MAD MEDITERRANEAN MONKEY MAULS MICHAEL

THE KEY TO GETTING FREE PUBLICITY The art of getting free media coverage for your organisation largely depends on coming up with what journalists regard as REAL NEWS. So when I'm showing people during master classes how to achieve this, I seek to get them inside the mind of the journalist. Journalists don't see the world in quite the same way as other people do. They know REAL NEWS when they spot it - even if they can't eloquently define it. Alas many other people are totally unable to fully grasp what is news...as reflected in so many badly written press releases which hit the metaphorical cutting room floor in newsrooms around the world. When you know what real news is you're a long way down the road to getting loads of free publicity. The traditional definition has it that when a dog bites a man it's probably not news. This is because it happens too often.....and only becomes news if it's a particularly ferocious attack or if the dog belongs to a celebrity. But if a man bites a dog, that is news. That's because it's rare. In this ezine we are going a step further with our own MONKEY BITES MAN story.    Now this is particularly big news - because that man was me! It happened on The Rock of Gibraltar - during an otherwise fabulously enjoyable professional speaking mission. There's more on the infamous monkey bite later.   Crime scene: Rock of Gibraltar where the bite took place

WHAT MAKES NEWS? There is a formula for what makes news which is easy to remember. It revolves around the fact that, journalists are always after is one thing - TRUTH. Yes, really!!! The TRUTH formula is as follows: Topical: If something is running in the news - say the French troops in Timbuktu or the debate on whether Britain leaves the European Union - then if you have a story which touches on that in some way the media will probably be interested. Relevant: If you present a branch of the media with something that is relevant to their particular audience then they should be interested. The bigger the impact on their audience - emotionally or economically - the more attracted they'll be. Unusual: This is the "Man Bites Dog" factor....or for the purposes of this newsletter "Monkey Bites Michael" factor. Trouble: The media love trouble and controversy. So anything that touches on this should spark their interest. This is a potentially dangerous factor though, as you don't normally want your organisation seen as being a trouble-maker. Better to portray yourselves - if the facts allow - as the trouble-solver. Human: People love stories about people....particularly interesting people. Welsh ballboy Charlie Morgan has been kicked by a Premier League football player, aptly named Hazard, which has resulted in phenomenal interest in the humans involved in the drama. So if your potential story doesn't hit any of these factors it may not be worth sending out a press release out about it. Instead, look for something that hits one or preferably more of these "TRUTH" factors and you're in with a chance. There's much more information about getting free media publicity for your business in an interview I did with a round-the-world radio station - Voice America - hosted by international radio star Chris Cooper. It's an hour-long interview which explains how to project your message through radio, television, newspapers and news websites. You can hear it at: http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/66822/michael-dodd-tools-techniques-and-tips-for-working-with-the-media Details about my master classes on "Position Your Business For Free Media Publicity" are at: http://www.michaeldoddcommunications.com/workshops_for_business_leaders_groups.php MEANWHILE BACK AT THE ROCK... Despite being only the ninth biggest rock in the world (way behind Australia's Uluru in the Number 1 Spot and not doing anything to improve its position), Gibraltar has a lot going for it. Great winter sunshine, spectacular views and - as professional speakers really appreciate - top audiences. One particular audience I encountered was especially interesting...though it has to be said not all that well-behaved at times. But audience members made up for it by throwing themselves wholeheartedly into the learning exercises. Here's tribute to the audience for my big talk on top of the Rock. And if you keep watching after the closing credits there's a bizarre sequence which will be explained later. This audience took a pick-and-mix approach to my professional speaking offerings. If you have a conference coming up, you may want to choose more selectively from the full menu of interactive keynotes. # BECOMING INSPIRATIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATORS # HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOUR COMPANY - PREPARING FOR MEDIA EMERGENCIES # MASTERING THE MEDIA - WITH BALLS # YOUR 2013 MESSAGE ACROSS IN SIXTY SECONDS # GIVING GREAT ANSWERS TO TOUGH QUESTIONS Details of the keynote options are set out at: http://www.michaeldoddcommunications.com/international_speaking.php PUTTING THE BITE ON TOURISTS So here's how the big moment happened. My camera operator and I had trudged and sweated our way to the summit of The Rock when a tour bus drove up. The monkeys were very excited to see the driver for whom they clearly had a certain affection. It became obvious that - despite signs across The Rock warning not to feed the monkeys - the driver had managed to make himself a hero of the wildlife community by hand-feeding them nuts. The monkeys gathered on the roof of his bus, and when tourists put their arms out, they would spectacularly leap onto them - to be rewarded by the driver. This got the monkeys (and the tourists) increasingly excited. So I was persuaded that having a monkey leap upon me seemed like a good idea at the time (the so-called streaker's defence). And shortly after outstretching my arms I was blessed with a giant leap of a seemingly lovely, almost cuddly, though rather hefty monkey who landed with bang. He then made his way down to my hands. And perhaps disappointed that there was no nut to be found there, he proceeded to sink his teeth into my finger. There was blood...though admittedly not that much. You can just about see the gory detail in this picture if you look closely.    So the person who said never perform with children and animals knew what he was saying. But at least it gives me another story for my after dinner speech on "Tales and Tips from Six Continents" THE AFTERMATH You'll be ecstatically relieved to know that there've been no side-effects from the monkey bite so far. If you see me frothing at the mouth during my next conference speech, that's just natural Australian exuberance - not rabies. Apparently the potential danger from a Gibraltar monkey bite is actually tetanus. But my doctors' surgery assured me that, having had a tetanus jab in 2005 which lasts ten years, I'm in the clear. At this point I should pay tribute to our charming and dynamic Gibraltarian host, Pete Yeoman, who looked after us, ferried us diligently between speaking engagements and kept us fully entertained. However Pete does take rugby seriously, and as an Englishman who has a close interest in the forthcoming Lions Tour, he does perhaps have less sympathy for Australians than you might imagine. Nonetheless he's even trying to line up engagements for my next Gibraltar speaking excursion. Pete - who is pictured here at the foot of the Rock - was the first to send a text message when the monkey bite news got out.    I keep it on my phone for sentimental purposes. It says: "Hope the ape survived!!" Keep smiling, Michael