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Media training that puts you in control
Your organisation’s spokesperson might go for months without seeing a microphone, then having to be fully “on” at short notice. Or, they might be in constant demand, expected to be across critical messages and to deliver them convincingly under pressure.
Spokespeople have to sound and look comfortable while answering uncomfortable questions in unnatural circumstances — lights, camera, action! It can be hard to appear natural even when the questions are friendly and aimed at the centre of your expertise, let alone when the stakes are high and the mood is hostile.
In a high-stakes media interaction, you have the added pressure of the consequences of a clumsy answer or opening the door for an out-of-context grab. Communicating your message with conviction is hard when you feel like a cork dragged on a riptide.
But good news stories are easy to deliver to the media when you’re confident. And even high-pressure media encounters become just part of the job when you know how to lead the conversation in ways that benefit the spokesperson and the journalist.
TMTP developed remote online training to support us. This has proven to be an extremely helpful and highly focused way to prep a spokesperson before a key announcement. A focused hour or hour and a half of practising the techniques and polishing the messaging with TMTP, and our spokespeople are ready to go”
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“During this time many of our client management teams, which include many of the world’s leading IT vendors well as home grown domestic technology vendors, have become leading thought leaders in the media as a result of their investment in media training with The Media Training Professionals.
“Whether the training is for crisis communications, refining company messaging, company profiling or thought leadership issues management, The Media Training Professionals deliver time and again as evidenced by the very positive feedback after each and every training session. A major part of this success is based on the considerable investment in time prior to the training sessions which The Media Training Professionals undertake to understand the client’s objectives as well as their business and competitive landscape. This has been a critical element in delivering positive outcomes during the training itself which is delivered to a gold standard.
I went from thinking I was going into combat, where there was a winner and a loser, to realising that media is an opportunity, where we can both win, the journalist can get what they need and it gives me a platform to share my message.
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I went from thinking I was going into combat, where there was a winner and a loser, to realising that media is an opportunity, where we can both win, the journalist can get what they need and it gives me a platform to share my message.
Contact Us
The Media Training Professionals’ proven methodology is about embedding media stories with important messages that a spokesperson can deliver naturally. The Media Skills™ approach is to train people never to dodge questions. Giving solid answers to any question without going off message is how the executives we train come to be in-demand by their corporate affairs teams and journalists. Our participants become media talent because they know how to sound real and come across with authority. They also know how to work with journalists who might not have deep expertise in the topic area.
Our media trainers work closely with your organisation’s corporate affairs team to prepare the media training. We want to understand the issues that affect your organisation and your industry, as well as your processes for working with the media. That way, the training will feel on point and reflect how your spokespeople will work with the corporate affairs team on opportunities.
We make sure our practice interviews feel like realistic simulations because we’ve tailored the scenarios to be fully relevant to your organisation’s needs. There’s no need to prepare for TV interviews if your spokespeople will only ever do radio, press or online.
If you want to stay ahead in your media strategy, you need to take to charge of your opportunities and how your messages will land. Our media training methodology allows your spokespeople to turn any media opportunity into a productive, two-way conversation. Participants come away knowing what journalists need and how to use those insights to lead the conversation. This skill is the cornerstone of the confidence our effective media training gives your team. What’s more, we’ll teach your executives a bridging technique that they will utilise to their benefit in all sorts of conversations. And by using it all the time, they keep the skill fresh until it becomes second nature.
When it comes to media training, we know that no two spokespeople are alike. That’s why we train our participants using a combination of adult education principles and realistic interview scenarios delivered by a real assisting journalist. As a result, we can meet your spokespeople where they are — adapting to their level of experience and their learning style.
Also, we never drop anyone in at the deep end. Our assisting journalist is briefed on where to pitch the interview, and the trainer is there during the practice interviews to pause the interview and coach the spokesperson as required.
Media training is no longer about what tie you wear on camera. Media skills training is about delivering messages that stick. To make that happen, it helps to have a media trainer concentrated on improving a spokesperson’s media skills, rather than putting their own journalistic skills on parade. War stories from experienced journalists can be entertaining, but someone else’s anecdotes won’t help your spokesperson when it’s them on the front line.
We know that good public relations are driven by your organisation’s message rather than a story. As former journalists, we certainly understand what makes a good story, but we also know your media strategy is message- driven. We’ll show your spokesperson how to structure a message that will resonate with your audience, and ensure it is one that journalists will want to include in their story.
Media training is most effective when a real journalist gives spokespeople an opportunity to practise their skills in a no-risk environment. To create that environment, your media trainer will work with the assisting journalist in advance of the session to frame practice interviews that echo the scenarios your executives might face. (Not every participant will need to simulate the A Current Affair street chase.)
By separating the roles of trainer and journalist, we allow the trainer to remain a trusted coach. Otherwise, participants can find it jarring when their supportive coach suddenly flips on the bright lights to grill them in a mock interview before switching back to coach again.
The assisting journalists we work with are bound by confidentiality agreements.
Developing any media training program starts with your organisation’s corporate affairs team. We aim to be an extension of that team, embedding your policies and practices into the training. Our job is to help develop a partnership between your spokespeople and corporate affairs teams so that, together, they can offer an effective response to every media opportunity.
Key elements and easy-to-remember formulas for managing media interviews, including when the going gets tough.
A refresher or advanced small-group workshop to improve or enhance existing skills.
Individualised sessions to hone performance, prepare for specific events or announcements, or work on specific skills. Plenty of focused practice and feedback.
An introductory workshop to raise awareness of how to work with the media, what journalists need and the basics of a strong message.
Individual over-the-phone, video conference or face-to-face coaching as a refresher session or a dress rehearsal for an interview.
A chance to review, update and enhance existing techniques and to build on everyday skills for managing various media situations. These sessions offer the chance to role play scenarios and put yourself in the shoes of your spokespeople.
A highly practical workshop covering the essentials of managing the media in a crisis.
We review communication plans or work with you to refine organisational and broader risks, construct crisis communication rollout plans— including media standby statements — and master messaging documents relevant to mainstream media, social channels and other key audiences.
A chance to validate your crisis communications plan, check assumptions and assess the skills of your crisis spokespeople.
Designed to review, update and advance presentation skills and to develop a more powerful communication style. Participants use a prepared presentation topic or scenario in the session and take away video recordings of their practice presentations.
A facilitated workshop aimed at drawing out powerful key messages, quotes and grabs for the media and other audiences or stakeholders.
These sessions can focus on the basics for less experienced on-screen performers, or they can improve the skills of more seasoned television spokespeople.
We run training for businesses, government departments, family-run businesses and not-for-profits. We can train a team or an individual, and we work with spokespeople of all levels of experience. Whether you need someone to teach the principles or to workshop a specific media opportunity, please contact us to talk about how we can meet your training needs.
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