not so smart.
It read Welshitalianpizza.co.uk. A number of visitors suggested that they appeared to be selling not very nice pizzas from another planet.
Oh dear. |
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| Speaking Tip of the week - Getting from A to B |
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One of the trickiest things to do in a speech is to move smoothly from one topic to another. Good transitions are important in any form of communication. In written pieces, or on the web, you can use bullet points or new headings, but you can't do that in a speech. There are several ways to make a transition. Here are some ideas:
A pause or strong emphasis is like a punctuation mark. It allows you to switch to a new topic. I advise clients to include the word "PAUSE" in the text of their speech as a reminder. Repeating a word or phrase (a technique known as anaphora) can also signal a change of topic. Ending a sentence with a phrase like "...however there is another matter" is also a smooth way of introducing another subject. A question can also work. For example "So what does all this mean in other types of company?"
Without smooth transitions, your speech can sound jarring or "choppy". A transition helps your audience to shift their thinking - like mentally changing gear, and the more smoothly you can do that, the better your speech will sound. |
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| Media Tip of the week - Keeping things clear |
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As the old saying goes "Jargon is a weed in the garden of language" How true that is, since it's prolific and hard to get rid of. But eliminate it you must, if you wish to be understood in the media. Many professional people use jargon all the time, since it provides a shorthand way of communicating with fellow professionals. Unfortunately, no-one outside the profession will have any idea what they mean. Every day, I see "experts" on TV, who clearly understand their topic, but fail to communicate anything useful to their viewers.
A good interviewer will always ask you to explain technical or complex terms. But they shouldn't need to. The trick is to imagine that you are communicating with an eleven-year-old - someone with a good grasp of language, but without a deep knowledge of your topic. The rule is very simple. If an eleven-year-old wouldn't understand it, don't say it. Alas, there is also a tendency for expert interviewees to use initials without explaining what they mean. QED.
Simple really, isn't it? Well, apparently not for a spokesperson for house sellers Rightmove, interviewed by the BBC about house prices in the UK. He said "The increases in asking prices are demonstrating, if proof be needed, further confirmation of the underlying trend of more sellers re-adjusting their prices in a upward direction". So prices are rising then? I'm glad that's clear. Taxi for the chap from Rightmove, please. |
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| Social Media Tip of the week - Are you sure that's a good idea? |
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We often judge a person on how they look. Perhaps we shouldn't, and maybe our initial judgement turns out to be wrong, but it's simply something we do. I wonder why people seem to ignore this when deciding what image to use for themselves online. It's extraordinary what sort of pictures people use. Here's a list of classic mistakes I've observed:
Blurry or grainy image Too far away, so that we can't tell who it is Bizarre outfits Pulling a strange face Someone else, such as a famous actor A picture of an object A group photo (which one are you?) No image at all A crop from a holiday or wedding photo
All you need is a clear, professional headshot. Smiling is nice too, just as you would when you first meet someone.
And if you need a great photographer, my tip is Baz Seal. He took the photos on my website and the one at the top of this email. |
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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." https://em-ui.constantcontact.com/em-ui/em/page/em-ui/email# |
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