The Media Coach

Hi John,

As I mentioned, I was away in Munich for Oktoberfest.

It was quite extraordinary, and I discovered it was the largest mass participation event on the planet - over six million people in two weeks.

I wasn't prepared for the scale of it, though I was prepared for the scale of the beer tankards. They were heavy enough when empty.

What was most impressive was that even with thousands of people in a beer hall, all drinking, singing and dancing, I saw only one incident of someone getting rowdy, and being thrown out by two of the women who were serving beer. His mates sent him back in, but the two women threw him out again. Marvellous.

This coming November 8th 2023, I am thrilled to partner with Jonathan Low for the Exceptional Speaker Masterclass to be conducted in London.

This full-day intensive event is a rare opportunity to work with international speaking experts with over 70 years of combined experience on global stages. Both Jonathan and myself are also former global presidents of the speaking profession, having served at the Global Speakers Federation and our respective home associations.

Do mark your calendar now. A maximum of 16 places will be available. The cost for the day is £250.

If this is of interest to you, send me an email to indicate your interest in working with both Jonathan and myself, or to book your place for November 8th 2023 in London.

My guest in the web radio show this week is another old friend, the remarkable Martin Parnell.

In 2010, following a 25 year mining career, Martin started his "Quests for Kids" initiative. Over the next five years he completed 10 "Quests".These included running 250 marathons in one year, setting five Guinness World Records and sumitting Mount Kilimanjaro in 21 hours. At the end of 2014 over $1.3m had been raised for the humanitarian organization Right To Play and 27,000 children had been given the gift of hope.

He's now been pursuing a project that is so remarkable, you have to hear him describe it.

We had a fascinating talk. Hear our chat in the in the radio show.

Go to the Apple Podcasts Archive of the MediaCoach Show

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And there's a superb song from my old pals Slim Chance.

The MediaMug of the week is Chinese snooker player Ding Junhui who "forgot" about the all-black dress code for the English Open in Brentwood and, after a friend dashed out to buy him a set, he was late for the start and forfeited the first frame.

Ding, 36, was wearing his usual brown snooker suit with bow tie and waistcoat when he arrived for his best-of-seven match against compatriot Ma Hailong on Monday.

Ding told the World Snooker Tour website: "I totally forgot that I needed a black shirt and trousers for this tournament. My memory is not good! I didn't think about it. Once I was playing, I tried to just concentrate on the match."

Literally a case of the Wrong Trousers. Not that I avoided a stereotype headline joke.

Alas, there are a number of myths that are accepted as truth by some speakers. Please, please, don't simply use these myths, but do the research (in other words don't just take my word for it).

1) We use only 10% of our brains Actually, you use a lot of your brain, as neuroscientists have known for some years. The myth, sometimes attributed to Einstein, was the plot for the 2011 film Limitless, but that was just a film.

2) A study showed that writing down goals works The story goes that a study was conducted at Harvard in the 1950s or Yale in the 1970s, proving that students who wrote down their goals became much more successful than those who didn't. Neither study took place, despite being referenced by a number of motivational speakers. That doesn't mean that written goals don't work, but it does mean that some speakers don't do their research.

3) Left brain is for logic, right brain is for creativity Alas no. Although certain functions, such as speech production, handedness, and facial recognition, tend to be dominated by one side of the brain in the great majority of people, most tasks require parallel input from both hemispheres. Brain-imaging studies show no evidence of the right hemisphere as a locus of creativity, or the left as a centre of logical thought. Both sides of the brain are active most of the time.



4) Only 7% of communication is words I've saved the best 'til last. The so-called "Mehrabian Myth" is the one of the most quoted and most misunderstood pieces of research used by speakers. It was highlighted by the founders of the NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) movement, but even the original researcher, Professor Albert Mehrabian, has disowned their interpretation. Words count for a lot more than 7% of communication.

The best time to respond to a news story is while it is happening. That's when there is a need for expert analysis, contrary opinions and future predictions. It is possible to plan your media strategy for events like the release of reports, or anniversaries. Much of the time, news just happens, so you need to be aware of what is happening, and able to respond quickly and effectively.

In responding immediately, you sometimes need to ask for favours from those around you. A few years ago, I was immensely grateful to a professional speaker I'm coaching for allowing me to take a trip to Sky News for a couple of hours to comment on a McDonalds advert.

If you see a story running, what can you do to make your comments heard? Here are a few ideas:

A few weeks ago, I was speaking to an audience about storytelling. After the event, we gathered in the bar for a couple of adult beverages, and I was asked whether I could tell a story or offer any tips based on any topic. I suggested that might, so "tractors" was suggested. I said I'd put it in my ezine, so here it is.

1) Get the timing right. My first father-in-law (yes, that does make sense) was a farmer. I used to walk the fields with him in the Cotswold hills. One morning, we spotted another farmer with his tractor immovably stuck in a muddy field. My father-in-law sighed. 'There's a time to plough" he said. In a tenuous link to social media, there's a time to post too. Get it wrong and your tweets will just stick in the mud and go nowhere.

2) Use the right tools. On a farm, everything has a purpose for which it is fit. That's why there are so many attachments for tractors lying around. Online, you need to use the right tools to create and monitor your posts.

3) Don't damage the crops. Farmers always use the same size tractor throughout the year, so that the wheels run on the lines between the crops. When you are creating online content, don't contradict or undermine material you have posted before. Cultivate all your content.

OK, some of those links were a bit stretched. But I think I met the challenge, eh?

It's that time of year when Bash the Penguin is the only thing to do. Can you beat my best? (see the pic)

A reminder to look no further. Just get in touch. 07986 852621

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."