The Media Coach

Hi John,

As I mentioned last week, I was a polar bear on Sunday at the London Winter Run, an event that raised nearly a million pounds for Cancer Research.

We even got our own open-top bus to travel round Trafalgar Square and up Whitehall.

I'm in hundreds of selfies, but no-one (except you) will ever know.

If you're a runner, why not try this great 10k next year - or if not, join me at the finish as a polar bear!



Over 40 years ago (actually 49 to be precise) I studied education at Gipsy Hill College in Kingston. At the time, it was simply a college of education, and I received a certificate of completion at the end.

I was very happy with that, but recently I had a communication from Kingston University, which absorbed Gipsy Hill College a couple of decades ago.

They said that as I was now a university graduate, albeit retrospectively, they'd like to award me an honorary degree. Since I already have a degree (in ecology since you ask), I was a little surprised, but accepted their offer.

The degree certificate arrived this week, and I couldn't be prouder to have an award from a university based where I grew up. Well chuffed!

My radio guest this week is Geoffrey Moore, son of the late Roger Moore, often cited as the best James Bond (no need to debate it, it's just a view).

Geoffrey is an actor and recording artist who has just released a wonderful new album, which has an associated even more remarkable video. 'Photograph' has been 5 years in the making and the first single to be taken from it is entitled 'You And I' and features the vocals of the late Naya Rivera, plus the legendary Nile Rodgers on guitar.

The accompanying video includes an all-star line up, with Michael Caine, Joan Collins, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry, Liam Neeson and Paris Hilton, to name but a few.

Take a look at it below.

It was a real pleasure to speak with him.



Listen to our chat in the Media Coach Radio Show.

The MediaMug this week is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). They have taken it upon themselves to create a playlist for the coronation of King Charles featuring the likes of ‘Daddy Cool’ by Boney M. and ‘Our House’ by Madness.

It also originally included Dizzee Rascal's 'Dance Wiv Me', but this was swiftly scrapped once the DCMS was reminded that the grime artist was convicted of assaulting his ex-fiancée.

It seems safe to assume that Charles had no hand in the playlist’s creation given that it doesn’t include any of his favourite tunes.

Back in July 2021, the then Prince of Wales shared his favourite tracks which included ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ by Barbara Streisand and ‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me’ by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers – both of which would have been apt choices for his Coronation playlist.

The playlist probably won't be the soundtrack for many coronation parties.

Forgive me for being so blunt, but I have a very simple view of speeches. Imagine two circles on a page. One contains all of your knowledge. The other contains everything that your audience is interested in. If those circles overlap, then you should deliver a speech to that audience, on the topic(s) in the area that overlaps. If the circles don't overlap, you shouldn't even consider delivering a speech.

Of course, you wouldn't be as foolhardy as some speakers I've heard, who have no connection with their audience at all. I'm sure you only speak when you have a topic that is of interest to your listeners. However, problems can arise if you stray out of that overlapping zone, and start talking about things that you don't really understand, in order to please (or rather in an attempt to please) your audience.

From time to time, all speakers can suffer from the "edge effect", where they reach the borders of their expertise, but then stray over the line because the audience seems to like it. In fact, it's being disrespectful, and could lead to disaster, especially in any Q&A session. The best way to avoid the problem is to ask the event organiser to give you contact details for a few likely audience members, and have a chat with them a few weeks beforehand. Then base your speech solely on the overlap of your knowledge and their interests. It works every time.

The best publicity (from your point of view) comes with a story that keeps going, hour after hour, day after day. Once a story reaches the point where there is nothing new to be said, it dies. The news media talk about stories that still have "mileage" in them, and will keep using them if they still appeal.

So when you put out a statement about an issue, always think several moves ahead, as you would in a game of chess. You will probably be able to predict the response from your competitors. Have a response to that already prepared, so that you can keep the story alive. Better still, challenge someone by name (or by company) to respond in your original statement. That will virtually guarantee extra coverage. For example, a pressure group might accuse a corporation of some serious misbehaviour. There will inevitably be a reply, although "no comment" is also useful to the cause.

In order to give your story as much mileage as you can, make sure that you are always available for a comment. If the story breaks at 10am, give the reporter your phone number and make sure your phone is by your side (yes, even on the bedside table) for at least the next 48 hours. Many stories die because the main players can't, or won't make further comment.



A really big story can be revisited on its anniversary, or when something happens to a company mentioned in the story. Keep an eye out for opportunities and give your story as much mileage as possible.

There's a school of thought that you have to be on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest etc, etc. My view is that you should find out what works for you, or what you're prepared to do, and stick with that. By all means try every social network, but don't feel you need to be on them all. You may spread yourself too thinly, and become a broadcaster rather than a conversationalist.

It's like the old saying; "Jack of all trades, master of none". It takes a while to figure out a strategy for using a single social network in business. Trying to do that across a range of different ones is a nightmare. Of course, there's another old saying "Fish where the fish are". There's a lot of truth in that too. If your potential customers spend most of their time on Instagram, that's where you need to be to connect with them.

I advise my corporate clients to give most social networks a body swerve. It may not be beneficial to focus on even one network, since there are still sometimes much more effective ways of getting business. Even advertising in old-fashioned print magazines works extremely well for some companies.



It's all about planning and focus, which I'm sure comes as no surprise. No business should ever get into social media without studying their market first, and creating a strategy to engage with them. Alas, that still seems to come as a surprise to some.

Apparently John Cleese is going to reboot Fawlty Towers with his daughter. Time for a reminder of Basil Fawlty's best moments.



If you're looking for a speaker this year, just get in touch. I now have all inclusive pricing.