Media Training: The most important thing to remember

Tamron Hall

I just watched the video of the interchange with MSNBC host Tamron Hall and Washington Examiner writer Tim Carney, and it brought to mind the very first point that we make in media training:  You’re a GUEST on a show.  It’s not your show.  Don't try to commandeer the conversation.

I want to make one thing clear in my analysis… this ISN’T about politics.  In fact, this has nothing to do with what the intended conversation was about.  This is about appearing as a guest on a program, how you should act, and what might very well happen if you forget you are a guest.

Now there are some (but not many) media trainers who will tell you to try to hijack the conversation to make your points.  To me, that makes the guest look like he is evading the question and trying to subvert the conversation.

Angry Guest John Doe

And to me, it makes the guest look like a jerk.

Here’s what most media trainers will tell you:  Answer the question, then pivot to make your point.

It’s the respectful way of having a conversation.  “Well, Tamron, I think blah blah blah… but don’t you think that sometimes the media blows these kinds of things out of proportion?” would have been a much better way for Tim to have handled the question put to him.

As a radio host for over 20 years, I can understand the frustration that Tamron felt.  Her show tackles a lot of hot-button issues, and this kind of a situation is apt to happen from time to time.  I have been fortunate in that it has only happened to me a few times. It’s not only annoying, but it’s downright disrespectful as well.

So the next time you are asked to be on a radio or TV show, please remember YOU ARE A GUEST.  Which means that when you are asked a question, you answer it.  You don’t try to overtalk the host, or insult or demean them or their company.

But the most important thing to keep in mind is that the host is in control of the microphone.  So if you try to hijack the conversation, they may very well turn yours off. 

And that puts an end to any point you had hoped to make.

 

Just TELL us: Why you should quit using video

Don't bother clicking.

YouTube is now the second most popular search engine.  We know videos on a website help move you up in Google.  People love videos.  All the latest info and research, and all the social media gurus, tell us that everything we do should be done on video.

Here’s a little secret: IT’S ALL CRAP.  WE HATE HAVING TO WATCH YOUR VIDEOS JUST TO GET “MORE INFORMATION!”

Because of the radio show, I get a lot of pitches every week from publicists, experts, and authors.  And because there have been times I have wanted to read an article, or get more information about something, I have often been forced into signing up for an email “newsletter.” (see David Meerman Scott’s belief about giving info away for free and not forcing the sign up).

So I get a lot of email from people who want me to look at their stuff.  The new trend is to send a couple of provocative lines, with a link to a video to “explain more.”

“I’ve just found the secret to curing cancer.  It’s easier than you think and you have the ingredients in your pantry.  Click here for my video explaining how to stop this monster!”

"I can help you fill your workshop with thousands of people, every time! Click on the link and I’ll share my magnetizing secret in the video.”

 “Dr BlahBlah is the #1 bestselling Amazon author in the category of Feel-Good for the first 10 minutes of the first Tuesday in odd months!  You’ll want him on your show because it will change your listeners’ lives! Click on the video to find out why.”

 I got another one today, and it just made me shout....

 STOP IT.

Your video isn’t really that good.  In fact, it’s rather self-indulgent.  You have bad lighting, you say the same thing over and over again, you’re trying to sell me, and you have now taken 8 minutes of my life that I can never get back.

You are insulting us by assuming we can’t read, (or perhaps, can’t be persuaded by your copywriting skills) and you are using up our valuable time.

And it all feels rather sleazy...like you have something to hide.  Because you can’t write it down, you have to tell us on video, I have to wonder if the FTC is after you.

Instead: Give us the bullet points of your program or your pitch, and offer us a video if we want to know more. 

And stop making videos until you can make compelling ones...  ones that really offer us GOOD content and that are concise.

Otherwise, it all feels rather Prince-of-Nigeria-Million-Dollar-Scheme-ish to me.

Just one woman’s opinion….

Do you prefer to get your basic information in written form, or in a video?

Being Successful: Exhibiting at an Expo

It’s Expo Season!

Here are some ways to make the most out of your expo experience

As an exhibitor

 

The most important thing to consider before signing the paperwork and writing the check to be an exhibitor at an Expo is to know WHY you are exhibiting at the Expo:

Is it to introduce a new product?

          Is it to sell something?

Is it to gain visibility?   

          Is it to get names and emails?

          Is it to actively engage attendees and make them into customers?

DO…

DO let your customers know you will be at the expo.  Use Social Media, statements, posters, signs

DO ask yourself… Why should people come to my booth, and want to spend some time talking to me?

DO have a Demonstration.  People LOVE to see a show! And that’s what Demos are. This will engage people and make them stay at your booth longer (If your outcome is to sell product, this is really a must)

DO have plenty of informational handouts.  And make sure all of them have your NAME, PHONE and WEB address

DO smile!  You need to be approachable.  You need to make it easy for me to find out information

DON’T…

DON’T have a busy sign.  Your name should be the most prominent thing, with your website address very visible as well.

DON’T have a cluttery booth.  But also, don’t have an empty one.

DON’T bring Trick or Treat items.  Bring items that have to do with your business,  and offer valuable information instead

DON’T hand make signs. How you look matters! The more professional you are, the better I think you are at what you do.

DON’T sit at your booth.  I have to come to YOU?

DON’T eat at your booth.  No one eats prettily.  Plus, you might get stuff stuck in your teeth. And oh yes…. It’s rude. 

THEN… MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW UP!!!!!!!

Send a thank you email for stopping by the booth.  Call the people you promised to call – even those you can’t help.  Suggest someone else to them!

Why I'm so mad at CenturyLink

I’ve been noticing for months… more than a year… that my internet connection seems to be slower at nighttime.  Significantly slower.  It’s been very annoying, but I’ve managed to live with it.  Right about the time I’m reaching for the phone to call CenturyLink (formerly Qwest), it will start to speed up.

That was, until last Sunday.  I was trying to watch something on Netflix and I had virtually NO speed.  And if you think I’m exaggerating, here are the figures: My download was .06 mbps, and my upload was .43, with a 80ms ping.  I would call that bumper to bumper traffic and virtually stopped on the highway of the internet.

I called CenturyLink.  I find that their inbound customer service is actually quite good.  They apologized, acknowledged my frustration, and walked me through several steps to gather information.  But I knew what the problem was.  It wasn’t the wiring in my house (else why would my speed be perfectly normal in the daytime?).  It wasn’t my operating system (see previous). It could not be anything but too many users and not enough bandwidth.

But they sent a technician to my house on Monday anyway.  And lo and behold, at 10 in the morning, I had full speed.  At 8 at night, I did not.

I called again tonight.  And finally the tech said… “Yes, we have 5 servers and they are all full.  There is not enough bandwidth.  A new server will not be completed until at least April.”

Here’s why I’m mad:

·        If CenturyLink can spend tons of money on marketing material, trying to get me to buy MORE of their services, why can’t they use that same money to solve the problem with the service I am ALREADY paying for?

·        CenturyLink has known about this problem for quite a while.  Why haven’t they contacted me to let me know they are working on it?

·        CenturyLink KNEW I was ticked off when I called the other day.  They didn’t solve my problem.  They didn’t even tell me WHAT my problem was.  Why didn’t a customer service rep call me and ask if my problem was solved?  Where is the outbound love? 

Eric Garland (twitter @EricGarland)

·        CenturyLink is a big, big company.  They can’t afford to pay a trendspotter to tell them that internet usage is ONLY GOING TO INCREASE as time moves forward?  May I suggest my friend, the futurist and trend-spotter Eric Garland.  He could have told them they were going to have this problem a decade ago.

·        Why can’t I tell CenturyLink that I’m having too heavy of a financial load on my system, and I’m only going to pay them 10% of what I owe them this month?  And for as many months as this financial load continues. Because THAT is what they are doing to me! I have paid, month after month after month for 7 mbps download.  And I ain’t gettin’ what I’m paying for.

What CenturyLink should do:

·        Start an outbound customer service department, even if it’s only by email. (although I realize how silly that sounds, if your problem is with the internet.)  Call your unhappy customers and make sure you have solved the problem.

·        STOP sending so much crap in the mail.  It only irritates people.  Don’t think for a minute we’re not pissed off that you are wasting money on marketing crap that could be better used elsewhere. LIKE ON NEW AND BETTER EQUIPMENT.

·        Offer a retroactive credit to people you KNOW you have slighted. If you can’t supply the product or service you are happily taking our money for, then you shouldn’t be taking our money.  Have some integrity.

·        Hire a better prognosticator. Are you seriously going to tell me, CenturyLink, that you had no idea that demand would get so high?  There were so many signs.  Fewer phone lines ordered means more people are working by email.  Survey Says… kids need internet to do their homework, Facebook users go nuts at night, Netflix and Hulu are growing by leaps and bounds.  What are you not seeing?

The reality is we all have more choices now.  And social media allows us to air our grievances.  Will I be looking into a different provider? You bet I will.  And I’ve been with you a long time, but my loyalty means nothing to you. Will I tell others about my bad experience with you?  You betcha.  And I’m going to ask them to retweet.

CenturyLink, shame on you.

--One woman’s opinion

 photo credits: Michal Zacharzewski, Eric Garland