GET OUT OF MY FACEBOOK
The influence of social media continues to increase, with the Facebook phenomenon receiving widespread 'old media' coverage. An unexpected side-effect is that hitherto disparate individuals have been handed a powerful tool to co-ordinate protest quickly and easily against large organisations in the public eye.

HSBC felt the impact when what might have been a minor change in terms of one of its accounts became a worldwide story, after angry students set up a Facebook group to campaign to reverse the bank's decision to withdraw an interest-free overdraft period for recent graduates, potentially costing each student over £100. The bank was technically within its rights, but with the clear perception of a breach of trust and hundreds of students joining the Facebook protest every day, HSBC was forced to reverse its position after floods of negative publicity. The result: considerable reputational damage – particularly among the student community which the banks are so keen to woo. Without Facebook as a rallying point the student protest might never have got off the ground, particularly during the long summer vacation.

Meanwhile, at around the same time, London tube commuters were getting in on the act, forming anti-Bob Crow and RMT Facebook groups after strikes made their journeys unbearable. These incidents won't be the last. The message is clear: high profile organisations making potentially controversial decisions will have to anticipate this kind of response and be much more prepared with their media messages to counter the negative PR – rather than being taken completely by surprise.

GETTING MORE OUT OF THE BUSINESS PAGES
The City Editors are notoriously hard to impress – they've seen and heard it all before from Britain's most respected bosses (as well as a fair few chancers). With the daily grind of quarterly figures, IPO's and bids and deals it is very hard to stand out, and easy to botch the opportunity to impress.

We can now offer a special half-day course, aimed at further sharpening up the skills of those who have already been through the initial media training. 'Impressing the City Editors' is for those who want to gain or improve their coverage in the business sections (as well as experienced PR teams looking to improve their hit-rate). Including a series of practical interviews and feedback, it is run by David Parsley, formerly of the Sunday Times business section and founder-editor of City AM. Topics covered include:

• The news marketplace – How the city pages work
• How to improve your chances of selling in a story. When should you go exclusive?
• The City section agenda – It’s what they think makes a story that matters
• The Interview Transaction – What to watch out for and how to impress

Call or e-mail us for further information.

CALLING ALL DIPLOMATS
Emotive language is very powerful – it's why TV reporters use words like 'fiasco' for anything from Gordon Brown pulling his autumn election plans at the last minute, to a poor profits announcement from a FTSE company. Reporters are so used to bland corporate language, that when somebody uses blunt, 'honest' terms, it can become big news. Gerald Ratner still rues the day sixteen years ago when he 'jokingly' called one of his products 'crap' at the Institute of Directors conference.

More recently the new BP boss Tony Hayward saw his share price fall sharply after he briefed staff that forthcoming operating figures would be 'dreadful'. Meanwhile in the Northern Rock affair, you knew that as soon as the news bulletins started quoting sources as saying there was 'no need to panic' the queues would soon be forming outside the branches.

The key for interviewees is not to repeat negative language (which has often only been introduced by the journalist), but to be more diplomatic – 'I want to reassure all our customers that we have more than adequate funds available.. ' etc. If the debate is solely about whether to panic or not, the battle is already lost.

TOO-QUOTABLE QUOTES?
In similar vein, the 'quotable quote' is always appreciated – the commentator or spokesperson who has a lively entertaining way of making the point, rather than a long-winded, pedestrian way. Just ensure the quotable quote is actually the point you want the reporter to pick up.

The private equity executive who remarked on the stupidity of a system which meant his cleaning lady was paying more tax than he was on his investment returns, almost single-handedly ignited the debate against 'private equity fat-cats' which led to a mauling of the chief executive of the British Venture Capital Association by the Treasury Select Committee (he resigned two days later), and the subsequent proposals by Chancellor Alastair Darling to remove taper relief on Capital Gains tax.

AUTUMN PRESENTATION TIP
Know your objective. Be very clear why you are presenting, and what you want the audience to do after hearing your presentation. Gear your content to this objective, omitting anything that doesn’t help towards your goal, and keep it in mind as you speak.

Don't be afraid to reinforce your key points - most of your specific information will be forgotten by the audience a day or a week later, so ensure the 'audience takeaway' is what you want it to be. You can do this by bringing in supporting evidence with phrases such as ' another example of the damage this can cause is .. ' or 'This will also apply in situations where ... ' and so on.

Remember people are more likely to retain what you say at the beginning and the end of your presentation, so ensure your introduction is lively and your conclusions are clear and targeted to that objective.

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