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Look into my eyes…

Eye contact is a really important component of communication. The words we’re speaking matter, of course. But audiences judge us in all sorts of non-verbal ways too. By looking into our eyes, for example, to work out whether they can trust what we’re saying.

So in this video, ACM Training’s media trainer, Richard Uridge, channels his inner Kenny Craig (a rubbish hypnotist played by the Little Britain actor Matt Lucas) and shows how a Post-it note can help.

E is for Eye Contact; The latest how-to video in the Z to A of Media Training.

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Slow down you move too fast

Simon and Garfunkel weren’t talking about media interviews and presentations when they sang the line “slow down you move too fast.” But it’s good advice all the same.

If you move too fast when speaking publicly, your audience will struggle to keep up. Give a point a chance to sink in before moving onto the next point.

Let it breathe…

And don’t have too many points – it’ll be hard to squeeze them all in without leaving your listeners and viewers by the wayside. S is for Slowly – another episode from ACM Training’s wise old owl, Rich Uridge, in the Z to A of Media Training.


The Z to A of Media Training (because everbody starts at A)

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Remember the memory game?

Of course you remember the memory game! Who could forget it? But are your key messages as memorable? Or are they instantly forgettable? Let Richard Uridge show you how a pack of playing cards might help with your next media interview or presentation.

The concepts of primacy, recency and latency in public speaking are the subject of this episode of the Z to A of Media Training.

The Z to A of Media Training (because everbody starts at A)
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If a picture’s worth a thousand words here’s why the opposite may be true

The Laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals to the left. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci to the right. So who’s the cavalier chap with the enigmatic face in the centre? And what’s his story?

Why choosing the right words is like a priceless oil painting is the subject of the latest episode in Rich Uridge’s Z to A of Media Training.


Poets spend a lot of time thinking about the right word to conjure up the right image. And the best poets – like Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney and Dylan Thomas – do so brilliantly and almost always in the plainest of language. Here’s Richard latest poem, hopefully without an inappropriate word in sight. Do the words he’s chosen readily conjure up images? You be the judge….

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How to make your key messages stand out in a media interview or presentation

You know what’s important when you’re giving an interview or presentation. But the audience doesn’t – unless you them them! Tagging is promotional technique that allows you to make your key messages loud, clear and “sticky.” In other words stick in people’s minds rather than go in one ear and out the other before you’ve barely finished speaking.

You use tags and labels on Christmas presents and suitcases so why not in interviews and presentations?

T is for Tagging is part of a growing collection of how to videos on The Z to A of Media Training here and on our YouTube channel.

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Why less is more in media interviews and presentations

Knowing when enough is enough in a media interview or presentation is really important. After all you could be Gone in 60 Seconds. Or half that.

So here’s some wise advice from ACM Training’s old owl, Rich Uridge, on keeping it short in this, the latest episode of the Z to A of Media Training.

The Z to A of Media Training (because everbody starts at A)
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G is for Gimmick

Using cheap tricks or stunts to grab an audience’s attention is the presentational equivalent of click bait. So here ACM Training’s communication coach, Richard Uridge, explains (with just a hint of festive irony) the difference between gimmicks and legitimate devices to hook people into your presentation. And, yes, you really won’t believe what he looks like today!

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How a treasury tag might have saved the Prime Minister’s bacon

Every failure is an opportunity to learn and grow – even when you’re the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. And it’s to him that we dedicate this episode of the Z to A of Presenting: T is for Treasury Tag. Watch to find out how the PM could have saved himself a whole heap of grief in that lemon-chewingly embarrassing speech to the CBI with one of those little bits of string with a tiny metal bar at either end that are buried at the back of stationary cupboards everywhere. It could just save your next presentation from a #peppapig moment too!

PS Buy shares in treasury tags!

“I knew those treasury tags would come in handy one day.”

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Things you can do with Zoom and never realised

We’re often asked how our Zoom and Teams meetings and training sessions here at ACM are funkier than most. So here’s the answer! Our chief geek (and media and communication coach) Richard Uridge runs through the kit we’ve put together to make our online courses visually stimulating.


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The Z to A of Presenting: Z is for Zoom

The first in the “Z to A of Presenting” (because why start at A when everyone does)? In this Halloween-themed episode Richard Uridge explains how a simple sticky can help you keep your audience engaged. Watch to the very end if you want the full, scary surprise.

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