Auckland Mayoral hopeful John Palino made a critical media mistake after his last bid for the job three years ago. When the whole Len Brown affair became public and people questioned his role in bringing it to people’s attention, he went to ground. He was in Melbourne, issued a few brief press releases denying involvement and turned off his cell phone, meaning reporters couldn’t contact him. Palino has always had a clear message on this. He did meet Bevan Chuang in...

The decision by Labour MPs to tell personal stories to highlight their new ‘Kiwi Dream’ message is a good idea, but more needs to be done. The use of personal stories is by far the best way to get a point across to live audiences. It’s also good with media, but must be far briefer in this format. Very few leaders use personal stories in live presentations, but prefer to list point after point after point. This is not only boring,...

This week’s saga about Steven Joyce’s coverage on John Oliver’s show in the US raises an important point about public figures using humour in the media. It can be risky for politicians to use humour purely because what’s funny to one person can be highly offensive to someone else. Who can forget John Key’s comment last year when he was asked if he would mention to the Chilean President that prison escaper Phillip Smith was in town. He said he would...

Should Malakai Fekitoa have shared his anger problem with his 173000 Instagram followers? Opinion is mixed. There is no blanket rule on this, but a number of things must be taken into account before deciding what to do. The place where it should be the only option is as a pre-emptive strike. I’m not suggesting that is why Fekitoa did it, but if you think someone will go public against you, you’re best to get on the front foot and release...

The Greens appear to be moving into the centre of politics while Labour take a step to the left if recent comments and policy announcements are any indication. All political parties need a clear and simple message to communicate when it comes to elections. The theme of their message should be reflected by their policies. National is always focused on the economy and claims itself the most responsible economic manager. This is why so many of John Key’s speeches are focused...

The content of John Key’s State of the Nation speech highlights an important point when it comes to presentations attended by the media. How many times have you attended a speech by a respected leader, only to find it a complete bore and you remember little, if any of the content. This is usually because most people try to cram as much information into their speaking slot as possible, often spending more time focused on their PowerPoint slides than the audience....

The integration of MediaWorks into a single news hub has implications for media spokespeople that are becoming more prominent in the digital age. Because the service will be operating 24/7 and include the most up-to-date and breaking news, the need for speed among relevant spokespeople will become even more vital when media scrutiny comes your way. What this means is that reporters will be under pressure to get stories out as quickly as possible, meaning they won’t wait too long for...

So many of my clients come to me after a bad experience with the media. This is either a media interview that didn’t go as they hoped, or some bad publicity they received after a negative event. I so often hear: “I wish I had done this training before, then I would have dealt with the incident so much better.” Most leaders believe they will never need to deal with media scrutiny, that’s always going to be someone else. This remains...

Sporting stars have a huge opportunity during their playing days to profit from endorsements and set themselves up for life after they hang up their boots. Most don’t take advantage of this, while some lose the chance by doing something stupid that limits their appeal among potential employers or sponsors. Chris Gayle needs to apologise genuinely to the sports reporter he embarrassed on live television a few nights ago to avoid risking his future opportunities. His best approach would have been...

The post-match interview can be a stressful time for elite sportspeople, particularly those who have never had any form of media training. The best way to master this is practice, but there are a few mistakes I see regularly that can easily be fixed. The first one is the assumption that this form of interview is strictly a Q and A with the reporter. You are best to answer questions, but only if you are comfortable doing so. In 99 percent...