Comsteria Podcast

It's perfectly natural to feel excited or a bit scared when you're about to speak in public.  Whether it's a big audience at a conference, a small group at work or that strange sensation that comes with Teams and Zoom, being in the spotlight can feel strange. Sometimes, this manifests in physical ways. You might perspire. Feel shaky. Or suddenly acquite a washing machine on the spin cycle in your stomach. In this short episode of Comsteria's Powerful Communication podcast, Colin Kelly shares some advice on getting the nerves and adrenaline under control. We help people every day get their messages across with clarity and personality. Get in touch and let's chat about what we can do for you.

The days of 'leaders' or any senior figure in an organisation 'flying under the radar' are over.  You need to let people in, give them the chance to get to know you, and above all, spend time listening to them. This cultivates goodwill and gives you the benefit of the doubt when the heat's on. I think some senior figures in organisations shy away from media engagement and speaking in public because deep down inside they believe themselves to be arrogrant, elitist and out of touch. If that's you - you're probably right. And the bad news is the clock's ticking. But the good news is, it's never too late to change. And we are here to help. It might be that the organisation or the job you're doing has made you like this. There's a culture you've had to fit into and it's made you someone you hardly recognise.  You've convinced yourself you're 'not good with people' or that you 'don't need people' or even worse you tell yourself 'people don't want to see me'. Let us here at Comsteria put that right. It starts with showing up and we can support you as you make the necessary changes and become a modern, visible leader. Our work with you will be highly confidential.  Call us anytime on 0141 628 8228 or visit our website. Executive media and presentation skills training for leaders who are ready to change.     

When you give an interview to the media, you can get powerful results by using a key statistic as a 'hook'. Journalists are trained to look for these as they can make stories more engaging and give them a sense of urgency. There's a great example today in the story from Police Scotland about how easy it is for online paedophiles to make contact with childen 'within 30 seconds' of trying. The use of that tangible number stops the audience in its tracks, gives the whole story a new dimension that we haven't heard before and is being used in headlines across the board. Here's Comsteria's founder and media trainer Colin Kelly to explain more and highlighting what you can learn from this. 

Here's a clip from a recent writing workshop delivered by Comsteria's Colin Kelly. We love to tackle corporate jargon whenever we encounter it. The trick is always to focus on your audience and challenge any words or phrases that they wouldn't use in every day speech. There are lots of redudndant, empty phrases uses on websites, social media and in interviews where the writer or speaker - for whatever reason - uses a jargon phrase instead of what they really want to say. Here's some advice on what you might do instead.  Looking to improve your writing? Our 'Writing Engaging Online Content' video on demand training is availale to watch right now.

I've seen a lot of business leaders end up overwhelmed because the comms colleague briefing them before their media interview gives them far too much information. This is often done with good intentions (better to include too much than risk missing out something important) but it can have negative consequences because the interviewee can't possibly remember everything. In this episode of Comsteria's Powerful Communication podcast, our media trainer Colin Kelly shares some advice on how comms profesisonals should take briefs from journalists and use that information to prepare their colleagues ahead of the interview. And listen to the end for essential advice about how to deal with journalists who betray your trust. 

Comsteria's Colin Kelly outlines his QCARDS system for evaluating AI tools. If you are thinking of using a particular AI software within your marketing, comms or PR role, consider evaluating each tool against the following criteria: Q - Quality. Can the tool do the job to a higher standard than I can? C - Cost. How much does it cost? Explore the limits and potential savings by, perhaps paying annually or accessing the tool via the API. A - Access. Does this tool enable people who might lack particular technical skills to do the job? Does the technology widen access to our profession or team? R - Reputation. What's the reputation of the tool? Can you trust the people behind it? Do you know who they are? If your clients, customers and other stakeholders knew you were using this tool in the course of your work, what would they think? D - Duplication. Does this AI tool reduce or eliminate duplication for your work? S - Safety. Is the tool safe? What are the privacy credentials? How does it work? Is the information the results are based on from a safe source? What measure are you putting in place to ensure your use of the tool complies with your commitments and responsibilities? Comsteria delivers AI training for PR, comms and marketing professionals and small business owners. Contact us today and join our Powerful Communication revolution. 

We're often asked to give advice to clients interested in starting their own podcast. In this episode, Colin Kelly shares some thoughts around what it takes to find an audience for your podcast and how to make it stand out.  He also looks at the emerging trend for location or topic based email newsletters, such as the Edinbnurgh Minute on Substack.  Might it be possible that the publishers of these newsletters might be interested in using some of your podcast content? So rather than building an audience entirely of your own, from scratch, you could provide some content to someone who has already built the audience you're interested in? Comsteria has been helping businesses and organisations of all sizes cut through and get attention since 2012. We deliver media training, social media training, crisis comms, PR support, video production and much more.  Get in touch to discuss what we can do for you.

Your sceptical friend, Colin Kelly, suggests remaining cautious when surveys seem to throw your current approach to digital marketing up in the air. What's really going on and who should you trust? What should you do? Help is at hand!

Almost every business will advertise at some point in its existence. I realised we have hardly mentioned advertising on this channel and I wanted to share 2 quick bits of advice today. For more on every aspect of #powerfulcommunication visit Comsteria. From video production and podcasts, to media training, presentation skills and crisis comms our training helps businesses like yours every day.

An embarassing encounter at the supermarket reminded me to tell you about this.

Here's a deep dive inside local newspapers and in particular the work of the local democracy reporting service. In this episode, Colin Kelly explores page by page, today's Paisley Daily Express explaining where the stories come from, how the newspaper comes together and its relationship with other titles in its group. Find out more about the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Media training courses from Comsteria.  Local news is still alive and it matters. 

It's amazing how many communications teams do neither.  Work with me and we can change that in 2025. www.comsteria.co.uk

Rule Number 1 - assume everything you say is being recorded. You might know this already.  I bet there's someone working near you who's forgotten and could put your business at risk in 2025. Share this and remind them.  https://www.comsteria.co.uk

We need to realise that demographic cohorts (Baby Boomers / Generation X etc) are lazy marketing constructs with no more value than horoscopes. I'd urge communications professionals to stop referring to these and to resist the urge to label and divide particular generations. It simply doesn't follow that someone born in 1975 is automatically more likely to exhibit particular behaviours, attitudes or cultural preferences than someone born in 2001 simply because of the generation they belong to. Real life and human beings are far more complex and sophisticated than that. We all have much more in common than that. What began as a semi helpful method of targetting marketing towards certain groups has completely overtaken its original premise and now causes uneccessary, damaging division in society and in many workplaces. We should say 'no' to demographic cohorts and support people who are so needy that they  cling to them and adopt behaviours they think they ought to because they've read something telling them they should have a particular character trait because of when they were born. If you're with me, share this. If you're not, get in touch and tell me why.   www.comsteria.co.uk/contact

If you deliver training and consultancy and ask clients 'what are your business objectives?', you might not be getting the full picture. At Comsteria, we probe a little deeper! LIsten to this episode and find out how we do it. www.comsteria.co.uk

Unnamed sources have an important role to play when it comes to exposing wrongdoing, whistleblowing and corruption. But they've become overused in much of our media and run rampant online with no controls or accountability. Worse, they give rise to the myth that there's a secret elite of connected 'insiders' that know more than you and me.  It's time we called out this nonsense and made sure unnamed sources and people who quote them are held to a higher standard. 

Comsteria's Colin Kelly delivers Linkedin traning and is getting asked this question A LOT! Here's a quick explainer.  Visit Comsteria online and find out more about our training and consultancy work, all designed to help you communicate with power!  www.comsteria.co.uk

It's time the poltical podcast chataratti realised just how out of touch they are.

We've got several important advantages over our competitors.  Obviously, we've youth on our side. Training and consultancy is a full time business for us - we're not doing this on the side while working for someone else or enjoying a semi retirement. We live and breathe this every single day. And our knowledge of the media is based on how it is now, not how things were 25 years ago. And as Colin Kelly explains in this episode of the Powerful Communication podcast, our priority is building you up and making you feel confident when you're dealing with the media, rather than trying to impress you with war stories about how powerful newspapers used to be. We work with small businesses, large multi-nationals, charities, government agencies, sports organisations, individuals in the arts and many more, across a wide variety of sectors. Call us today on 0141 628 8228 or visit us at www.comsteria.co.uk to discuss how we can help you.

Here's a simple step you can take to improve your understanding of the media, which in turn will increase your confidence, hek you get over some fear of the unknown and should also highlight opportunities you can take advantage of.  If you're part of a comms team, you could all get involved in this and share the workload. 

Colin Kelly with advice on how to get the most out of a relationship with a PR agency. At Comsteria, we believe the best results come from combining outsourced agency support with investment in your own skills. Contact us today to discuss what we can do for you.

Comsteria's media trainer Colin Kelly with advice on a neat and tidy way to 'put the brakes on' and stop talking when you're giving an interview. Don't user use this..it would get annoying if you did it on every answer, but used sparingly, this is a good technique to help end an answer strongly and get a key call to action across. 

Hello, and welcome to another episode from Comsteria's Powerful Communiation podcast for PR and communications professionals. We know lots of small business owners enjoy listening to this podcast as well - you are all very welcome and thanks for the encouraging feedback some of you send across. You can get in touch with us anytime - just email admin@comsteria.co.uk Many of us are getting set up for a new season after a break or at least a quieter period over the summer. It's a good time to revisit a basic of good communication - the desire for honesty and transparency, especially from the leadership team. But how honest should we really be when it comes to things like staff updates and regular briefings? Have a listen to the hypothetical situation outlined in this episode and let me know what you could do. There's no right or wrong of course, it's about being the best you can be, finding a balance and managing staff and customer expectations but I'm interested in how you would do that. And if it's something you'd like some help or guidance with - get in touch. I enjoy working with businesses of all shapes and sizes, in various sectors, helping put in place communications strategies that deliver the results you want. Get in touch today to discuss what Comsteria can do for you. 

We've realised media training has a particular 'reputation' in some sections of society. Many of the participants on our courses say things at the end of the day like 'I actually quite enjoyed that' or 'I didn't think that would be so much fun', or 'I was dreading that but it was actually really good'. We think this is because some providers use a 'break you down and build you back up' approach, where the 'breaking you down' bit is particularly brutal. We don't do this.  Our media training is safe, supportive, friendly and yes, we hope, even fun. Listen to this and get in touch if you need to know more. Call us on 0141 628 8228 or visit our website. 

If your organisation is leaving people hanging after they apply for jobs - you need to take action! Poor HR = Poor PR! Find out more about the work we're doing to help every organisation communicate with power.  Visit www.comsteria.co.uk

We need people to experiment with new technology such as ChatGPT, MidJourney and the rest but there's much more to artificial intelligence than creating videos and pictures that freak people out with how realistic they are. Technology is not entertainment. It's a tool we use. And we can learn lessons from our friends in farming and the way they've used technlogy wisely over the last 100 years or so. Here are my 4 principles for AI in pr and comms. I hope they help and if you'd like more no nonsense advice around implementing artificial intelligence (or any technology) within your comms team - get in touch.   

I kep hearing clients say they 'don't have time' and yet many of those same clients tell me that over the last few months they've been experimenting with AI at work. So where did the time come from? And could you use this same approach to free up time for other important activities?

Rule Number 1 - only pick fights you can't lose. Rule Number 2 - learn to recognise when you're dealing with a winner. Some advice from Comsteria's Colin Kelly.

Contact us today for tailored, confidential support to develop your writing skills. colin@comsteria.co.uk www.comsteria.co.uk

Your message, with clarity and personality. Comsteria's mission is to help your organisation communicate with power. Find out more about all our training, consultancy and creative services in our 2024 brochure. 

Y'all know who you are.

Here's something you can try if you're facing questions from a hostile audience. Comsteria's media trainer Colin Kelly shares a quick tip that can get you out of a tight spot and balance up a negative line of questioning from journalists or your own staff. Find out more about our #powerfulcommunication training, Visit Comsteria online at www.comsteria.co.uk

What impact are your attitudes towards AI having on your team?

Colin Kelly is back on the Powerful Communication podcast from Comsteria. Grab our new training and creative services brochure, with full details of our courses and content creation. Should we talk about 'National Health Service' instead of 'NHS' all the time?

A quick chat about 2 of the best communicators I've ever encountered. There's so much you can learn from Iona MacGowan and Sam Sulek if you're interested in digital media content creation, general marketing and anything around engaging an audience. Brilliant.

The Celtic manager referred to a reporter as a 'good girl' when he walked away from a post match interview yesterday. Why don't PR and comms profesionals get involved when things like this occur? Can't they see the potential for reputational damage? Easier all round of course if men improve their attitudes but it should't take national newspaper headlines the following day and an outcry from women's groups for the BUSINESS to realise this shouldn't have happened. Stop deifying football managers and other powerful people in your organisation. Treat them like the liabilities they often are, especially in these moments of high emotion.  Risk assess every media engagement. 

Replace the word 'legislation' with the word 'guidance'. Send your completed MP3 recording to colin@comsteria.co.uk  

Another horror story you can learn from.

If you're involved in thought leadership in any way, you ought to be aware of the dangers of false assertions. Here's Comsteria's Colin Kelly with more.  Looking for new ways to get your message across with clarity and personality? Ask about our Presenting With Confidence prsentation skills training. www.comsteria.co.uk