The Media Coach

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned a music festival called Folk in the Park, and interviewed the organiser, Hannah White.

On Saturday, we went along to a park in Sutton to see the day-long festival, which was absolutely superb.

There was continuous music literally from morning 'til night and a wonderful festival atmosphere, finishing with a set by The Magic Numbers.

I'll remind you next year so that you can come along and enjoy it too.

This week I've been presenting virtually to an audience with members in Singapore, the UK and the USA.

It's always fascinating to work with people in different cultures, and talk about their experiences of presenting.

One thing, though, is common throughout the world. Most people put way too much information on slides. A friend of mine, Dave Henson, is tackling that. He used an example of a government information slide to show how to communicate really effectively, and with his permission, I've shown his video to delegates.

Check it out yourself - it's brilliant.

Tristan Gooley is an author and natural navigator.

Tristan set up his natural navigation school in 2008 and is the author of award-winning and internationally bestselling books, including The Natural Navigator (2010) and The Secret world of Weather (2021), some of the world’s only books covering natural navigation.

He has spent decades hunting for clues and signs in nature, across the globe, and regularly gets called:

“The Sherlock Holmes of Nature”

I love talking to him.

Listen to our chat in this week'sMedia Coach Radio Show.

And there's a fantastic track from Rob Corcoran and the Necessary Evils

The MediaMug is Panini, which has just released a sticker book for the 2022 World Cup.

Stickers are a lot more expensive than they used to be, and to complete the album, assuming no duplicates will cost £120.

But the sticker game doesn't work that way. You never know what stickers you are buying.

Author and football finance expert Kieran Maguire, explained that based on probability, it is more likely to set fans back £883.80.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look as if the price is going to decrease any time soon, with Mr Maguire warning it could reach £1,500 in 2026.

"When the World Cup increases to 48 teams in 2026 from the current 32, the cost of filling an album will be at least £1,500 unless you resort to swaps," he said.

The erstwhile rock supergroup of the late 1960's, Cream, featured Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. Only one of them is still going strong.

They released an album in 1967 called Disraeli Gears, the title of which turned out to be a comment by a roadie on Clapton's new racing bike (rock stars were poorer in those days). He said "it's got them new disraeli gears", referring to derailleur gears, and the band liked the misquote so much they named the album after it.

The thing is, many speakers use slightly the wrong expression from time to time, so here's a list of commonly misused words and terms to avoid:

How do you attract the attention of a journalist? Here are five ways to make them interested in your story.

1) Controversy. News thrives on conflict and differing opinions. Making a statement that goes against conventional wisdom will get attention, but you do need to back it up.

2) Facts. If you say something controversial, have some evidence that underpins it. A strong factual statement will often make a good headline. Remember to quote any research source to give credibility, otherwise it's just opinion.

3) Relevance. This could be local, interest-related, or professionally important, depending on the media outlet you are targeting. Always try to include something in a media release that will appeal to a the specific audience who read, watch or listen to the journalist you're speaking to.

4) Timing. Old news is not news. You need to be spot-on with your timing so that the story has topical relevance, but doesn't miss the deadline.

5) Difference. What makes your product or service unique? (Clue: it's not the fact that you just launched it). Is it the first, fastest, biggest or strangest in its market? Remember that you should be able to prove it. Just saying it doesn't make it so.

"Del Boy" Trotter, the hapless wheeler and dealer "hero" of John Sullivan's brilliant comedy show, Only Fools and Horses, always had a scheme that didn't work, or a product that didn't perform properly. Nevertheless, he managed to sell them to people. On social media, it can be very difficult to separate the Del Boys from the honest brokers.

Credibility is very difficult to establish in the virtual world, and it's always important to do what every journalist does and verify, verify, verify. If you're promoting your own products and services on social media, how do you create trust?

One of the most important factors is consistency. If you become known as someone who provides great value, week after week, month after month, you will build a following that has great trust in you. What that means is you have to give value before you start charging for it. Some people are reluctant to do this, arguing that if they give away their knowledge, they will have nothing to sell. I disagree. People don't buy your knowledge, they buy your expertise.

Del Boy never gave away anything without getting something in return. I don't think he'd have lasted very long on Twitter or Facebook.

I'm writing this on football transfer deadline day. It's safe to say that none of these players will be involved..