The Media Coach

Hi John,

The political focus this week has been on former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who faced the House of Commons Privileges Committee to answer allegations that he misled Parliament over lockdown rules and their observance at Number 10.

He swore "hand on heart, I did not lie to the House" and reiterated that his statements to the Commons were made in "good faith"

After being shown a picture of himself surrounded by colleagues and drinks at a leaving do in November 2020, Johnson accepted that "perfect social distancing is not being observed" but denied it was in breach of the guidance, saying he believed it was "absolutely essential for work purposes"

Committee chair, Labour's Harriet Harman, described his assurances as "flimsy", saying they "did not amount to much at all"

Naturally, there's been a lot of analysis of his evidence by his supporters and opponents alike. I strongly suspect he will face a sanction as a result of his comments, but the punishment will probably stop short of forcing him to face a by-election.

Whatever happens, his reputation has been seriously damaged, and I doubt whether he can expect to return to high office in future.

Sometimes the local weather forecast isn't too accurate, but now some scientists have taken to studying the weather on a planet far far away.

A raging dust storm has been observed on a planet outside our Solar System for the first time.

It was detected on the exoplanet known as VHS 1256b, which is about 40 light-years from Earth.



It took the remarkable capabilities of the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to make the discovery.

But the storm detected by Webb isn't quite the same phenomenon you would get in an arid, desert region on our planet. It's more of a rocky mist.

"It's kind of like if you took sand grains, but much finer. We're talking silicate grains the size of smoke particles," explained Prof Beth Biller from the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, UK.

Michael Fish was unavailable for comment (one for the teenagers, there)

My radio guest this week is Leni.

With European and African influences from her parents Leni grew up in London surrounded by different sounds and types of music.

Just 19 with a powerful, soulful voice and supported by a talented pianist Leni is an emerging artist to watch.

Coached by the legendary Beverley Skeete her voice has an amazing range and tone.

At her gigs you will hear Leni’s interpretation of songs from artists as diverse as Sam Brown to Amy Winehouse and Roberta Flack to Ella Fitzgerald in addition to her own original songs.

Leni has already played several festivals around Europe and a UNICEF Gala since winning the Rita Ora award for singing at the Sylvia Young School.

Her first single release “Killing Me Softly” follows 4 sell out gigs in London’s West End.

She's currently studying at university, where I spoke to her a few days ago.

Listen to my chat with in the Media Coach Radio Show.

And there's a terrific song from Rob Corcoran.

The MediaMug this week is Dean Mayhew.

He's a Tesco superfan who got his clubcard tattooed on his wrist.

Dean said he got the QR code permanently inked on his arm because he would keep forgetting it.

It’s been eight months since he went public with the tattoo and he still has ‘no regrets’.He uses the tat twice a day and sends photos to his friends so they can use it too.

Since getting the tattoo last July, he's saved a total of eighteen pounds - rather less than the cost of the tattoo.

However, his aspirations don’t stop there as he now plans to get a tattoo of his Nectar card for when he shops at Sainsbury’s.

His friends don't appear to have told him that he can have supermarket loyalty cards on his phone.

I saw a speech last year that was technically excellent, well-structured, and full of great information. However, I realised afterwards that I had no idea what the speaker themselves thought about the issues they'd been presenting. They quoted from a number of research studies and explained current thinking from a number of experts, but at no point did they offer a personal opinion.

What your audience wants to hear is your personal take, and your particular advice. If they want the opinions of others, they can go to a number of resources, including other speakers. Your job as a speaker is to offer a distinctive and unique view. That's what will make people talk about what you say, and recommend you to others.

Furthermore, your view needs to be different in some way from everyone else. If you simply replay popular wisdom, people will see you as a reporter, not an original thinker. It can help to challenge a widespread belief, provided of course that you have the evidence to back up your opinions.

Having a strong view on a topic is an advantage to a speaker. Some people will disagree with you publicly, which is fine. As Oscar Wilde used to say "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about".

So put forward your opinion, back it up with evidence, and be prepared to debate with others.

If you want to discuss your product or service on the media, you need to remember how journalists work. They are always at or beyond a deadline, and want a quote or an interview from you as quickly as possible.

That means you need to be both easy to find, and prepared to speak to them when they call. Although you can sometimes win a ten-minute delay, giving you time to prepare a pithy response, you can't call them back a few hours later and expect to be part of the story.

Here are a few tips to make sure you are ever-ready for a journalist's call:

A few simple preparatory steps will make sure that you never miss a media opportunity again.

I've just watched a few clips from America's Got Talent which had creator Simon Cowell on the panel. I was struck by a couple of things; Simon Cowell was right on the money with all his comments; the crowd booed whenever he made a critical comment. To my mind, the acts needed to hear his comments, so that they knew what to do to improve. By contrast another judge, Heidi Klum, found it difficult to say anything other than "You were brilliant".

What's the link to social media? It's to do with feedback. In my opinion, far too many comments about blogs or articles fall into the Klum category, telling the author "You are so clever" or "I agree with everything you have said". That's polite, but not helpful to the original poster, or subsequent readers.

Of course, there's no need to be rude, or to resort to personal abuse. Mr Cowell never does that. Instead, say why you disagree, and don't be afraid to be critical. That's what good honest debate is about. Though it's nice to get people telling you how great you are, it doesn't help you to improve one bit.



So take a leaf out of Simon Cowell's book. Be direct, be honest, and tell people what could be improved.

Do you know about music-less music videos? Here's one from The Rolling Stones...

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