The MediaCoach

Hi John,

Have you ever opened the wrong envelope? No, nor have I, but the amount of coverage given to someone who did that at the Oscar ceremony has taken over the news this week. Still, at least everything was sorted out in the end. You couldn't make it up, though in Hollywood they often do. I'll be returning to this topic myself in a moment or two.

It was World Book Day yesterday, and I put out a question on Facebook asking people what book, other than religious texts, had influenced the world the most. Unsurprisingly, there was no consensus, though there were a lot of votes for The Art of War by Sun Tzu, 1984 by George Orwell and Principia Mathematica by Sir Isaac Newton. I wonder what your choice would be?

What is a "500 word Lawyer"? Sarah Fox is just that, and explains why in the Media Coach Radio Show. There's also a fantastic song from David Knopfler
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Unless you're a parent of primary school age girls, you may not know what JoJo Bows are. Why do I? Well, I'm chair of governors at an infant school, and as I've been walking through the playground in recent weeks, I've noticed a lot of the girls have huge hairbows. The reason is 13-year-old internet star and MediaMaster JoJo Siwa, who has made the bows so fashionable, they are everywhere. Accessory shop Claire's even has them in school colours. However, some schools have now banned them. Ms Siwa isn't too concerned. The JoJo bow, she says, is "more than just a hair accessory, it is a symbol of power, confidence, believing-ness." Quite.

I could have picked a number of MediaMugs from the debacle at the Oscars ceremony last weekend. However, the spotlight has fallen, for the last time at the Oscars, on PwC Accountants Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz. They were the only two people who knew the winners, and had custody of the envelopes. Alas, after Mr Cullinan handed Warren Beatty the wrong envelope, the hapless pair did nothing to stem the confusion. They simply stood at the side of the stage looking confused. If you ever get to present awards, here's my advice about what to do if things go wrong.

THE DECISIVE MOMENT

As well as being a speaker, I also dabble in photography. My father was a professional photographer, and I spent much of my childhood at his elbow in a darkroom, illuminated only by a Wratten OB orange safelight, my fingers stained yellow by the stop bath, inhaling the pungent smell of fixer. The joy of seeing an image slowly appear on photographic paper in the developer is something that digital photography cannot offer.

I've always admired great photographers, including Eve Arnold, Ansel Adams, Margaret Bourke-White and Richard Avedon. My real hero was the late Henri Cartier-Bresson. I never met him, but a few years ago I was lucky enough to spend time with one of his contemporaries at Magnum photography, Elliott Erwitt. I asked Elliott whether Cartier-Bresson ever gave him advice. He smiled and said "Yes Alan, and I now pass that advice on to you. Learn the skills of your trade, and then seize the moment". That's what great speaking is about too.

Cartier-Bresson is credited with the photographic concept of "the decisive moment". He never cropped his images, and relied simply on spotting the right time to press the shutter so that everything was perfectly in place and perfectly framed. When he published his first book of images, he took the title from the writings of the 17th century Cardinal de Retz: "Il n'y a rien dans ce monde qui n'ait un moment decisif" ("There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment").

I believe that when a speaker appears in front of an audience, a decisive moment occurs. That combination of people, place and time has never happened before, and will never happen again, and it is up to the speaker to make it memorable and significant. That's why no two speeches are ever the same. That's why a speech created with no particular audience in mind will lack impact. It is only by the delivery of a performance tailored to the expected audience, combined with the ability to react to the unique moment, that exceptional speeches are delivered.

Next time you speak, consider how your preparation and on-stage reactions combine to create a decisive moment for your audience.

I'M SORRY, I HAVEN'T A CLUE!

Sometimes, you may be faced with a question in a media interview which makes you think "I have no idea how to answer that". There are various reasons why this could be the case. Here are three of them and what to do about them.

1) When you don't know the answer, and there's no reason why you should. This is obviously quite easy to deal with , by saying "I've no idea", and qualifying it with a reason, such as "the investigation is not complete", "You'd better ask them" (if the question asks you to speculate why someone else did or didn't act) or "That's outside my area of expertise". You might offer to find out, but there's really no need to.

2) When you don't know the answer, but think you should. This is more tricky, since you need to be careful not to reveal your ignorance. One tactic is to return to your core message in the hope that there isn't time to ask the question again. Try prefacing your answer with a phrase like "That's not the important issue here - the real question is this." If pressed, the best response is to promise to find out as quickly as possible, and move on to another aspect.

3) When you know the answer, but don't want to give it. This is perhaps the most awkward position to be in. The interviewer is almost certainly aware that you know the answer, and they see it as their job to force you to say it. An outright refusal to answer is rude, so again, try to steer your answer onto ground where you feel confident.
In every case, looking and sounding confident, especially on TV, will go a long way towards saving you from embarrassment.

BE SOCIABLE ON VIDEO

There are various predictions about the amount of social media content that will be video in the next few years. Whatever the actual percentage, there is little doubt that video content is increasingly important. Here are a few pointers to make your videos more "sociable".

1) Plan, plan, plan There's an old phrase about how carpenters used to saw wood - "Measure four times, cut once". The same principle applies to video. You need to think what you are going to say, how you are going to say it, and what point you want to make. That will avoid repeated takes when you realise you've run out of steam. Rehearsal actually saves time.

2) Think about the platform Different networks have different requirements. Generally speaking, landscape mode is best for video. However, Snapchat and Instagram Stories use portrait mode. The length of a video varies too - maximum lengths go from 10 secs (Snapchat) to 30 secs (Twitter) to 60 secs (Instagram). As a general rule, keep the video short enough to make your point.

3) Start strong There's a lot of competition for attention. You need to make your best point in the very first few seconds, or people will click away from your video. Promise early, and deliver strongly.

4) Edit out the extras Seeing the part at the beginning or end as you reach for the on/off button looks poor. There are plenty of simple editors on your phone or tablet, or in YouTube, to trim down your video to the important bits. Alternatively, buy a remote on/off Bluetooth switch - simple and effective.

So what really happened on Inauguration Day? The guys at Bad Lip Reading know.

Or was it some other crisis? Either way, I'm here to 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."