In preparation for the big day tomorrow, our compere Adam Vincenzini has put together his top tips to keep a room entertained… in the style of Ari Gold.
The Ari Gold guide to public speaking
By Adam Vincenzini
Tomorrow (30 September 2010) I’m emceeing Social Collective – a social media conference being held in London.
As usual, I turned to google for some advice (I started with ‘how to rock the mic right’) before stumbling on some more classical top tips for public speaking.
While useful, they didn’t quite do it for me, so I enlisted the help of Hollywood’s baddest agent, Ari Gold (from Entourage) to help put his touches on these pearls of wisdom.
Here is our combined take…apologies up front for any abrasiveness…
Rehearse in front of a mirror
What? No! Unless you like Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt, do not rehearse in front of a mirror. Better yet, go find a life size brown paper bag, wrap yourself in it and pray that you get thrown out with the weekly garbage. Next.
Lay down the law appropriately
There are times when you have to tactfully play the role of sheriff. For example, when phones go off, an early warning shot tends to do the trick. But a second infringement can’t go unpunished. I like having a box of brick style mobile phones next to me when on stage, and I’ll fire them towards the skull of anyone who interrupts my flow repeatedly. Side tip: Make sure the event owners have a decent public liability in place before adopting this tactic.
Imagine the audience naked
No-one, and I mean no-one, looks good naked. Clothes were not just invented for practical reason, they exist to cover up all the bits that can trigger violent episodes of vomiting. Even if you spot someone showing too much leg in the audience, get them to cover the f**k up.
Start off with a joke
Do you know what is worse than starting a speech with a pre-prepared joke? Nothing. No, seriously. Showing a video of animals being tortured is probably going to be received better. Aim for being one notch above mediocre at all times, at least then you won’t set yourself up for an inevitable fall.
Wear a cartoon tie to show you have a sense of humour
The only thing that could be worse than wearing a cartoon tie is having a swastika tattooed across your forehead. See, the thing with humour is that it is fleeting. It’s an observation. It is not something that stays with you all day, becomes distracting, before eventually becoming the noose from which you are hung from at the after party (if you make it that far).
Use buzzwords to build rapport
Do you remember when you were growing up and your Dad would use ‘kid talk’ at your birthday parties? It wasn’t cool then, and it definitely isn’t cool now. Buzzwords and phrases are not only patronizing but they generally don’t make any sense. ‘ROI’ is better suited to describing a part of the world where Leprechauns come from, not how little impact your latest ill-conceived campaign had. True story.
Realize that people want you to succeed
Are you kidding me? All an audience wants is for you to say ‘penis ready’ when you really meant to say ‘pens ready’. It’s human nature, we like laughing at other people’s misfortune. You are more than welcome to believe others want you to succeed but they are probably the ones sending text messages back and forth from one another guessing how much your shoddy, ill-fitting, suit cost .
Don’t apologize
See, this tip I agree with. Never apologize. The experts will tell you that making an apology while giving a speech is pointless and will only magnify a mistake that no-one really noticed anyway. I say take this a step further. Don’t ever apologize, in any situation. It makes you look weak. Even when you catastrophically mess up, just smile and say “you heard”.
That’s as preachy as I’ll get today.
Below is a short clip of one of Ari’s best public speaking moments or just head to YouTube and search for Ari Gold speech – hours or fun to be had.
If you can’t attend SoCol tomorrow (and there still are some tickets available), follow the #SoCol hashtag. Despite my involvement, it should be a great event.
This week, Twitter, launched its official ‘tweet’ button to help users share content using the technology that tweetmeme has made so popular in recent times.
On the back of this historic milestone, we strapped on our digital boots and when stomping through the internet to fine the best buttons of all time.
Our criteria was simple:
Functionailty: What does it do? Style: How cool does it look? Usability: Does it actually work? X factor: That something ‘eXtra’
So sit back, relax, take your finger and put it solely on your scroll button…it’s time to absorb some greatness…
Here are our selections:
1. The RSS button – dating back to 1995 when Ramanathan V Guha ws working at Apple Inc he developed something called the Meta Content Fraemwork. Little did we know that 15 years later its ability to push content around the web would make it to the top of the best button of all-time chart. Nice one Ramanathan. Although the RSS button has historical ties with Apple, it is the most orange of buttons on the scene.
2. The Facbook ‘like’ button – for such young button, the Facebook ‘like’ has made a huge impact, and brought the classic ‘thumbs up’ custom into modern day communications. The casualty in the ‘like’ button’s rise to fame has been the ‘fan’ – now relegated to a remnant of past Facebook glory. Weep.
3. The belly button – Incredibly only entering our chart at number three, this button actually helped bring humans into the world. Clinically known as the ‘umbilicus’, it can be in a depression like state (aka an innie) or protrude (aka an outtie). The invention of the bikini in 1953 gave belly buttons a new lease on life, liberating them and becoming a popular destination for piercings.
5. The pause button – the current incarnation of the pause button dates back to (possibly) the first ever videotape recorder produced in 1956 by Ampex which carried a price tag of $50,000. Today, we mainly associate it with DVDs of Live TV to take an extra close peek at embarrassing positions people often get into.
6. The WordPress button – This one made it to number six in our chart for the simple reason that button is preceded by (Word)press. Genius.
7. Jenson Button – Jenson loves buttons so much he has one tattooed on his arm. True story. In addition to being a great driver, he’s known for pushing many women’s buttons. People also know how to push his button – more than 123,000 people follow @The_Real_JB on Twitter.
8. The 4sq ‘check in’ button – ruled by all-powerful Pouty Princess, this button lets you compete for all kinds of cool stuff and collect really valuable badges like…ermm…the Swarm Badge.
9. The Reddit button – the social news bookmarking site is owned by Conde Nast Digital (no, seriously) and has made our top 13 ½ mainly due to the lil guy adorning the logo. The Reddit community also helped raise more than $134,000 for Haiti Earthquake victims in 2010 – making it philanthropic button on our list.
10. The digg button – originally an experiment back in 2004, digg made its way into the social media mainstream thanks to its ability to help stories rise (and crash) in popularity based on the feelings of its community. It is also known for having more makeovers than Madonna.
11. Ejector seat button – this post doesn’t come with an ejector button (sorry) but in other situations where escape is required, this does the business. Most famous user? Inspector Gadget.
12. The ShareThis button – the daddy of share buttons. The ShareThis button is a one-click solution that simplifies social media services, by reducing clutter on webpages, and provides immediate distribution for content across social networks, affiliates groups and communities. Using the ShareThis widget, online content publishers can provide their site’s visitors the ability to instantly access their profiles, blogs, friends, and contacts for easy sharing of their content. The question is: does anyone actually use this button? We’re not convinced but threw it in at number 12 anyway.
13. Panic button – A film from 1964, also found on train platforms, and normally sporting a red complexion, the panic button is a panophobic’s best friend.
13 ½. The retweet button – enough has been said about this and the tweet button this week. Good day.
To keep up with real time button updates follow the hashtag #buttonup.
In advance of Social Collective, we have been inviting select people to guest blog and join the SoCol debate, hopefully offering a fresh point of view. We have been asking a range of people to contribute, including those working in social, client side, techies, journos etc with a view of building a wider picture. Any questions raised during this process will be addressed during a panel at SoCol in September.
The latest in the series is from Danny Whatmough, aka @dannywhatmough.
Power to your employees! But do brands have the guts?
By Danny Whatmough
Adam spoke previously on here about the need to get buy-in, company-wide, for social media initiatives and, as I’ve blogged recently about some work we’ve been doing on this for a client of ours, I thought I’d riff on these themes for my first blog post here!
The challenge
Anyone that comes into social media from a more traditional marketing background (as many of us do, me included) can find the idea of getting involvement from employees throughout an organisation really tough.
Those of us that are used to tightly controlled PR messaging or advertising campaigns that are focus-grouped to within an inch of their lives, can have real issues coming to terms with the fact that, in some cases, we are opening up our external communication to internal stakeholders that have never even heard of ‘media training’.
And this is not to demean these internal stakeholders because, if there is one thing I’ve learnt, it’s that often they are more engaging and more interesting than the official spokesperson or CEO!
If I consider when and why I’d engage with brands on Twitter or Facebook, I’d be much more likely, in most cases, to want to speak to someone in the product development team or a member of customer services than the PR manager (or agency) and/or the CEO.
It takes guts
And with social media this is possible, if the brand has the guts to do it. Recent social media research we conducted suggests they don’t!
Of course, there are safeguards that can be put in place. Things like social media guidelines, strategies and training, not to mention monitoring and measurement, all have their place, but it still takes guts and ultimate transparency for a company to take these steps.
A strategy like this begins to really put the ‘public’ back into PR. Building and developing these relationships between employees and customers (and/or prospective customers) has been proven to bring incredible results that, despite what you might read, can be measured.
Internal benefits
This ‘sustainable’ approach to social media not only brings commercial benefits, but internal morale can also be boosted. Giving employees the freedom to participate in online communities, and the efforts made in energising them to do this, can also be extremely beneficial. Bringing employees closer to customers and letting them interact in an open, ongoing way can really help deliver insights that just aren’t possible otherwise.
It’s time for companies that are really serious about social media to throw off the old marketing mindsets of the past, get stuck in, and empower their employees to actually use social media channels to engage.
Are they brave enough? Some are, and they are reaping the results.
Danny’s background is not typical. He is a professional trained classical musician with a music degree, but has always had an interest in technology and, more specifically the internet – with self-taught web development skills – launching his first website c. 14 years old! He ran a e-commerce start-up whilst working in his first (on and offline) marketing job, which let him to forge a career in marketing.
Yesterday, we joined forces with #CommsChat for a one off #SoCol special edition generating a spectacular 700 tweets from over 90 contributors.
The chat gave us the opportunity to give a mini-preview of the event with four of our speakers on hand to answer the #CommsChat and #SoCol community questions.
Plus another huge pat on the back to our compare and the brain behind #CommsChat, Adam Vincenzini, for welcoming us to the #CommsChat community.
For those new to #CommsChat, the weekly Twitter chat looks at all aspects relating to communications, incl: PR, traditional and social media, journalism, blogging, marketing and more. For more information about #CommsChat visit the #CommsChat Posterous.
DISCOUNT: All those who took part in this week’s #CommsChat are privvy to a #SoCol special – get 33% off by using the code SOCOL33 when you book your tickets.
If you missed the chat, you can view a full transcript below…
On Monday 26 July (8pm UK time), we’ve been invited to join forces with #CommsChat for a one off #SoCol special edition.
The chat will serve as a mini-preview of the event and gives the #CommsChat and #SoCol communities a chance to meet and interact with this great group of thought leaders in the social media space.
For those new to #CommsChat, the weekly Twitter chat looks at all aspects relating to communications, incl: PR, traditional and social media, journalism, blogging, marketing and more.
The session will be moderated by our compare and the brain behind #CommsChat, Adam Vincenzini, via the @CommsChat account.
It will involve issuing a series of questions to everyone taking part as submitted by the all-star panel.
Both guests and #CommsChat community members will then discuss and debate each question, aiming to share and spread as much knowledge as possible.
For more information about how the session will be structured as well as a full list of those taking part visit the #CommsChat Posterous.
In advance of Social Collective, we have been inviting select people to guest blog and join the SoCol debate, hopefully offering a fresh point of view. We have been asking a range of people to contribute, including those working in social, client side, techies, journos etc with a view of building a wider picture. Any questions raised during this process will be addressed during a panel at SoCol in September.
Our third guest blog in the series is from our Social Collective compare Adam Vincenzini aka @AdamVincenzini
Back to the future…
By Adam Vincenzini
When I was at university in Australia I had a part time job at Foot Locker and I loved it.
(What’s not to love? Trainers and kit at a discount, fun atmosphere, people-facing – come on!)
Like most university jobs I learnt a lot too, for example:
“Sales assistants are instructed to encourage customers to take both shoes off at the time of fitting to make leaving without buying a more difficult proposition.”
In other words, collar them, disable them, and while ‘captive’ sell, sell, sell!
Shifting principals
At the time, I thought this was nothing more than a clever (if ‘not-so-subtle) sales technique.
In 2010, after having been immersed in social media practices for the last couple of years, I think a better description might be ‘entrapment’.
And this is a huge challenge facing any brand or organisation involved in social media.
Can you, in all honesty, guarantee a ‘social’ and ‘non-salesy’ experience at every step of the customer journey?
Ironically, the aspect letting brands down are often the HUMANS at the coal face, the people who get to really engage and interact with your customers every day.
What? Wait, let me explain…
The social media disconnect: perception versus reality
So, after giving this a bit of thought over the weekend, I walked into a Foot Locker store in Italy to see how I’d feel…and I felt dirty (and not in a good way).
I was greeted with a warm hello, some polite conversation and then…BOOM…entrapment mentality kicked in…I was a portion of their daily sales budget…a number.
This is often characteristic of brands operating on social media.
It often starts with a nice ‘hello’ (perhaps on Twitter), followed by a deeper connection thanks to some useful and engaging content (maybe Facbook or YouTube), and then, there in the flesh, the ‘metamorphasis’ happens.
Your best brand ambassador, your sales assistant, applies Jack Bauer style persuasion techniques as opposed to the gentle journey you were on up until that point.
Does it really matter?
In short, yes.
Why on earth would you spend all that money and time on getting someone’s attention and then not follow through on your original promise?
This is why social media requires everyone to get on board.
CEO, Marketing Director, Regional Manager, Store Manager and Sales Assistant (or a more subtle title for the last one) – each person has a role to play.
Question time
Have you thought about a bottom up approach to social media?
Are you listening to what your customers are saying and shaping your offer around them?
Have your regional and store managers bought into the philosophy behind social media? This is MASSIVELY critical.
Are you more concerned with flashy brand-related campaigns? You know, getting eyeballs and traffic, justifying your role in the ‘machine’?
Is that where your responsibility ends?
In order to be forward thinking, you sometimes need to take a step back.
You need to ignore the hype and ask yourself whether or not the people at the coal face can deliver.
If they can’t live up to the hype, you might not want to create it…but then if you’re not involved in the ‘game’ your customers will want to know why.
Uh oh, that’s the subject of another post…my head hurts!
It is questions like these, and many more, that I’m looking forward to see being debated at Social Collective on 30 September.
It should be a good ‘un.
Adam
About Adam Vincenzini
Adam is the lead social media consultant at London-based agency, Paratus Communications. The clients he advises in this space include Vodafone, Coca-Cola and Marston’s. Prior to joining Paratus he was responsible for PR and media for the Australian Cricket Team and its stable of sponsors. Other brands and organisations he has worked with include: Foster’s, B&Q, adidas, Mercedes-Benz and Emirates.
Adam is very active in the social media space via his blog, TheCOMMScorner and is also the co-founder of #CommsChat – a weekly live Twitter chat which brings communications professionals together every Monday evening to discuss opportunities and challenges facing the industry.
Tomorrow (30 September 2010) I’m emceeing Social Collective – a social media conference being held in London.
