The MediaCoach

Hi John,

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I have opened up places for my year-long speaker coaching programme in 2019. I work with clients from around the globe, either virtually or in person, for a year to help them hone a killer keynote, get gigs and earn excellent fees. Since I offer a personal one-to-one service, I take on only a handful of clients for either two and a half hours or five hours a month. Places go quickly. If you are interested, drop me a line for more details.

Conflict has returned to the news agenda with yet more rows about Brexit, rows at the US Open tennis, and rows about a shop owner painting over a Banksy mural. Meanwhile, you may have missed the news about the development of robo-trousers to help elderly people with walking problems (I am not making this up). I wonder if they are like these?

As you know, I love music and I love to promote musicians, especially those with a story to tell. One such is Ben Parker, who is one half of "Son of Town Hall". Hear the story of the band, and why you should go and see them, in the Media Coach Web Radio Show. There is also a song, of course, from Son of Town Hall.
Go to the iTunes Archive of the MediaCoach Show
Follow me on Twitter

The MediaMaestro award goes to Jed Mercurio, the creator and writer of Bodyguard, the TV drama which has millions of viewers, including my family, totally hooked. Don't worry, there will be no spoilers here. The way in which the plot has unfolded has been tense and gripping, and there are still a couple of episodes to go. It's one of those rare TV events that you need to watch when it is broadcast, or spend the time until you can catch up with it with your fingers in your ears and your eyes closed. Brilliant stuff.

The MediaMug award was a tough call. It could have gone to the two Russians accused of poisoning the Skripals, for their ludicrous "cathedral enthusiasts" interview. It could have gone to Amazon, who mixed up reviews for two books called "Fear" - one about President Trump by Bob Woodward, and a horror thriller by Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard. But it goes to a journalist from the Veja magazine website in Brazil who interviewed presidential candidate Eduardo Jorge. He thought the politician was talking about a film, when in reality he was referring to a Russian writer, which led to this apology: "Contrary to what was reported on this site, the candidate for the presidency we interviewed days ago is not entertained by 'Toy Story.'" In reality he was referring to the Russian writer Leon Tolstoy (1828-1910), author of classics such as Ana Karenina and War and Peace: The Veja website apologises to its readers. "

HOW TO HAVE STAGE PRESENCE

Having a good script is one thing. Having presence on stage is another. Some people seem to have natural confidence on stage, others want to hide behind the lectern. Here are a few tips to enhance your presence on the platform:

Above all, keep at it. There's an old adage among speakers; "The only way to get good on the platform is to get good on the platform"

HOW TO DELIVER A POWERFUL INTERVIEW

Here are five ways to make your media interview a roaring success.

1) Keep your business head on However friendly the interviewer, stay professional. The danger is that you may either fail to deliver your message, or worse still, say something unguarded. Keep your focus at all times.
2) Don't hint at or hide bad news If you have bad news to report, get it out of the way early, and put it in perspective. Don't let the journalist drag it out of you.

3) Stay responsible Never speculate, and never make things up. You will be found out, perhaps not in the interview, but at some point. If you're not sure about an answer, say so, and promise to find out. A second interview will then give you another opportunity to deliver a message.
4) Set the boundaries If there's a topic that you are unable to talk about, perhaps for legal reasons or because of privacy issues, mention it before the interview. If you don't have time beforehand, be polite but firm, and say why you can't discuss it.
5) Keep going for goal Deliver your core message at the start, the end and at all points in between. You can use different words, but keep the same theme.

AND WHICH ONE IS YOU?

For good or bad, people form an impression of us on social media from the picture we display. It lives with every post we make, and if we are only connected online to someone, it's probably how they always think of us. I've been looking at some of the images used by my online contacts, and I offer these observations.

1) The "not just me" shot There may be two, three, or an entire crowd of people shown. I don't know who I'm talking to. Who are those other people? There seem to be two basic types of this shot. The first is with a loved one. That's nice if you're running a dating site. If it's a business, is that your business partner? The second type is with a celebrity. Alas, not everyone will recognise the "celeb", so they're left wondering which one is you.

2) The "cropped from a party" shot This simply says to me "I can't be bothered to get a professional photo done". If that's the case, I wonder how you might handle my business? Would you rather be out partying?
3) The "over the hills and faraway" shot I'm sure you're in the picture somewhere, but I can't tell if that's you or a lamp-post.
4) The "it's not me" shot It's nice to pay a tribute to someone you admire by using their image, but it makes me a bit suspicious about why you don't want to be seen.

If you're on social media and want to look businesslike, get a proper photo taken. Let us see a bit about you. People do business with people. We want to know which one is you.

Do you have an extensive vocabulary? Here are some ways to check it out.

You know where to go.

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."