| Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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It's Summer time and the time is right for dancing in the street. Oh hang on, that was Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.
Sadly, there probably won't be much dancing or singing in the streets here this summer, as the government has still not lifted restrictions on live music or gatherings of more than 30 people in England, and in other parts of the UK restrictions are even tighter.
As you know, I'm a big supporter of live music, so in August I will be launching a web show that will feature interviews with and performances from musicians. By keeping the spotlight on music, I hope to encourage people to get back to live gigs as soon as it is ruled safe.
So if you know of any singers or bands that are looking for some free publicity, drop me a line.
Thanks. |
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A county standard swimmer as a teenager, Marc Woods had his left leg amputated because of cancer when he was 17. His dream became to simply be the best that he could be and just 18 months after he finished his chemotherapy he was selected to represent Great Britain.
Marc competed internationally as a swimmer for 17 years; winning 12 Paralympic medals from 5 Games and a further 21 from World and European Championships. He now Chairs the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity as well as being co-founder of the Leadership Advisory business, Equiida, and now spends his time working with organisations around the world as an executive coach and speaker
Hear my chat with Marc in The Media Coach Radio Show. |
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The MediaMaestro is Carl Reiner, the writer, actor, director and producer whose many decades' worth of credits -- including "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "The 2000 Year Old Man" -- showcased a ready wit and a generous spirit.
"My idol, Carl Reiner, wrote about the human comedy," wrote Dick Van Dyke. "He had a deeper understanding of the human condition, than I think even he was aware of. Kind, gentle, compassionate, empathetic and wise. His scripts were never just funny, they always had something to say about us."
"His talent will live on for a long time, but the loss of his kindness and decency leaves a hole in our hearts," Alan Alda wrote.
Reiner believed in spreading the laughs -- even if he was the butt of the joke, he wrote in his memoir, "An Anecdotal Life."
"Inviting people to laugh with you while you are laughing at yourself is a good thing to do," he wrote. "You may be a fool but you're the fool in charge." |
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The MediaMug is Amazon, which has pulled its first major game release, putting it back into a testing phase after poor feedback from players.
Free-to-play game Crucible is now being put back into "closed beta" - a pre-release stage with a limited number of players. Current players will be part of the beta, but new players will be unable to download the game without an invite. Amazon said it had listened to player feedback and would "continue to make the game better".
Internet Game News's review began by declaring the game "like a monster assembled from dismembered design ideas from the world of e-sports", criticising its lack of focus. PC Gamer, meanwhile, criticised the game's technical performance and "boring" gameplay.
Oops. Sometimes even Amazon gets it wrong. |
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| Speaking Tip - What's the thing? |
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When you deliver a speech, it's likely that the audience will remember one main point. The important thing for you is to make sure that it's the point you wanted them to take away. You can't guarantee that everyone will get the same message. However, there are some things you can do that make the takeaway much stronger.
Make the message the name of your speech (obvious, but it works) Open your speech with a reminder of what you're speaking about Close with the message as the final line, preceded by "So remember" Use stories that make the point Ensure that all elements in your speech are congruent and support the message State the message several times, and never assume that the audience will simply "get it" Later in your speech, deliver the first part of the phrase, and get the audience to complete it Make sure it is relevant to the audience, right there, right then
That last point is really important. There's nothing as powerful as the right message delivered at the right time. |
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| Media Tip - Three key media release facts |
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I used to talk about press releases. Now they're media releases, since "the press" has become "the media". OK, that's just semantics. The characteristics of a great media release are constant. Here are three of them.
1) Reverse the novel. A good release has the opposite structure to a good novel. In a novel, the scene is slowly set, the characters are gradually introduced, and the ending only hinted at before being revealed in the final few paragraphs. In a great release, the first line provides almost everything you need to know, and the detail is filled in only towards the end. That's important because few reporters will ever read past the first paragraph. Releases need to have exactly that structure, so that the reporter can spot the story straight away, and decide whether it is right for their readers, listeners or viewers.
2) Grab them by the whatnots. Obviously, a release has to catch the attention of a reporter in the first instance. However, the real audience is the audience that the reporter speaks to. You need to consider exactly what will interest them, and why they would bother to read a story about your company. Obvious "hooks" include local interest, something innovative, or even a celebrity connection (though these can have downsides as well as upsides). Once you have decided what is the best "hook", make sure that it appears in the first line of the release. Immediately after that, include a quote (which does not have to be from your MD), reinforcing the point, and ideally mentioning the company name.
3) Make it just for them. Consider tailoring each release (yes, I mean every single email or paper release that you send). Ensure that it fits the interest of the specific reporter that you are sending it to. Ideally, contact them in advance and ask them to look out for it when it arrives. If will give you the opportunity to find out a little more about their interests, and maybe tweak the release a little before sending it. However, never call them later on to ask if they will be using it. You should never become a pest. And never, ever call to ask why they didn't use a release, since that may be the last conversation you ever have with them. |
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| Social Media Tip - Orwell's blogging rules |
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OK, George Orwell was never a blogger. One of the greatest ever writers died seventy-one years ago. However, his rules still hold good today. In his essay, "Politics and the English Language", he defined five rules of writing. Here's my take on them for bloggers everywhere:
1. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. Although these phrases are in common usage - "It's not rocket science", "Out of the box thinking" etc, etc., they have lost their impact. Try to be original to make the reader sit up and think, or don't use metaphors at all.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do. This is embedded in the brain of all newspaper sub-editors. It's just as easy (in fact easier) to convey a message in simple words as in complex language.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. People use "filler words" in speech all the time - "Actually", "To be perfectly honest". These words and phrases have no meaning, and no place in your writing.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active. Make your blog as easy to read as possible by helping the reader with simple grammar.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. I see this rule broken most often. English is such a rich language, there is no need to resort to another.
However, George also added a sixth rule: Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. I agree, and think that the bonus rule is most important of all. As the song goes "If you can't say anything real nice, please don't talk at all, that's my advice". That doesn't mean you have to be nicey-nicey all the time, but name-calling and abuse is a poor approach.
Now, having set out the rules, I'm sure I'll break a few of them from time to time. So will you (and so did George). But as guidance for good blogging, I'm signed up to them.
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| 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." |
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