The Media Coach

Hi John,

The shocking events at a political rally at the Butler County fairgrounds in Pennsylvania have dominated the news in the USA and globally too.

Donald Trump was incredibly fortunate to survive an assassination attempt, and his response - raising a fist and mouthing "Fight, fight, fight" has now become a rallying call for his campaign. He's now accepted the nomination to run as the Republican Party candidate in November's election, and it's difficult to see how he can lose.

If the presidential election was a Hollywood film, Joe Biden would receive a remarkable surge in support at the last minute and retain the presidency. But real life is not Hollywood.

On Saturday, I'll be working as a volunteer at The London Stadium, where the athletes who are heading to the Paris Olympics have their final run-out.

As any volunteer will tell you, most of the time we don't get to see the action taking place, though the experience we have is always worth while.

However, on this occasion, because we are working to help wheelchair and restricted mobility customers in and out of the stadium, we have a couple of hours break during which we get to watch the athletics from a prime position.

I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Molly Caudery in the pole vault and Zharnel Hughes in the 100 metres.

My guests in the radio show this week are the wonderful Nick and Grace Capaldi.

As well as being a much-lauded singer songwriter, Nick also has a foot in a different part of the music industry. He and his wife Grace have built and now run a fully accessible recording studio, possibly even the first of its kind.

Based in Dorchester, the couple were insistent that their studio would be a place where making music would be available to all and no one should feel like an inconvenience before they’ve even taken their guitar out the case.

Now the studio is in full swing and has been used by musicians and groups with varying disabilities with wonderful results. So much so, that Grace was recently voted the ‘Unsung Hero Award’ at the Music Producers Guild MPG Awards sponsored by the Musicians’ Union. She won for her focus and dedication to creating an accessible and inclusive space to create music.



Hear our fascinating chat in the in the radio show

Go to the MediaCoach Show

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And there's a superb song from Nick Capaldi of course!

The MediaMug of the week goes to US country singer Ingrid Andress.

She delivered a strangled version of the US National Anthem at a baseball game in Arlington, Texas.

On Tuesday afternoon, she posted a message on her Instagram, addressing her performance

She said, "I'm not gonna bulls*** y'all, I was drunk last night. I'm checking myself into a facility today to get the help I need."

"I apologise to MLB, all the fans, and this country I love so much for that rendition. I'll let y'all know how rehab is I hear it's super fun. xo, Ingrid."

Fair play to her for being honest.

Some people use slides every time they present. Some people never use them. Some (like you and me) use them some of the time. We can all learn to be more effective, so here are a few nifty features that they don't teach you in PowerPoint school (or Keynote class if you're an Apple user).

1) Blanking out the screen. There are a number of ways to toggle the screen off, and return attention to you. In both PowerPoint and Keynote, The "B" key turns the screen black, the "W" key turns it white. Pressing the key again restores your slide. This is really important for bringing the attention of the audience back to you. You're the person they came to see.

2) Navigate to any slide. Sometimes you may wish to skip past several slides, or go back to a particular slide. Rather than displaying every slide in-between, there are short cuts. In PowerPoint, simply key in the number of the slide and hit enter (a good reason for also having a printed map of your presentation). In Keynote, just type the slide number and click "go" or hit enter. This is especially useful if you have more slides than time to show them.

3) Using the cursor pointer. Rather than using one of those laser pens, you may just wish to use the on-screen cursor to point out elements of a slide. In PowerPoint, the "A" key shows or hides the pointer. In Keynote, it's the "C" key.

Those three tips alone, particularly the first, can make a huge difference to the way your slide show is regarded.

Remember that the aim is to engage and inform your audience, not to send them to sleep. Slides, and how you use them should only serve to make your presentation better. If they don't then it's better not to use them at all.

HOOK - Nothing is news unless it's of interest, If it's of interest, there will be a reason why. That's the hook. You need to find the news hook for every media release you send out. Opening a new branch in Truro is not a news hook. Running a social media survey with your clients and potential customers to find where to open a new branch is a news hook. It needs to be unique, innovative, startling or memorable (or a combination of the above). You'll know when you have a news hook, since a person you tell it to will say "Wow, really?" (or words to that effect)

LINE - your organisation (which may be just you) should have a line on every issue that may affect your business and/or your customers. Everyone in your organisation should know what the line is, and the way to deliver it. It's all about consistency. If different people from the same organisation offer opposing views, then that becomes the news story. That's not what you want.

SINKER Tens of thousands of media releases are sent out every day (PR Newswire alone delivers 1,500 releases daily) Most of them sink without trace, never generating any publicity at all. There are a number of reasons why your press release may sink. It may be sent to the wrong targets, the timing may be wrong, it may be overtaken by a bigger news story. But the main reason is that it's just not newsworthy.

Make sure you have a HOOK, and a consistent LINE, so that your PR efforts don't SINK.

There's an avalanche of social media advice dished out every day on the web. Some of it is helpful, some neither here nor there, and some is, in my view, just plain wrong. Yes, I'm aware I'm setting my self up by offering advice here, but I've never been one to duck controversy. Here are three bits of advice that I think are very questionable.

1) Automating your posts as much as possible. There are all sorts of tools for posting messages when you're offline or doing something else. It can be a good way of reaching people in different time zones. Alas, some people take things too far and automate everything. It soon becomes obvious that someone is sending and not receiving, because they never become part of the conversation. Even if you do automate some of your posts, be prepared to deal with the responses, even if it's a few hours later.

2) The more "likes" the better. On the face of it, this seems pretty good advice, since if people are liking your Facebook posts, it must be a good thing. That's why companies use competitions where the entry requires you to like their page. The trouble is, people are liking it just to win something, and they couldn't care less about your business. OK, so they have to visit your page, but the real prize for you is to get them engaged and talking about you. It's the same for all your posts - start a debate, don't count the thumbs.

3) Deleting negative comments. Again, this is something that appears to be a good idea. It isn't. Removing criticism is guaranteed to set off a storm of protest. Instead, respond to any criticism so that your point of view is also seen widely. Remain respectful and deal with the issues raised. If you're seen to be handling a problem with care and concern, your reputation will be enhanced.

It's a few years old now, but this video remains a remarkable example of one long camera shot combined with brilliant choreography.

Investing in a one-day course could save you a fortune one day. 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."