The Media Coach 9th Jan 2024

Speaking Tip of the week - How to be original

You've got to be original.

As actress Bernadette Peters puts it "If you're like everyone else, why would they want you?"

Some people argue that originality is impossible, since everything has already been said. I beg to differ.

Anyway, back to originality. When you deliver a speech, it should be unlike any speech that your audience has heard before. You must offer them a new insight, a surprising thought, or a reminder of an old truth that they may have forgotten - but in a unique and memorable way.

I despair of speakers that trot out tired old stories about putting rocks, pebbles and sand in a jar, or throwing a starfish in the sea, or putting a frog in a pan of water until it boils. If you use any of those stories, STOP IT NOW! Your audience wants to hear about your experiences, and your original take on the world.

Of course, you can use the odd quote from someone else, provided you attribute it. But no hackneyed old stories. Be original. You can do it.?????

Media Tip of the week - Wave the flag

The point of appearing on the media is to get your message noticed by the audience. One way would be to write it on a huge flag and wave it in front of the camera. Unfortunately, they won't let you do that.

Luckily, you can still use a technique called "flagging" to indicate to viewers what they should remember from your interview. It's like putting a large flashing neon sign before your main message.

Here's how it works. There are some key phrases that signal your intent to wave a flag. These include "I can't stress enough the importance of...." or "The really significant thing here is..." or one of my favourites, which you can use when a reporter has stopped taking notes "You should write this down".

On their own, flagging statements sound rather silly, but in the context of an interview, their use is crucial.

Flagging phrases are of particular value when you sense that the interview is coming to a close. Of course, you have already memorised your core message, so now is the time to flag it and deliver it. So, finally, here are a few flagging phrases to use in conclusion -

• "There are just two things to remember..."
• "I'd just like to re-iterate the importance of.."
• "Allow me to summarise the essence of my message.."
• "The single thing that you really need to be aware of is..."

Remember to wave your flag.?????

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Social Media Tip of the week - Set your content free

There's a lot of discussion about how people can protect their intellectual property online, and how to ensure that only those who pay for it can access it. It's been the bane of the entertainment industry for years. Here's my take on how to protect your intellectual property online. You can't. You shouldn't even try. In fact you should do the reverse, and encourage sharing.

The thing is, people are going to share your content anyway, so you should position yourself to take advantage of it. Your blog posts and videos should have sharing buttons on them for Facebook, X, LinkedIn etc. You should encourage people to re-post your comments.

Of course, the best way to get your content shared is to make it so engaging that it makes the sharer look good too. In order to benefit from all this sharing, your contact details should be on every piece of content, with a reminder to the sharer to include them. As you will see by looking a little further down, I encourage you to share any or all of the content in this ezine. I ask only that you mention my details.

And does giving all of this away mean that you don't get paid to deliver expertise? No, quite the reverse. People get to know what you do, and seek you out for personal advice.??

I say give away your knowledge, and sell your expert