The MediaCoach

Hi John,

There's been a lot of chatter about the speaking fees being offered to Barack Obama in the aftermath of his presidency. A figure of four hundred thousand dollars has been mentioned. That's a lot of money, but if people are prepared to pay it, I see no reason why he shouldn't accept it. He's worked pretty hard over the last decade. Many ex-politicians go on the speaking circuit and command six-figure fees. I say good luck to them. It makes my speaking fee look even better value!

I was on the Nick Ferrari show on LBC this week, talking about how Facebook has an impact on elections. In the USA, the Trump campaign spent seventy million dollars on Facebook alone, using "micro-targeting" techniques to deliver specific messages to very small groups of supporters and potential supporters. It's an inevitable trend, and I'm sure it will be evident in the upcoming UK General Election. I suspect that regulations may come into play eventually, but for now, the political parties are making the most of the opportunity to advertise online in a way they can't on radio or TV.

Carolyn Strauss is described as the top female speaker on sales and persuasion in the USA. You can hear why in the Media Coach Radio Show. There's also a superb tune from Mick Wilson.
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In my opinion, one of our greatest broadcasters, and a true national treasure is Sir David Attenborough. He celebrated his ninety-first birthday this week, and I wish him all the best. He has been responsible for the most stunning images of nature that have ever appeared on our TV screens, and his passion, knowledge, and child-like sense of wonder are an inspiration. He once said "You know, it's a terrible thing to appear on television, because people think you actually know what you're talking about." Well he certainly does. What a MediaMaster.

This week's MediaMug is former Labour MP Kate Hooey, who was out campaigning this week, and was photographed with LibDem rival George Turner. However, when her team published the photograph in her campaign literature, Mr Turner had been photo-shopped out. The dodgy work came to light when people spotted that his legs were still in the picture, though his top half had disappeared. Ms Hoey was not available for comment when newspapers sought her reaction. Maybe she's disappeared too.

WRITING FOR SOMEONE ELSE

Sometimes, I write speeches for other people. You may be asked to do that too. On the face of it, it's a tough task. In reality, it's a very tough task! You need to be able to get inside the head of the other person, to understand the way they think, the impression they like to create, and the phrases they like to use.

Many politicians employ speechwriters. Most of Ronald Reagan's great orations were written by his chief writer, Peggy Noonan. Even JFK's "ask not what your country can do for you..." actually came from the pen of Ted Sorensen.

When I'm writing a speech for someone, I go to see them speak, or watch videos of their speeches. Then I meet with them, and ask them these questions:

In other words (pun intended), it's not sufficient to simply take what a person says to you and re-word it. You need to go a lot deeper. Then you can call yourself a speechwriter.

Actually, it's not a bad idea to go through the same process, and ask yourself the same questions, when you are writing your own speech too.

WHAT DO REPORTERS WANT?

There's a commonly-held view that reporters are out to make you look bad, or misrepresent you in some way. That does happen occasionally, but it's much rarer than many people think. The vast majority of journalists are focused on doing a good job and getting thanks from their sub-editor.

So what do reporters really want? Here's a list:

And what do they definitely not want?

In short, they want to work with you so you both get the best outcome.

WHO ARE YOU?

How you are perceived on social media has an impact on whether people want to work with you. It may not be the most important factor - I'd hope that face-to-face contact is still paramount - but it's often how people first encounter you, so your image is important.

I've been browsing through my social networks today, having a look at how people present themselves in their avatars. Most have a profile picture, many of which are clearly professionally done. However, there's a significant number that aren't like that at all.

What you put on your social media avatar is up to you. Here are some things I'd advise you to avoid:

There's the option, at least on Facebook, to record a short video as your avatar. While it may be fun (at least for you), it is a bit distracting when seen repeatedly, especially if people have to try to work out the words you are miming.

So my tip would be to simply use a businesslike image, unless you're a children's entertainer (in which case clowning may be your business).

It's been a while. Time to bash that penguin again. My best is 317.3. No actual penguins were harmed.

Give me a call.

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."