Media training – the benefit to PR professionals and press officers
People sometimes ask us, “What is the benefit of media training to PRs?” We know that media training can help their clients to prepare for journalist interviews. It can ensure that they’re clear on their messages and have concise and memorable stories to back them up. Very importantly media training also means that spokespeople have answers for difficult questions and know how to then move back on to their positive points.
But what benefit does media training bring to public relations executives and press officers? Here are five ways in which it can help you as a PR professional.
1. Embedding a new client
Media training can help you with the client onboarding process. All of our media trainers are working journalists, operating under strict NDAs. Many have their own PR experience. This means that they regularly work with PR companies and in-house media relations teams. They can share this knowledge with your new clients, explaining how, from their point of view, you will be working with the media in a practical way to get those clients better coverage.
The team for a PR company newly appointed to handle a law firm account, wanted us to really drive home the point that partners and others needed to come back to them as soon as possible otherwise they would miss the opportunity to contribute to a report and gain coverage. This message, coming from us as working journalists, they said after the course, provided powerful and convincing backing for what he’d been pleading for.
2. Identify new stories
In almost every media training course we run the PRs find themselves coming out of the session with more ideas for stories to pitch. During our media training workshops, we look at what makes a media story and what interests journalists.
Very often one of the participants will casually mention something they’re doing or something they’re seeing in the market. The PR executive or in house comms person will enjoy a light bulb moment. “That’s a great story, why didn’t I know that before?” one asked recently, after a client had told us about a new product that they were working on. “Probably because it’s only now that I understand what makes a story for a journalist,” the client explained.
During our media training workshops, we run authentic role play media interviews so that the participants can learn from their own experience. In one course a lawyer talked about new regulations that could threaten a range of companies. His PR manager was fascinated to hear about this. The next day she pitched the idea to the Financial Times. Three days later they got some great coverage, which went even further as other target media picked up on the story.
3. Identify the best spokespeople.
“I’m really surprised,” the director of communications at a major PLC told us in the follow up meeting after a media training course that we delivered for them. “X was brilliant I really only put him on the course to make up numbers, but he did so well, especially in front of the camera.”
We agreed, this participant had been one of the youngest and most junior, but he did a great job as a spokesperson for the organisation. As we teach in hour media training, he took the initiative during media interviews. He used simple, punchy language and he introduced some great human stories. When we put a difficult question to him, he sounded human and thoughtful before delivering the line that we’d agreed and using some of our techniques to move the conversation back onto his key messages.
We have to say, that this audition process as some people think of it also works in the opposite direction. The CEO of one tech company that we worked for was confident and knowledgeable. But when we put him through one of our role play interviews, he was easily pushed off course. He said things that would have caused his comms people sleepless nights in the real world. He also used dry, technical language and didn’t introduce any stories and examples.
At the end of the morning, in this intensive course for a small group, he certainly made great strides. He took on board our feedback and our tips and put them into practise. But his media team new that whatever his general communication skills, he would need a lot of help when doing media interviews.
4. Back you up on what is a good story for the media – and what isn’t.
It’s the bane of the life of almost any public relations professional or in-house media relations team. By this we mean a product, event or idea that the client thinks would make a great media story. Why can’t you get coverage for it? they demand.
The answer, as you know, is that “No, it’s not a great story for the media – journalists just don’t care about it”. Or, if it would make a good story, it wouldn’t benefit you as an organisation. After all, bad news sells. It can be difficult as a PR consultant or a press officer to convince a client or colleague that there’s a reason why they’re not getting coverage.
Doing so tactfully is another challenge. This is where a good media trainer with current practical media experience can back you up. We can tell it how it is. If, as journalists, we say, “No, I wouldn’t be interested in this or I might want to use it but you wouldn’t like my story,” then it’s much more likely that the person advocating this non-story will accept the truth.
5. We can say things that you can’t.
This relates to the point above.
Obviously, we’re always tactful and empathetic in our media training courses. However tough our questions during the role-play interviews, we can guarantee that the participants will have fun and feel more confident at the end of the course. Some of the best reporters lack people skills. Just because you’re a good journalist doesn’t mean that you’re also a good trainer. Luckily our team are great at both.
Every now and then in a media training course we are asked to deliver a difficult message to the client. In one case this was about the dress sense of a senior spokeswoman for a retail brand. In fact, we didn’t have to raise the issue ourselves at all. We’d recommend it doing a TV interview even though it was unlikely she would be speaking to the BBC, ITV or Sky. However, putting her on camera and enabling her to see herself before she even delivered any key messages was extremely enlightening.
Having watched the first interview, she made some blunt but accurate comments about her clothes and her hair. Now, this might sound sexist. But the simple, harsh truth is that people still judge women on their appearance more than they do men. We should add that we’ve also had to speak to male members of the C-Suite about having a shave, ironing their shirts properly and running a comb through their hair.
It can be difficult but, luckily, we’ve had years of experience in providing this kind of feedback clearly but tactfully. All of our trainers are good judges of people. We use them because they develop a rapport very quickly with course participants even if they’re asking tough questions and giving honest feedback.
“I’m so glad you said that,” one director of communications told us after her colleagues had left the training room. “I’ve been dreading having to raise the subject myself but it’s so much easier if you do it and you did it so well.”
It was lovely to hear this feedback we said, adding “Well, it’s what we do.”
Bespoke media training
Come and talk to us about how we can create a media training course bespoke to your exact needs. You can follow us on LinkedIn here.
