This is a question that many people ask us at the start of our Media Training courses. Essentially, Media Training enables spokespeople from a wide variety of organisations to deliver more effective interviews for print, radio, podcasts, TV and video. At Communicate Media, we work closely with public relations, consultants, and in-house communications teams to prepare their clients and spokespeople for media interviews.
Very often, organisations and their PR support have identified key messages that they want to get across to the media. We can help them to define these messages and train the spokespeople to explain them more clearly and concisely to journalists. Communications professionals – if they’re worth their salt – have usually identified issues and areas which could be difficult for the spokespeople. These pitfalls might involve getting drawn into politics – revealing more information than they intend to or commenting on irrelevant and often controversial issues. If you’re asking, “what is Media Training” – then it’s helping spokespeople to put across positive messages backed up with examples and stories, but also equipping them to deal with these difficult and irrelevant issues.
What is Media Training for law firms?
Journalists frequently want to speak to lawyers. This is because those lawyers can provide factual information and advice to readers, listeners and viewers. The risk is that solicitors and barristers either spend too much time getting drawn into the detail of the law, which is not of any interest to a general audience, or they keep their answers so brief that they give the journalist very little to use in the report. Brevity might be useful in some context for lawyers. Still, when they’re doing interviews, as we explain in our Media Training courses for law firms, it’s actually better and safer for them to take the initiative and say more.
What is Media Training for financial services firms?
Journalists are always keen to hear from those working in financial services, whether they are producing news reports on the latest events in the City or writing articles about personal finance for the weekend newspapers.
In our Media Training courses for insurance companies, for instance, we help insurance professionals to get their message across clearly and concisely at the start of the interview. We also advise spokespeople to include examples and case studies to illustrate their points, and we help them avoid jargon – instead, using language their audiences will understand.
What is Media Training for architects?
As a specialist provider of Media Training for architects, we help architectural practices and their public relations advisors to identify opportunities to speak to the press and broadcast journalists and to get their messages across effectively. By helping architects and their teams to understand what makes a media story and what journalists are looking for when doing interviews, we help them to increase the chances of creating positive coverage and raising the profile of their firms. Our practical advice for architects on how to do media interviews means that they get their messages across while telling the kind of stories and giving the examples journalists are always looking for.
What is not Media Training?
As well as asking, “what is Media Training,” it’s probably worth looking at what it isn’t. One thing that media coaching is not, or should not be, anyway, is not answering the question. We’re passionate about this issue at Communicate Media. We regularly provide media training workshops for people whose previous Media Training experience has been with companies telling them they can dodge or avoid a difficult question put to them by a journalist. This is simply not true – we’ve all seen politicians and others on radio and TV trying to avoid answering a question that is put to them – and we all know how infuriating this is to watch. If you don’t answer a reasonable question that a journalist asks you, you’re not just insulting them – you’re insulting the audience.
Instead, good Media Training helps interviewees to manage these difficult questions and to provide answers for them that both sound convincing to the audience, but also enable the interviewee to put across their own message and maintain control of the interview.
Media Training London
We should also add that Media Training is not an alternative to public relations or in-house communications. In fact, it complements these important functions. We work closely with PR professionals, in-house press offices, and Communications teams to add value to their work and ensure that when they arrange media interviews for clients and colleagues, these spokespeople make the most of these opportunities. If you still find yourself asking, “what is media training?” then come and talk to us. We’d be delighted to help you.
At Communicate Media, we offer media training within various industries, including financial services firms, legal firms, architects and luxury brands. To book your course today, please call 07958 239892 or email gareth@communicatemedia.com today.
