As a media trainer, one of my roles is to warn people that it is all too easy to misspeak in public life – with very significant consequences. I have recently been working with a couple of senior leaders from very different backgrounds who both, in my view, greatly underestimated the danger of misspeaking. One […]
Rather than focus on one story this week, here is a brief comment on several: the PMs statement on the Sue Gray report, the Temporary Targeted Energy Profits Levy, Jacinda Ardern’s Harvard speech and Woke Capitalism. Tone Matters in a Public Apology If you are going to apologise and ‘take full responsibility’ our advice would […]
“On the evening of Feb 21, 2022, three days before Russian forces began the largest land invasion on the European Continent since World War II, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an angry televised speech.” So starts an eight-page essay in Foreign Affairs, a specialist American journal of international relations and US foreign policy. The essay […]
Paul Brand pointed out on Twitter last week what was obvious to any viewer. The leader of the opposition looked very uncomfortable in his set-piece interview on Good Morning Britain. You might even say scared. It is not a good look for someone who wants to be Prime Minister. He, of course, has a right […]
The tricks journalists use in an aggressive interview are small in number and well known; and in reality, really aggressive interviews are rare. But if you think your spokesperson, or you, could be facing aggression, here is a checklist of things to do or think about. 1. Rehearse your messages As with all interviews, there […]
There is a simple, time efficient practise that will massively help you sound more professional, get your ideas across more efficiently, give better presentations or be more confident in that media interview: and yet most people simply will not do it. What is it? Rehearse aloud. I recently came across the golden nugget “Practise Analytically, Perform […]
This weekend I read this on LinkedIn. “Working in PR is tough. I’ve received hefty abuse from some journalists, including death threats. I took a PR role because I struggled financially as a freelance journalist. …I always see tweets criticising PRs. Granted, there are some rogue PRs out there. But I think some people forget we’re […]
What do you do in a media interview if you get a really uncomfortable question? The answer is remarkably simple: tell the journalist you are choosing not to answer. Daniel Radcliffe demonstrated this on GMB when asked about the Will Smith slapping incident at the Oscars ceremony. Radcliffe did not hesitate: he said he was […]
One of the best news stories of the year so far, was the return of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe after 6 years imprisoned or held in Iran. She and her husband Richard Ratcliffe held a press conference in Westminster, and I was stunned at how composed and articulate she was after her ordeal. And also, how fearless […]
Three things came together in my head this Monday morning: On BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, I heard a BBC reporter talking about ‘weaponising history’. He was referring to the story, or the narrative, President Putin has crafted around why Ukraine needs to be part of a greater Russia. This reminded me of a very […]
