This is risky for a company and you as a spokesperson because:

• You might say something you didn’t mean to say
• You might talk about something way off your own agenda
• You might give the journalist inaccurate information
• You might alter the share price of a company with your words
• You might give away confidential information that you didn’t intend for the public

This course trains your brain to think before speaking so you make strong, well-evidenced points that are noticeably quotable.

• Have to do media work who are not confident enough.
• Are at risk of shooting their mouths off.
• Want to speak to the media, but can’t frame their thoughts well.
• Have spoken to the media before, but have had a bad experience.

The industries vary, but we work a lot with:

• Financial services
• Technology
• Energy
• Government
• Manufacturing
• Food and drink
• Start ups

The industries vary, but we work a lot with:

• Financial services
• Technology
• Energy
• Government
• Manufacturing
• Food and drink
• Start ups

1 – Who journalists are and what they want (how to think like a journalist)

2 – How to prepare and how to build solid messaging

3 – How to get quoted in an interview, how to hold an argument and how to defend yourself

1 – One-to-one

2 – One-to-many (same organisation)

3 – One-to-many (open session for people from different organisations and background)

How long does it take?

It depends. For someone senior who has already done a lot of media and needs a refresher, about 30 minutes.

For someone who has never done anything before, about two hours or so.

• Body language
• Use of voice
• Timing and pace
• Message delivery
• Control of the interview

This way, we hit on everything very quickly.

We start off with a round of interviews (either to camera or face-to-face) and give feedback to each person. These interviews are based on scenarios relevant to you and your work.

This assessment helps us (and everyone else in the room) where you are strong and where you require support.

This is important because it helps us to establish where any problems may lie and we can address them together.

We then look at some “do”s and “don’t”s, some rules of engagement and some techniques to help with:

• Body language
• Use of voice
• Timing and pace
• Message delivery
• Control of the interview

We then move into a second interview and if time permits a third as well – with feedback after each one.

You should see your progress improve in each session. We will make each interview tougher to ensure you have to work harder in each scenario.

Use of voice – if your voice weakens when you’re being questioned, it’s a sure sign that something is wrong. A strong, clear voice that you can follow gives an audience what they need to digest what you’re saying. In other words – body language and voice get you past first base in communicating to people.

Timing – if someone speaks too quickly or without pausing, it can be hard to follow them. You need to speak slowly (not too slowly) and clearly. Chances are, you probably think that ‘slow’ is what most people think ‘normal’ is. It’s also important to emphasize certain words. Using timing as a tool is good for this.

Message delivery – of course, this is why you’re here. Getting your point across is the whole aim of the game. It’s important to deliver a message that is consistent with what you’re saying. It doesn’t have to be nor should be obvious. But if you don’t know what message to deliver, you have to ask yourself why you’re doing the interview in the first place.

Control of interview – we’ve all seen when politicians have come under fire from journalists. If you ever find yourself having to defend your position (and it happens more frequently than you’d think), you need to know how to use your messages, proof points and answering techniques. These are important because without knowing the rules of engagement, you could find yourself in a whole world of trouble.

If it’s a crisis media training course, it could take a day or two – more sometimes. If it’s for someone who just needs to brush up, it could be 30-45 minutes. If it’s for a beginner or intermediate class of three or four people – around four hours is enough. And if it’s for six people, it will probably take a day.