I ran across some truly hilarious examples of desperately awful speaking to the media on YouTube. The series is a set of short clips, beginning with Media Coaching Example #1, in which a beauty contest competitor answers … well, tries to answer…a question about poor educational standards in the United States. It's deliciously ironic that although she is talking she makes no sense. The advice? Be prepared. Media Coaching Example #2 shows how long, rambling explanations can lose one's audience. The advice? Keep it simple. The third example, Media Coaching Example #3 had to be developed by an engineer – it shows a highly technical person showing off his product by referring to impossibly arcane features of a bit of machinery. The advice? Avoid jargon! Media Coaching Example #4 (this can't be real, can it?) features a newscaster who loses it when his TelePrompter gives trouble. Suggestion here – stay cool! The fifth suggestion, take your time, is illustrated by a serious-sounding gent trying to explain what a digital marketplace is. And the last one, Media Coaching Example #6 shows an executive at a shipping company awkwardly defending the quality of his ships in light of a maritime misadventure.
It was particularly interesting to see the actual poor practices the author advises against illustrated. A good takeaway for any of us who have to do public speaking!