My guest today has already been on my podcast. His episode has been my most popular one so far and I couldn’t wait to have him back for an update.

The last time Mike Rees spoke to me, he was standing (for the third time) as an independent candidate in the election for the Police and Crime Commissioner of Wiltshire. Sadly, Mike didn’t win, but came third, behind the labour and conservative party.

We talk a lot about the world of politics and how the outcome is stacked against you in so many ways when you are an independent, and particularly how underhand things are. Sadly, Mike’s passion, qualities and qualifications were completely wasted on the people of Wiltshire who didn’t seem to understand what the PPC is; plus the timing of the election wasn’t good because it was the council elections at the same time.

Mike joined the police service at 18 and shares the very varied career path he then followed. We talk about some of the cases that have stayed with him long after leaving the force.

The issues that still need addressing in the police is something else we discuss, and Mike has strong views as to why some of these things still haven’t been dealt with.

Mike shares what his other passions are in life; running a children’s cancer charity and boxing, which he participated in for years, winning many competitions. He explains how boxing helps people to gain some discipline. 

And he talks about the business he runs now – a forensics cleaning business - and you probably need to ensure you’re not eating when he talks about it!

To contact Mike:
Website: http://www.forensiclean.co.uk/
Charity Website: fatboyscharity.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-rees-6823441b/overlay/contact-info/

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

My guest today is friend and client, Kate Usher who has recently published a new book.

Kate works with organisations, companies and businesses to have modern conversations about the menopause. Why? Because too many women end up leaving jobs when they hit the menopause, because they are misunderstood or can’t cope with the symptoms, which can be different for everyone.

She shares how after being made redundant in 2008 from a 20 -year career in corporate, then on maternity leave following which she started up a career as a coach. However, she started to experience a whole range of symptoms and had no idea what they were – until her first hot flush. This led her to start working with individuals about the menopause.

Kate explains how she began to talk to people, to encourage them to have conversations, because we all either directly or indirectly know someone who is going through this phase of life.

We talk about how it is closely linked to social perceptions of age, and what it means to women.

And importantly, for large organisations and companies it is a financial issue, because they can lose 10% of their most talented people – so Kate helps them understand how they can support women.  

Lastly, Kate talks about the book that she has published with her husband Neil – “A Couple’s Guide to Menopause”. They write about the experience of going through this as a couple and how they can support each other. 

Everyone needs to listen to this podcast, because there is no getting away from the fact that all of us will know someone who is going through the menopause!  You might learn something new…

To contact Kate:
Website: https://menopauseinbusiness.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kateushermenopause/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateusher/ 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

I’ve known today’s guest for about eight years – and she’s a very special person in my business as you’ll soon hear!  Today I’m talking to Hannah Edwards of Empowered VA Services, my right-hand woman and someone without whom I couldn’t imagine running my business! 

Hannah shares how we met for a morning breakfast at McDonald’s, and how we got on straight away – she remembers far more details than I do.  

She talks about what she does for me – and it’s obvious on hearing about the list of things she does, why I would now struggle to run my business without her.  Working with me, a journalist, she has to deal with my incredibly busy diary; the massive amount of emails I receive each day and then help with messaging clients. Plus, she also organises the logistics for when we travel to events and when we attend business expos.  

After starting her business in 2017 and working on lots of one-off projects, often for ‘I’ll give you a testimonial’ offer, she wanted to work somewhere where she’d be able to develop her VA work – and she talks about how this has developed. 

Recently she was named one of the TBE’s 20 Inspiring Women of the South West, and is also one of Theo Paphitis’ SBS winners. 

Hannah also shares how much she has learnt about PR while working with me, and shares the three things that she thinks businesses should be doing to be visible. 

To contact: Hannah 

Website: www.empoweredvaservices.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahedwards_va/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EmpoweredVA 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

My guest today is a rugby union professional, known for playing Lock at Bath Premiership Rugby.  He recently retired from the game at the age of 37 and shares with me his journey.

Dave has played rugby since the age of 8, and has played professional rugby for Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, and France, for 20 years, and for well over 10 years with the international team. Unlike many professional rugby players who are forced to leave, he chose to leave the profession and talks to me about how difficult that transition was– from being an elite sportsman, moving to a new stage in your life. He shares how difficult it is to go from being in the spotlight, where everyone recognises you for what you do, to leaving and not being that rugby player anymore. However, you’re still the same man – the same person and he talks about how he has come to terms with that, and made use of his ‘fame’ in a positive way.

We also talk about the tragic death of Rob Burrows, and how the incidence of MND and other forms of degenerative brain conditions are significantly higher amongst rugby players. And also, following the moving images of the photo of Rob with his friend Kevin carrying him, how important the camaraderie and the strength of relationships are between people playing rugby. 

Dave then talks about his new ventures – the portfolio career he is developing.  His first foray into having his own business was running a bar, in the back of a renovated horse-box which he takes to events. The second is his training and leadership business, where he has the opportunity to use all of the skills he gained over the years as an elite sportsman. His passion for working with companies to help them is obvious.

Whether you are a rugby fan or not, you’ll find Dave’s story interesting.

To contact Dave:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-attwood-98698045/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aperobar

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

I met my guest today while in Las Vegas, last year, for a tech conference and from the off, we just got on. 

John who is also a journalist, is based in San Francisco, California where he is best known for writing for Entrepreneur.com, a huge site.  Mainly his column is made up of stories about trends and tips and tricks to help people get their company growing faster and doing better. 

Advice for young entrepreneurs and professionals about how to do their job better, and how to run their business – how to get the word out about their company. Also, though like me, John also has to write about awareness days.

He tells us about how he started out in journalism in the 90s, initially writing for TV stations, but with his eye on the upcoming entrepreneurs of that time, including Elon Musk fascinated him. He began writing more stories about entrepreneurs and eventually left TV, moving to where the opportunities took him.

We share stories about the difficulties of living as a freelance journalist both in the UK and the US.  About how we are bombarded with stories that just aren’t that newsworthy – but the sender thinks it’s the best thing ever! John explains how he deals with this.

We also talk about writing controversial stories, where John explains how he deals with this and how the impact of writing about a famous person affects his earnings. This idea of earning more when an online story gets more clicks (per page), has been around for some time in the US, but only just starting to have an impact here in the UK.

With the changing landscape of the journalism, we talk about it and how anyone coming into the business can prepare themselves for those changes.

John and I have a lot of fun talking about the differences between the US and UK – and I know you’ll love listening to our conversations.

To contact: John

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jboitnott
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@jboitnott
Substack: https://substack.com/@boitnott

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Today’s guest is the lovely Dani Seatter, who I met whilst networking in the Cotswolds. Dani runs a sustainable lifestyle brand called Eco-able, and, at the time of recording, she’s also a published children’s author of two books. Both were sustainably printed and have a sustainable message. 

As well as an online shop, Dani also has a physical retail shop in Cirencester.

After working as an early years professional for many years, Dani wanted her next career to be something that gave her purpose; something that would do some good in the world. After a conversation with her sister about Plastic Free July, and how difficult it was to find good products all in one place – that was her lightbulb moment.

She talks about how many of us don’t always make the sustainable choices we should, because of the busy lives we lead and the pressures on our everyday lives. This is why she set up her business.

Like me, Dani loves being involved in a community, and Cirencester, where she is based, is a community of independent shops and businesses where she is able to ask customers what they want, which helps her business to evolve. We also talk about all the other things she can get involved in within the community.

Eco-able has applied for awards and found the process of applying very useful in terms of having to look closely at the business and recognise what you have done well. This year she has signed up as a judge for local awards.

We discuss the media coverage that Eco-able has had and the variety of magazines and articles where the business has appeared.  And of course, we talked about sustainability and how businesses, and particularly small businesses can start to make changes in a manageable way.

Dani finishes by telling me about the amazing plans she has for the next year or so.

To contact Dani:

Website: www.Eco-able.co.uk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eco_able

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

My guest today has recently spent time with me for work experience, and he’s lived to tell the tale! 

Ben Redondo Beck is in his 3rd year at university, studying journalism. 

At school, he enjoyed English and media studies and like many of us, maths not so much. However, he kept going back to English. Initially he considered doing a law degree, but then started his journalism course, and loves it. 

The course has a lot of practical units, which he particularly loves, and the university has a TV studio set up very much like a professional studio and he’s loved the opportunities he has had working on those parts of the course. They also recently worked on a module about crisis management, which he found very fast paced, and we talk about why learning about that is important. 

They are taught to understand how working journalists get their news stories which is wonderful training. 

Ben has a combination of skills including content writing, an ability to tell stories and handle the tech. He doesn’t see himself in the newsroom, but he does look forward to being able to create and editing content etc. 

Whilst working with me, I introduced Ben to networking, which after the initial nervousness, he thoroughly enjoyed. Also, he found being a guest on this podcast very different, because he is usually the person that asks the questions – and found it strange not knowing which questions were coming! 

 
To contact: Ben 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-redondo-beck-09b33a305/ 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

My guest today is someone who has recently joined my circle of amazing women in business. Vanessa White is an accredited breakup and divorce coach based in Cirencester.

She shares what being a breakup and divorce coach actually means, and how she supports people emotionally and practically on their journey through that difficult time.

Vanessa started her business only a year ago after juggling two different jobs and since then her business has taken off.  

After gaining a degree in nutrition, she worked in the NHS as a Registered Dietitian. Following that she worked in the food industry, and after a long career break, worked with special education needs students in a school. On reflection, she realises that all of her previous careers have built up the skills that she now uses in her own business: empathy, good communication and a good listening- being some.

Vanessa talks about how because of her own difficult relationship and ultimately her divorce she has been able to use her own lived experience, and the other skills she has to develop her successful business, supporting others going through the same thing.

We talk about what it means to be in an abusive relationship and how it takes away your self-confidence and how Vanessa managed to change her situation and learn to value her self-worth.  As you’ll hear, she is now a strong, confident woman who knows what she wants from life – and is helping others to discover their self-belief.

Vanessa talks about how she makes use of social media and networking for her PR, and how she understands the need to share her story.

She has recently developed a relationship with a national journalist with regards to sharing her area of expertise.

To contact Vanessa:

Website: https://www.vanessawhite.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessawhitecoaching/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-white-332a03287/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094770073631

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

My guest today is a man of many careers, but in all, and most importantly – he is a communicator. 

All of the professions Alastair Greener has worked in have focused on being able to talk to people: - hospitality, sales, acting, presenting and performing, and teaching other people how to present well. 

I’ve known Alastair for some years, and as you’ll hear in our conversation, we have collaborated on a few occasions, and we plan to work together even more later in 2024. 

He talks to about the importance of being your authentic self and how particularly important that is as a speaker – hence the title of today’s podcast – a quote by Oscar Wilde. 

He shares some excellent tips on what makes a good speaker; the importance of planning, and how to deal with the unexpected when speaking, including hecklers in the audience. 

Lastly, he talks about a fascinating and valuable project he has begun, complete with valuable data about generational communications, particularly in the workplace.  This comes from his passion for communicating effectively with different audiences – we have to understand each other. 

To contact Alastair: 

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastairgreener/ 

Website: https://www.presentyourself.co.uk/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@alastairgreener 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

Today’s guest is a fellow journalist, Sue Kinnear who is the voice of afternoon bulletins for BBC Wiltshire and Gloucestershire and also an experienced radio producer and presenter. 

In her current role, she has to produce three minutes of news for her bulletins. This means she has to find, write and present bulletins every hour, between 2pm and 6pm  – and it has to fit three minutes precisely. 

Sue has years of experience in both radio and TV, and like me, she loves telling stories. 

Most of us have no idea how incredibly hectic it can be gathering the information together for each day from the morning journalist, ready for the afternoon radio shows, plus being aware of breaking news. And remember this isn’t for just one station, but two! You’ll be fascinated to hear how down to the last minute this can be.  

Also like me, Sue loves being engaged with local news. She has sole responsibility to make decisions about which stories go out in her bulletins. It is her job to keep everyone in touch with what’s happening nationally, but also for the local area – because listeners’ communities are important to them. She in turn loves the relationship that she can build with local listeners. 

We talk about the importance of including where you are based when you send a story to a journalist. If someone sends a story to Sue and it doesn’t say Gloucestershire or Wiltshire at the top, it will get deleted because she has so many emails and having to work to such a tight schedule, she can’t waste time with stories which are irrelevant to the areas she covers. 

Also, Sue underlines the importance of building a relationship with journalists – she recognises the names of people who have helped her with good stories previously, and so is more likely to use them again. 

To contact Sue: 

Email: Sue.kinnear@bbc.co.uk 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SueKinnear 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

In today’s episode Fiona speaks to Mike Rees, who is standing as an independent candidate in the upcoming election of a new Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner.  

Mike stood as a candidate back in 2021 and came second to the person who secured that post representing the Conservative Party. With no political party support or apparatus, backed by volunteers and a small budget from supporters, Mike spent his own money and time to stand up for what he believed in. 

In this podcast Mike shares why he’s going for the role again – a role he actually believes should not exist. Given that it does, he feels that the person who oversees the county’s police force should not be influenced by party politics.  

He was inspired by the recent success of another independent candidate David Tully who stood as an MP for Rochdale. With no experience in campaigning and no political agenda, David came second. His campaign was all around caring for his community and the issues of importance in Rochdale. He lost to George Galloway. 

Mike talks about his first campaign and also how much he learned and this time he’s ready for the fight at hand. With the support of his family, he’s ready to hand over his business to a manager and devote his time totally to the role.  

For Mike, there are many issues to tackle within Wiltshire Police: 

• a demoralized and frightened grass roots police force. 
• too much spin among the police leadership and poor leadership. 
• a lack of transparency over monies and how they are being spent.  
• a lack of detail over performance when it comes to solving crimes.  
• a lack of public access to the police.  

As PCC, Mike says he would be honest about any challenges. He believes there has been a lack of investment in the police nationally, including Wiltshire and that needs to be addressed. Anyone who wants to keep in touch with Mike and his campaign can do so via his Facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/MikeReesPCC 

If you want to find out more about Fiona & Scott Media why not join her group on Facebook – Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe – here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

Today’s guest is Rob Curtis who is a client and someone I’ve known for several years in Wiltshire’s small business community. 

He’s a digital marketing whizz now running his own company The Pursuit Agency however I knew him before that and supported him when he was about to ‘go it alone’. 

He’s also a bit like Tigger, from Winnie the Pooh, darting around with boundless energy or so it seems, moving from one idea to another.  This young entrepreneur is incredibly passionate about the world of digital marketing and that becomes obvious when you hear him talking, or when you meet him.

 Having previously worked for another agency, Rob started his own business, The Pursuit Agency less than two years ago, and has already won the national title of Start-up of the Year with the Great British Business and Community Awards. He’s also taken on his first team members and now ensures that his clients understand that they were on a digital marketing journey – not a destination.

 Rob talks to me about how he uses his love of strategy and processes to help his clients focus on what’s important for them, so they don’t feel like they’re wading through treacle with all the ‘digital marketing’ ‘stuff. By talking to both them and their customers, he finds the right solution for them. He also explains how this is something which flexes and changes over time – there’s no one-size fits all and things change over time. He makes it clear that this type of PR requires budget and there’s no getting away from that. Companies have to be prepared to commit to the power of digital marketing. 

 Rob also shares how important his family are to him and his success. Telling me the story of how he and his now wife, becoming parents at the age of 19, built a loving family unit from a very young age and how they’ve both supported each other to pursue their professional ambitions. 

During lockdown, Rob made the decision to find out if he has ADHD, after several people mentioned to him in passing that he may have that neuro divergence. He was finally diagnosed in early 2023 and he shares what’s happened since. Getting this diagnosis has helped his family to understand him and he, himself.

To contact Rob:

Website: https://thepursuitagency.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-curtis-the-pursuit-agency/

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Today’s guest is someone I used to work with and haven’t seen for several years, and as you’ll hear we had a wonderful time catching up. 

Nat Low and I met when we worked at ITV and were making documentaries, then lost touch. 

He has now recently launched a new business, although remaining working in factual video and TV, he is also moving towards the world of PR, and his brother Toby is joining him.  

We discuss the huge changes that have come about in the world of TV, documentaries and the many different streaming services that are available. 

In his business, he works with a small number of high value clients, and he now is looking to grow that number of clients but is also looking to provide something of value. 

Although already working with some FTSE 100 companies, the business wants to grow the number of those clients. They create films for companies to tell the stories of their results – which may sound like a difficult subject to make interesting. However, Nat explains how his company can create engaging films that can be used in-house, or even as documentaries.  BAE Systems and HSBC bank are among his corporate clients. 

He shares an example of how something seemingly very mundane became incredible and was even taken up and developed into an episode of Panorama – this was only possible because the client was happy to take a risk and trusted Nat. 

The subject of AI comes up, and you might be both surprised and fascinated to hear how Nat and his team make use of it. 

To contact Nat visit his website: https://www.Capital-stories.com 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

My guest today, Zoe Hewitt, swapped her role as a set designer in film and tv to be an interior designer – because the skills are pretty much the same. There are obviously other reasons, which you’ll hear about. 

Zoe has known what she wanted to do since being a young child, and got useful careers advice from school – unlike many of us and especially me who was told that I could choose between being a secretary or a nurse – which did I fancy?  

Zoe has always been proactive, and has made her own opportunities. In fact, she’s never really been employed, but has always been a freelancer.  

During her time as a set designer, she worked in theatre and worked in tv including on the iconic series Torchwood, filmed in her home town of Cardiff. 

Now, living in Bristol, she has built a career around making a difference to someone’s life by the use of interior design – to bring, joy, calm, or peace- whatever the client is looking for. 

Her main style is all about colour – people don’t go to her for beige! 

To contact Zoe: 

Website: https://www.stylemongersofbristol.co.uk/ 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/stylemongersofbristol/ 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

I was imagining my guest today talking to me from sunnier climes, only to be told that he was actually in a very cold LA! 

Nathan is the CEO of Miller Ink, a strategic communications agency with headquarters in LA, and offices in New York and San Francisco. He has spent the last 20 years in communications, working with a variety of large corporate clients, high profile individuals, entertainment leaders and some non-profit advocacy groups. 

He previously worked at the UN as the chief speechwriter and communications director at the Israeli Mission to the United Nations; in Brussels with a ‘think tank’ working on EU issues; and in politics in LA and in Washington.  

When Facebook started in 2004, Nathan was a freshman at college, had a Facebook account before many other people, and used this to his advantage in his first PR job. 

Nathan talks about how he works on crisis management with some very large US companies, including representing a custodial bank in a lawsuit with the Federal Reserve!  

It may seem odd for someone who works at this level to chat to a fellow PR from another country who specialises in working with small and micro businesses. Yet, as you will hear, we have a lot in common.  

One is the mantra of No BS when it comes to PR!  

To contact Nathan: 

Website: https://miller-ink.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/millerinkla/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MillerInkLA 

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/MillerInkLAI 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

Today’s guest has been described as a serial entrepreneur – a title she hates! 

However, Rachel has been running different businesses over the last 20 odd years. 

Prior to Lockdown, she and her husband ran a software business, but thanks to the huge changes that took place, 50% of their clients left. Like many small businesses, they were left wondering where they were going to make the money to pay for everything. 

Her husband, Elliot is an amazing pizza cook, so he suggested they started selling pizzas. 

I’m sure when many of you hear this, you’ll be thinking, how on earth would that work. 

Rachel and Elliot were incredibly well organised, and most of this is down to the fact that Rachel likes to know the figures and plan ahead. Plus, she also understands and knows how to use marketing well. 

When it comes to competition, she has a great attitude – which is almost ‘bring it on’. This isn’t just about Pizza – it’s about understanding how to run a business successfully. 

Apart from feeling hungry as you listen to us chat, after listening, you are all going to wish you lived within CasaGees’ delivery radius! 

To contact Rachel:
Website:  casagees.co.uk  

 If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

I want to introduce you to Trish Lynch, a very experienced broadcaster, interviewer, presenter and moderator, who shares the amazing story of how she almost fell into this business.  

She went to a casting with a friend who was actually going for the job, and because no one turned up, they invited Trish to interview.  She ended up with a video of her on a news desk with Eamon Holmes and David Frost.  That one video got her foot in the door, and there has been no stopping her since. Not that it was an easy ride - she had to learn and build the skills that have served her over the years.

It's likely that not many of us know what a moderator is. It’s a facilitator, a host, or an MC – basically the person in charge of everything that is happening on a stage.

Her biggest tip is for interviewers is, always research, because you are often in a situation where you need to fill in, and if you don’t know anything about your speakers – then you will be left floundering.

We’ve all heard of ‘resting bitch face’ – well Trish tells me about the ‘listening face’… 

To contact Trish:

Website:  https://www.trishlynch.co.uk/

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/trishsinclair/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe 

Today’s guest, is Dave Nelson of Truffle and Thyme, a catering business based in North Wiltshire.

For many years Dave had worked in the catering and events industry in London, and latterly in the West Country, in a variety of operations and management roles. Then COVID hit, and had a drastic effect on the entire hospitality industry and Dave’s job evaporated. 

His new business grew out of necessity, when recognising he needed to do something to make a living, was able to make use of all of the things he had learned in the many kitchens, he’d worked in during his career.  And of course, use his life-long passion for food.

He explains how he recognised the trend for grazing, which was something he could curate and manage from home and had the perfect skills to do.

Dave shares how he managed to produce his grazing boxes from home, while his family were also home in Lockdown. As you’ll hear, he went to great lengths to insure he kept managed health and safety rules. Now he has a unit in Wiltshire as his business grows.

Today, at the same time of year that his business began three years ago, he is busy putting together, Christmas hampers.

If you come on any of my workshops, you will be lucky enough to savour the delights of Dave’s amazing grazing platters.  Also, if you look at any of his links to his website or social media – warning – you may start to feel peckish.

 We also talk about PR too! 

 To contact: Dave visut 

Website: https://www.truffleandthyme.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/truffleandthyme

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truffle_and_thyme/

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

My main aim in my professional life as a PR specialist and expert, is to help people and their business or organisation to become more visible.

Looking ahead to 2024, in this episode, I predict the things that the media will be engaged with, and share how you can get your voice heard, talking about those themes. I look at more general ‘trends’ to be considered in how PR will continue to be shaped over the next year. 

This includes the continuing importance of social media, of video content and the growing domination of generations who communicate via online tools. 

My over-riding point is, as always, strong human-interest stories are incredibly important. And, as sadly, there is further contraction of the traditional media, there will be a great demand for those stories – so it’s vital start thinking and planning ahead. This alone will put you ahead of your peers. 

Among the trends I talk about, three things I see as important in 2024:

• The rise of AI will continue, and understanding how to use it well and mindfully is important. 
• Having an authentic voice – personality is going to become more important, not less. 
•  The need to understand Generation Z if you are an employer, or if they are your clients/customers.

 Also, thought leadership will become more important on LinkedIn. Listen in for more tips and trends! 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

Today’s guest is Natalie Brown, the author of ‘Confessions of a Crummy Mummy – The Baby Years’. She is also a freelance journalist and parenting blogger.

Natalie talks about how starting out her career working on local newspapers has set her up for the journey her career has taken her on.

She shares with me how she ended up writing her book, after having a baby in lockdown, and how being a journalist and working in PR, doesn’t necessarily mean you get everything right when marketing your own book. Natalie also will possibly surprise you with her great insights about publishing – she thought writing the book was the hard part!

One of her main tips, as you’ve heard on many of my podcasts, is the importance of your local community vs national.  

The value of contacts is something else that Natalie talks about, and how helpful having those within any profession is vital. Her contacts helped start her off in her freelance career.

She also shares how her blog developed into a space where people pay for her to publish their guest blogs on her platform, bringing in an income stream. And she has tips for generating traffic to your blog from other social media.

To contact Natalie:

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConfessionsOfACrummyMummy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confessionsofacrummymummy/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrsnataliebrown

Blog: www.crummymummy.co.uk

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/162841034317598 

My guest today is client and friend, Laura Dent who talks with passion about her business, So Fresh & So Clean, based in Swindon. 

Along with her husband, Laura has run the cleaning company for the last twelve years.  They offer commercial cleaning, and also specialist cleaning, biohazard, hoarding services, mental health cleans and after death cleans. 

For Laura, the most important part of her business and the one she gets the most reward from, is doing mental health cleans. Recently the business has set up a Community Interest Company (CIC), to be able to fund these type of cleans by donating a percentage of their profits. 

Another extremely important thing for her, is that her staff are treated well, and that their physical and mental health and cared for too. They have recently set up free counselling, 24/7 for their staff, should it be needed. 

Laura also talks passionately about the people for whom the company work. In cases of mental health and after death cleans, generally, people have little understanding of the issues surrounding hoarding, and the reason why people get into the situation they’re in. 

You may also be shocked to hear about the after death cleans, but also moved by the care that Laura and her team take in dealing with these cases. 

To contact: Laura 

Website: www.sofreshandsoclean.org.uk 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/S0FreshS0Clean 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/so-fresh-&-so-clean-uk-ltd/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sofreshandsocleanukltd/ 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

Faith Roswell, my guest for this podcast, wears many hats.  She is a writer, former model, self-defence educator and journalist. 

We talk about how after studying English literature, sociology, art and critical thinking at university, she went on to become a full-time model, which she gave up to become a cage fighter, but COVID put a stop to that.  

Faith talks about how she overcame the stereotypical idea we have about modelling and how a case involving outing predators in the modelling industry set her up to become a spokesperson for model safety. 

She is now writing a book about psychological self-defence. 

You need to listen in to hear how Faith has juggled all of the different areas of her life and how it is all about remaining genuine in whatever you do. 

Faith is certainly not your typical ‘anything’ and she delights in disrupting ‘norms’ and false narratives. 

To contact Faith: 

https://www.facebook.com/thefaithroswell 

https://www.instagram.com/faithroswellofficial/ 

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

David Gillespie is an actor who has appeared on TV, radio and on stage, and he is also a corporate coach – he is all about communication.

You may well know David as the curate, Duncan Boyd in EastEnders, a role he came back to after a gap of nearly 34 years.  He also played Selby, one of the original crew members in Red Dwarf.

A co-author of 5 books on communication, David knows his subject, as you’ll hear in our conversation. Like me, he is a nosey person, which works well for both of his careers.

We talk about engaging with people, and how even when you give a presentation, you are there to entertain, and you are in the world of show business.

David’s passion for communication comes through during the whole podcast, and you can’t help but be drawn in to hear his story.

A brilliant tip from him: - interested = interesting.  The more interest we take in other people, the more interesting they find us.

To contact David:

Website: https://www.Dave-Gillespie.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davegillespieconsulting/

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Today’s guest is full of fascinating stories, and I know you’re going to enjoy this podcast!

Jane is a correspondent for Business Insider, who lives just outside New York City and works from home. Originally from the UK, she has worked in the US for 19 years. 

Business Insider is an online media outlet that as its name suggests focuses on tech and finance. However, there is a division called Insider Life, which is where Jane works. She focuses on real life; human interest stories, but, because much of the audience of Business Insider are people who are high achievers and go-getters, they are looking for stories that are going to help them through their life and work - stories where they can learn, be inspired or take away a message. 

Jane has always wanted to work in journalism, most likely because her dad was a journalist – an editor, in Darlington in the northeast of England. There was never really anything else on her radar. When she finished university, after a short stint working in PR, she got a job in a local newspaper. From there she moved up, and because of having lived with her journalist dad, she knew how the business worked, she moved through several jobs and crossed off the stuff she needed to pass the modules to become a qualified Westminster Press journalist (exactly the same training as me!)  

As you’ll hear, Jane has had a fascinating career working in different areas of the country and with different news outlets, including Bella magazine at one point.  But as you’ll hear, what she loved most was being there for breaking news; covering stories and events as they happened. 

We talk about the time she worked with Piers Morgan – which is extremely interesting – hearing from someone who has worked with him.  

Jane talks about the travelling she has done too before she was asked to go and work on a relaunch of the National Inquirer, based in the US. And of course, she jumped at the opportunity. 

Jane shares some funny, crazy and sad stories that she’s written about during her career.   

I know you’ll be looking forward to her coming on as a guest in the future. 

To contact Jane: 

Twitter: https://x.com/JaneRidleyNY 

Business Insider:  https://www.businessinsider.com/  - search Jane Ridley to see everything she’s written! 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

Todays guest is Stefan Thomas, the author of ‘Business Networking for Dummies’.

Not surprisingly, we talked a lot about networking, something we both do and find incredibly good for our businesses.

Stefan sees networking as part of PR for your brand, and the most efficient way to increase and maintain your visibility­. He has used networking so well that now people talk about him and what he does to others, in a positive way.

He was an early adopter of many things, including social media, when people thought he was mad wasting time on it. But now, his so-called madness has paid off. 

Also, like me he doesn’t see the point in keeping his personal and business life separate on social media. People like to see that the things that you’re doing, because they often find they share interests with you, which in turn draw them to you.

And you need to listen to find out about Micro Moments…

To contact Stefan:

Website: https://www.stefanthomas.biz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanthomasbiz/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: Fiona Scott's PR Tribe

Today my visitor is Jane, better known as Lady Janey, who I met on one of my courses a few years ago. She shares what she learnt on that course and what she’s achieved since using that knowledge.   

A very busy lady, Jane is a consumer champion, who presents on radio, appears on TV, writes for publications, her own blog and national papers.  

She talks to me about her blog and how that has developed, to the point of earning an income from it. 

Her business grew out of the fact she was worried about the falling standards of customer services in the UK. The advice that was out there about getting in touch with companies, or customer service, was often very confusing. Initially, she started as a mystery shopper, and writing and talking about it, helped to build her business. 

Jane gives some excellent tips about booking summer holidays – one of the main ones being, to pay by credit card, and the other, to have a contingency fund to get you back from somewhere, should you get stuck, and you have to cover the costs at the time. She also gives some tips on avoiding scams. 

One of the things that Jane says annoys most people about customer service, is not being able to get hold of people. And she has a great answer to that. A fascinating and hugely important tip she has is - be a better customer – you will get a better experience.  

 Listen to the podcast to find out why! 

 To contact Jane: 

Website: https://ladyjaney.co.uk/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladyjaney75/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladyjaney75/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ladyjaney75/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ladyjaney75 

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group it’s Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe and it’s here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

My guest today is former detective superintendent, Julie Mackay, who with my friend, broadcast journalist Robert Murphy, co-authored the best-selling true crime book, ‘To Hunt a Killer’.

During our talk we manage to cover everything from stories of crime, the importance of intuition, changes in policing, cold cases, media and the police, to period poverty!

A retired detective superintendent, Julia shares her experiences working in the police, as a female, and how she overcame it all, because of her passion for solving crime, and loving being a police officer.

She talks about the case at the centre of her award-winning book which she led a team who finally found the killer of Melanie Road who was murdered in Bath in 1984. Her murder led to Britain’s biggest man hunt at the time. At that time, I was iin Bath, a teenager myself, about to start my degree at Bath Spa University. We were all scared and, as the Bath Rapist, was also active at that time we worried about every dark corner, every late night walk. 

Julie talks about how incredibly hard it is to work a serious crime case, even after 20 years, due to the amount of paperwork, forensic and digital evidence, including DNA, and the fact that there are still witnesses who have information they want to share. Often buried within that mountain of work, there can be key facts or nuggets of information which get missed. Yet it was ground-breaking DNA work which led to Melanie’s killer being finally brought to justice. 

You will be totally riveted listening to this episode.

Julie can be found here https://juliemackay.co.uk/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group it’s https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Today’s guest is a first in terms of what she does, which is quite niche. Melissa Hobson writes about the ocean; marine science, marine conservation and interesting studies about the sea and the creatures within.

Journalist and writer Melissa has been published in The Guardian, National Geographic Online, New Scientist and many other scientific publications. 

She is not a scientist herself, but a freelance writer who is passionate about anything to do with the ocean and conservation, and the people who are working on fascinating initiatives.  

One of the recent stories Melissa worked on was about the tagging of a rare and huge species of stingray. As you can imagine, pictures and footage is vital when writing about these subjects, and most of themagazines expect beautiful images.

Once again her career speaks to how she can work far more easily with those who have the right ‘assets’ – the correct knowledge, experience, great videos and great imagery which showcases what they do. 

To hear more about her her own story, how she finds the marine conservation organizations, individual scientists or biologists and people she wants to work with, and the stories she has share – tune into the podcast.

To contact Melissa:

Website:  www.MelissaHobson.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melpud/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group it’s Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe ask to join and mention this podcast by name. 

Today my guest and I have a fascinating talk about old school journalism and the differences between the past and present in the industry.

And Marcus Grodentz has lots of knowledge to share, having started as a copy boy in a news agency in London, and now, having worked in the industry for several years, he has moved into a PR career, before later becoming a life coach.

A great talking point is our use of mobile phones, and how they weren't even in the picture when we started our jobs in journalism. People seem to have forgotten what the main purpose of phones is!

Marcus shares interesting stories from his time when he joined a newspaper at the age of 16.

You know I love having conversations with people, and Marcus agrees – after all PR is a communication industry. 

Now working as a coach, the conversations continue on a wide variety of subjects and with interesting people. Marcus uses the various skills he has developed as a journalist and working in PR for his work as a coach. He has to know which skill to draw on, and also use another of his most important skills - being a good listener.

Also, how do you know when a coach is a good coach, rather than just someone who has decided to call themselves that? Marcus’ answer is – it’s all about building trust in him.  He doesn’t see coaching as solving problems, but as a conversation around challenging belief systems and gaining clarity.

To contact Marcus:

Phone number: 07915 888168

Email: novusilc@aol.com

Website: https://wwww.novuslifecaoching.com

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe

Today’s guest is Olivia Foster who is a TV producer working for shows like This Morning, Who Dares Wins and many more. 

Before working in TV, Olivia was a journalist working for magazines such as Heat, Grazia and Marie Claire, which she loved. She talks about how she finds TV a far more dynamic medium to work in. 

She also explains what a producer actually does, because few of us know (I do because I was a producer myself full-time with ITV) and it involves far more than you could imagine. 

So, what if you want to be on TV?  Olivia’s great tip for this is to get yourself in front of a camera, so that you can build up your confidence, and talk without falling over words. Film yourself on your phone, get other people to film you, do social media live talks, give talks in front of audiences - try everything to get yourself out there. Be visible and present.  

She shares with me her love of funny stories, and some of the bonkers stories that can appear on TV, plus on the flip side, she also likes the warm and fuzzy moments too. Olivia also talks about the types of ideas that she will be looking for over in the coming months.  

Like many of my journalist guests who have been on before, Olivia talks about the importance of knowing about the person you are pitching your ideas to. Don’t just send something over without checking out the sort of stories that the relevant journalist works on. 

We end with a discussion about social media, AI and how things are changing.  

To contact Olivia: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LivsFoster 

Instagram; https://www.instagram.com/livsfoster/ 

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my free Facebook group it’s Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe. 

Today I’m joined by my friend and client, Louise Hunt Skelley PLY.

Louise has been working with me for a year, after retiring from a career as an elite athlete, as a former top 10 wheelchair tennis player. 

Since retiring and ready to take the next step in her career, she has fully embraced PR. She shares why she thinks the investment in PR is well worth it, and how it has helped her to build her confidence.

Having competed at two Paralympic Games, she is now self-employed with several different hats; mentoring, consultancy, speaking engagements, and commentating – again at Wimbledon this year.

One challenging thing Louise talks about is how people perceive her, as a disabled person. She hates being labelled, and the way some people assume because she is a wheelchair user and her legs don’t work – neither does her brain!  Louise shares some stories about this, and goes on to say how she wants to break those stigmas and assumptions.

Louise also talks about working with businesses to recognise how they can support a disabled employee, and not just by having wheelchair accessibility, which is a must anyway. It’s about inclusion for everyone.

She talks about her top tips for recognising red flags when approached by PR people, and why you should be wary of them.

To contact Louise:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouiseHunt1

LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-hunt-skelley-ply-992b90177/

Website: https://www.Louisehunt.co.uk/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

My guest today is Claire Brewerton, the owner of Virtual Business Centre, a telephone answering company based outside Malmesbury. However, the business works with clients from Scotland to Exeter and everywhere in between.

Claire talks about how at the beginning of the business she did absolutely everything, answering phone calls 7 days a week, but now she has a team of 24. She is still the chief, and they are open 7 days a week, but she is not personally working all hours.

She talks about the type of work they do for clients, and shares why people want their phone answered.

4 of the reasons why clients might want their phones answered;

1. They have to do the school run
2. They don’t want to work 7 days a week, but their website is open all that time.
3. They need someone to answer calls in the evening when they’re dealing with family.
4. They want to go on holiday.

We have a conversation about niches in business – which is something often talked about - particularly when it comes to marketing and PR, and not always easy to identify.

Claire also talks to me about working with Theo Paphitis, and Small Business Sunday and the great opportunities that has brought her.

To contact Claire:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thevirtualbusinesscentre/

Website: https://www.virtualbusinesscentre.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/virtualbuscent

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/virtualbuscent

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: Fiona Scott's PR Tribe

Today I’m talking to someone who I have been working with since 2021. Cartoonist Morgan Gleave is familiar to you though you might not know it – he created the cartoon that I use for my podcast!

Many of us love cartoons, comics and animation, but how many of us use them for our business?

Morgan has been drawing all of his life, and finally took the plunge to go full time a few years ago, creating comics and cartoons. He captures people’s personality and character, rather than an idealised image. He injects fun into someone’s authentic persona. 

He shares how he works – always starting with pencil and paper, before moving on to create the image digitally, which allows it to be used in many different ways.

Morgan also talks about how people don’t always recognise the value in art work, and how over the years he has had to justify what he charges. But now, he knows his worth - the amount of time he has spent honing his art, and building up his experience, and is comfortable with his charging structure. 

I want to use more cartoons in the future, and we talk about how people use cartoons.  One being, using cartoons to explain complex processes, because many people can handle visual representation better than they do written information.

Morgan also talks about the comic book he is working on, which stems from his childhood passion for Marvel Comics and his plans for his first graphic novel.

If you would like to contact Morgan:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgan-gleave-488b3b230/

 If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group it’s Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe, it’s free to join. 

Today I’m pleased to be introducing a PR journo-hybrid who works in a very similar way to me. Niamh is a freelance national journalist, covering celebrity entertainment, showbiz and television. She also works for quite a few national titles, such as The Mirror, Daily Star, Okay magazine, and lots more. 

Niamh talks about some of the celebrities she has worked with and the programmes she’s covered, and how, like me, she loves TV. She shares how she accesses these people, and how even after the shows have finished, she has often stayed in touch with them, because when they stand up for important issues, she knows she can go back to them for stories or comment. Building that relationship is important to her.

We are definitely singing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to talking about the use of photos and video.

Niamh also talks about the need for light and shade in news’ pieces.  Her reaction to what some people refer to as ‘fluffy’, is that we need some fun in our lives too, as there is plenty of heavy news every day. There is a huge variety of stories to be told, and if you enjoy your subject matter, because you live and breathe it, then that’s fine - write about it. 

We also chatted about what the important issues will be during 2023.

Niamh’s tips:

• Make sure you know which journalists write about your passion. 
• Talk about your passions on social media – journalists use it for their research.
• Use hashtags, so that your posts get noticed.
• Plan well ahead – if you know there are dates coming up that are awareness months, or days for your passion subject.

To contact Niamh:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/missnspence

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niamh.spence/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niamhspence/?originalSubdomain=uk

Website: https://www.niamhspence.co.uk/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe.

My guest today is someone I know well, and who I work with – the wonderful, Dave Southby. 

Dave is a financial adviser. Many of people aren’t too sure what they do, but Dave’s short definition is, ‘helping people plan for their financial future’. However, he’s what I’d call a ‘dream maker’ – and you’ll hear why during our conversation.  

He has been in business for three years and loves what he does. Particularly, he enjoys having conversations with people and encouraging them to do the things they want to do while planning a financially secure future.  

We have a conversation about Dave’s journey from working in the motor trade, before retraining as a financial advisor, and why that role actually helped him recognise what he enjoyed, what his strengths are, and what he wanted to do in life. 

We also talk about networking, and Dave quite rightly points out how important and how helpful it is for small business owners, especially when starting out. When you are in an employed role, you generally don’t get the opportunity to meet other business owners or the breadth of businesses that you do when you network.  

The growth of his business is important to him, for many different reasons; wanting to develop what his business offers in the community; wanting to take on new staff to help out with the parts of business he doesn’t enjoy; wanting to meet the demand. 

Community and charity are two things that you’ll hear us speak about in some depth, as both are very important to Dave in his life and business. 

Dave’s passion for his business shines through in our conversation – he isn’t your normal financial guy! 

To contact Dave: 

Website: https://www.davesouthbyfp.co.uk/ 

Email: dave.southby@sjpp.co.uk 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my website at www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

Today’s episode is with digital marketing entrepreneur Carl Hewitt, who reached out to me on LinkedIn.

Carl is an enthusiastic young businessman, who is the CEO and co-founder of a paid media and web agency Hewitt Matthews, based in Portsmouth.

Carl is one of several people I’ve interviewed who started out in business at an early age, and doesn’t come from a family of business owners.  He started his first enterprise when he was 15, and then set up his current business with a friend at the age of 17. 

And his main reason for starting his business was for love. The love of his mum, who he wanted to send on holiday.

When it comes to business, this young man  understands the difference between sales, marketing and PR – so we are talking from the same hymn sheet!

We also talk about jumping into something and letting your ego take over, hearing with your happy ears and then being caught out because you didn’t really listen.

His main tips about marketing and PR, are:

• Try things out – don’t just give ideas lip service, spend time and money and go for it.
• Consistency – going for your goal, over at least three channels, and commit for at least six months.
• Create a roadmap of testing – measuring the difference between ­what works and what doesn’t yet over a long period of time. Results are not instant, it’s a long game. 

To contact Carl:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-hewitt/

Email: carl@hewittMatthews.co.uk

Website: https://hewittmatthews.co.uk/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe. 

This podcast is vital listening for anyone who is in a relationship where they are not treated with the respect they should be, and feel they are in danger.

My two guests are, Jodie Fraser, and Nick Gazzard, who are going to talk about a trust, set up in the memory of Nick’s daughter, Hollie.       

Jodie Fraser works in the block management sector, and manages blocks of flats on behalf of residents and landlords. Her main aim being, that she ensures those flats are safe and secure places for people to live. She shares with us, how as a child, she was seriously bullied while at school, and her safe place was always her home.  

Also, she talks about the dangers of working in her sector. Often being out alone at night, and feeling very vulnerable and increasingly, both she and her colleagues are faced with aggressive, upset people.

After the murder of Hollie Gazzard, a promising hair stylist by an abusive and coercive partner, her dad Nick and his family set up the Hollie Gazzard Trust. The initial aim was to help a few people, but it has grown, and one of its achievements has been the creation of an app to help those in domestic violence situation however it also helps anyone else who finds they are vulnerable or at risk. 

Jodie was aware of Hollie’s death, and after discovering the Holly Guard App, she is sharing it with the wider property managers sector and is an ambassador for the app. 

Nick shares how the Holly Guard App works, and how it can support anyone, male or female, and whatever age, to feel safe. 500,000 people now use the app. Nine police forces recommend the Holly Guard App and the Holly Guard Extra app too.

Jodie shares how she uses the app in her business, and how it could work for your business too.

To contact Jodie:

www.FraserAllenEM.co.uk

Phone the office on: 81242399150

To contact Nick:

Www.HollieGazzzrd.org

For the basic app: www.HollieGuard.com

For a business app: www.HollieGuard.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/holliegazzardtrust

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hollie-gazzard-trust/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group, it’s Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe.

Today’s guest is possibly the best known female, psychic medium in the UK, and I’m happy to say, also a client of mine – T J Higgs.

TJ shares how, as a youngster, she thought everyone else was odd, rather than her, because since a very young age she has seen spirits, auras and could tell when people were lying, but was unable to explain to them, why. 

Have you ever seen anyone’s eyes change colour? Well, you may do if you meet or work with TJ. Her eyes change colour, and I’ve witnessed this and it’s amazing!

We talk about some of the problems around PR for psychic mediums, due to the Ofcom code, which says that when a medium is demonstrating to an audience, they have to present it as, ‘entertainment only’.  

This seems very unfair, says TJ, because when sharing her spirituality with an audience, she doesn’t feel she is entertaining, she feels she is ‘serving’.  Religious bodies are allowed to share their spirituality on TV or in public place without this notice so why is spirituality any different? 

TJ also shares with me the wonderful relationship she had with other famous mediums Colin Fry and Derek Acorah, who she worked with on several television shows, and how she is grateful for their support, which has enabled her to use her skills to do what she loves.

Also, using her abilities to read colours and auras, TJ gives some great insights into the relationship between King Charles and Queen Camilla just before the Coronation? She talks about their choice of colours and also that very intricate ‘invitation’. 

TJ is on tour this year with her ‘Grief is Love Tour’ and all of the dates and ticket details can be found on her website.

To contact TJ:

www.tjhiggs.com

www.Instagram.com/tjhiggs.medium

www.facebook.com/tracyhiggs

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group – it’s Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe. 

My visitor today is from the part of the country where I was born - Somerset. Ben McGrail is an ITV journalist, with a role as Somerset correspondent for ITV News, West Country. 

A lot of our discussion is about working within a region, rather than being national. Its easy to think that the pinnacle of a career is to work on a national ‘title’ or for a national ‘programme’ yet it’s not always the case.  

We both agree about the benefits of working in a community that you know well, value and live within. Ben talks about how people often see it as a lack of ambition, not to be aiming for a career move into a national company.  

However, he thinks, rather than being a lack of ambition, wherever he is working, he wants to be the best journalist he can be, do the best job he can. He loves his job, where he lives and his passion is his home – Somerset. 

We talk about the variety of stories that you get working within a community, and in reality, with the web, everything is global anyway.  

Ben says the most important thing when working with someone like him is that it’s all about relationships and trust.  Locals come to recognise you and how you tell a story.  

Over time, they know what you do, and what you won’t do, and won’t say. He found this when revisiting people who had been badly flooded in 2014, and were in danger of being flooded again this year. They were happy to talk to him, because they knew and trusted him.  

He shares what a day in his life looks like, working in Somerset, to get a story in to the news on time. 

We also talk about Ben’s world and the relationship he has with PR companies, and his instinct for recognising people who have only emailed him directly , compared with the ones who send out a ‘catch-all email to several hundred journalists across the UK. 

To contact Ben: 

https://www.facebook.com/McGrailBen 

ben.mcgrail@itv.com 

If you would like to contact me email fiona@fionascott.co.k or visit my website at scottmedia.uk. You can also join my Facebook group: Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe.  

Today’s guest is Chris Maslin, an accountant and tax advisor who has sold his business to an Employee Ownership Trust – have you ever heard of such a trust? 

Chris tells me why Employee Ownership (EO) can be a good exit plan for business owners who deeply care about the future of their company and its employees when they step away. 

He also explains the pros and cons between EO and a management buy-out.

After around 13 years, building his accountancy practice, Chris took this route himself as felt he had become less excited about the business, and wanted to step back.  However, he didn’t want to sell out to a larger company who would take over and quite likely sack half of the staff.  

While he enjoys making money, it isn’t his main focus in life, and wanting more and more money doesn’t necessarily bring you happiness.  For him, it’s also about feeling good about what you do.  So, rather than sell, take the money and run, EO sat better with his ethical standpoint – allowing him to make some money yet not at the expense of the health of the business and its future.

I also chat to Chris about PR, because it seems to be something people in the financial legal sector really struggle with – and I think that is borne out in our discussion.

With his new business Go EO, Chris is now helping other small businesses owners who are wanting to exit their business, or take on a smaller role within their business to explore the benefits of Employee Ownership.

To contact Chris:

Website: https://goeo.uk

Linkedin: https:// www.linkedin.com/in/chris--maslin/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group look for Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe.

Today I’m talking to my friend and fellow journalist Samantha Brick. Sam is a Feature writer, who loves writing about people, and has lived in France since 2008 with her husband and their family of dogs. 

Sam tells me what it means to work as a feature writer. 

She loves to write about relationships, family issues and events, careers, whether we’re mothers or not, our friendships – in fact, anything that touches us as humans.  

Sam also shares how she deals with stories sent to her, that are not the type of things she is looking for.  She talks about the pros and cons of sharing your experiences, because these days once you tell your story, it’s out there on the internet forever.

Some of the things that Sam talks about is things that you shouldn’t do – like ask her to write about your business. She is not interested in that, it’s the backstory where the interest lies. 

Don’t expect journalists to interact with you, if you haven’t done your research to understand what they are looking for.

Sam’s biggest tip which may surprise some of you – read the press! The hardcopy versions, or electronic copies of the paper.  

Listen to today’s podcast, and you’ll hear more fascinating insights. 

To contact Sam:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamanthaBrick

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sam.brick.161  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sammy_brick/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: Fiona Scott's PR Tribe

Some of you will have routinely heard me talk about the importance of good photography to go with your PR, and today I’m talking to a photographer who I regularly work with - the wonderful Barbara Leatham.

Barbara talks about how she has had her own photography business which is now in its 15th year, and how her previous training in marketing and graphic design informs her photography in terms of knowing what is needed for magazine layouts. Originally she was a photographer for the Royal Air Force so she knows her photographic onions. 

She shares some fantastic tips about the best and worst things to do with photography, including:

• What you shouldn’t have as your LinkedIn profile picture.
• Why using images of yourself that are not current is misleading.
• Why professional photos are needed at awards and business events.
• Why you shouldn’t use your mobile phones to photograph products.

I also talk to her about what can be the very confusing subject of copyright and image permissions. 

One of Barbara’s top tips is, when you book a business photoshoot you should always be planning ahead for the photos you and your business require for the coming year.

You can connect with Barbara on:

www.BarabaraLeatham.co.uk

www.Facebook.com/BarbaraLeathamPhotography

www.Linkein.com/in/barbaraleatham/

www.Instagram.com/barbaraleathamphotography/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: fionascottsprtribe

Today I’m talking to a Paralympian Gold Medal winner, who was awarded an MBE last year – Chris Hunt Skelley MBE PLY.  

Chris, a Judo champion, is visually impaired and has a condition called Ocular Albinism, and although he was affected by the problem from a young age, he wasn’t diagnosed until he was 17. 

He talks about the harrowing experience of living through the time when he realised that his sight was degenerating and he would never be able to work in the profession that he had worked towards, he would never drive, or be able to do many of the things teenagers normally look forward to experiencing in life. 

Chris shares, that the shining light that kept him going was judo, plus the huge support and love of his family- his mum in particular. He now has even more help; his wife, Louise Hunt Skelley is also a Paralympian, and together they support each other.

Chatting to him, it is obvious that his own resilience and positive attitude to life helped him survive that period, but also continues to drive him forward in his amazing Paralympic career. In his own words, ‘he’s not the most talented person in the world, but what he does have an abundance in is, he puts his head down and works like a Trojan, and never gives up’.

Chris’ biggest tips to other people struggling with disability, are; never give up, be adaptable, because you can do anything. Don’t be afraid of opening up to people who care about you; tell them when you are struggling and lastly, believe in yourself.

To contact Chris:

Www.chrisskelley.co.uk
Instagram: http://instragram.com/Christopher.skelley
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/christopherskelleyparalympicjudoka
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristopherSke2

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe

I met Katie Neeves early in 2022, and my interview with her came as a result of that meeting. There’s a lot of misinformation on being trans & I asked if she would share her story and her insights with me and my listeners – and to my delight, she said ‘yes’! 

Our conversation in this podcast ranges from Gender Dysmorphia to a discussion about loos and urinals, how transphobic some of the mainstream media are, to the old stereotype around female trans sportswomen having an advantage. Katie puts things straight in her own words. 

Katie has two main missions in life; to reach out to other trans people, to let them know they are not alone, and that it is ok to be trans. 

The second, to educate society to recognise that trans people, like everyone else, just want to be happy in life. 

She talks about her first memories of trying on her sister’s clothes, her mother’s negative reaction, and how that one incident stayed with her for her whole life. It was many years later that she realised she had gender dysmorphia. 

Katie has been a photographer and filmmaker for 35 years, and four years ago, she bravely came out publicly about being transgender. 

She shares how scary that decision was, and how she had to balance the impact the changes in her personal life made on her professional one; a brand that had been established for 22 years. 

In her case, the response was overwhelmingly positive and supportive though since then Katie has experienced some terrible trolling and transphobic behaviour – especially online. 

Katie also explains the difference, very clearly, between sex and gender, which most of us don’t understand. 

Katies describes herself as a ‘gobby trans woman’ yet I’d call her a strong, resilient trans woman who is happy to open up to people about herself, and wants to educate society to change their mindset around trans people. I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as I did!

Here are all of the places you can find Katie:

Https://www.cool2btrans.co.uk

Instagram: @cool2btrans

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/katie-neeves

Facebook: facebook.com/katieneeves

Facebook.com/cool2btrans

My guest today, Nicola Snell, does just that, with her business Press Loft.

Nicola’s ethos is to make PR simple and to help get her clients products in front of journalists. She shares with me, just how Press Loft works for businesses that are product based.

Nicola Snell has cleverly combined the idea of product PR and businesses being reactive to journalists, by providing a huge range of images of products readily available for when those journalists need them which saves journalists time a lot of time.

As I am always telling people, having an image library is important, and key to how Nicola’s business works. Companies need a variety of images of their product, in a range of styles; cut out shots on plain backgrounds, lifestyle, or in situ. The more variety, the more appeal for journalists looking for images to write about and use in articles.

Once your images are on Press Loft, and they have been used for an article, don’t put your feet up, expecting sales to come to you. You need to talk about how your product has been featured, but importantly, it must be in a way that is legal. Nicola and I talk about the issues and murkiness around this area of copyright, presently in the UK.

Press Loft has a 60-day trial, after which you can choose a package that suits your budget. 

If you are a product-based business or work with one, check out Press Loft – another tool to add to your PR kit helping to make you or your client more visible, or even hit the national level where they have not been before.

PressLoft.com

Linkedin/Pressloft

Instagram: @Pressloft

Blog: Pressloft.com

I have a lot of synergy with today’s guest, Carol Driver as she is also a journalist. She has been in the industry for 25 years, is now freelance, but has had a number of very interesting jobs. 

She became an editor at quite a young age working with local newspapers - with huge responsibility - she then progressed in the industry to work with national papers, such as the Daily Mail; MailOnline as travel editor; working on UK News; as editorial direct of a group of magazines then full circle, back to MailOnline as editor of Femail.

She talks about the importance of connecting with readers through stories, and how it is vital to understand the multi-dimensional elements of someone; readers need to be able to engage and resonate with their personal backgrounds too.

The birth of her child was the driver to become freelance and we talk about how that was a hard decision but now it is something she embraces and loves.  And how after working with many women wanting to share their stories but no idea where to go, she set up a company called Make the Headlines to help those women do exactly that..

We talk about the changes in journalism and how collaboration is important in that world and in the world of PR.  How we can support each other in helping our clients to get their stories out into the world. 

She shares tips about what makes a good national story and what doesn’t, and how to ensure you are doing the best you can to promote the coverage you are getting and how useful it is to look for awareness days that are linked to you or your business.

To contact Carol:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.driver.796

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/carol_driver_/

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroldriver/

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Fiona, as a PR specialist and expert has one aim in her professional life - to help people and their businesses become more visible.

She looks into the future, and offers her ten tips about the things that she predicts the media will be positive about and engaged with - and she shares how you can get your voice heard around those themes.

Her three most important tips are;

To always try to find a positive take on whatever you are talking about – even if you have had a terrible disaster – talk about how you overcame that problem, and who helped.

Make sure you fully understand the concept of greenwashing, so that you are fully embracing it, and not falling short, by just paying lip service to the idea of being more ‘green’. Hint one of the tips is around sustainability.

Always be authentic, have integrity, be grateful and honest in everything you do – particularly in your business, even when sharing difficult messages.

And Fiona’s over-riding timeless tip is: 

Remember that stories about people and lived experience will always be more popular than other stuff. The best stories come from people not product or services. 

Would you love my expert PR eyes on your business? Do you need expert PR help?

If you want rocket fuel for your business by mastering your stories and being consistently visible; then book your PR Power Hour with Fiona here: PR Power Hour with Fiona Scott

PR isn’t expecting floods of clients at your door after sending out one press release, entrepreneur and investor Kyle Raffo tells Fiona in her latest podcast. 

Kyle Raffo, who runs one of the UK’s leading printing and merchandising company Embello and has invested in several other businesses, is not even 30 years old. In this episode he shares with Fiona his early entrepreneurial drive and where it comes from. 

He talks about the importance of being truly authentic to yourself and your brand, and not selling your reputation for money. 

He shares some deeply thoughtful moments about how ‘outward success’ and the trappings of wealth are not always a route to true happiness. 

Kyle also spells out that good PR isn’t about lead generation and direct sales. He believes PR is key to brand awareness and raising a personal profile and should be seen and embraced in that light. Sales is a discipline to be honed alongside good PR. 

One of his tips to other young entrepreneurs, is to use social media wisely as you are writing your personal profile as you go – whether you are an entrepreneur or an employee. He says it’s wise to remember to represent a brand professionally when on social media – because it’s out there, forever.

https://www.embello.co.uk/

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Would you love my expert PR eyes on your business? Do you need expert PR help?

If you want rocket fuel for your business by mastering your stories and being consistently visible; then book your PR Power Hour with Fiona here here: PR Power Hour with Fiona Scott

Danielle Homes co-founded Black Nova Designs in Wiltshire and believes her company's rapid growth is down to tireless and persistent PR and marketing efforts. 

Black Nova designs specialises in I.T. solutions for home and business and also provides web design and web hosting services. Danielle and her husband Kyle launch the business in 2015 and seven years later, they employ 10 staff and are going from strength to strength. 

Danielle is a strong believer in making your company visible using a variety of PR tactics to get through to people. She has mainly exploited networking and social media opportunities.  As she says, "you can never post too often about what you do" because there is always someone watching. Even if they don't make themselves immediately known to you now, they might do in the future. 

Danielle tells Fiona that to grow your business you need to step out of your comfort zone to master your own mind because then you can master your own business but you cannot do that without help from top coaches.

Listen to more from Danielle on this episode and find out more about her company here https://www.blacknovadesigns.co.uk/ or from any social media platform. Just look for Black Nova Design. 

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Would you love my expert PR eyes on your business? Do you need expert PR help?

If you want rocket fuel for your business by mastering your stories and being consistently visible; then book your PR Power Hour with Fiona here here: PR Power Hour with Fiona Scott

ITV journalist Rob Murphy is the latest guest on Fiona's brilliant podcast line-up. What he has to say will open your eyes to what journalists crave in seeking a good story to cover.

Rob is a seasoned television journalist covering mainly crime and investigations but he's also a successful podcaster and author. His book 'To Hunt A Killer' was co-authored with detective Julie Mackay and was published earlier this year. It's available in the usual places. 

He  deals daily  with PR and comms professionals  and tells Fiona how surprising it is that so many irrelevant releases are sent to him. But, as he says on the podcast, the communications he receives from Fiona are always bang on the money!

Listen in for Rob's fascinating accounts of the stories and personalities he has dealt with and for some really useful tips on how to prep your clients for TV interviews.



Would you love my expert PR eyes on your business? Do you need expert PR help?

If you want rocket fuel for your business by mastering your stories and being consistently visible; then book your PR Power Hour with Fiona here here: PR Power Hour with Fiona Scott