MEDIA TRAINING
Our intensive, highly interactive and practical courses are designed to provide participants with confidence in dealing with the media – newspapers, magazines, radio, television and online media.
The idea is to teach them how to work effectively with journalists, how to deliver their key messages concisely, in a timely fashion, with credibility, integrity and sincerity and how to forge positive relationships.
We give those who undertake the workshops an insight into what motivates reporters and how they think, while being mindful of journalistic deadlines.
Media & Presentation Training provides participants with an understanding of how the media operates. They are prepared for all likely eventualities, including favourable and worst case scenarios when facing print, radio, television and online journalists, interviewers, commentators and columnists.
We pose the questions “what is news?” and “what makes news?”, providing answers that involve the participants. Media & Presentation Training also delves into feature interviews and current affairs pieces.
We talk about story angles, about media outlets and journalists competing for “scoops”. We workshop possible headlines on stories. Our courses concentrate on turning negatives into positives, minimising potential damage and how to avoid being misquoted or quoted out of context.
Media & Presentation Training discusses how best to make use of social media, as well as avoiding the hazards and pitfalls associated with it.
We deal with preparation for interviews, focusing on the need to prepare material that is appropriate to the audience and stressing the importance of planning clear objectives for each interview.
Participants are taught how to deliver their messages in any situation, how to answer difficult questions, how to cope with questions specifically designed to put pressure on them and trip them up. They learn how to keep calm and controlled during an interview in the face of challenges, interruptions and irrelevant questioning.
Our courses also deal with positive interviews, where the interviewer is favourably disposed towards the subject, and how to maximise opportunities presented. Such interviews may involve news, features or analysis.
Media & Presentation Training provides suggestions on grooming and personal presentation. We build on the assets of each individual, pursuing their strengths of character that should come to the fore in a media interview.
Other issues covered include voice projection, control and variation, breathing techniques and how to punctuate speech to best effect, the importance of eye contact, facial gestures and appropriate body language, and how to keep the audience interested.
We ensure participants are aware of the need to accommodate the media's agenda for the “quick grab” and the “quotable quote”. We talk about the balance required between authority and sincerity of approach, how key messages should be delivered and the various styles of delivery. We discuss how to control nerves.
Each of those taking part is recorded on SD card and/or audiotaped through a series of interviews, giving them hands-on experience to help build their confidence.
Should you want it included, we can orchestrate a "doorstop" style, "foot in the door" interview, where participants are surprised by the arrival of a television crew, including journalists, asking a series of "nasty" questions.
News Conferences can also be part of the agenda, in which we fire a series of difficult questions at one or more participants in a “heated” environment.
At the conclusion of the training, we offer you a confidential, written assessment of each person's performance and extensive take-home material.
