ADVANCED WRITING – WHERE NEWS AND FEATURES MEET

Heard the one about the mother-in-law left sitting in a car park while her family took a ferry to France?

Hardly a typical intro for a news story, yet this was the start of the main story in the Daily Telegraph’s page 3 – a prime news page.

And news story it was despite being worked out in feature style. It told how a Merseyside couple accidentally left the lady behind at Dover.

This was an example of how human interest and talking point stories can be made more attractive by using techniques from feature articles.

"We rightly think of news stories and feature articles as the twin pillars of journalism, but several sorts of writing fall in between," explained Pulford Media director Cedric Pulford.

PML calls these in-between writing forms the news-feature nexus. Our Advanced News Reporting course explores

1. Colour pieces, like the mother-in-law story
2. Chronological writing, where the tale is told in short story form
3. News analyses, in which a specialist looks beyond the news to what it means or what will happen next

Cedric said the news-feature nexus is a powerful tool, but it can be misused.

"It certainly doesn’t mean sloppy writing where news and features all come out the same," he cautioned.

POLITICAL ACCLAIM OFFERS LESSON FOR ALL SPEAKERS

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg’s rise to prominence started before Britain’s general election when he applied one of the key rules of personal presentation - eye contact.

Clegg won his party a massive boost in the opinion polls after the first leaders' debate on television. He addressed his answers to the camera, and thus connected with the viewing millions.

Rivals David Cameron and Gordon Brown, by contrast, talked to each other or to the studio audience.

“Clegg's approach was a cleverly thought-through use of the media. Arguably disrespectful to the people in the studio - but it worked!” said Pulford Media training manager Liz Tayfun.

“Fortunately, few of us will be in the position of having to choose between the camera and a live audience, but we should still take on board the message of the eyes.”

The tribal loyalties of the British electorate meant that Clegg was unable to turn his ratings into parliamentary seats. However, his MPs proved vital in installing the Conservative Party in office with a working majority.

Speakers in all kinds of public appearances hope to have Nick Clegg’s impact. Pulford Media's media skills and presentation courses show you how.

Eye contact and other forms of body language are a central part of these courses.

Director Cedric Pulford and training manager Liz Tayfun enjoy a break between business discussions with a climb on Mt Saleve, near Geneva. Pulford Media has a Geneva office, where Liz is based.
(Picture: Sue Tabusa)

'THREE Ps' ARE GUIDELINES FOR CLEAR WRITING

Write tightly, write clearly. Good advice, but how?

The Thomson Foundation, an international training organisation, has identified the “three Ps” – passengers, parasites and piffle.

This approach, adopted by Pulford Media, is one of the most popular parts of our courses. It’s the idea that attendees are likely to remember.

Passengers are redundant words. They sit there taking up space. They haven’t earned their passage.

Parasites are overdone expressions. These clichés were fresh once upon a time – but so was that living room suite that is fit only for the dump.

Piffle is long-winded wording. Simpler language simply communicates better. Businesses and officialdom and even some journalists often seem to be in a conspiracy to hide their meaning from the public.

Here are some examples:

PASSENGERS (the words in italics). Future prospects. Involved  in a car crash. Quite  unique. Totally  destroyed.

PARASITES. Given the green light. Lend a helping hand. Up in arms. Worse for wear.

PIFFLE. Adverse weather conditions (bad weather). Initiate discussions (start talks). Human resource downsizing (job cuts). Merger synergies (job cuts).

Practising the three Ps DOES NOT mean draining our writing of colour and variety. These come from the ideas and the information we put into our articles, not from tired and empty words.

POPULAR MIKE WINS PALM FROM CEOs

For weeks politicians were telling us there's only one poll that counts.

But in the professional speaking world the polls that count are the league tables run by the Academy for Chief Executives.

They're a “pop chart” for the hundreds of speakers who address the academy's chapters around the world - with each audience member giving speakers a score out of 10.

So there’s been much celebration by Pulford media and presentation tutor and professional speaker Mike Dodd when he hit the top table this month in the no 3 position for his workshops on “Give Better Answers”.

Mike was propelled to the upper levels with a score of 9.4 from the academy's Group 7 (North London, Hertfordshire and Essex).

Its chairman, Simon Lester, described Mike as “one of the newest and best speakers we have ever had in the academy in the last 13 years.”

The academy was founded in 1995. Its aim is to build a community of business leaders who are passionate about improving their skills and their companies, and who are willing to share their experiences. More than 400 leaders across the UK are members, in more than 35 groups.

Mike’s quest to hit the number one spot continues

Mike Dodd (centre) proves his popularity. (Picture: Lucinda Dodd)