The MediaCoach

Hi John,

It's been an interesting week hasn't it? Whatever your view, however you voted, whether you voted at all, there's no denying that the outcome of the EU referendum has been both conclusive and inconclusive (if you see what I mean). If there really was ever a curse "May you live in interesting times", we're now under its spell. I'm sure there will be plenty to talk about in the coming weeks and months, so forgive me if I turn to something else that I also feel is important.

One hundred years ago today, the bloodiest day of fighting in British history took place at the Battle of the Somme. By sundown on July 1st, 1916, over twenty thousand young men lay dead in the fields, with another forty thousand wounded. They'd walked shoulder to shoulder into the enemy machine gun fire. My great uncle Jack Godwin, aged just 20, died in that battle. His brother Arthur, my grandmother's only other brother, died at sea a year later. Like many others, they had no funerals. They are just names etched in stone on memorials that I visit from time to time to run my fingers over the chiselled letters and think of their sacrifice. Because of millions like them, we were able to put crosses on a ballot paper and take part in democracy. It doesn't matter which way we voted, we honoured them in the very act.

By the way, I've nothing to say about the England football team, other than to say that my favourite tweet was this: "I got Bonnie Tyler's Goalkeeping Blunders on DVD for Xmas. It's just totally clips of Joe Hart."

in the Media Coach Radio Show. There's also a song by Jim Boggia about another battle.
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A creator of one of the most-loved children's' TV shows died this week. MediaMaster Gordon Murray created the puppet series Camberwick Green, later followed by Trumpton and Chigley. The shows featured weekly on BBC TV from 1966 to 1986 and are still broadcast on children's channels around the world. Speaking in 1999 he said: "I have been interested in puppets ever since I was a child. My enthusiasm was greatly stimulated, I remember, by a visit to the Victoria Palace when I was about eight to see Delvain's Marionettes on the variety bill." He was a true innovator, using stop motion techniques he imported from Eastern Europe, and filming in both black and white and colour for different channels. Altogether now - "Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grub""

Once upon a time, Steve McClaren was the England football manager. He had a tough time, culminating at a rain-sodden, sorry performance when he became known as the "Wally with the brolly". He also had a strange time in The Netherlands for a while when he appeared to become Dutch. Anyway, now he's a pundit for Sky Sports, so what could go wrong? He was commenting this week on the England v Iceland game, and saying how England were dominating the match. Just as the words left his lips, Iceland scored what turned out to be the winning goal. Oops. What a MediaMug.

HOW TO GET ON THE BIG STAGES

The players at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships don't get there by accident. They've had a long journey, and played many small tournaments where there were few spectators. They know that it's not possible to start at the top. It's the same in any discipline, especially speaking. You owe it to both yourself and your audience to hone your craft before you start speaking at huge events in front of thousands of people.

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book "Outliers", talks about the ten thousand hour rule, which suggests that you need to practice any skill for that amount of time before you become truly competent. (It hasn't worked for my golf game, but maybe there are exceptions). It would be tough to expect a speaker to deliver 10,000 presentations before getting the big bookings, so maybe there's some leeway there too.

Whatever the actual statistics, there's no doubt that speaking, like any other skill, can be improved with practice. Here are my tips for success (which don't quite match Mr Gladwell's)

ANY MINUTE NOW, WE WILL SEE THE PLANE

It's tough being a reporter waiting for visiting dignitary or royal person to arrive at an airport. They sometimes have to do what is known as the "airport fill", standing on a windswept runway, scanning the grey skies for the faintest glimpse of an incoming plane, while filling the airwaves with vaguely interesting content. You won't ever have to do that, but you could wind up in an interview that runs much longer than expected, perhaps because the next guest hasn't turned up.

So how do you cope if you've prepared for a three minute interview that becomes a ten-minute one? Firstly, relax. The fact that you have more air time is a good thing. It's likely that the interviewer will be far more concerned than you are, and if you are able to help them fill time, they will ask easier and easier questions.

A second tactic to prolong an interview is to tell a story. Of course, it should be a story that you have used before, know well, and has a relevant point. If you've been following my musings for a while, you will know exactly what I mean.

Thirdly, make sure you deliver your core message once more at the end of the interview, however long it turns out to be. There's no harm in mentioning it several times throughout as well. If you can help the interviewer and the producer to do an "airport fill" style of interview, they will be extremely grateful.

HOLD 'EM, FOLD 'EM OR WALK AWAY

The bearded balladeer Kenny Rogers used to sing about The Gambler, who knew when to play a hand, and when to walk away. On social media, I'd recommend the same tactics. Playing out a hand (or having a heated debate) with some people who disagree with you can be a complete waste of time and effort. For example, I found out that an interview I did for ITN news has attracted over half a million views and two thousand five hundred dislikes, as well as many rather insulting comments, mostly directed at me. My "sin" was to suggest that the video of a teenage singing discovery, Greyson Chance, might just have been a set-up by a record company. His fans have gone mad. Do i worry? No. Will I respond? No.

The thing is, there will always be people who disagree with you, and the relative anonymity of the Internet means that their words can be highly charged. I have to admit, I have sometimes engaged in debate with such responses, but the outcome has never been very satisfactory. In fact, it's usually a tremendous waste of time, which ends with exactly the same views on each side, sometimes expressed even more strongly.

There are some occasions when a response may be appropriate, such as when you are asked a direct question, or when the veracity of your information is challenged. In my experience, both are rarer than a person who just wants to argue with you. Don't get involved. Or as Kenny Rogers would say, know when to walk away. (By the way, have you seem menwholooklikekennyrogers.com ? It may give you a wee smile)

This has no political significance. But it is quite funny.

It doesn't just happen to politicians.

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."