We spend quite a lot of time in our media training courses working with spokespeople of all kinds of organisations alongside their PR consultancies and inhouse communications teams to help them to create and test messages and quotes. One question that always arises is how do I make it more likely that the journalist will [...]
Pity the poor billionaires. They might have crisp, fresh snow and winter sunshine, private jets rather than check-in queues, champagne on tap and hotel suites larger than many people’s homes but those attending Davos this week are under attack. Although around 3,000 people will be present Boris Johnson has reportedly banned ministers from attending, in [...]
And they’re off! A clutch of Labour politicians have thrown their hats into the ring to succeed Jeremy Corbyn and yesterday on Andrew Marr, outsider Jess Phillips made her first major pitch for the job. We always make the point in our media training courses that most interviewees and spokespeople for organisations will not be [...]
image credit: sutherland echo It’s not just politicians who can find themselves subjected to the “Empty chair” experience…. In media management terms one issue that this general election will be known for is the “empty chair” experience. Andrew Neil provoked great controversy when his frustration at not being able to interview Boris Johnson prompted [...]
image credit: fortune.com Controversial statement number one: Donald Trump is an effective communicator. Controversial statement number two: Organisations can learn from him. I should preface this comment by saying that I’m not a fan of the 45th president of the United States or his policies but, I would argue, he’s an effective – if slightly [...]
As the general election campaign gets under way politicians are increasingly being accused of not answering the questions put to them by interviewers. During discussions with an audience there has been laughter and hoots of derision when a member of the political class, as they’re described these days, blatantly dodges a question. People often [...]
Image: BBC Poor Prince Andrew. At least that’s how he’d like us to feel. And, in a way I do feel sorry for him. But not because of the onslaught of unsavoury allegations and unflattering headlines that he’s had to suffer. No, I sympathise with the prince because he’s been so badly advised. I’ve [...]
Whether you’re doing a media interview yourself or preparing a colleague or client for one, it’s easy to forget some of the basic rules. Very often we find our media training courses that people are, quite understandably, so focused on their messages and the aspects of the interview that are most important to them that [...]
Our podcast courses are becoming more popular than ever and that’s hardly surprising given the growth of this kind of audio content. According to a recent report by Ofcom “Around 7.1 million people in the UK now listen to podcasts each week. That’s one in eight people and is an increase of 24% over the [...]
Five ways that architects can do better media interviews The opportunities for architects and interior designers to speak to the media are myriad and growing. Newspapers, magazines, specialist publications, TV programmes and bloggers are all looking for beautiful homes and interesting buildings to report on. A few years ago, architecture writer and critic Tom Dyckhoff [...]
