What Trump’s victory can teach us about today’s media

His quaff has been compared to everything from salmon nigiri to the silky tassel on the tip of corn on the cob.

His triumph as President Elect has confused everyone from his own supporters to my grandma.

He’s… *sigh*. He needs no introduction.

The US Presidential Election results had us squirming and swivelling in our office chairs all year. Not because of our respective political views, but because we’re in the business of communications. As specialists in the marketing and PR field, we were just cringing about how fast his controversial messages moved with the right format. Sadly, in the days of partisan Facebook groups, memes, and Twitter, false messages can go viral quickly.

What can we learn from this? Is there a silver lining to this mayhem? Whatever your position on Trump’s politics and message, his win says a lot about the type of content that travels. The shorter, the better. The more conviction, the more viral.

We could have written a Mutant blog about what NOT to do according to the 2016 Presidential Election, but we want to keep it light (and we weren’t sure if WordPress could support 5000-page manifestos, TBH.) So, while the first debate taught us how to live tweet, here are some brand messaging lessons we learned from the Trump win:

1. Sound bites make the news

“I’m gonna build a wall.”

“It’s freezing and snowing in New York – we need global warming!”

Sure, it’s a whole lot of crazy, but these words received media coverage – not just because they were outrageous, but because they were short and said with conviction. It’s not uncommon for politicians to drag on about unpopular policies, but people just tune out. In Trump’s case, his short, syndicated quotes travelled fast. In any news event, journalists literally sit through press events waiting to pick up on a soundbite that will draw in viewers or clicks.

Trump was at goldmine for these. The Cheezel-hued President Elect received a ton of free media coverage because his messages were easy to digest by mass media.

Ensure your own (less crazy) company message is short and concise. For example, when telling people what your business believes in, say it with conviction, and make it easy to digest and repeat to others.

2. The general public is THROUGH with jargon

One of the reasons some citizens don’t vote is because politics can be confusing. The dialogue is full of inconsistencies, and it can be hard to follow if you’re not regularly tuning in. Trump wanted to appeal to the general public and the working class, so he avoiding talking too much about policy and spoke to the people about their everyday problems.

You’ll easily be able to see some parallels between politics and business. Both are important for mobilising people; they’re hard to understand unless you’re in the industry, and both topics can be dryer than Donald’s throat during Debate #3. Here is how he explained his stance on illegal immigration:

“I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. Mark my words.”

Ok, ok, it sounds like it came from a children’s story book. Be simple, but still sound smart.

By using soft, simple terminology that anybody can understand, not only will your message be loud and clear, but it will be easier to spread. Start with the need of your audience, before you start to sell your product. If you’re a tech company, for example, talk first about what need you’re appealing to, then talk through the product.

3. Branded content trumps traditional advertisements

Trump became a walking billboard for his campaign. In fact, he has allegedly spent only a fraction of what Hillary had on ads. He is a walking content strategy, so much that the camera follows him, not the other way around.

To maintain this level of consistency, company leaders need to always be preaching their values and conveying them in everything they do. To C-Suite leaders, whether you are writing a blog, speaking at an event, or speaking on television, be consistent and stick to four or five core values. You know you will have succeeded when you people are unable to differentiate you from your brand and values. For some, Trump is a symbol for change; for others he is an unpeeled, boiled sweet potato headed for Office – but his message has been consistent. It’s just his audience that varies.

There you have it. The Donald’s message is what it is, and there’s not a lot we can do but learn from it.

Need help with getting noticed in the media? Write us at [email protected].

 

Image credit: marieclaire.co.uk

 

Drop the mic – The structure of an inspiring speech

Speeches, as with presentations and important announcements can be a pretty daunting task. It is something that becomes unavoidable as you climb higher up the corporate ladder.

Being a good speaker is one of the common traits of a thought leader. Confidence, coherence, and finesse may sound like a piece of cake, but are a lot harder to execute in reality. Most of us tend to get caught up with stage fright and forget about the actual preparation.

Like most things, it takes a little time, patience and personality to ace the speech, so here are some tips to help you drop the mic and kill it.

Be aware of your audience

Know who you are speaking to – students at a study hall, media guests at a launch event, or corporate VIPs at a business convention. Who ever it may be, being aware of your audience will help set the tone and delivery of your speech.

Check out this great speech from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg as she discusses why fewer women reach the top of their professions. You can guess her audience is women, and Sheryl addresses her points so well.

Understand your topic

It’s easier to explain something that you are passionate about. Knowing and understanding the topic of your speech will give you the confidence to express yourself better and do a phenomenal job at delivering the message.

Watch as Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson movingly talks of growing up in ‘lower-income-housing’ and about the people she knows who still rely on the state for healthcare. Clearly she knows her topic, and can relate to it, and is using her experience and knowledge to educate others – it’s powerful:

Brainstorm

List down as many potential talking points as you can. Take a minute to review that list and pick out the relevant and important points to go into length about.

Structure

Focusing on the important points will provide some structure, maximising the delivery of your speech. Your audience will appreciate the pacing and flow, which will engage and prevent them from tuning out and getting bored.

One killer line

Put some thought into that one killer line that encapsulates your speech – it packs in a punch and makes it thoughtful and memorable.

Think about Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream”, or John F Kennedy’s “…ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can for your country” – both were delivered with passion and punch:

Repetition

Build on your intensity and impact by repeating the important points.

Martin Luther King boldly repeated, “I have a dream”, but if you find that repeating your killer line may be too much of an overkill – try instead simple repetition of brands, names or important points that you want your audience to remember.

Introduction

Grab the audience’s attention from the start – make a joke, share an interesting fact, tell a story or a personal experience. Get the message across in three points or less. This will avoid unnecessary droning.

Body 

Keep it short, simple and to the point. The key is to keep things as succinct as possible. This is easier said than done, but using the structure as a guide will help focus on the messaging.

Conclusion

There is no need to stress too much about ending with a bang. Try leaving it up to the audience. Open the floor to questions as this is one of the best ways to discover how effective your speech was. It gives you an opportunity to sense the energy of your audience – do they seem excited and eager to ask more questions? Or are they slumped in their seats, eyes glazed and lifeless?

There is always something to take away from the end of your speech so use this as a lesson for your next one.

Practice makes perfect

Read your speech out loud alone, practice in front your friends and record yourself. Listen to constructive criticism and feedback, and take everything onboard.

Do you need help writing your next speech? Our team is ready to make your words work for you. Get in touch at [email protected].

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5 ways to get booed off stage

Pretty much all great orators – the ones who can talk to 10,000 people while giving off that ‘just having a casual chat with my mate on the sofa’ vibe – can do what they do because they have a lot of practice under their belts. Many have also probably had media training.

Public speaking with impact takes practice and planning. All companies worth their salt understand the importance their ambassadors have in representing their brand, and invest in experts like us at Mutant to help develop confident and compelling delivery.

However, we’ve seen plenty of people who have decided to jump in front of an audience without proper training, thinking they know what they’re doing (can anyone say crash and burn?)

Here are five of the most effective but un-obvious ways to completely lose your audience.

1. Inflate that ego, Narcissus.

“I really really want the audience to like me!”

If you want to alienate your audience and make them instantly dislike you, put yourself before them.

Essentially, your approach to public speaking is all wrong if you aren’t considering what your audience is going to get out of your speech or presentation. You should be asking yourself, “what do I want the audience to leave with, and how do I make this as easy for them to understand as possible?”

A presentation should be planned, written and practised with the audience in mind. This might include:

– Explaining to the audience why you are there and what you are going to present
– Speak important points slowly and repeat them if necessary – but not to the point of condescension
– Conclude by recapping on salient point.

Just remember your audience likely doesn’t know the content as well as you do, so be nice, personable and make your presentation an enjoyable experience – not something they have to survive through.

2. Have absolutely no idea who you’re talking to

Who are your audience? Are they industry leaders? Experienced professionals? Media? Or fresh-faced young talent with a blank slate and open minds? Let the audience inform your delivery.

If they are experts in your field, feel free to dive deep on the detail, acronyms and jargon. If not, calibrate accordingly. It’s surprising how many people get this wrong.

3. Keep it boring, stale, and loooooooooooooong

Even if you’re speaking to a room of industry heavyweights, don’t make the mistake of trying to show superior intelligence by being verbose. Using impenetrable language and stretching one point into five alienates your audience, turns them off and bores them to death. At worst, you might make them think you have something to hide (I could have used the word obfuscate but then, but I chose not to, precisely for this reason.)

TED speakers aren’t allowed to exceed 18 minutes for their presentations. You have a precious time limit for the audience’s attention, who will probably only leave remembering three of your points. Choose them wisely and give them impact.

4. Leave them wanting…less?

“A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.” – Winston Churchill

Thanks for the typically uncouth quote Winston, but you get the point. This massively applies to a presentation where you want to signpost the audience onto something else. It could be to a product, another event or even an interview with your client. Spill all of the beans and they wont have any need to pursue it further.

5. Over rely on scripts and slides

“I’ll read from my script. That way I’ll avoid the risk of saying the wrong thing or forgetting my point.”

No, no, and no. A speech, presentation or interview is about having a conversation. Even if you’re the only one talking on stage, you’re trying to create a dialogue – not a monologue – between yourself and the audience, and the only way to do that is to talk, not read, and be engaging while you do it.

You want people to walk away believing two things:

a) You believe in your stuff
b) You know your stuff

Yes, it’s good to prepare. But to rely on a script equals less engagement and snoring audiences. Your whole tone and body language changes when you read, rather than talk, and it’s highly obvious. Plus, there are the technicalities to be concerned with. What if the projector doesn’t work on the day? What if someone wants to interview you afterwards to clarify or repeat a point? Knowing your key themes and messages will allow you avoid having to re-wind the tape and start over again.

Learn two or three key points you want to convey from each slide and practice making each point off the cuff without crutches. This will make you more natural, relaxed and ultimately more compelling.

Want to learn more about how to better conduct yourself in front of media? Get in touch with us at hello@mutant.com.sg

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4 media training tips we can all learn from Ahmed Mohamed

In case you’ve been off the Twittersphere or living in isolation, you may have missed the story of Ahmed Mohamed – the bright, 14 year-old student in Texas who brought a home-made clock with him to school to impress his teachers, but ended up in handcuffs instead when she (wrongly) assumed it was a bomb.

The hash tag #IStandWithAhmed has since been shared and circulated hundreds of thousands of times, with support for Ahmed coming in from Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Hillary Clinton, Steve Wozniak (who had a similar incident in 1967) and a host of other incredibly supportive fans.

The story really resonated with me on a few levels. One, because he looks freakishly similar to my nephew Sam who is exactly the same age and is half Muslim. I would be horrified if Sam were to go to school with a brilliant invention, only to be considered a threat and subsequently arrested. Oh, did I mention – Ahmed was interrogated without his parents’ knowledge for one and a half hours?

But the other thing that stood out to me as a PR professional and media trainer is how eloquently and calmly Ahmed has conducted himself through this whole debacle and subsequent social and media frenzy.

There are a lot of public figures that could learn a lot from this young man.

Here is Ahmed’s very polished interview:

Here are media training lessons we can all learn from him:

1. Controversy can lead to good change

The most important takeaway is that Ahmed has managed to take a very upsetting incident and turn it into a voice for change and progress. He’s not sulking about it or voicing his opinions negatively. He acknowledges “since the charges have already been dropped, I would like to say that I really want to go to MIT and TAMS” and later adds, “but since I have gotten this far, I will try my best not just to help me, but to help every other kid in the entire world who has a problem like this”. He’s managed to bypass the unpleasantness to reveal hope for change and a desire to make that happen.

2. Keep it short and simple 

Ahmed did not take a long-winded approach to explaining his story and ordeal. He stated facts, as they were, using no complicated language or jargon and immediately got to the point. He expressed that he was sad about the way he was treated but kept it to two clear and concise sentences. Which made them so much more powerful.

“I built the clock to impress my teacher, but when I showed it to her, she thought it was a threat to her. So it was really sad that she took a wrong impression of it and I got arrested for it later that day.”

3. Good interviews and speeches usually start on a lighter note before getting serious

Ahmed started his interview with a slight grin and a light tone. He introduced himself by saying, “So, I guess everyone knows I’m the person who built a clock and got in a lot of trouble for it”. What a great, succinct and fun way to sum up why he’s starting the speech.

4. Stand up for yourself and your values

Ahmed’s words here speak for themselves: “Don’t let people change who you are. Even if you get a consequence for it. I’d suggest you still show it to people because you need to show them your talent”

Ahmed’s confidence, tone, voice and presence are such a great lesson for everyone preparing for an interview to address a difficult issue. Thank you!

#IStandWithAhmed

#AhmedMohamed

Want to pick up a few more tips on how to better conduct yourself in front of media? Get in touch with us at [email protected]

5 lessons in public speaking (as illustrated by famous people)

It’s hard to talk in front of an audience. Your palms sweat, the lights can be too bright, and your brain can abandon you right when you need it the most.

Public speaking is an art form, whether you’re in a boardroom in front of three people or an auditorium in front of 3,000. The language, the tone, the pace, the structure – getting it right is no easy feat, and the best speakers in the world have had years of practice to iron out their mistakes.

If you’ve got to talk in front of people in your working life, the best thing you can do is to keep practicing. The second best thing you can do, is watch and learn from others.

I’ve chosen five (well, actually eight – I had to lump a few together) famous faces to help teach us all a few different aspects about speaking in front of a crowd.

1. Donald Trump: Command the attention of the room

Personally, I find nothing particularly great about Donald Trump. His politics, his ideas, his comments, and yes, his hair – none of it is very appealing. However, when he speaks, I find it hard to tune out.

Listen to him in the clip below. He is enthralling. Don’t pay attention to what he’s saying, but listen to how he is saying it. He delivers his message effortlessly, he commands the attention of the room and he says everything with such conviction. He orders everyone to listen to him when he talks – and that’s the sort of confidence gained via years of public speaking.

The next time you’re addressing a group, remember Trump’s confidence and attempt to exude the same vibe. YOU are on stage. YOU own it. Don’t let anyone tell you to shut up.

2. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Be authentic and sincere

If you don’t know this Nigerian novelist, you should watch the below clip in full. Chances are you were introduced to her after Beyoncé sampled the below TED speech she gave in 2013 in her hit song Flawless, but you didn’t know it. Now you do. You’re welcome.

I have listened to many of Chimamanda’s speeches (she’s in quite high demand these days) mainly because I love her stance on feminism, gender construction and sexuality, but also because she is so easy to listen to. Her voice projects well, but her message projects more. Why? Because she genuinely cares about what she’s talking about. Her whole life has led to the point where she’s in demand globally to talk to others, and the sincerity of her being comes through, whether she’s addressing one person or one hundred.

You don’t need to have a story to be genuine on stage, but you do need to believe in what you’re discussing. Whether you’re talking about big or trivial issues, you will connect with your audience if you are authentic.

Tip: You might have notes prepared, but if something strikes you mid-speech, just say it. It sounds trite, but if it comes from the heart, your audience will pick up on it straight away. Sometimes that’s better than referring to your notes.

3. Steve Jobs: Tell a compelling story

The best way to get your audience’s attention is to engage them in a story. Everyone loves a story.

“Today, I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it – no big deal – just three stories.”

With that first sentence, Jobs sets the scene for everyone in the audience, and they eagerly wait to hear what nuggets of wisdom he’ll come out with. As it happens, his three stories are about why he dropped out of college and “connecting the dots in your future”, love and loss, and – sadly – death.

The stories are littered with anecdotes and honest assessments of his past and present – perfect for an audience of college graduates, really – and they weave together effortlessly. Getting your point across by telling a story is so much more effective than listing your points and just talking at people.

A story builds a narrative, humanises your message, and engages people in something that is ‘real’ – that they can relate to.

4. Lupita Nyong’o (and Roberto Benigni, Winston Churchill, and Martin Luther King Jr.): Choose your words carefully

When giving a speech – in any capacity – the speaker holds the power to change things. Sometimes big things, like people’s opinions and beliefs. When this is the case, it’s extremely important to be vigilant and careful in how you deliver your message.

Language is a beautiful thing, and a good speech can read like poetry. This speech by Lupita has its downfalls (mostly her sniffing, but I think that’s due to be overcoming with emotion, so I can’t really fault her for that), but in it, she says such a beautiful line that has always stuck with me:

“You can’t eat beauty. It doesn’t feed you. What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion for yourself and for those around you. That kind of beauty inflames the heart and enchants the soul.”

Too cheesy? I’m also quite partial to this speech from Italian actor Roberto Benigni when he won an Oscar for his leading role in Life is Beautiful (also my all-time favourite movie – if you haven’t seen it, watch it!)

The poetry in his speech isn’t in the language of his endearingly broken English, but in his body and mannerisms. He speaks with his whole body and his energy seeps out of him (he even makes Goldie Hawn cry). He is so grateful that he is loved by so many, and even though he sometimes struggles to find the words, you can tell he’s thought a lot about how he would accurately express his gratitude if he won.

And I can’t talk about poetry, emotion and the power of language without giving mention to both Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech, and Winston Churchill’s “We shall fight on the beaches” speech – both of which, in two completely different ways, united people, reassured them and inspired them.

5. Matthew McConaughey: Structure is important

Oscar speeches are usually filled with too much emotion and excitement to be coherent – they babble through a list of people’s names and flub over their words. Which is why it was rather fantastic when Matthew McConaughey won for his role in Dallas Buyer’s Club and jumped up on stage to give what I think is one of the best Oscar speeches ever.

He leads in with the expected thank yous, but quickly goes on to tell a short story about his hero, which is both insightful and entertaining. He has planned what he was going to say – you can tell, because he almost doesn’t say a single “umm” – and has structured it in a way that will keep people’s attention, make them feel, and make them laugh.

Ending with the “alright, alright, alright” was a genius touch (anyone who has seen Dazed and Confused will get it) leaving his speech on the perfect note.

If you’d like to discuss public relations, content marketing and media training for your business, please get in touch with us at [email protected]