VJs Power Blog

When former 49er Jerry Rice is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Aug. 7th, he will once again share his ideals and discipline with fans and colleagues about what it takes to be a truly successful performer—on ANY field.

Twenty playing seasons.  303 games.  38 NFL records.  Three Super Bowl rings.

Rice was the hardest-working athlete in the NFL, practicing day in and day out, to get that body used to reaching the targeted goal.  In practice, Rice wouldn’t stop when he caught the ball and the play was dead.  He’d run another 60 yards to the end zone, just to get into the habit of doing so.  He said it best in a recent San Jose Mercury News article:

“…making every catch, making every play,” Rice said. “It almost becomes instilled in you. You don’t have to think about it during the game when it happens. It came more of just reaction.”

He played in practice like it was the real game.  And when you do that, your performance on the Big Day is already run—and won.

As I left the wonderfully entertaining Ironman 2 screening over the weekend, I heard a woman tell her friend, “Wow.  That was a great script.”

They didn’t focus on the special effects, amazing tech toys, or explosions.

It was a great story.

When I media train authors, corporate executives, or entertainers, I always get back to the reason WHY someone wants to talk with them and learn about their products— they’ve got a great story to tell.

Ironman 2 is smart, sexy, irreverent, action-packed, and visually gorgeous, with great performances by everyone from Robert Downey Jr. , Gwyneth Paltrow and Sam Rockwell, to Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle and Mickey Rourke.  And of course the ever talented actor/director Jon Favreau, who once again pulled it all together.  Screenwriter Justin Theroux brought Stan Lee’s characters into our L.A. world, and the audience loved it.

The story took us on a wild ride—with laughter, action, sadness, and triumph.

As the end credits rolled, the audience applauded.

‘What?? No 3-D?’ the clueless film critics whine.  Sorry creativity-smashers.  You lose.  There wasn’t a single complaint in the house.

I rest my case.

One of the most difficult promises to keep to yourself—whether it is in the New Year or anytime– is to fulfill your dream.

Writers who complete their work and either self-publish or attract a publisher to get their product out to the world now have the task of helping potential readers find them and learn what they’re about.

That’s where media training comes into play.

I’m starting off the New Year with the “Book Tour Basics” Online Coaching to get you up to speed quickly.  Sometimes it feels like such foreign territory to those who aren’t used to speaking and answering questions and engaging an audience through readings, but it takes very little time to learn the ropes.

Then as long as you practice, and get out there to take the next steps on your journey, not only will your readers find you, they’ll follow your dream as well.

May 2010 be a prosperous, joyful year for all of you.

Writer / Director Jason Reitman has found a playful way to deal with the onslaught of questions asked during his current press tour for his new movie Up in the Air with George Clooney.

He’s made a pie chart.

The colors of slices indicate how many of the reporters questions have been about the film, vs. Clooney vs. the U.S. economy vs. his Dad, legendary director / producer Ivan Reitman.

I remember seeing Jason at the screening of Thank You for Smoking where he talked about how he had gone off to medical school on the East Coast, thinking that’s what he ’should’ do—but he was miserable.  His Dad told him to do whatever he loved—which happened to be the film industry—and the rest is history.

Jason Reitman brought us Juno.  And Thank You For Smoking.  And now, Up in the Air.

Don’t worry Dad.  That East Coast education still paid off.  Where else would you learn to do a pie chart?

I’m back on the air anchoring the morning news at KABC 790 TalkRadio in Los Angeles this week, and as I was listening to the talk show host Peter Tilden interview a company spokesman today it struck me how easily information flows when you’re ready to play the game.

Communication is that special ability to both listen and speak; answer and ask.  And when you handle it at the pace, language level, and entertainment quality the fast-paced broadcast world demands, it can be a pleasure to listen to and participate in.

When the host glanced at the clock and told the phone-in guest he had “just a minute left” to wrap it up, and he tossed him another question, the guest answered it within the time constraint and on target.  That seldom comes naturally to people.  But when you train that media muscle, you can perform like a champ.

For self-published authors and those at small to mid-sized presses, it’s critical that you know how to get out there and sell your book.  And now that major publishing houses have also cut publicity staff, the task is just as important for their authors.

So I’m offering a 2-hour online course for you:  BOOK TOUR BASICS, on Saturday, Oct. 17th, 10am-noon west coast time.

I’m limiting the number of authors in the class to ten people so we can really get into YOUR specific book project to:

Find your story hook to attract the media

Nail the “what’s your book about?” opening question

Relieve the stress and panic of performance

Adapt to all types of interviews - Radio, TV, Phone, Internet

AND…SELL LOTS OF BOOKS!

Class size is limited to ten people, so sign up HERE.

The war of words on television shows can get overwhelming.  But if you want to judge what people are REALLY saying, TURN OFF THE SOUND.

That’s right.  Hit the mute button and just OBSERVE the person.  Watch their eyes, their hand gestures, the attitude either displayed or hidden on their faces.  People can be trained to say almost any message, but if they don’t feel it, it shows.

I teach my clients natural communication–how to remove barriers such as fear and lack of focus, so your message comes through strong and clear.  But that message has to be genuine.

As for those who are being trained by someone else to simply mouth messages—well as the adage goes…

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

“Your coaching helped me both on the radio and in my first presentation—

I got a standing ovation, and sold lots of books and CDs!”

My client launched his book tour last week and is already seeing RESULTS.

To kick off the Fall Book Tour Season, I’m offering a

BOOK TOUR BASICS SPECIAL:

2-hour ONLINE Training for $97

DATE: Wed., Sept. 30^th, 10am -12noon Pacific Time

Whether you’re self-published or with a small or large publisher—this program will work for you.

In this customized media training session you will learn how to

Find your story hook to attract the media

Nail the “what’s your book about?” opening question

Relieve the stress & panic of performance

Adapt to all types of interviews – Radio, TV, Phone, Internet

AND…SELL LOTS OF BOOKS.

ONLINE SESSION IS LIMITED TO 10 PARTICIPANTS, SO

SIGN UP NOW BY CLICKING HERE.

What do you need to be a successful communicator?

Whether you want to wow the team at work with your Power Point– Win your spouse over to take that special vacation– or Get people to buy your product or service– you’ve got to know how to deliver your message with confidence.

I was interviewed this week by author Caroline Leavitt about how and why Media Training fills those needs, and she begins the blog article with her own story to prove the point.

Visit her site, enjoy the Q&A, and check out her wonderful array of books!

This week I worked via phone with a client who’s about to start his book tour, and the focus was on clarifying and strengthening his media messages.

When you’ve written a 400-600 page book, it seems daunting to boil it down to 2 sentences when the show host asks “so, what’s your book about?”  But that is the essence of good media interviews.  When you’re able to describe your material in a succinct, entertaining, and informative way, that is Part 1.  The SECOND PART of the ability, when you ace it, puts you into the “she-was-so-great-let’s-have-her-back-again” category.

What is PART TWO?

Making your message POWERFUL.  That means it is simple, yet profound.

Now, not every subject demands such lofty goals.  If you’re main character’s a chaotic, coffee-swilling, hang glider who stumbles upon a murder and has to solve it, you might think “it’s just a mystery novel.”  And you may be too close to the material to discover the simple, powerful description.

That’s why you hire a communication specialist to help you dig through the story to find the essence of that connection to the audience.

We found it in our media training session this week.  And once YOU find it, you will know the Power of Simplicity.