CorpComms Magazine

There's nearly always a communications SNAFU moment in The Apprentice, and last night's was a cracker - at least, it got plenty of laughs on You're Fired straight afterwards.

Settling down after Tuesday's opening episode, the task for each team in last night's edition was to create and launch a mobile phone app. Neither team's ideas seemed very strong - but then, they had very little time, and I'm probably not the target market for a gizmo that will get your phone to make annoying noises, like chalk scraping on a board, to wind up your friends.

At the brainstorm stage, skincare entrepreneur Susan had an idea for an app which, for all we know could have been a killer for the girl's team - but we never found out. Her pitch for her 'brilliant' idea to fellow team-members went something like this Okay, imagine you're you, and I'm me, and I say - OK, so, if I ask you a question like, where do you think we are, and I say you know what I'm gonna ask my phone where we are right now...

As she struggled to explain herself, team members' patience quickly ran out, and feisty bossy boots Edna, the project manager, told Susan to put a sock in it in no uncertain terms. Moral: if you seek to persuade, don't just crash into the conversation with a half-baked idea.

Instead, do give yourself a little time to clarify your thoughts before pitching in. Edna's comeuppance came when she chose herself to make the pitch for their app to the audience at a big mobile conference at Earls Court. She communicated almost nothing to the audience, but her rictus grin afterwards as team members put the boot in, was a joy to behold.

In the boardroom later on, by contrast, the losing boy's team weak link Alex talked a terrific game, and it almost saved him from the chop. Being persuasive and fluent, he nearly succeeded in guiding Lord Sugar's stake through Irish team mate Jim Eastwood's heart. He failed though, because Lord Sugar saw him as a passenger not a doer - as right-hand man Nick observed, he had two weeks to shine but actually spent two weeks in the shadows.

So it just goes to show, good communications skills are vital - but won't always carry the day if not backed up by action. You can talk the talk, but occasionally you have to be able to walk as well.

www.mediatrainingassociates.co.uk

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