The MediaCoach

Hi John,

We're getting close to what used to be called the "silly season", when news was in short supply, and newspapers used to look for pictures of seagulls stealing ice cream comes, and people frying eggs on the bonnet of their car. However, we never seem to have any shortage of news any more, though the "silly season" might still be an appropriate description of our times.

Take Melania Trump's speech to the Republican National Convention this week. It was evident very quickly that sections of it had been copied from a speech that Michelle Obama gave eight years ago. Despite the obvious plagiarism, a number of Republican commentators gave increasingly weird reasons why it wasn't copied, even referring to My Little Pony stories as the real inspiration. Then two speechwriters claimed that their draft had been 90% altered. Subsequently, Mrs Trump said she'd re-written the speech. The latest explanation is that another writer, Trump staffer Meredith McIver has admitted the plagiarism and apologised for it. Her resignation was declined by Mr Trump. Where does the truth lie? Your guess is as good as mine.

Speaking of truth, a survey carried out to coincide with this week's 47th anniversary of the moon landings has suggested that half of the people in the UK believe the story was faked. I find that more than a little surprising. However, it does go to show that "truth" is a wobbly concept these days, and reputation even more so.

I'm lucky to have my good friend and speaker Lesley Everett in the studio this week. We talked about her wonderful new book "Corporate Brand Personality". Hear us in the Media Coach Radio Show. There's also a fantastic song from David Knopfler.
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To follow on the lunar theme, I noticed that the source code for the Apollo missions was just published. though you might not think that's of any interest, it includes code sections like BURN_BABY_BURN MASTER IGNITION ROUTINE, commented with a full explanation of the origin of the phrase. The programmers were working on computers that had a fraction of the processing power of a modern mobile phone, and they were not only doing great things, they were having fun. MediaMasters all!

The UK has a new Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson. He's been known to be a little outspoken in the past, and probably thought that he could brush away any comments about his remarks. However, in one of his first press conferences alongside US Secretary of State John Kerry, he received a real roasting from a journalist, who reminded him that he referred to President Obama's "part-Kenyan heritage" as a reason for him not favouring the UK, and likened called Hillary Clinton to "a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital". Mr Johnson did not cover himself in glory in his response. He takes the MediaMug award this week.

A FEW RHETORICAL TECHNIQUES

One of my all-time favourite comedians, George Carlin, once said "Rhetoric paints with a broad brush". That's largely true, but there are some occasions when it can be a sharp and potent weapon in speeches. Here are four techniques you can use to make your words even more effective.

1) Anadiplosis. The repetition of one or several words that end one clause and begin another.
Example: "Some men are born with greatness , some men achieve greatness , and some men have greatness thrust upon them" - William Shakespeare

2) Praeteritio. The pretended omission of something, which has the effect of strengthening its impact.
Example: "It would be unseemly for me to dwell on the Senator's drinking problem, and too many have already sensationalized his womanizing..." - An opponent of Senator Edward Kennedy

3) Chiasmus. A very powerful effective technique where the words in one phrase or clause are reversed in the next.
Example: "Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good" - Samuel Johnson

4) Tricolon A much-used and strong technique where words or phrases are used in threes.
Example: "Never in the history of human endeavour has so much been owed by so many to so few" - Sir Winston Churchill

I'VE BEEN MISQUOTED!

Journalists aren't perfect, as you will realise from my words each week. Sometimes I make an error, but I hope only a tiny one. That's something to consider when you see a piece in which you have been misquoted, or in which a fact is wrong. The issue is not whether the article is precisely what you said, or one hundred per cent correct, but whether it matters.

There used to be an old saying "Today's newspaper is tomorrow's fish and chip paper". That's no longer true for several reasons, but it does embody a principle, News is often transitory, and people forget what they see and hear. It's the cumulative effect that's important, and the impression you create on the media, rather than the detailed content of what you say. That doesn't mean that you should ignore your message (far from it), but it does mean that correcting every error is a fruitless exercise.

Of course, if the error is serious, you should demand both a correction and an apology. You may have to argue quite strongly for the apology to have the same prominence as the original story, but it can be done. In most cases, however, I think it's better to grit your teeth and sit on your hands rather than to send an angry email because your age was a year out.

HOW TO BE A SOCIAL MEDIA MAGNET

There's a lot of advice about how to use social media to attract business. Some say you need a gazillion followers. Some say you need to automate all your posts. Some say you need to post to every network. I say it's rather simple, so allow me to offer three strategies.

1) Deliver consistent, high-quality content There are two aspects to this (obviously) - consistency and quality. It's no use posting a large volume of material once every few weeks. Little and often is much better. It needs to stand out, so quality is vital. "How-to" lists work well (yes, I know....)

2) Engage in conversation It's social media, not broadcast media. I've seen many streams of tweets and Facebook posts that are simply links to articles, videos and webpages, with no attempt at dialogue. That's no way to build rapport. People want not only advice, but a chance to interact with you.

3) Promote others It's not all about you. If you see a good article, talk about it and link to it, even if it looks like a competitor. If people see you as a curator of valuable information, they will notice and remember you.

Carpool karaoke is one of the most popular things James Corden has done in the USA. However, this one tops them all.

If you're in any way nervous about making a speech, I can help.

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."