Sam McAlister
Negotiator of the BBC Prince Andrew interview; BAFTA and EMMY nominated executive producer; former barrister; Visiting Senior Associate, Lucy Cavendish College at the University of Cambridge; Visiting Senior Fellow, LSE; Bestselling Author of Scoops; Journalist; Broadcaster; TEDx speaker; portrayed by Billie Piper in Netflix hit movie Scoop
Sam McAlister is renowned for securing the BBC’s scoop of the century – the 2019 interview with Prince Andrew that effectively toppled a member of the Royal Family and earned her a Netflix movie deal. Drawing on lessons from her career in law, journalism, media, writing, broadcasting, film and academia, she is the only person in the world who can truly answer the question – How on EARTH do you convince a Prince?
Sam McAlister is, according to Billie Piper, a ‘force of nature.’ Responsible for negotiating the BBC’s world-famous interview with Prince Andrew, she’s written a best-selling book, been played in a Netflix movie, is a TEDx speaker, served as a criminal barrister, and now teaches negotiation at the London School of Economics and is a Visiting Senior Associate at Lucy Cavendish College at the University of Cambridge. From negotiation to resilience, communication to reputation and risk management, journalism to speaking truth to power, Sam has been on the front line of the media and reputation for over 20 years.
There’s nothing she doesn’t know about how to get what you want, with tenacity and charm, whilst avoiding all the risks and pitfalls that the modern media landscape and business world bring.
So, how DO you convince a Prince? Only Sam can answer that question.
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Sam McAlister
Sam McAlister's TEDx talk “How to Convince a Prince”
Sam McAlister’s Speech Topics
How To Convince (A Prince)
In November 2019, Prince Andrew gave a disastrous interview that rocked the Royal Family and toppled a Prince. Described as the British Frost/Nixon, and the “Scoop of the Century”, the woman who made it happen can tell you all the behind-the-scenes secrets on how to negotiate with everyone from Princes to Presidents, and the inside tales from decades at the coal face of media, risk, reputation and communication. With exclusive pictures from her years at the BBC and the Netflix movie, featuring everyone from Prince Andrew to Gillian Anderson, attendees will learn profound personal lessons on how to navigate their personal lives and achieve professional excellence as Sam reveals what these kinds of interviews say about leadership, reputation and communication in the modern age.
Resilience And Fearlessness
The road to a Netflix deal seems smooth, seamless, and easy to the outside world, but Sam has experienced a lot to get there. From having a bi-polar Father who she had to section, to losing her first boyfriend in a car accident at 18, from having a son who was given a day to live, to leaving a prestigious career and having no job, from being a ‘nobody’ to having the world’s media at her door, in the face of huge national scrutiny, nothing has come easy, or without massive personal and professional risk. And Sam did it all while raising a child on her own. How do you face such relentless drama and danger and still thrive? Learn her profound and very personal lessons in resilience from the frontline of her personal and professional triumphs and disasters.
Speaking Truth To Power And Communication
Sam McAlister called Prince Andrew ‘Randy Andy’ to his face. In a tiny room in Buckingham Palace, at the final negotiation for the BBC interview, he asked her what she thought of him – and that was her honest and unfiltered impression. Luckily, he admired her honesty and laughed. So, how do you communicate with integrity and create relationships and connections in an increasingly disconnected and online world? With 20 years of experience dealing with everyone from the White House to Tesla to countless Governments and Hollywood’s finest, she reveals her lessons for communication for individuals and businesses. How do you find that ‘sweet spot’ that makes all human connections possible?
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