Nearly The Last Post

London, UK

Corporate Presenter will remain up here at "Blogger" but all new blog posts about being an event host , presenter or speaker and business matters can now be viewed at my other website.

Yet More TV Presenter Bloopers

London, UK

Another TV Presenter Blooper

London, UK

Shame!

Tips On Handling a Q&A Session

London, UK

A re-post from April 2008

Monday, April 07, 2008
Moderating a Panel Discussion

London, UK

Last week, I was invited to a football-related business ethics forum. About 100 people attended. On the panel were David Dein, the former Arsenal FC director and Nigel Layton, Managing Director of Quest. In the chair was Mihir Bose, Sports Editor of the BBC.

The meeting chairman or moderator has a number of areas to cover, these include:

Preparation (venue logistics, speakers requirements, rehearsing opening speech)

Coping with audience interruptions

Handling the Q&A session

Mihir Bose, as you would expect from an experienced sports reporter and presenter, was superb. He was very even-handed with the speakers, injected the right amount of humour and organised a very slick Q&A session.

Tips on using a Lectern

London, UK

Last year a link was posted on this site to Lisa Braithwaite's blog. She was discussing the pro's and con's of using a lectern. Just recently her post was mentioned here. Take a look at the video.

Tips On How To Begin Your Presentation.

London, UK

Depending on the type of audience and situation one is talking at, there are many ways to start a speech or presentation. Speaker Jason Peck outlines some of the best techniques for those occasions.


Ed. Another way is to start your speech with "the middle of your speech". Then do your introductions after a minute or so of content. This "delayed-drop" method can be effective.

10 Tips For Using Twitter

London, UK

This article is one of several that appear on Graham Jones's excellent site

1. When you go to a meeting or you are listening to a presentation and you don’t quite understand what is being said, post a Tweet asking your question. Seconds later you will have several replies, without ever needing to have interrupted the speaker or broken the flow of the presentation.
2. If you are going to a new town, or you are in a different location to normal, ask if people have recommendations of where to eat. Someone will answer – and you may even find you have a dinner date as well...!

3. Need to make quick notes you can access later? Tweet away. Set up a second Twitter account and send “direct” messages to your main account. That way, when you get back into the office you’ll have your list of notes already for you.

4. By posting regular hints and tips on your particular subject, you’ll get more visitors back to your web site. A daily tip in 100 characters and then a link back to your web site will really start to build your traffic.

5. Start following famous or respected people in your field. They may follow you and you will also be able to see who they follow. In this way you will become associated with the thought leaders on your subject.

6. Set up a regular search term for Twitter content. Then look at the Tweets, click through to any links and comment on the articles. This will provide you with relevant links back to your web site, helping your search engine ranking.

7. Customer service messages is another great way of using Twitter. You can keep customers informed, minute by minute if some aspect of your service is in crisis, or needs attention. Often people complain that they were not kept informed – Twitter helps you ensure you achieve better communication in times of crisis.

8. Use Twitter to give your business personality. Some of the most successful businesses in the world are where people “know” the boss – Virgin, Dell, Microsoft, Ryanair. Most companies, though, are faceless. Twitter helps you put personality into your communications, bringing you more attention.

9. Follow journalists and then send them direct messages with announcements of your press releases. You may pick up some offline public relations in this way.

10. Search for problems your customers experience. Your clients may discuss their gripes with your products and services. Search for their Tweets, respond and build relationships.

How To Become A TV Presenter

London, UK

It's rare for this blog to promote goods and services but this caught our eye. There are some useful tips mentioned here about becoming a tv presenter.

More On Twitter

London, UK

Graham Jones recently wrote this article about how to use Twitter.

How To Get The Best From Twitter

London, UK

These tips from I-Change Biz will help you get the followers you want. You ought to write with:

* Something that lets me see who you are
* Something that shows me you know what you are talking about
* Something that amuses me, engages me, entertains me
* Something that helps me
* Something that educates me

You may agree that "engages me" and "helps me" are the two most important. These rules could easily apply to your blog, Facebook page or website content.

How To Get Started With Twitter

London, UK

Follow these steps to get started with Twitter


Twitter
What is it?

A micro blog of 140 characters (this includes spaces), so one sentence. Keep it short and sweet. I would recommend you aim for about 130 characters so that there is enough space for people to quote you.
Be focused.

What do you want to achieve from Twitter? Keeping up with everyone else is not good enough. Like all marketing activity it needs an agenda, time and focus. Think SMART
I would recommend that you:

80% Free info and advice from either you or linked to great articles you know.
10% Referring and retweets
7% Direct marketing
3% Social chatter

Some tips
How many people follow you or that you follow is actually fairly irrelevant! What is important is who is reading the tweets.
I would recommend you follow the top people in your area of expertise. Comment to them using the reply arrow. This will mean that @ sign along with their name appears in your update box and you type in your reply.
If you are quoting someone then it is courteous to put RT then a space and then @name and then simply copy their tweet and paste.
When you get replies it is important to acknowledge those. It means they will be more inclined to do it again thus improving your following of readers
Remember when someone replies to you with a comment their followers see it. This is how you build your online Twitter profile.

And finally some useful free downloads

1) Tweetdeck. It is a small download. It sits on your PC and allows you to update your twitter account, filter all of the people you’re following, reply to people, and perhaps most importantly search. One of the key things about using tweetdeck is that you can search on keywords. These are the keywords that anyone in the twitter universe is using.
2) Twellow. Twellow allows you to search for people to follow. These can be based on geography, type of work etc...It is critical that you follow people. People rarely follow people, if they see that you are not following others.
3) Twitterfeed. Twitterfeed allows you to RSS feed from around the internet. So collect an RSS, send the link to twitterfeed, and then it automatically updates your twitter account when that feed automatically updates. So for example if you send a blog then that will automatically appear in your twitter account, without doing anything but set it up
4) Tweetlater. Tweetlater allows you to automatically follow others, simply because they followed you. It also allows you to send out tweets at times when you are perhaps away, doing other things. So you can seem to be updating, but you are on holiday.

Other reading:

Mashable

Twitip

Are you on Facebook?

London, UK

If so, you may want to personalise your Facebook URL. But you'd better hurry up!

Ed. Looks as though I was one of the first 200,000 at 5am BST

How To Make A Political Speech With Impact

London, UK

Try this for size by Dan Hannan:

How To Make A Follow-Up Call

London, UK

Making a Follow up Call

Quite a few businesses like to send out literature before starting an intense cold-calling campaign. In this article, I am going to advise how to go about making a follow-up call after an advertising mail-drop.

Explain why you are calling, that you are following up on a mailing that was recently sent out. Do not ask them if they have any questions on the mail-out, or if they have read it as it could lead to embarrassment for the both of you. Give a short overview of your company and what you do. Interject pieces of information about their own company and why literature was sent to them in the first place. How you can do business together.

When the prospect starts to ask leading questions, now is the time to book an appointment. Explain that to answer their questions, you would need to know more about their business and that you are free at such-and-such a time to pop in. Perhaps you could bring in lunch to discuss it?

Do not ask them what date would be good for them as it is likely that no date is good for them. They are busy people. You need to MAKE the time yourself. This is why suggesting to bring in lunch is always a good idea as it is not only an incentive for them to meet you, but it is a great way of building rapport. After all, what is more intimate than eating a meal with a prospect? It can be far better for your chances than just a straight-forward sales meeting. It adds not only warmth to your meeting, but gives you an edge over your competitors.

“When something will help me, make me money or improve my personal or professional development then I can honestly say that I don’t know what the word ‘busy’ actually means?” – Mr. Coldcall.

How To Leave A Compelling Voice Message

London, UK

Have you noticed that there are days when it feels you only ever get through to voicemails? And no-one ever wants to leave a message on voicemail do they? I mean, it isn’t like they will want to call you back, is it? Who would dream about calling back a sales-person or an aspiring tv presenter or public-speaker? Well actually, they might depending on the message you leave. You need to word your message carefully to spike the prospect’s interest.

“I saw an advertisement for your company in such-and-such place, or I saw a listing for your company online, and wondered what you actually do? Could you call me back with more information please?”

When they call you back, it is then your job to build rapport, ask them about their company, what they do, how they do it. Explain what you do only when they ask, and at this point you should have built enough of a relationship with the prospect to be able to pitch an appointment or to make a sale. You could even ask if they know of anyone else you could contact who might be interested in your business. At the very least you have created a warm lead to call back in the future. Nothing gets you by the gate-keeper quicker than “I am returning Mr. Smith’s call.”

Make sure to put your personality in your call, make it as much fun as possible, and be interesting and positive. Remember to speak as if you were talking to a friend. After all, they have called YOU, you are in charge of the conversation and you want them to desire to continue talking to you, don’t you?

Always make sure to keep a note of voicemails you have made, so that when the call is returned, you know exactly what was said, and you are not left unsure of what you are doing or saying.

It is also a good idea to keep a note of interesting facts you have seen on their website, so when they are telling you about what they do, you can interject and ask relevant questions or make interesting points.

Be fearless in your cold-calling, and you will find success beckons you.

Telemarketing Tips

London, UK

Some self-promotion here. To find out more about my workshops, go to this Twitter feed or JeremyJacobs.Com

How To Become A Recession Pioneer

London, UK

Author Jonathan Gabay in his recent blog post shows the way forward in a recession. One of his tips is to continue to train your staff; he writes

Don’t cut marketing – re-engineer how you market.
If you stop marketing people may conclude that you are next in line to become a recession victim. Competitors will increase their presence – simply by you not investing in yours. Shake up your traditional marketing mix by becoming savvy to new ways of reaching niche markets – even extending to radical approaches such as guerrilla marketing. Spend your money wisely and allocate your budget shrewdly. Stop separating PR, marketing, sales promotions, the web and so on. Test new media in stages. Include your end-market through Web 2.0 initiatives such as blogs and marketing through social networking sites. Stop pushing people away. The ‘us’ and ‘them’ culture is dead. Be inclusive. Make the most important people in your chain–customers and clients feel valued by being part of a bigger brand experience. Like you, they want to be heard and acknowledged. Everything is possible – providing it doesn’t compromise your brand’s sense of integrity.

Ed. Gabay's "us and them" quote really drives home the need for inclusivity and customer engagement

TV Presenter Bloopers

London, UK

A classic from the late great BBC tv presenter Robin Day:

Tips on Rebranding

London,UK

Brand guru and author Jonathan Gabay, author of Soultraders, explains how re-branding works in an interview with BBC Radio Ulster. Click on the BBC link here.

How To Motivate Your Team In A Recession

London, UK

I guess many business leaders will be wondering what to do at the present time. Geoff Burch, who has featured here and at our sister blog, may just have some answers for you. The virtual seminar advertised below is aimed at business leaders in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. To register simply go to the Learning Works website here http://www.learning-works.co.uk

How Politicians Manipulate The Media

London, UK

Jonathan Gabay, author of Soul Traders, outlines how politicians manipulate the media.

How To Be A Great Public Speaker

London, UK

Easy. Just emulate Geoff Burch.

Just how effective are you?

London, UK

You may find this article of interest if you want to be a little more effective with your time.

Ed. Some years ago when I ran a sales team, I would occasionally explain the difference between motion and progress!

How To Feel Great

London, UK

"Laughter, the best medicine" is a well-known phrase from the Readers Digest magazine. Next Sunday's world-wide celebrations for World Laughter Day is an opportunity for all to join in and feel better in doing so.

Promote Yourself With A Web TV Presenter

London, UK

Using a web tv presenter can really enhance your website and drive more traffic to your site. The example below shows the author of this blog presenting for Vodafone. This commercial was produced by Videotile who were mentioned on this site last year here



You can see the commercial in full by clicking here

How To Self-Promote Using Social Media

London, UK


If you haven't investigated communication tools like Twitter, Facebook and Linked-In then now could be a good time to do so. All three (and of course there are others) can help you connect with colleagues or customers and assist in developing your business. Before you start pushing ahead and capturing "followers" on Twitter or "friends" on Facebook ensure that you have a plan of action. Research what the social media experts suggest, read blogs on the subject, then follow a carefully defined method of building your social media profile.

How To Keep Going For 50 Years

London, UK

Prince Philip makes it a record as a consort.

TV Presenting Under Pressure

London, UK

Graham Norton On LSQ TV

London, UK

Top tv presenter, Graham Norton was in Central London signing autographs when he was filmed by our "capturista" at Leicester Square Television. Graham was in town ahead of appearance in "La Cage Aux Folles"

BBC TV Presenter Appears on LSQ TV

London, UK

Presenter Andrew Marr was captured by the LSQ TV "fan-cam" a few days ago:

How To Be A TV Presenter

London, UK

You could start by joining Presenter Promotions and going on one of their many courses which are held throughout the year.

TV Presenter Dies At 70

London, UK

Lenny Bennett has passed away. Remember him well on the tv years ago.

How To Dress To Impress

London, UK

What you say as a speaker or presenter is key but so is the way you look. You may have seen other posts on this subject last year by media coach Alan Stevens. He once again, outlines the importance of "looking right" in his latest weekly e-zine. His main assertion is that your message must be congruent with how you look. In other words, dress to impress. If you're uncertain what to do try a top image consultant to start with. Once you know what's the right colour, shape and style of clothes visit a leading bespoke tailor.

LOOK THE PART

As I travel the world, I watch TV interviews, sometimes in a language I don't fully understand. However, I can often tell whether the interviewee is coming across well simply by checking their appearance. While your words are of great importance (don't believe that popular misconception that words are only 7% of meaning), appearance is importance too.

In addition to how you are perceived by others, your appearance can affect how you feel. In order to deliver a confident performance, you need to feel good about yourself, and only you can be the judge of that. Even if others tell you that you look fine, you will know whether you are happy with your appearance.

Somewhat surprisingly, your appearance is important on radio too. For the reason just mentioned, if you are feeling good about yourself, you will perform better. Not only that, but the way that you look will affect how radio interviewers treat you. If you are speaking on behalf of a professional body, such as a group of lawyers, you will not be taken so seriously if you arrive at the studios wearing jeans and a t-shirt. On the other hand, if you are an eco-warrior, a three piece pinstripe suit may be inappropriate.

Take as much care over your appearance as your message, and make sure that they work in harmony.

Web TV Production Company

London, UK

Tristar TV have recently updated their main site. Examples of tv commercials suitable for a website are highlighted.

How To View Hollywood Stars

London, UK

Have you checked out the new Leicester Square Television(LSQ TV) website? If you looking for Gemma Arterton, Jennifer Aniston, George Clooney or Daniel Craig, then you'll find them all there at LSQ.TV

How To Throw Away $6000

London, UK

By signing up for this social media course as offered by a UK University.

"You better watch out if you've got long black hair"

London, UK

Those who remember the hit single by Sweet and the "Glam Rock" era may enjoy "Blok Busta", a new musical by Mike Bennett. The Leicester Square TV crew were on hand at the New Players Theatre to cover the action:

5 Popular Ways To Keep Fit For Public Speaking

London, UK

You'll be aware that any performance requires mental and physical effort and none more so than speaking in public or presenting on a regular basis. You may find by doing these five things, you stay fit for purpose:

1. Eat sensibly.

2. Exercise at least three times a week for an hour each time.

3. Get enough sleep.

4. Find time to relax each day.

5. Ensure you have enough time for a hobby once a week.

Speaking To Large Audiences

London, UK

In 1948, Winston Churchill addressed over 100,000 people at Luton Hoo. What special qualities would you need to handle that size of audience?

How To Be A Great Presenter

London, UK

You can't do much better than follow the advice of Seth Godin. This is one of his more recent blog posts.

Julia Roberts In London

London, UK

As ever, the LSQ TV "fan-cam capturista" was in Leicester Square. This time for the Premiere of Duplicity starring Julia Roberts.

Don't Forget To E-Mail

London, UK

Internet psychologist Graham Jones has written another hard-hitting post about Twitter. He points out the pitfalls of doing too much with social networking sites and not enough with plain e-mailing for business.

Jones says, "As an example, I sell five times as many ebooks using email campaigns than I do via social networking site. I'm not alone either - Tesco and Amazon produce significant returns via email marketing and only use social networking in comparatively minor ways".

Ed. I think that quote speaks volumes. He could though use a Twitter client called Tweetlater. Tweetlater sends "tweets" at regular intervals. The downside to tweets is they are limited to 140 characters. Too short, in my view for an effective message.

How To Be Top At Cold Calling

London, UK

Coldcalling
Uploaded by woolfcub

Perhaps Mike needs to go on a D-i-y cold-calling workshop.

Young Victoria

London, UK

The Leicester Square TV "fan-cam capturista" was out in the wind and rain on Tuesday night to see Emily Blunt arrive for the World Premiere of Young Victoria.

How To Prevent Presenting Problems

London, UK

If you're about to accept the role of corporate host or MC at an event make sure you do these three things:

1. Make friends with the AV technician

2. Check that the microphones are working correctly

3. Always do a "dry run" immediately prior to the event.

Jennifer Aniston And Me On LSQ TV

London, UK
A slight play on words with the title of her latest film, Marley & Me. Jennifer and co-star Owen Wilson were in Leicester Square last night and the LSQ TV team, despite the hustle and bustle of the media pen, managed to get some good sound bites. Also check out Zoe Salmon and Danielle Lloyd.

Marley & Me On Leicester Square Television

London, UK

LSQ TV will be covering the UK Premiere of Marley & Me. Check out the Leicester Square Television website tomorrow night.

How To Overcome The Giggles On Air

London, UK

This could happen if your faced with interviewing somebody with an unusual or silly name as highlighted on the BBC this week

Although I wasn't on air at the time, I did meet a Doctor Doctor (I kid you not) fairly recently and found it a bit difficult not to laugh. One way of overcoming the giggles is to carefully bite the inside of your lip. I wrote about this in a post over on my other site in 2007. Read the post here.

How To Combat The Fear Of Public Speaking

London, UK

A re-post from April last year:

You may have seen the various posts on my other site in relation to the fear of public-speaking.
This morning at a business breakfast, I gave a talk about how to overcome those nerves! Most of you will have an idea on how to achieve that. There's plenty of blogs out there, Eric Feng, the brilliant Lisa Braithwaite and Nick R Thomas to mention just three, who can give you plenty of tips, but you may want to delve deeper. You see, in my view, fear of public speaking doesn't really exist. What does is a fear of being found out, a fear of looking foolish or even a fear of feinting.

Just what is it that makes you nervous in front of others?

How To Be A Top Public Speaker

London, UK

One way is to have the opportunity to listen to and emulate Geoff Burch. Geoff, who presented the BBC2 hit series "All Over The Shop" last year, is probably the funniest business speaker around.

Ed. Geoff was outstanding at Communicate With Clarity last December.

Alan Carr At The Brits

London, UK

More from the LSQ TV "fan-cam". Here's comedian Alan Carr arriving:

Kylie Minouge At The Brits

London, UK

It wasn't all about Duffy at the Brits last night, here's Kylie making her entrance. The footage was taken by our resident capturista at Leicester Square Television. There's more to see at the LSQ TV site.

Ed. There's a clip of Girls Aloud at The Brits over at my other site here.

An Evening With Geoff Burch

London, UK

Internationally acclaimed business-speaker and guru Geoff Burch can be seen "Up Close And Personal" in Cheltenham, on March 3rd.

Many of you will have seen Geoff last year on BBC2 television. His show, "All Over The Shop" attracted two million viewers for each of the eight programmes shown.

The Battle Of Britain

London, UK

During the early part of 1969, the blockbuster, "The Battle Of Britain" starring Michael Caine, was filmed in part over the Margate/Ramsgate area. Here's the opening credits and an amusing piece a few minutes in:

Ed. It was amazing to see Heinkel's and Dornier's in the skies above East Kent on the Spring of 1969. I was taken to the cinema later that year at Dreamland, Margate (near to R.A.F. Manston) to see the film. Still have the special R.A.F. Manston history booklet as issued that evening.

Tweet-A-Thon - February 19th

London, UK

Will you be participating in the Tweet-A-Thon next week? Lots of celebrities and presenters taking part but precious few from the UK!

How To Give A Really Bad Speech

London, UK

For the past couple of years I've posted a number of items concerning public-speaking, or rather "how to be better at giving a speech". Along with Nick R Thomas and Lisa Braithwaite, The Media Coach, Alan Stevens, often gives brilliant advice on how to put your point across in public. His short article posted in his weekly e-zine today is no exception.



HOW TO GIVE A REALLY BAD SPEECH

As Yogi Berra used to say "You can learn a lot from watching". Well I've been watching people make speeches for over thirty years, and many of them were fantastic. Some were just average. A few were - well, utterly dreadful would not be too harsh a description. So I've come up with a checklist of how to give a really bad speech. Here it is.


Start badly
Not know how to use the microphone or other technology
Have a confusing message (or no message at all)
Patronise the audience
Read from a script
Turn your back on the audience
Try to tell jokes
Use jargon or technical language
Run out of time
End poorly

No prizes for guessing what you have to do to give a really good speech.




"This information was written by Alan Stevens, and originally appeared in "The MediaCoach", his free weekly ezine, available at www.mediacoach.co.uk."

Jonathan Ross On Leicester Square Television

London, UK

The LSQ "fan-cam" was at the BAFTA'S and caught up with presenter Jonathan Ross and his wife Jane.

Jonathan Ross At The BAFTAS

London, UK

Presenter "Wossy" made his Twitter pledge at the BAFTAS last night. This from PA:

How To Be A Versatile Radio Reporter

London, UK

This story reminds me of the time I had to deliver a voicer from a train for Capital Gold some years ago. The reason - signal problems at Swindon.

Screen Nation Awards on LSQ TV

London, UK

My two gorgeous co-presenters at Leicester Square Television, Catherine Whale and Claire Bueno were at the Screen Nation Awards last night. Here's the clip

Clarkson - "Brown is an idiot"

London, UK

Clarksongate rumbles on. Presenter Jeremy Clarkson may have apologised about the Prime Minister's loss of sight in one-eye and his ethnicity but not for the "idiot" remark.

How To Contact A Famous Presenter

London, UK

On Twitter of course. Top presenter Jeremy Clarkson may prove to be more popular than Wossy and Stephen Fry.

David Beckham Will Be Missed In L.A.

London, UK

David Beckham will be missed in L.A. according to Perez Hilton

Rawhide

London, UK

Something to enjoy this weekend:

BBC Presenter In Gaffe

London, UK

BBC TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has made another gaffe. At a press conference in Sydney (where he's filming) he suggested that Prime Minister Gordon Brown was a "one-eyed Scottish idiot". You may feel that's a fairly unpleasant thing to say about the PM and he rightly apologised afterwards.

So another BBC presenter says something he shouldn't have. Why can't people handle themselves with a bit more dignity instead of behaving like unruly schoolchildren? Perhaps the BBC would be better off with a presenter whose up-and-coming.



Jeremy Clarkson

BBC Sack Thatcher

London, UK

The Carol Thatcher story appears to be turning into a major fuss and you can read about it here in the Mail on-line.

Iain Dale will be discussing the matter on BBC Radio 4 in a couple of hours time. He's already written this blog post on the subject.

Sacha Bennett On Leicester Square Television

London, UK

My co-presenter at LSQ TV, Claire Bueno interviewed the writer/producer Sacha Bennett. His latest film "Tuesday" has a DVD release on February 23rd. Tuesday is all about a heist that goes wrong and stars Philip Glenister and Kevin McNally.

How To Present Technology

London, UK

Hermione Way's Techfluff TV appears to be getting it right. Her daily updates are certainly worth watching.

BBC Presenter on Twitpic

London, UK

Another well known Twitterer(@ruskin147)and BBC presenter, Rory Cellan-Jones just added this photo to Twitpic a few moments ago. As you can see Rory is in the studio.

Communication Is The Key

London, UK

Business Magazine has run an article about Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP. In it Sir Martin outlines the importance of communication on a business and personal level. He says:

To be successful you need to know how to handle the difficult stuff. It’s easy to make money when the tide is rising. In the 1990s you could be a success by simply walking into the office and standing up. It’s not like that now. Some people have the desire to start a business. Others are passionate about growing a business but it’s unusual to be both things. But that’s what I’ve done.

Sir Martin has featured on this site before. Read this.



Ed. My father worked for Sir Martin's father many years ago.

The Awesome Power of Twitter

London, UK

Here's a picture taken just a few minutes ago (23.05) of comedian David Walliams. He was just leaving the Jonathan Ross household, apparently. The BBC presenter is certainly enthusiastic about Twitter.

Presenter Centre

London, UK

For some time I, along with other presenters, use the Presenter Centre as an effective way of self-marketing.

Kate Garraway to present..............

London, UK

..........."The Biggest Loser". Not a show about someone's pension fund but a new TV series about losing weight. Lovely Kate has been chosen to present the new show according to Digital Spy. Read the report here.



Photos from the Daily Mail

Jonathan Ross To Face Pay Cut?

London, UK

Looks as though the credit crunch has caught up at the BBC. BBC presenters like Jonathan Ross may have to settle for a reduced annual wage. Wossy, as he's affectionately known on Twitter, is reported to be earning around £6M. This story is going around the internet like wildfire and a number of bloggers have expressed their opinions.

Do You Twitter?

London, UK

According to this report, Twitter is the place to network in 2009. Do you agree?

Paris Hilton in London

London, UK

Celebrity star Paris Hilton was seen in London today and the Leicester Square Television "fan-cam" caught up with her Covent Garden earlier today.

This notice was added to the You Tube piece.

Flash Alert1 Flash Alert!
A tip-off from a buddy had me racing to the Covent Garden Hotel to get some footage of the internet's favourite blond heiress. Paris Hilton was surrounded by dozens of paps, crews, snappers, curious tourists and me for the few seconds it took to get from the hotel door into here personalised pink taxicab to head off somewhere nice. It was a crush with no barrier or carpet. See for yourself, watch the film. Then it was a quick trip home to edit and publish. Hope you enjoy!

Russell Brand Joins Twitter

London, UK

Russell Brand has joined Twitter. Will you be one of his followers?



Why Russell has chosen "Rustyrockets" as a screen name is beyond me. Must have something to do with his childhood in Grays, Essex.

Top Television Boxing Commentator Dies

London, UK

Just a few days ago, we lost David Vine and now Reg Gutteridge has gone at the age of 84. Here's the Daily Telegraph report.

Ulrika Jonsson Wins Big Brother

London, UK

So the lovely Ulrika Jonsson wins Celebrity Big Brother. Does anyone actually care?

The lovely Ulrika has, of course, been featured on the blog in the past.

The Australian Disease

London, UK

What's your solution to the problem which has been thrust upon us from Australia? Would you agree that Correct Usage of English lessons for our friends who visit us from downunder?

Going Up at the End of Sentences

Tom Cruise at the Premiere of Valkyrie

London, UK

Tom Cruise was in town earlier this week for the Premiere of Valkyrie. As ever, the Leicester Square Television "fan-cam" was there to capture the man himself.

TV Presenting Under Pressure

London, UK

What do you think about this BBC3 story on news presenter Tasmin Lucia Khan?

One must stay calm and breathe correctly, even when things go wrong!

Jonathan Ross back on BBC tomorrow night

London, UK

But according to this report his show, which was recorded today, the presenter seemed to make light of his three month ban.

I guess we'll all have to make up our minds when the show is broadcast tomorrow night on BBC1.

The Golden Rules for TV Journalists

London, UK

You may agree that any presenting performance, whether it be on television or not, can use the points outlined in this article. It appeared in the "Independent" and was written by Laura Trevelyan, the BBC correspondent.

FindArticles - HE TAUGHT ME THE GOLDEN RULE OF TV JOURNALISM: 'SIMPLIFY - THEN
Independent, The (London), May 28, 2007, by LAURA TREVELYAN

Barack Obama's Inauguration Coverage

London, UK

There'll be plenty of coverage of Tuesday's Presidential Inauguration. As you would expect, the BBC are providing these viewing opportunities

Alan Caruba is a top US political commentator. Here's his take on tomorrow's proceedings.

UPDATE

Just seen this blog post

BBC Television Bloopers

London, UK

Continuing the theme of television presenter cock-up's and so on, here's some clips from "BBC VT". This video series was made by technicians at the BBC. Suggestive and raunchy in parts, I suggest you take a look quickly before they are removed by You Tube.

Some classic BBC unedited out takes from the late 70's, with many that have not been shown on TV at all. They are part of an internal video, that was done in late 1979 for the staff at Christmas. The video technicians have also played about with some adverts and news items of the time, plus various stars/artists have joined in with some comedy sketches. Enjoy some magic moments! There is a fair bit of bad language in parts.
Including clips from/with Dr Who, Mary Whitehouse, Swap Shop, The Goodies, Patrick Moore, Dr Who, Are You Being Served,Terry and June.

Do not watch if swearing and brief nudity offend.

George W. Bush On Public Speaking

London, UK


Next week Barack Obama replaces George Dubya at The White House. We're gonna miss you George!

George Bushisms & his public speaking
Uploaded by Venom_Supremacy

BBC TV Weather Presenter Loses His Cool

London, UK

BBC weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker loses his cool. IMHO, a presenter must be cool, calm and collected.

Look we're all human and mistakes occur from time to time. The best remedy for ensuring you are ready to give a presentation, speech, piece to camera or radio news report is to be prepared.

Remember the Scout's motto. "Be Prepared"

BAFTA Awards

London, UK

Here's the press release about the BAFTA awards:

NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED



Slumdog Millionaire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button have each received 11 nominations for the Orange British Academy Film Awards in 2009.

The Dark Knight has 9 nominations and Changeling has 8 nominations.

Frost/Nixon has 6 nominations, The Reader has 5 and In Bruges, Milk and Revolutionary Road all have 4 nominations each.

Slumdog Millionaire has been nominated in the categories Best Film, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Music, Production Design, Sound and Outstanding British Film. Danny Boyle is nominated for Director, Dev Patel is nominated for Leading Actor and Freida Pinto receives a nomination as Supporting Actress.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has been nominated for Best Film, Director for David Fincher, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Costume Design, Editing, Make Up & Hair, Music, Production Design and Special Visual Effects. Brad Pitt is a double nominee: he features in Leading Actor for his role as Benjamin Button and Supporting Actor for Burn After Reading. Tilda Swinton is nominated in the Supporting Actress category for Burn After Reading, and the film also receives an Original Screenplay nomination.

The late Heath Ledger is nominated for Supporting Actor for The Dark Knight. The film’s other nominations are: Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, Editing, Make Up & Hair, Music, Sound and Special Visual Effects.

Angelina Jolie has been nominated for her Leading Actress performance in Changeling. The film has also been nominated for Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Costume Design, Editing, Production Design and Sound, with Clint Eastwood receiving a Director nomination.

Ron Howard is nominated for Director for Frost/Nixon. The film is nominated for Best Film, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Make Up & Hair and the film’s Nixon, Frank Langella, receives a nomination for Leading Actor.

The Reader has been nominated for Best Film, Director for Stephen Daldry, Adapted Screenplay and Cinematography. Its star, Kate Winslet, is nominated for Leading Actress. Kate is nominated a second time for Leading Actress for her performance in Revolutionary Road, which is also nominated for Adapted Screenplay, Costume Design and Production Design.

Sean Penn’s performance as Harvey Milk has received a Leading Actor nomination. Milk has also been nominated for Best Film, Original Screenplay and Make Up & Hair.

In Bruges has been nominated for Original Screenplay, Editing, Supporting Actor for Brendan Gleeson and Outstanding British Film.

Also nominated for Outstanding British Film alongside Slumdog Millionaire and In Bruges are Man on Wire and Hunger and Mamma Mia!, which has also been nominated for Music. Judy Craymer, the producer of Mamma Mia!, Simon Chinn the producer of Man on Wire, Steve McQueen, director/writer of Hunger, Solon Papadopoulos and Roy Boulter who produced Of Time and the City and Garth Jennings, writer of Son of Rambow have all been nominated for The Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their First Feature Film.

Doubt received three performance nominations: Leading Actress for Meryl Streep, Supporting Actor for Philip Seymour Hoffman and Supporting Actress for Amy Adams. Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei were nominated for Leading Actor and Supporting Actress for The Wrestler. Robert Downey Jr. is nominated for Supporting Actor for Tropic Thunder and Penélope Cruz is nominated for Supporting Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Wall•E has been nominated for Music, Sound and Animated Film. The other Animated Film nominees, Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir are both nominated for Film Not in the English Language alongside The Baader Meinhof Complex, Gomorrah and I’ve Loved You So Long.

I’ve Loved You So Long also receives nominations for Original Screenplay and for Kristin Scott Thomas for Leading Actress.

The Duchess received nominations for Costume Design and Make Up & Hair.

Nominated for Special Visual Effects alongside The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Dark Knight are: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Iron Man and Quantum of Solace, which also received a Sound nomination.

The nominees for the Orange Rising Star Award, announced earlier this month, are Michael Cera, Noel Clarke, Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Hall and Toby Kebbell. This audience award is voted for by the British public and presented to an actor or actress who has demonstrated exceptional talent and promise.

The Orange British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday 8 February at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.

Motivational Speaker

London, UK

This guy would motivate any audience wouldn't he:

Geoff Burch and Public Speaking

London, UK

Most delegates who attended my Communicate With Clarity cold-calling seminars were delighted to have heard Geoff Burch speak. He was entertaining, amusing but above all inspirational. I'm hoping to get Geoff along to speak at another event later in 2009 but you'll be interested to know that I'll be holding more Communicate With Clarity events very shortly.

(Geoff Burch is represented by Specialist Speakers )

Tom Cruise to appear with Jonathan Ross

London, UK

You maybe aware that tv presenter Jonathan Ross is back on air, Friday week, January 23rd. Joining him on his BBC chat show are comedian Lee Evans, Stephen Fry and Hollywood star, Tom Cruise.
Question is, will Wossy (as he calls himself on Twitter) be as popular as he was before his three-month ban?

Top Sports Presenter Dies

London, UK

Top Sports Presenter, Davis Vine has died from a heart attack. David was one of those sports presenters one grew up with on the television. As you can imagine the tributes have been pouring in. Read here and here

Weekend Media Blog Grab

London, UK

Ellee Seymour on the changing face of Britain's High Streets

Just Like My Dreams on the Carlos Tevez affair

Top caricaturist Simon Ellinas on Jonathan Ross, who apparently is stalking him on Twitter.

Melanie Phillips on human shields in Gaza.

Speaking coach Lisa Braithwaite on your voice. Lisa was guest blogger at Jeremy Jacobs.Com early last year. She wrote about public-speaking fear.

And finally, the Guardian outlines which films could be winners at the Golden Globe awards. One of them is Frost/Nixon which had its UK Premiere at the London Film Festival. My co-presenter at Leicester Square Television, Catherine Whale covered the event.