The Media Coach

Hi John,

This is the last day of my seventh decade on this planet.

When I turn seventy tomorrow, I haven't a clue where I'll be or what I'll be doing.

My lovely wife Heather has told me to keep the long weekend free, so I have.

I'll let you know next week what happened!

My good friends Sean and Sharon Weafer came over from Dublin last weekend for an early birthday celebration.

We had a fine old time. which culminated in a visit to the MacSmiths in Bethnal Green.

No, we didn't have a Mac that needed repair. We had a bit of a thirst.

The MacSmiths is not a Mac repair shop. It disguises the entrance to a secret cocktail bar called the Natural Philosopher where many a fine brew can be had.

There are secret cocktail bars in every city - try googling it - there may be one near you!

There is now just one place left on my speaker coaching programme for 2023.

If you'd like to speak at the highest level, get more gigs and earn higher fees, let's have a chat.

And yes I realise that times are tough for some people, so if you sign up before the end of the year, I will keep the price at this year's level - £275 a month for two one-hour one-to-one sessions plus advice by email and short chats in between.

My coaching programme

I'm re-running another one of the most popular interviews this week.

Felix Finkbeiner is a German environmentalist and the founder of the international tree-planting and environmental advocacy organisation Plant-for-the-Planet. He's only twenty-four, and has already caused over thirteen billion trees to be planted.

His target is a trillion (a million million) trees. He could be the saviour of our planet, and you can help him



Listen to our chat in the Media Coach Radio Show.

And there's a wonderful Christmas song from my good friend Keith Peacock and his chums - The Spirit of Kinky Machine - reformed after 50 years!

The MediaMugs this week are social media users who claim to have been traumatised by - wait for it - a tin of golden syrup.

Lyle's Golden Syrup, having launched over 150 years ago in 1881, has really stood the test of time. But despite being the nation's oldest brand, some foodies are only just finding out what the logo on the tin actually depicts - and they don't like it.

At a quick glance, it's easy to assume the yellow lion is laying down or sleeping, but it turns out the king of the jungle isn't going for a nap at all.

One Twitter user recently wrote: "Tell me I'm not the only one who didn't realise the lion on Lyle's Golden Syrup packaging is depicted dead?!"

The dead lion with a flurry of bees buzzing around it is inspired by the Biblical tale of Samson who came across a dead lion.. A few days later, he returned and noticed a swarm of bees had built a hive inside the carcass.

So, Samson took the honey and gave it to his parents, then when he was asked where he got it from, he said: "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet."

Ah well. But it tastes so good on rice pudding...

I'm hoping that one of the first things you think about when planning a speech is how you can best serve your audience. The only reason for you to speak is to provide them with some value that they can take away, whether in the form of action or inspiration. In order to achieve that, you need to make a connection with them.

Sometimes the connection is hard to find, especially if your audience is not like you. For example, you may be speaking to a group of teenage students in a school, or a group who are all a different gender to you, or a profession that you don't normally engage with. In these circumstances, what do you do?



The answer is you do your homework and planning. If you look carefully, there is always a connection (if there really isn't one, you shouldn't be doing the speech). At the most basic level, there is the human connection of friends and family. If you tell stories about your children, parents or partner, you can make an emotional link.

There are several other ways you can connect:

It's best to avoid politics and religion, unless you are certain that your views are shared. What ever you do, make that connection.

Alas, I've that phrase many times over the years, as people emerge from a radio or TV interview. Remarkably, it often comes from the lips of people who consider themselves to be great communicators.

Of course, it isn't true. You always have time to make your point on radio or TV, but you have to be concise. You have to prepare a phrase well before the interview, and find a way of delivering it. I've talked about your core message many times, but I cannot over-stress its importance. However good you are, you should never try to "wing it" without any forethought. You may get away with it, but you probably won't deliver that memorable message.

Always go into an interview with a short, pithy phrase that you can deliver in less than ten seconds. If you find yourself with plenty of time, simply use the phrase several times in your answers. Make certain that you deliver it in your final response.



When the interviewer says "I must ask you to be very brief, we have only a few seconds before the news", most interviewees either clam up, or deliver a response that gets cut off. What a waste. With your expertise and preparation, you'll still have plenty of time to get your message across.

Sometimes it's better to go against the trend of social media practice. It can make you stand out. Of course, there will be some who tell you that you're doing it wrong, but if it works, you're doing it right. Here are some ideas that go against conventional social media wisdom.

1) Make your posts hard to find Instead of posting a link to your latest blog or video, give people a clue, or send them on a route via several other locations. Some people love a challenge, and if they can find your material when some others can't, it makes them feel as though they've discovered a secret.

2) Forget the images and the fancy design Just deliver the information in plain text. One of my favourite experts on web design and usability is Jakob Nielsen. His site, Alertbox, is about as simple as it could be. It's text-based, with very few images, and has changed very little in over ten years. It just delivers information, and in a very effective way.



3) Don't measure anything Marketers will often tell you that measurement is the key to success. They have a point, but you could also focus on simply putting stuff out there, and not worrying how you are going to track the response. Some people put so much emphasis on tracking and analysis that they forget to put effort into the content they post.

Things don't always go smoothly at this time of year...

If you're looking for a speaker, just get in touch.