Lisa Elia

How to Commit to Your Word and Yourself

Thursday, May 29, 2014 | Business Tips, Communication, Messaging

Much is said about committing to your word in business. It’s always been important and has become increasingly so in today’s transparent world.

While most of us want to keep our word every day, we sometimes set ourselves up for failure by promising too much, too soon. When working with the media, your team, or your clients, your word is everything!

Committing to your word:

If a new project or opportunity comes along, think about whether or not you really want to do it. If you don’t, you’ll have trouble sticking with it and honoring your commitments. If you don’t light up at the thought of taking on a project, let it go and leave room and time for the things that will. My experience in my business has been that when we pass on what’s not right for us and refer those people to other firms, great new clients appear.

Once you’ve taken on a project, commit to it 100%. (Obvious, yes, but does it always happen?) Anticipate that there may be some unforeseen delays when estimating delivery times on your projects so you can provide a realistic timeframe to your clients. Even with the best intentions, things can happen that make it impossible for you to deliver on a promise or meet a deadline–natural disasters, power outages, flight delays. If you can’t keep your word to someone, explain why you can’t do so, preferably before they expect you to deliver on your promise. People are usually more understanding when they’re told what’s going on. If you’re thinking that you just don’t feel like doing something you’ve committed to, consider this:

Would the other party be happy to change the commitment? Sometimes that person you’re supposed to meet for dinner is just as tired as you and is hoping you’ll cancel. Call and discuss it.

2. Why don’t you want to keep your commitment? Have you changed your goals? Are there other changes in your life that make it impossible to do so? Or, are you just taking the easy way out?

3. What happens if you don’t keep your commitment? Will you disappoint someone? Will you disappoint yourself?

4. How will you feel if you commit to something and really go for it, full-on? What if you do whatever it takes to meet your commitments to others and yourself? How powerful and confident would you feel then?

When you think about the commitments you make, whether or not you keep them, and how you honor them, remember that your word is really all you have. When people trust you because you’ve demonstrated that you keep your word, they will be more likely to give you money, business, referrals, friendship, and love.

Your word is like spiritual currency. Spend it wisely.

Here are a few other useful links:

Does the Way You Talk About Yourself Help or Hinder You https://expertmediatraining.com/the-way-you-talk-about-yourself/

Media Training Resources https://expertmediatraining.com/media-training-resources/

Frequently Asked Questions about Media Training https://expertmediatraining.com/faqs-about-media-training/

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Lisa Elia, Media Trainer, Presentation Trainer, and Communication Expert, and Founder of Expert Media Training This post was written by Lisa Elia, a media trainer, presentation trainer, pitch coach, communication expert, and speaker. She trains clients around the world for media interviews, speeches, internal and external presentations, panels, investor presentations, and promotional videos, and provides executive and team communication coaching.

With more than 25 years of experience, Lisa has prepared clients for interviews with TODAY, GMA, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, ESPN, and hundreds of other outlets. Lisa has shared her expertise with national media outlets that include Inc., Entertainment Tonight, E!, and many others. Clients include entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 companies, and everything in between as well as athletes, celebrities, and other public figures.

To arrange a complimentary consultation with Lisa, click here.

To learn more Lisa's online courses, click here.

How to Create an Online Media Page That Bookers Will Love

Saturday, December 28, 2013 | Media Relations

Most people who are in business or who are experts, authors, or entertainers, would love to be featured in, or on, major media outlets, not only so they can spread their messages to millions of people quickly, but because large media outlets have a trusted following. This “third-party endorsement” from the trusted editors, writers, and producers at the media outlets goes a long way in building their audiences’ trust in you and providing a third-party endorsement to your potential clients or customers!

If you want to see your face or words in the media, you need to know how to present your information the way the media want to see it. The first place most media members go to check you out is your website. Then, they will immediately look for an online media page where they hope to find everything they need to determine whether or not they to include you in an upcoming broadcast or article.

Following is a list of items to include on an online media page.

If you don’t have them all, just begin with the elements you do have, and continue to add components as you develop them.

• On your online media page, post the words “Media contact” followed by the name, email address, and phone number of the person who will handle calls and inquiries from the media on your behalf. It’s okay if it’s you.

Do not skip the phone number or email address here. Members of the media do not like to fill out online forms, and they frequently need to reach potential guests quickly. If they can’t call you, they may move on to someone who is more accessible.

• Include your biography and/or company backgrounder on your media page.

If you are an expert, you might only have a biography. If you have a company that exists beyond yourself, you might also have a company backgrounder.

• Your video reel or videos of you speaking should be near the top of your media page.

If you have not yet been interviewed on TV, you can include other videos of yourself speaking, to give the media an idea of how you come across. Be sure the quality is good and that you are talking about topics that are relevant to the way you are positioning yourself.

If you don’t have any videos yet and you have not obtained any prior media training, a few media training sessions with a seasoned media trainer will boost your clarity, confidence, and poise on camera. Just a couple of media training sessions can help you to capture the attention of television producers with your videos.

For experts or people who want to do a lot of demonstrations in the media, include video segments of you providing tips or information or doing demonstrations. If you can make these segments downloadable from your media page for news producers to capture and include in news segments, you’ll have an advantage over your competition.

Be sure your video content is viewable on your website and on your media page: don’t use links that will lead people away from your site and onto YouTube, Vimeo, or elsewhere. If your videos are hosted on YouTube or Vimeo, you can create a playlist and embed it onto your website. This would allow members of the media to watch several videos of you, within one small frame on your page. I use Vimeo Plus so that I can have my videos on my site, without the Vimeo logo and without other people’s videos being shown following mine, as YouTube videos often do.

• An audio reel or links to audio interviews can also be included on your media page.

If you have not yet been interviewed on the radio, but decide to include other audio recordings, such as those from teleseminars, only include top-quality content. You may want to edit it to capture only the best parts of each teleseminar.

• On your media page, post a list of topics you can discuss, and story or segment ideas.

Conduct some research to determine what has already been covered extensively in the media, and then think of some topics that are compelling.

To get a sense of how to write your list of topics, look at media outlets’ websites, the covers of magazines, and other print media, and pay attention to the way guests are announced on the TV and radio shows where you would like to be featured. One of the topics or segment ideas on your list may be the very reason a member of the media decides to create a TV segment or article featuring you.

• Include links to press releases, news clippings, and articles you have authored on your media page.

If you include links to the media outlets’ sites, check them frequently: many media outlets regularly move content on their sites.

• Create interesting fact sheets for your media page.

To increase your chances of gaining media coverage include a fact sheet(s) on your media page that includes background information on topics related to your area of expertise, relevant facts and statistics from universities and research institutes, and professional associations. Be sure to use reputable sources, such as top universities or institutions, for the data you include in your fact sheets, and be sure to credit all sources. It is good to include a link to the source of the information, so a member of the press who wants to quickly verify it can do so.

•If your work includes creating transformations of any kind, whether you transform environments or people, include before-and-after images in your downloadable photo gallery. Just make sure you have the right to publish all the photos you use.

• Authors should include a link to a book one-sheet on their media pages.

This document usually contains a one- to two-paragraph description of your book with bullet points of the major topics covered in the book, top reviews for the book, a photo of the book cover, a photo of yourself, and a brief paragraph about you (approximately one or two paragraphs). Include the publishing information, ISBN number, price, publishing date, and stores or sites where the book is available.

• Testimonials can be included on your media page but be sure to only include those that don’t sound too salesy.

Put the most important elements above the fold, including your “media contact” information, video(s) of you, a photo of you, and at least a few sentences of your biography. For those who don’t know what “above the fold” means, it’s an expression that refers to a folded newspaper: the most important news was usually placed “above the fold”. On a web page, “above the fold” generally refers to whatever is visible before someone scrolls down.

The more you present yourself and your offerings in a professional, organized, and accessible manner, the more likely you will be to capture the attention of the media and keep them coming back to you.

Here are more links that you may find helpful.

For a Media Interview Checklist to keep on hand, click here.

This Glossary of Media Interview Terms will also be useful: https://expertmediatraining.com/media-interview-terms-from-los-angeles-media-trainer

Prepare for TV Interviews BEFORE You Book One. Click here to read this post.

Would you like more tips and articles delivered straight to your inbox?

Click here.

To arrange a complimentary consultation with Lisa, click here.

To learn more Lisa's online courses, click here.

The Language of Your Brand in Media Interviews

Thursday, October 24, 2013 | Branding

Branding is a hot topic in business and in media training and presentation training.

The Language of Your Brand, blog post by Media Trainer and Presentation Trainer Lisa Elia The brand has grown to extend far beyond its origins, when a brand was the insignia used primarily to mark cattle and products that craftspeople made.

True branding extends far beyond logos and the colors and fonts and design elements you use on your website, social media pages and products, although these are very important. People respond to a good brand in a visceral, emotional way. When you receive media training, your trainer should help your personal brand to come through.

A focus on your brand in media interviews is a part of any good media training session.

The brand of your company or organization, and/or you as a person, should be clear and come across every time you give an interview or make a presentation.

Because evolved people don’t live by pictures alone, the “language of your brand” is just as important as the visual elements, and sometimes even more so. Yet, most people don’t give nearly as much thought to the language of their brand as they do the visual elements.

What is the language of your brand in media interviews?

Quite often, people will experience your brand solely through words. When people talk about you, your company, or your services or products, they will use words. A print interview that you give will rely solely on the words that you speak.

The words people choose to describe you will come partly from the experience they have had with you and partly from the very words you have said or written.

In your media training sessions and message development sessions, focusing on the language of your brand in interviews will give you a great sense of clarity before your interviews.

Any time you speak about yourself or your company, even in something as seemingly mundane as a quick phone call or a one-on-one meeting, you’re conveying your brand. Of course, when you speak from a stage or through social media or traditional media (e.g., TV, radio or print interviews), you’re transmitting your brand to masses of people simultaneously, but you can still do it in a way that feels personal.

The language of your brand goes far beyond having a good elevator pitch or introductory phrase that you and your team use when you meet people. It’s also much more than a list of descriptions that you or your staff read off of a page when explaining what you do.

What are the words, phrases and explanations that you and your entire team use to convey your brand in media interviews and in every interaction, from the way your phone is answered and problems are handled, to the way you interact with people at functions when you think no one is watching, to the way you interact with your staff or your team members?

What are the words or phrases you will use that will stick in people’s heads and reach their hearts?

Your brand in media interviews is conveyed in everything you do before, during, and after the interview.

Acronyms and Abbreviations in Media Interviews and Speeches

Friday, October 18, 2013 | Communication, Media Training, Public Speaking

The use of acronyms and abbreviations seems to have increased significantly over the past decade, primarily due to the growth of texting and the shrinking of sentences to fit within Twitter’s character limits.

The use of acronyms and abbreviations in media interviews or speeches can often create confusion, turn people off and, possibly, make you appear less eloquent than you are.

The difference between acronyms and abbreviations:

An acronym is pronounced like a word and is generally comprised of the first letter of each word in a phrase. Example: SWOT (which stands for “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats”).
An abbreviation consists of the first letter of each word in a phrase or name, but each letter is pronounced individually. Example: D.I.Y. (which stands for “do it yourself”).

Of course, the above acronym and abbreviation could each have other meanings, but these are among the most common meanings for them. This brings me to the first of my tips for using acronyms and abbreviations effectively in media interviews or speeches:

1. Avoid using acronyms or abbreviations that could easily be confused with more commonly known ones. For example, if my team and I referred to our company as “E.M.T.”, rather than Expert Media Training™, a large percentage of people would be confused because “E.M.T.” is commonly used to describe an “emergency medical technician”. The difference is vast: if there’s a speech emergency I can help you, but you probably don’t want me intubating you.

2. Avoid using abbreviations or acronyms that may not be known to the majority of your audience. If you are in a media interview or giving a speech that will last more than a few minutes, and you plan on using an abbreviation to refer to something with a long name, explain this the first time you mention the full name associated with the abbreviation. This should be practiced during your media training, so you become fluid with your delivery.

3. If you can create an acronym for a system you have created or something else you want people to remember, this can be very useful for marketing and for making you memorable. If you plan to use the acronym in a media interview or speech, explain what it means early on.

4. In broadcast interviews or speeches, don’t use abbreviations that contain more syllables than the words themselves. Example: using “G.W.P.” (5 syllables) instead of “gift with purchase” (4 syllables). You could probably get away with this in an article you author, but this kind of “marketing speak” rarely impresses people.

5. If, during an interview or speech, you use abbreviations that are replacements for slang expressions, like “LOL” or “OMG”, know that this will convey a certain image of you. If you use these facetiously, it will shape your image in a different way.

6. If you use too many acronyms or abbreviations throughout your interview or speech, people may think you spend too much time texting and not enough time working…unless you work in social media, perhaps.

7. Choose your acronyms and abbreviations as consciously as you would other words and phrases, and you should be fine. I was tempted to use a lot of acronyms here, but I didn’t want you to TIWAJ. (I’ll let your imagination work on what TIWAJ could mean.)

For more media training and presentation training tips provided by Media Trainer Lisa Elia, the founder of Expert Media Training™, visit https://expertmediatraining.com/blog

What the Media Want – Video Interview with a Media Member

Monday, October 7, 2013 | Interview Skills, Media Interview Tips, Media Relations, Media Training, Media Training for Actors

One of the most interesting things I’ve had the pleasure of doing is to interview members of the media about what they seek in guests to interview and what they think potential guests and interviewees should do to get featured in large media outlets.

The video below is from an interview I conducted at my Meet the Media Day event, with Nicole Dorsey Straff, who had been on the launch team as managing editor of Fit Magazine, spent years as Fitness magazine’s west coast editor, and is now at ValueClick Brands. In this video, Nicole touches on what the media want, how to get featured in large media outlets, and more.

Watch the video below to learn what the media want and to learn how to get featured in large media outlets.

If you want to share what the media want with your friends, you can do so by using the share buttons below.

If you want additional tips on how to get featured in large media outlets and information about what the media want, read some of the other blog posts by Media Trainer Lisa Elia:

Top 10 Media Relations Tips – Media Training Tips from a Media Trainer

https://expertmediatraining.com/media-training-tips-for-good-media-relations/

Media Interview Checklist

https://expertmediatraining.com/media-interview-checklist-from-a-media-trainer/

How to Create an Online Press Room that the Media Will Love

https://expertmediatraining.com/online-press-room-tips-from-media-trainer/

Would you like more tips and articles delivered straight to your inbox?

Click here.

To arrange a complimentary consultation with Lisa, click here.

To learn more Lisa's online courses, click here.

Present yourself as vital and ever evolving.

Monday, September 16, 2013 | Business Tips, Messaging

LE-quote-Present-yourself-as-vital “Present yourself as vital and ever evolving, and people will be magnetized to you.”

When I wrote these words, I was in deep thought about the qualities and actions that attract people, in preparation for the free teleseminar that I held last year.

When people show that they are continuously evolving, they capture the attention of others. Businesses are the same because, after all, businesses are the creations of people.

Vital. Here’s why you want to be vital. These definitions came from Dictionary.com:

“of or pertaining to life.
having remarkable energy, liveliness, or force of personality.
being the seat or source of life.
necessary to life.
necessary to the existence, continuance, or well-being of something; indispensable; essential.”

Who wouldn’t want even one of these descriptions to suit them?

Here’s some quick “thinkwork” you can do.

Think of at least one way that you — or your business, or your music or art or books — can be seen as “vital” to your customers, clients or fans.

Consider how you can continue to evolve and to let others know about it. People want to see what’s coming next. Entice them, lead them, excite them.

How to Communicate with Maturity

Thursday, September 5, 2013 | Communication

Communicating with Maturity blog post by Media Trainer and Presentation Trainer Lisa Elia We hear so much about authenticity and transparency and accountability. All of these are felt by others through our communication. What it really comes down to is maturity.

Communicating with maturity is very simple.

Here are some tips on how to communicate with maturity:

It includes taking responsibility for one’s actions and for the promises one makes, and communicating clearly when you cannot deliver on your promises due to extenuating circumstances.

Communicating with maturity is communicating with thoughtfulness and the knowledge that there are consequences that come when certain words are spoken.

Communicating with maturity results in fewer disagreements and less drama in life.

Communicating with maturity requires strength, clarity, and self-knowledge, and it is the most freeing way to communicate.

For additional communication tips, check out my Confident and Clear Communication program.

Video Engagement Tips from a Media Trainer and PR Expert

Wednesday, April 24, 2013 | Media Relations, On-camera, Video

Prepare for TV Interviews – Tips from a Media Trainer

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 | Interview Skills, Media Training

I was on Entertainment Tonight recently, sharing my PR and media training expertise.

This was my fourth segment with ET, and the show producers had called me two other times when I wasn’t able to tape the segments due to scheduling conflicts. However, I believe that one of the reasons the producers have called me so much is that I’m easy to work with.

As a media trainer, I offer you these tips to prepare for TV interviews:

1. If you are positioning yourself as an expert, stay up on research, trends and news related to your field and think about how to articulate various aspects of your work so that you can easily answer questions about it. If you have not had media training yet, do not wait until the day before you have an interview. Get it as soon as you begin to think about putting yourself into the public eye so that you have time to work with your media trainer on creating clear responses to questions and on polishing your delivery.

2. Have your preparation ritual down, so that you can center yourself and get your energy up with very little notice. Quite often, you will receive requests for interviews that must take place within hours, or sometimes minutes. Having a good preparation ritual that you use to get in performance mode can give you the confidence to say “yes” to great opportunities, even when you are very busy.

Preparation rituals are included in all of our programs. When we have provided media training for actors or music artists, we have observed that they love our techniques, because they are based in acting training and movement training.

When we provide media training for athletes, they too appreciate the use of a quick preparation ritual, as most of them use them in their professional work.

3. Knowing that many media interviews come up very quickly (sometimes with less than 24 hours’ notice), have your wardrobe ready to go, have your hair cut and colored the way you want it, nails manicured, etc., at all times. This is the life of a public figure, which is what you become if you put yourself out into the public eye as an expert.

4. Try to accommodate last-minute media requests, if you can. If you say “no”, someone else will say “yes”.

Suze Orman skyrocketed into the public spotlight because she told the producers of The Oprah Winfrey Show that she could be an emergency guest. They asked her to fly in and sit in the front row so they could ask her a question: she answered it so much to Oprah’s liking that Oprah asked her back, and rest is history.

You can watch my interviews on Entertainment Tonight and learn more about the media interviews that have arisen for me as a media trainer and PR expert at https://expertmediatraining.com/press-room/.

To further prepare for TV interviews, use the quick list of items to have ready to go, which you can find on this blog post:

https://expertmediatraining.com/media-interview-checklist-from-a-media-trainer/

Here are some other links you may find useful in preparing for media interviews:

Media Training Resources

https://expertmediatraining.com/media-training-resources/

Top 10 Media Relations Tips – Media Training Tips

https://expertmediatraining.com/media-training-tips-for-good-media-relations/

Frequently Asked Questions about Media Training

https://expertmediatraining.com/faqs-about-media-training/

3 Bust-Out Business Growth Tactics

Thursday, April 4, 2013 | Business Tips

If you want to change your business quickly, quickly change some of the things you’re doing.

Business growth tip # 1:

Look for the hidden gems — products or services you can create easily or re-purpose.

Most business owners and executives overlook some of the very valuable services they could provide because they take their own knowledge for granted and, possibly, assume that “everyone knows that.”

Product-based companies can usually find new uses for their products or they can tweak them slightly to re-position them.

If you look at your current offerings and listen to what your customers/clients ask you for or praise you for, you will probably get some ideas for new products or services to add to your offering.

Don’t be afraid of a product that has a short shelf life if you can flood the market and achieve a high ROI. Not everything is meant to last forever.

Business growth tip # 2:

Conduct a monthly “awareness audit,” and amplify your presence.

Look at all of the places where you could easily let people know more about your products and services, add-ons and more. See if you could do more with:

Your email signature

The signature on your invoices

Every page of your web site (Is there a call to action on each?)

Your social media profiles and posts

Your business card

Videos you create

If you have a physical location, your signage and waiting area

Your outgoing voice mail message or hold music/message

Business growth tip # 3:

Create specific plans of action to meet the following groups of people and to make them aware of you:

Opinion Leaders: these are the people others look to as trendsetters, style leaders, and authorities.

Key Influencers: these are the people who are close to your target customers and who have the power to influence their buying decisions.

Members of the media who could interview you.

Speaking bookers or event organizers who could invite you to speak to members of your target audience.

If you focus on getting to know as few as 10 members of each of these groups each month, imagine how much more widely known you would be and how much potential new business you could be getting.

By reaching out in the right way, you could also secure press coverage and speaking engagements, which can bring you more business and visibility.

Here’s one way you can challenge yourself. Choose one of these strategies to focus on each week, over the next three weeks. Then, track any changes that occur in your business during that time and over the next three weeks.

Feel free to share your experience below or on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/expertmediatraining

I’d love to hear from you.

**Now that you have some business growth tactics, do you need tips and advice on media training and presentation training? Check out these links:**

Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid in Media Interviews

Top 10 Media Relations Tips – Media Training Tips from a Media Trainer

How to Create an Online Press Room That the Media Will Love

Media Training Tips on The Language of Your Brand in Media Interviews

Prepare for TV Interviews BEFORE You Book One

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Much is said about committing to your word in business. It’s always been important and has become increasingly so in today’s transparent world.

Committing to your word:

Your word is like spiritual currency. Spend it wisely.

Here are a few other useful links:

Following is a list of items to include on an online media page.

Branding is a hot topic in business and in media training and presentation training.

A focus on your brand in media interviews is a part of any good media training session.

What is the language of your brand in media interviews?

In your media training sessions and message development sessions, focusing on the language of your brand in interviews will give you a great sense of clarity before your interviews.

Your brand in media interviews is conveyed in everything you do before, during, and after the interview.

Watch the video below to learn what the media want and to learn how to get featured in large media outlets.

If you want to share what the media want with your friends, you can do so by using the share buttons below.

If you want additional tips on how to get featured in large media outlets and information about what the media want, read some of the other blog posts by Media Trainer Lisa Elia:

Here are some tips on how to communicate with maturity:

As a media trainer, I offer you these tips to prepare for TV interviews:

To further prepare for TV interviews, use the quick list of items to have ready to go, which you can find on this blog post:

Here are some other links you may find useful in preparing for media interviews:

Business growth tip # 1:

Look for the hidden gems — products or services you can create easily or re-purpose.

Business growth tip # 2:

Conduct a monthly “awareness audit,” and amplify your presence.

Business growth tip # 3:

Create specific plans of action to meet the following groups of people and to make them aware of you:

Now that you have some business growth tactics, do you need tips and advice on media training and presentation training? Check out these links:

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**Now that you have some business growth tactics, do you need tips and advice on media training and presentation training? Check out these links:**