Free Media Lesson From Bonny Scotland

LEARNING FROM THE SCOTTISH MASTER  Larger-than-life Scottish hero William Wallace and current Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond are both famous for their pursuit of Scottish independence.  But their methods have been rather different. William Wallace took the direct physical approach involving lots of horses, swords and spears. He defeated the English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, but then lost in the Battle of Falkirk the following year. Wallace was later captured near Glasgow and handed over to the King of England. He was hung, drawn and quartered in 1305. Then things took a turn for the worse. When the big award-winning film was made of William Wallace's life (complete with various historical inaccuracies), he suffered the further indignity of being portrayed on screen by an Australian. Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart    By contrast, Alex Salmond is alive and well. As a result, he's able to play himself on Scottish television every night without the need for an actor imported from the southern hemisphere.    Alex Salmond has just made his latest and rather more peaceful move towards trying to make Scotland an independent nation. He's announced the date of the referendum which will take place on 18 September 2014. The smart money suggests - at this early stage - that the majority of Scots will vote against independence...fearing, among other things, that Scottish oil won't be enough to sustain prosperity without English support. As a communications professional, I'm naturally neutral on the issue of whether Scotland should depart from the United Kingdom (which, if it happened, would presumably mean the rest of the place would have to be re-named the Disunited Kingdom!)  An Australian tourist loitering outside Edinburgh Castle in the hope of being cast in the next big Scottish movie   Picture Credit: Jonathan Brind http://www.baa.me.uk/ But having met Alex Salmond and watched him deal with the media, I'd have to say: Don't underestimate his powers of persuasion. Alex Salmond is a captivating political leader who is a master at engaging with the media on his terms. Love him or loathe him, there's much we can learn from his approach to journalists. When I met him during the first of his two stints as the leader of the Scottish National Party, I was far more impressed by him than I am with most politicians. So working in Scotland this week, and watching Mr Salmond perform on Scottish TV, I've been reminded of just how charming and articulate he is. Click here if you'd like to hear my thoughts about this master of engaging with the media which were recorded in icy conditions on The Royal Mile. Maximizing Your Free Media Publicity Alex Salmond's rhetoric may not be quite as fiery as William Wallace's. But he must still lie awake nervously wondering if Mel Gibson will be brought back to Scotland to portray him in a future movie. And if you need reminding about what a fired-up Scottish-accented Mel Gibson looks and sounds like, then click here on this rousing excerpt from Braveheart.

THE BORIS BIKE CRASH One person has done far less well in front of the cameras over the past week than either Alex Salmond or Mel Gibson. This is London cyclist and Mayor Boris Johnson. Mr Johnson gave a string of media interviews where he did far far far worse than he normally does. Usually his endearingly bumbling but witty performances win over journalists and viewers alike. But even faced with a bunch of school pupil interviewers as part of the BBC's "School Report" series, Mr Johnson failed to give a straight answer to a persisitent series of straight questions about his aspirations to become British Prime Minister. During this interview - and others - Mr Johnson claimed his chances of becoming prime mininster were next to zero. They weren't anywhere near zero before. But they are now.  Mr Johnson's worst performance was in an interview with the BBC's Eddie Mair where he managed to break practically every rule in the good interview response book. If you can bare to watch the full bike crash experience it's at http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/03/boris-johnson-meets-his-match/ Among of the learning points from the Johnson interview experience are: # Give straight answers - and don't do as Boris Johnson does at one point and ask for "permission to obfuscate". # Go beyond just preparing for the obvious. Mr Johnson claimed he was expecting the questions to all be about housing and the Olympic legacy. Ask yourself: What else could be on the media radar? In this instance - given the speculation about Mr Johnson's prime ministerial ambitions - questions about his next job and his integrity could be reasonably expected. # If you believe a question is not appropriate for you to answer explain, just why it isn't - and stick to your position. Mr Johnson tries a mixture of complaint about the questions, saying he doesn't want to talk about some subjects, giving partial answers but then claiming there isn't time for the full thing (there was plenty of time) and at one point offering a decidedly half-hearted apology (either give a full genuine apology or don't give one at all). # Keep eye contact with the interviewer or you will look dishonest. Mr Johnson goes from having very good eye contact on the early softer questions and then repeatedly looks away on the challenging personal ones...signalling that he's being less than straight-forward. To his credit, Mr Johnson did better after the encounter which has become known as the "bike crash" interview. "I fully concede it wasn't my most blistering performance," he confessed, returning to his more normal candour. The mayor's father, Stanley Johnson, complained that the interview was "the most disgusting piece of journalism I've listened to for a very long time". But his son realised there was no mileage in joining such complaints. "Eddie Mair did a splendid job," he declared. "He was perfectly within his rights to have a bash at me - in fact it would have been shocking if he hadn't. If a BBC presenter can't attack a nasty Tory politician, what's the world coming to?" Asked whether Mr Mair should get the job of presenting role on the BBC's flagship politician-grilling programme, Newsnight, Mr Johnson added: "I should think he'll get an Oscar." That's more like it Boris...though I think you'll be hard pressed to repossess the "future prime minister" tag from here. You should have paid more attention in your media training classes... though I wish to stress that I didn't train you!!! THE DOUBLE ACT TO CHALLENGE FRED AND GINGER And here's the good news for those wanting a high impact, high drama conference event with a difference. I've teamed up with a rapidly rising star in the Professional Speaking Association, Nicci Roscoe, who specializes in helping people make a fabulous impact. Picture Credit: Dianna Bonner http://www.worldvisionphotos.co.uk/  Nicci is one of those who truly lives the brand and tends to make a fabulous impact wherever she goes - including on a string of television on programmes like GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Sky One's "One-To-Three", "Mind And Body" and "Weigh To Go". We have several double acts which can run as interactive conference keynotes or as workshops for away days. The first one to make its debut is "Making Your Team Look And Sound Great" which will run in the City of London in May. On the "Look" side, Nicci gives practical guidance on how to look the part and, as a fitness guru, can advise your teams on how to get into top shape. On the "Sound" side, we can show audiences how to boost the content, structure and performance of business introductions, presentations and answers to tough questions in professional situations. One of the things we do on stage is to demonstrate good and bad practice. So as something of an actress, Nicci can play the part of both excellent and appalling characters whether it's the bitchy job interviewer or the dragon around the boardroom table. We demonstrate ways to win out in the kind tough situations which any particular audience has to face. And when the conference crowd is brave enough, volunteers can come on stage to try out the best practice techniques in the spotlight - and get a personal critique everyone can benefit from. We give audiences instantly useable takeaway guidance on how to deal with a whole range of difficult people. This includes dealing with your organisation's own personal nightmares - whether they're challenging customers, skeptical prospects... or even BBC interviewers who are out to get you! Keep smiling, Michael