Jimmy Carr and the decline of Western Civilisation

It's all Jimmy Carr's fault. And maybe Gary Barlow too, though he writes songs for The Queen, so we may let him off (even if he rhymes "sing it clearer with "everyone will hear yer"). How foolish we were not to notice what was happening. While many of us were focused on enormous severance packages paid to CEOs whose companies were failing, massive bonuses "earned" by people who simply moved money from one place to another by pressing a button, and dreadful financial decisions by governments, it was the entertainers who let us down. 

After all this time, it's taken a fearless investigation by The Thunderer, in the spirit of the old Sunday Times Insight team, to uncover that fact that an entertainer has been taking the advice of an accountant who he paid to deliver - er - advice. A shocking revelation. Even David Cameron has been taken aback by the scale of the scandal. In fact, he's been literally dumbstruck, and therefore unable to comment at all on apparently similar practices by people he knows well. 

Mr Carr has now accepted responsibility for the enormous damage that his thoughtless actions have wrought. He is believed to be changing his stage name to Mr Bicycle to reflect his contrition. It's even rumoured that on his forthcoming tour he may offer to pay the taxes of everyone in his audience. But it may not be enough. There may need to be a radical solution.

So here's the idea. We're all feeling pretty low right now. It's pouring with rain everywhere. We're all running up frightening credit card bills. Have I Got News for You has finished its run. We need cheering up, and people like Jimmy Carr can do it. I'm proposing a tax amnesty for comedians until we all feel better. Happy people work harder, produce more, and don't turn to crime. Jimmy Carr, and comics like him, should be national heroes. We need him in this dark hour. We could even extend the amnesty to Gary Barlow, but he has to promise to write proper rhymes in future.

Midge Ure special

Here's the latest Media Coach Radio Show featuring an interview with Midge Ure and music from Ultravox

It's all new to someone

It's easy to become a bit lazy in media interviews, especially if you are doing a number back-to-back. It's very important to remember that many of your audience will be hearing your message for the first time, and so you need to explain it in the simplest terms. You should never assume any prior knowledge of your organisation unless you work for a household name, and even then it does no harm to remind people what you do. 

There's a simple three-part formula that ensures you place your message in the appropriate context:

1) Remind people of the purpose of your organisation. For example, a spokesperson for a supermarket may say "Our aim has always been to deliver the freshest food at the lowest prices"

2) Summarise your achievements to date. This need not be a long list of awards, but simply a statement such as "For the past five years, we have had a higher percentage of repeat customers than any other car dealer in London"

3) Make a promise. Of course, this must be something you are certain that you can deliver (or may already be delivering but haven't publicised yet). An example might be "We aim to ensure that no caller waits for more than thirty seconds before having their call answered"

You may have a specific message in addition to the statements above. That's fine, as long as you remember that many people are hearing it for the first time too.

Do not Tweet like The Queen

To be fair, The Queen doesn't tweet at all. Someone tweets on her behalf. I'm not sure it's a generational thing, more likely an appropriate use of time. She has a lot of ribbons to cut, plaques to unveil and people to give awards to. It would be too much to expect for her to have digital chats on her royal iPhone with the likes of us.

So how does the royal tweeter-in-chief (whoever they are) engage with the twitterverse? Not much, according to their tweet stream. They are almost exclusively a broadcaster, though they have been retweeting lately, but only tweets with the hashtag #DiamondJubilee. There's been a bit more activity from Clarence House, who have even set up a Storify collection from followers' Jubilee stories.

My advice is to do the opposite of the royal tweeters. In short:

• Tweet more often about other people's content rather than yours
• Get involved in real-time conversations with other tweeters
• Don't set yourself up as being more important than other tweeters
• Base your retweets on valuable content rather than hashtags
• Offer advice rather than just information
• Tweet regularly, not just on special occasions
• Use informal language (not slang)
• Vary the format of your tweets
• If tweeting on behalf of an organisation, identify yourself

Your social media cocktail

There's nothing like a tasty cocktail on the veranda on a warm summer evening. Let's see if we can put a social media cocktail together. 

1) Plan the ingredients. You wouldn't just start throwing various liquids into a glass at random (OK, maybe you would in the early hours of the morning, but go with me here). A cocktail needs planning and preparation. So does your social media strategy. you need to have an objective in mind, or it's just random activity. It may be listening, researching, asking questions or even (very gently) promoting. But you need to know what you're trying to make. 

2) Add the ice. Keep cool. It's very easy to get worked up in a discussion online, especially if faced by a "troll", whose sole aim is to annoy you. Stay calm and collected at all times, and never allow your passion to run away with you. 

3) Mix it up. Include a number of different elements in your online cocktail. Link to other useful sites. Engage in debates. Post pictures and videos. Comment on news stories.

4) Enjoy!. It should be fun. If social media becomes a chore, give it up for a while or ask someone else to do it. The more you enjoy yourself, the more engaging and engaged you will become.

Cheers!

Media Interviews - all about............timing

Any stand-up comedian will tell you that timing is everything (by the way, you can a punch line there if you wish). So it is with media requests. Here are my ten timing tips:

1. Always have a message ready
2. Keep your company information up to date, and to hand
3. Anticipate external events that may affect your organisation
4. Always get back to a reporter before their deadline
5. A good sound bite early is better than a great one late
6. You should react in seconds and minutes, not hours or days
7. Aim to lead the news agenda, not follow it
8. Be the first to comment on any story about you
9. If reporters don't call you, call them
10. Being seen at the scene is important - get there

Success in Professional Speaking

Here's a video made by my good friend Terry Brock CSP, where he interviews Paul Du Toit and myself about the state of professional speaking today.

An open letter to Lord Coe, David Beckham and Boris Johnson #Olympics #torchrelay

Dear Seb, David, and Boris,


Tonight, I watched the Olympic flame arrive. Well done. Nice work. I don't mind admitting I had a tear in my eye. Alas, I'm still waiting to hear what, if any, my involvement with the Olympics entails.

With only 69 days to go, I'm still waiting for the outcome of my application to be a Games Maker to be resolved. Back in October 2011, I was called for interview for the Transport Team. Before my interview, I called up and said that I'd actually applied for the media team. I was told to come for interview anyway, since I could be re-allocated to the media team.

I attended the interview. I met the team leader. She said she'd re-allocate me to the media team. I heard nothing until April, when I received an email telling me that I had been allocated bus duties in the Transport team. I called to enquire what had happened. I was told that my application would be looked at again, in respect of vacancies in the media team.

I don't mean to overstate my experience or ability. However, I do run a successful media company. I've been a journalist for over 30 years. I've written several books on media. I'm a regular TV and radio guest on media topics. I speak all over the world about media. I'm a consultant to many large companies on their media strategies. I live four miles from the Olympic site. I'm delighted the Olympics is on my doorstep.

All I wanted to do was play a small part in the media side of the games. I can't understand why I've been given such little feedback, and nothing to do.

I will probably take my family abroad on holiday instead. I can't bear to be so close to the Olympics and yet so detached from it. My family and I were so excited when London won the bid. Now we're utterly disillusioned.

However, there is one small flickering flame of hope. One of you may read this and finally get in touch with me to let me know I can play a small part in the success of the games. But time is rapidly running out.

Could I please have a response? Even "Alan, we don't want you" would prevent me from hanging on with rapidly fading hope.

Thank you.

Alan Stevens FPSA, MCIPR, PSAE

Rebekah Brooks at #Leveson - it's all about the readers

Rebekah Brooks' evidence at the Leveson Enquiry was heavily trailed to be a "potentially explosive for Cameron and Blair". In the event, it turned out to be a damp squib.

She was poised, polished and very well prepared. The underlying message throughout her evidence was "it's all about the readers". She made the point on many occasions that The Sun is there to reflect the readers' views, not influence them. It was a clever and effective strategy, and as she relaxed under questioning, she was able to use humour to further deflect any potentially embarrassing questions.

She dealt with all of the issues in the manner of a seasoned politician, so perhaps her time in the company of prime ministers has taught her how to behave. She used a variety of techniques, including "I can't recall that occasion...", "As you would expect..." and "I'm simply here to explain how newspapers work..." It was a very sound tactic, avoiding any specific references that might be used against her or anyone else in future.

What did we learn from all this? Gordon Brown used to get "very angry". David Cameron used to text her "once or twice a week". Tony Blair used to "be at the same events sometimes". Hold the front page! (OK, maybe not).

The only time that Mrs Brooks appeared to be on the back foot was when her text messages and meetings with David Cameron were probed. She revealed that on some occasion, Mr Cameron signed-off texts "LOL". She also agreed that she and Mr Cameron had discussed the allegations of phone-hacking at News International. Frankly, it would be more surprising (to me at any rate) if they hadn't discussed it, since everyone else did.

So we, the public, were little the wiser after Mrs Brooks testimony at Leveson. All we heard was what we already knew.

Looking for Mr Dunbar

Almost twenty years ago, Robin Dunbar, a British anthropologist, wrote a paper suggesting that the number of people we can maintain "stable social relationships" with is between 100 and 230. The "Dunbar Number" has been pegged at around 150.

As evidence for his theory, Robin Dunbar looked at the size of ancient villages. Roman legions and academic faculties. The numbers were all roughly the same. On the face of it, social networks blow a hole in the Dunbar number. But do they really? In most networks, small groups of like-minded individuals gather together to exchange ideas, and sometimes even pick the odd fight.

Some argue that it's appropriate to have large networks in order to find and maintain their "Dunbar network". Others (me included) don't make thousands of connections, but form and maintain their Dunbar network from a smaller pool. They're different strategies to a common end result.

My Dunbar network is composed exclusively of people I've met face-to-face. For me, that's an important part of social bonding. However, I know of successful small networks of people who have never been in the same place together.

Does the Dunbar theory work for you, and if so, how do you build and maintain your Dunbar network ?

Speaking Tip: Everything is Important

in your speech, which is the important element? Is it the delivery, the message, the visuals or the reaction of the audience? It's everything. Your speech will be remembered for one of two things. It may be the takeaway message, which resonates with the audience and calls them to action, or it may be the thing that didn't quite work. 

Alas, it is often the one element that fails which becomes the memorable feature of a speech. It may be poor acoustics, bad sight-lines from some parts of the room, or failing to deal properly with a question. That's why a professional speaker checks and re-checks everything. That's why they arrive early and test every piece of technology. That' why they have a backup device or procedure for every foreseeable failure. That's why they rehearse.

Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong will go wrong) doesn't always apply. However, Stevens' amendment to Murphy's Law (the thing that you didn't test will fail) often does. Leaving any element of your presentation to chance is opening yourself up to potential disaster.
The trouble is, you may be too close to your speech to spot the errors. It's a good idea to ask someone else to check things out with you. A fellow speaker is a good sounding board (sometimes literally), and then you can help them in the same fashion.

The important thing is everything.

Claire Squires - a runner's tribute

When Claire Squires left Greenwich Park in the chill of Sunday morning, surrounded by thousands of fellow London Marathoners,  she had a simple aim. She wanted to raise five hundred pounds for The Samaritans. A few hours later, she collapsed and died in Birdcage Walk, just a few miles from the finish. Within 48 hours of her tragic death, donations to her JustGiving page approached a quarter of a million pounds.

Claire was a young woman. I was the same age as her when I ran my first London Marathon in 1984. I still remember the mixture of fear and excitement at the start, and the exhaustion and elation at the finish. I've run many thousands of miles since then, but Claire will never run another step. Her legacy is already remarkable. I hope the donations will continue, and that her family will be given her finishers medal She earned it, and helped more people than she could ever have imagined.

When I take part in the Great North Run in September, I will offer up a silent prayer of thanks for Claire, and others like her, who died raising money for causes they loved. I'm sure many other runners will do the same. Thank you, Claire.

Can you explain that to an 11-year-old?

Communicating can be tough sometimes. We know what we mean, and we say what makes sense to us. But sometimes it makes no sense to our audience.

I work a lot with CEOs and corporate boards to help them deliver clear, simple messages. I use the analogy that all media trainers know, which is to ask the interviewee to imagine they are speaking to a normal 11-year-old. That doesn't require childish language, but it does require simple and clear language. While it's easy to use over-complicated language that some audiences don't comprehend, it's almost impossible to be too simple.

One exercise that we do is to look for examples of speech that could be made much simpler. Here are a few (11-year-old version in brackets):

Let's think outside the box (We need to be more creative)

Change is the only constant (Things always change)

We need to reach out to our core demographic (We need to send our best customers a message)

Let's pick the low-hanging fruit (Let's do the easy stuff first)

In the current economy (Now)

Best of breed (Best)

Incentivise (Offer a reward)

Bring to the table (Consider)

Take it to the next level (Make it a lot better)

Care to share any of your own examples?

Do you know what you are saying?

I know, it seems a silly question to ask a speaker if they really know what they are saying. The trouble is, some speakers don't spend enough (or indeed any) time planning precisely what message they are trying to deliver. They speak well, they entertain, and they may even get a huge round of applause, but when the audience filters out, are they speaking about the memorable message they received, or are they just saying "good speech"? 


I've heard people complain that their speaking slot is cut from 40 minutes to 30 minutes. "That's not enough time to get my message across" they say. Try telling that to the organisers of TED.com, where 20 minutes represents a speech that over-runs. You should be able to summarise every speech you hear, and therefore every speech you deliver, in a sentence or two. That should always be your starting point when you sit down to prepare. It may take half the preparation time, but that's fine. It's important to get it right.

If you have concerns about delivering a speech to a particular audience, or you're unsure what to say, perhaps you're not the right person for that event. A true professional will only deliver a message to an audience that they believe will understand it and benefit from it. As William Jennings Bryan put it "The speech of one who knows what he is talking about and means what he says - it is thought on fire"