Tag Archives: pitchcoach

Commanding body language.

As the country faces up to the dismal measures being taken to fend off near bankruptcy it must be tough being a politician. All the news is bad news. Keeping the proverbial ‘chin-up’ in public has never been so crucial. Credit is due to David Cameron.

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It was powerful body laguage that caterpaulted him to leadership of the Tory party with his “no notes” conference speech at Blackpool. It is his powerful and commanding body language, more than his words, that is enabling much of what the government has so far achieved. Comment in the Daily Mail talked about “an assured performance, from a politician wholly at ease with power”

Few politicians have this sense of command. In Britain no Prime Minister since Thatcher. Blair was a great communicator but never had the same command. Few world leaders have it.

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Obama certainly had it when he first came to power, his presence reinforced by his oratory. Under the scrutinyof what is proving a difficult day job he is losing it. Hilary Clinton on the other hand has grown from her defeat in the primaries to a commanding international figure and potential president.

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The global leader who really does command, transforming his country and winning the 2016 Olympic bid, by sheer presence and force of personality, is the Brazilian President, Lula da Silva.

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From the sublime to the unedifying Labour party leadership contest where none of the contestants exhibit an easy sense of command.Yvette Cooper, who seems to, might well have won had she stood.

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Threads of Feeling. A powerful story.

Next week a highly emotive exhibition opens at the Foundling museum. It is called Threads of Feeling and showcases fabrics never shown before to illustrate the moment of parting as mothers left their babies at the original Foundling Hospital

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In the cases of more than 4000 babies left between 1741 and 1760 a small piece of fabric was kept as an identifying record. Attached to registration forms and bound up into ledgers these pieces of fabric form the largest collection of everyday textiles surviving in Britain from the 18th century.

A selection of the textiles form the focus of the exhibition and the stories they tell us about individual babies, their mothers and their lives. As curator John Style says “The textiles are both beautiful and poignant, embedded in social history. Each swatch reflects the life of a single child.”

It will be a unique and fascinating exhibition and the pitchcoach relevance? The power of a great story to capture attention. Despite limited resource, editorial coverage has been achieved right across the spectrum from the Guardian and the Lady to FHM and the Sun, from BBC to Mumsnet and many more.

Also of relevance is my involvement with the Foundling museum. Do visit us! www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk

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Hungry Ed.

The media seemed ill prepared for Ed’s victory over his brother. The follow-up articles talked about David’s lifelong political ambition being thwarted and about Labour’s election procedure that allowed Ed to creep through on the union vote.

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There was less comment than might have been expected into the personality issues that may have given him the edge. He is apparently more at ease and charming than his brother. But is this something that would have influenced the unions? Unlikely.

For me the clue was apparent in a broadcast when all five candidates were facing an audience. The camera closed in on Ed Miliband responding to a strong challenge. His was not the cleverly worded reply of the master politician. It was one of naked aggression as he made his point, with unrestrained passion with no holding back.

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In any pitch, or interview, when there is nothing to separate the contestants, the one seen to be hungriest usually wins. David Miliband realised too late that his young brother was the hungry one.

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Performing at the top of your game.

At my regular early Sunday morning session with tennis coach Preston I was, for some reason, on fire! On my toes, relatively speaking, and middling it. Well most of the time. Concentration was easy, my mind surprisingly alert and focused but relaxed at the same time. In short I performed at the top of my game.

This was not planned or deliberate. It was a happy accident. This is not the case for top professionals in sport.

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Usain Bolt’s posturing at the start is not a casual act. Long before the race he will have stopped worrying about technique or the conditions or his competitors. In warm up he will have gone through his own well considered preparation, enabling him to arrive at that moment of truth, the start, in the right frame of mind. Totally relaxed, totally alert and even able to ‘act’ to undermine his rivals without loss of focus.

Few business people, who are also of course professionals, seem to take the Usain approach into the pitch. Constant revisions to content, late arrival of props or the frantic last minute rehearsal all work against the right frame of mind for giving a best performance!

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Pitching from the pulpit was simpler.

It must have been much simpler for religious leaders to communicate their message in the ‘good old days’. The days much loved by BBC costume drama when seemingly there was little to do save embroidery if you were a woman. The highlight of the week, shared by men and women, was the visit to church.

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Here the preacher was in full command. A pulpit from which to dominate. Worshippers who had no competing messages from radio, television or internet. No points of comparison. For them any preacher, great orator or poor, was the unchallenged authority. If mistakes were made no one outside the congregation knew of them.

Twenty First century life is not so simple. The BBC will have more people covering the Pope’s four day visit than the World Cup, some 400. Their interpretation of every word, nuance and gesture will be seen by the world. No wonder his communication advisers have issued these helpful, if somewhat bizarre, terms.

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The appalling idiot Pastor from Gainesville, with a congregation of less than 50, did not need any helpful tips to pitch his hate message globally. Not so simple?

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