Media Training: delivers many benefits

Published 2003

Media training is not new. It is commonly used by many organisations wishing to maximise the effectiveness of interview opportunities. It is also undertaken by organisations operating in industries or markets that are prone to issues and crises. Because of its familiarity, many organisations can become a little complacent when planning media training courses.

Here’s some tips about media training.

Why do it?

Apart from the obvious reason of wishing to train people who may need to speak to the media on behalf of the organisation, there are some other advantages.

1. Media training for a group of executives is a timely reminder to them of the role of PR and how the organisation needs to be prepared.
2. If there are problems in getting corporate messages agreed, a half or full day session of media training can actually become a psuedo working session on messages and it’s often possible to make substantial progress on this issue.
3. Clever use of media training can provide a great opportunity to give the senior team an insight into how the ‘outside world’ sees the organisation. This can be done in a way that is often difficult for the PR incumbent.
4. Media training can often help the organisation identify ‘media talent’. Often who should, and should not, speak is a real ‘political’ issue.
5. Media training is a good team building exercise for the executive team as they work together, and critique each others performance.

Why should the core focus be on TV?

The reality is that few of your executive team will ever have to face a TV interview - unless they are dealing with a highly contentious issue or your organisation is highly newsworthy.

However:

• Having TV cameras and lights creates an atmosphere and environment that bring a degree of reality to the training.
• TV highlights the ‘performance’ aspect of fronting to the media which cannot be ignored.
• There is no better way to show an executive how he or she presents to the media than by playing their tape back to them.
• TV is the most demanding in terms of message delivery. So if you can handle TV, you are well prepared for most media.

Preparing for media training

Who to use?

There is a myriad of ‘media trainers’ in the marketplace.

The biggest danger is in the number of ‘ex journalists’ who offer their services. Some are very good. But some are not - they are often there to get an ego trip by simply trying to ask tough questions. They delight in making the executives ‘squirm’.

This is meant to be a training session. And it has to be constructive. So while it’s important to have some toughness in the approach there has to be a good balance.

Questions to consider include:

• One trainer or two? (running a full day session with just one person is seldom adequate)
• Do they have a specialist cameraman/sound recordist?
• Do they have their own equipment? (this often is a guide to their professionalism)
• Do they have solid and varied media experience?
• Do they have a standard training module and/or a work book that is used?
• Do they leave handout materials?
• Do they have a session on telephone interviews? (Probably 80% of interviews are done over the telephone - even by print media).
• Do they have experience in working for similar organisations to yours?

The Brief

It’s important to get the brief right.

Is it a refresher course, training for new spokespeople, training for possible interviews regarding a new product launch, or do you have an issue or crisis looming?

You have to consider a number of issues:

• Length of time. A half-day or a full day?
• How many people to include (which is related to the length of the training).
• Your objectives and outcomes.
• Which media your organisation is primarily concerned about.
• How ‘tough’ you want the training to be.
• Location - on premises or off? And the availability of separate rooms for interviewing and critiquing.
• Just interviewing techniques or also an overview of the media, its structure, how it works etc?
• Just single interviews or also a mock press conference?

Participant outcomes from media training.

Obviously much will depend on the brief, but here are some of the outcomes you should expect each participant to have gained:

• An appreciation of how and why the media has a different perspective.
• An understanding of the critical importance of message development.
• Key principles of what to do and what not to do in dealing with media.
• Basic rules about how to dress for, and talk to, media.

PR outcomes from media training.

Assuming the training was for general corporate, rather than specific issue-related reasons, PR outcomes might include:

• Executives better technically equipped to handle media.
• A better overall appreciation among senior executives of media and why the relationship has to be professionally managed.

• Stronger, and more credible, messages.
• Identification of who to use and who not to use.
• A greater understanding and appreciation of what PR delivers to the organisation.

Note: The author of this article is a Sydney based senior independent corporate PR consultant who works exclusively with PR Managers helping them with management of the PR Department or their relationship with their PR agency. In addition he provides specialist corporate PR and communications advice where issues or change are impacting on an organisation. He also blogs regularly on PR and communications topics similar to those in this article.