What spokespeople stood out this year?
Every December, we like to look back over the past 12 months and highlight those who have stood out for the way they have managed their time in the spotlight.
This year, the list includes a world leader, campaigners, a sporting star and someone who makes you want to listen whenever they speak.
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Mick Lynch
Few people have dominated our screens and airwaves this year as much as Mick Lynch.
Facing the media when your members are bringing the country’s rail services to a halt is not an easy task.
But the general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union has made many of us stop in our tracks and listen to what he has to say. And has produced some memorable moments.
In one interview with Sky News, Mr Lynch accused presenter Kay Burley’s question of “verging on nonsense.”
The exchange saw Ms Burley ask what the union would do if agency workers hired by the Government attempted to cross a picket line to take up posts left by striking workers.
As the line of questioning developed, she referenced the miners’ strike, which saw divides between picket lines and the workers who crossed them.
“Well does it look like the miners’ strike,” Mr Lynch replied as he stepped aside and pointed to the picket line behind him. “What are you talking about?
“You seem to have gone off into a world that isn’t real.”
Ms Burley said: “I’m sorry that you feel the need to ridicule me. I’m just asking you what you expect your members to do if agency workers…”
And before she could finish, Mr Lynch interrupted, saying: “Your questions are verging into the nonsense. We run a picket as effectively as we can.”
Agency rail workers will be stopped at picket lines and asked not to cross.
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) June 21, 2022
RMT union's General Secretary Mick Lynch got a little flustered explaining why...#KayBurley FC pic.twitter.com/GiTb0WQkxn
When Richard Madeley asked him on Good Morning Britain, “are you, or are you not a Marxist?”, Mr Lynch laughed and said: “Richard, you do come up with the most remarkable twaddle sometimes, I have to say.”
Alan Partridge here, who may not have read the Grundrisse pic.twitter.com/SmEcz63Lya
— John Harris (@johnharris1969) June 21, 2022
And during a lengthy interview with Piers Morgan, the host questioned him about having the Thunderbirds baddie The Hood as his Facebook profile image.
“I’m just wondering where the comparison goes because he was obviously an evil, criminal terrorist mastermind, described as the world’s most dangerous man who wrecked utter carnage and havoc on the public,” Mr Morgan said.
“Is that the level you’re pitching this at, Piers?”, Mr Lynch replied. “That is a joke amongst me and my friends, and you can see the likeness if you like.”
As the line of questioning was pursued, Mr Lynch added: “He’s the most evil puppet made out of vinyl in the world. Is that the level journalism’s at these days?”
"Do you think I look like the most evil person in the world, Piers?"
— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) June 16, 2022
Piers Morgan challenges RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch over his Facebook profile picture showing Thunderbirds baddie The Hood.@piersmorgan | @TalkTV | #piersmorganuncensored pic.twitter.com/hXd2sSEkps
Mr Lynch presents something of a conundrum for those of us in media training.
He’s measured and calm under pressure. You feel he answers the question asked – with the exception of a Today programme interview last week where he criticised presenter Mishal Husain for not letting him answer questions and refused to answer those he did not like.
Mick Lynch slates @MishalHusain for not letting him answer questions then refuses to let her ask any he doesn’t like. Bad form for a man usually so good at it. Now claiming she/theBBC never covers difficulties of cost of living crisis which is BS.
— Shelagh Fogarty 💚 (@ShelaghFogarty) December 13, 2022
That poor performance aside, he allows his personality to come through, lands his messages, tells human stories and uses everyday language – all things we stress to delegates during our media training courses.
Mick Lynch is the best communicator of 2022, for all the armies of advisers stacked against him, he wins with simplicity and honesty….. his use off words… his brevity… no matter what you think of his actual case.
— David Yelland (@davidyelland) December 11, 2022
But there is also an abrasiveness about his approach that would not work for everyone (and certainly not for many commercial companies) – he seems to love winding up journalists and ridiculing their questions.
Ahead of the November strikes, he gave a typical no-nonsense response to a question about the action from GB News.
“Is there anyone from a normal outlet?”, he replied. Ouch.
Asked by a Daily Mail reporter if he was proud of being known as ‘Mick Grinch’, he replied, “That’s the sort of quality journalism I’ve come to expect from your particular dark corner of Fleet Street.
While this style continues to work well for Mr Lynch, for other spokespeople it could detract from the message they want to get across.
Ruby Tui
We can’t get enough of the interview Ruby Tui gave at the end of New Zealand’s World Cup final victory.
The Black Ferns star delivered an interview that was authentic, inclusive and packed with personality.
“How was it New Zealand? How was it?” she asked the crowd at the start of her interview.
“I’m just so proud to be a New Zealander right now. They said nobody cared about women’s rugby. Well, guess what? We out here. We’re going nowhere.
“Thank you for letting us be here, have our presence here.”
She added: “They said we couldn’t do it, kids. They said we wouldn’t. We did it. And honestly, it took all of us. Anybody out there defended an England maul before?
“It isn’t easy in the last minute, baby. But we all did it together. New Zealand did it together. And I’m so proud to be here right now.”
Tui then stole the mic and led the crowd on a rendition of the Maori folk song Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi.
Ruby Tui is box office and Eden Park is loving it 🍿 pic.twitter.com/9xpSHOgblk
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) November 12, 2022
Howard Bentham, one of our current working journalist tutors described the post-match interview as a ‘masterclass’.
He said: “One of the first things as media trainers we encourage athletes, players and coaches to do when giving interviews is to turn up and own it,” he said.
“Put your personality to the fore and share your love and passion for your sport with the audience who are watching and listening.
“Tell stories, engage your audience and don’t be boring.
“This was a masterclass from Ruby Tui, who gave an interview that had everything - including a singalong with 40,000 fans in Eden Park.”
Tui packs her interviews with charm, unbridled passion, enthusiasm and humour.
And she is part of a team that is not afraid to be authentic and let their personality shine through when talking to the media. Other media spokespeople can learn a lot from them.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
In a year where good news stories have not always been easy to find, the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe after six years in prison stands out as a highlight.
The 43-year-old returned to the UK from Iran in March.
And such a long period of being silenced, she proved to be a composed and articulate communicator as she faced the media with her husband Richard.
An impressive press conference began with praise for her husband and daughter.
There was a willingness to share personal anecdotes, recalling a phone conversation she had with her daughter when still in Iran.
"Mummy, you do realise you are famous," Gabriella had said. Before adding she went on to say you’re "not gonna be famous forever - maximum a week".
On the moment they were reunited, she said: “I had been waiting for that moment for such a long time.
"It was lovely to get to hold her, to braid her hair and to brush her hair. That was a moment that I really, really missed."
And she remained composed when asked to relive the dark moments of her time in jail.
But perhaps more impressive was her willingness to share thoughts and opinions, despite the press being warned she would not make any political statements.
“How many foreign secretaries does it take for somebody to come home?” was a memorable quote as she refused to give the government credit for her return.
She added: “I was told many, many times that, ‘oh, we're going to get you home’. That never happened.
“So, there was a time that I felt like, you know what, I'm not going to trust you because I've been told many, many times that I'm going to be taken home.
“But that never happened.”
"How many foreign secretaries does it take for someone to come home, five?"
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 21, 2022
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe says her release from Iran "should have happened six years ago"https://t.co/Xuy49FBiW7 pic.twitter.com/S1GUCGh6MI
Since her release, Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has continued to campaign and recently filmed herself cutting her hair in solidarity with protesters in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini.
She has been named as a guest editor of Radio 4’s Today programme as part of its Christmas plans. And is writing her memoirs with her husband, which are due to be published next year.
Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver often divides opinion.
But he produced a brilliant radio interview as part of his campaign urging the Government to widen the eligibility threshold for free school meals.
What made it stand out so much?
Well, he started strongly. His opening answer not only outlined why more children should receive free school meals but also took the sting out of a potential counter argument.
He said: “There will be people listening to this going ‘look, it is a parent’s responsibility to nourish their child’.
“But just to give context to the conversation, to get a free school meal, a household – not a person – needs to earn less than £7,400 (a year). So, think about that.
“We are talking about the most vulnerable kids. We are talking about how bad is ‘bad’.
“If you earn over £7,400, you won’t get that free school meal, but I think we would all agree there is a massive gap between the means test for free school meals, as it stands, and universal credit.
“I think what the government are saying is universal credit tethers off and can go up to sort of £30,000 to £40,000, but really, we’re talking about the bulk of them being around £14,000 per household.”
During our media training courses, we often advise against introducing a negative. But this was a great example of how adding context can kill a negative angle by showing you are trying to solve a problem.
"We know in every way, shape and form that kids that have a lunch and a breakfast that's decent learn better, they do better"
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) October 11, 2022
Chef & campaigner Jamie Oliver tells @bbcnickrobinson why more children should get free school meals in England.
Full interview: https://t.co/G8dpEqaFI0 pic.twitter.com/UwErSQHCxB
From that strong start, he added the human element we talk about so often during our media training courses, by describing pupils arriving at school with empty lunchboxes and no money to buy food.
“If you’ve spent time in schools and track what children are eating on a daily basis, what we have now is a situation where kids are coming in with nothing,” he said.
“They have nothing on their card and nothing in their lunchbox.”
Jamie Oliver on the Today programme, talking about child poverty - God he's on his shit. He's just ... a good person. Weird how unfamiliar that phrase feels.
— Caitlin Moran (@caitlinmoran) October 11, 2022
Teachers "are this country's secret weapon" says Jamie Oliver. What a great line. #r4today
— Paul Trueman (@paulwtrueman) October 11, 2022
It was an interview with a natural conversational flow. Yet, at the same time, you realised the chef had prepared thoroughly. He knew the message he wanted to get across and supported it with attention-grabbing facts and figures and evidence-based answers.
But he was also aware of the wider issues and negatives that could be brought into the conversation, knowledgeably responding to questions on obesity, levelling up and the ‘Anti Growth Coalition’.
And that preparation included self-awareness. He understood that as a millionaire, his wealth could detract from his message.
“This doesn’t affect my kids – we are talking about our kids” neatly defused that.
But perhaps the strongest feature of this interview was the passion.
You sensed Mr Oliver was passionate about health and education and driven to do something to improve it.
The passion came through in every answer and is a crucial component of impactful media interviews.
We tell delegates on our media training courses the audience is more likely to warm to a spokesperson who shows passion and enthusiasm.
Passion makes people sit up and take note. It can turn doubters into believers. It helps build trust.
And it is the driving force behind great communication.
Since that interview, Mr Oliver has written for The Big Issue about the importance of kindness. And is another guest editor of the Today programme – a platform he intends to use to improve child health.
Volodymyr Zelenksky
No look back at the best communicators of the year would be complete without including Volodymyr Zelenksky.
Many of us would not have heard of the Ukraine president this time last year.
But his handling of the Russian invasions and brilliant communication skills have made him a household name.
The former actor has led from the front, winning the information war and controlling the narrative.
His decision to stay in the country showed visible crisis leadership – often being seen on the streets of Kyiv - and offered people hope.
And his use of social media and selfie videos have combined persuasive optics with direct access to his people and the wider world.
While the unscripted nature of those videos added to his authenticity, he’s also adapted his message for different audiences.
When he addressed the House of Commons, he quoted William Shakespeare and Winston Churchill. And he referenced Pearl Harbour when he spoke to the US Congress.
And he has delivered some powerful soundbites.
“This might be the last time you see me alive,” he told European Union leaders during a conference call – a chilling warning that added a personal element to the subject.
When turning down an evacuation offer from the US, he said: “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.”
And in a warning to Russian soldiers, he said: “When you attack us, you will see our faces, not our backs.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine spoke in Russians for the Russian audience: “The Ukrainian people want peace. We don’t need war. We won’t attack, but defend ourselves. And you will see our faces — not our backs” https://t.co/48npTw3qGx pic.twitter.com/kUBr8ARKIP
— Andreas Harsono (@andreasharsono) February 24, 2022
At a time when his country has needed him the most, Mr Zelenksky has proved to be an outstanding communicator.
And finally, time for something a little different...
There was one other communicator to mention – someone who arguably produced the most visually memorable interview of the year.
It’s the protestor who spoke coherently and impactfully to reporters despite being carried away on her front by police.
The Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion campaigner seemed remarkably composed and prepared despite being handcuffed and led away from a London protest.
In footage widely shared on social media, she said: “I’m doing this for my son – the government’s inaction on climate change is a death sentence for us all.
"The United Nations has said we should have no new oil. Liz Truss wants to open 130 new oil licences – that’s a death sentence for this planet."
How to do a media interview while being carried away by police for protest. 10/10, no notes. pic.twitter.com/Wup9XMrxOK
— Ben Phillips (@benphillips76) October 3, 2022
Our boss is no doubt working out how to devise a ‘how to give a media interview while being dragged away by police’ option for our bespoke media training.
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