Media training Archives - Clapperton Media

You’ve probably heard that shorter is better when you’re speaking in public or indeed to the press. Well, yes it is – often but not always. If you just give people the bare facts or the essence of the lesson you’re trying to impart, you might end up a bit forgettable. Look at these examples:

1. It’s important to stick to your time as a speaker or MC.

That makes the point but it’s not at all distinctive. So let’s try this:

2. Lead trainer Guy once spoke at a round table lunch event at a very nice Gordon Ramsay restaurant. Lunch was due to be served before he spoke, after the MC – who was the chief executive of the client – had welcomed people. So, intro at 12.50, lunch at 1pm.

Except the CEO decided that everyone present should introduce themselves individually. There were about 40 of them. He hadn’t checked with anyone about what time the food was coming – so by the time they’d finished it was closer to 1.30 than 1pm. The fish starter, being kept warm under lights, was dry as a bone. He was the boss so there wasn’t much to do about it. The waiting staff were getting pretty annoyed as they had their other schedules to go through.

He’d broken the cardinal rule – give people a bad speech and they’ll grumble a bit but basically forget it. Throw the timing so their food goes bad, they miss a train home or whatever and believe me they’ll remember you.

Speaking needs to be memorable

Now, that’s basically the same point as the simpler instruction to stick to your timing and by all means it’s longer. But for many it’s better. First, it’s only three short paragraphs so it’s hopefully not as indulgent as all that (storytelling is great, brief storytelling is better). More importantly it is a true story, this CEO really did ruin people’s meal with his timing and Guy was there – that makes it our anecdote, Guy can truthfully slot himself into the story and share the experience.

If you’re in PR and your client is going to speak in public or to the press, they may want to get to the data for the very good reason that they find it exciting. Step in. Advise them to do a bit of storytelling. It’s likely to liven things up and make the communication a bit more memorable – and that, I imagine, is the general idea.

First impressions matter, in particular in press interviews. This means the first sentence you say when a journalist asks a question is going to set the tone for the rest of the conversation.

Journalists will latch onto what’s clear, concise, and quotable. So your opening line sets the tone not only for the interview, but also for how your organisation is represented in print, online, or on broadcast. If you start with a strong, simple message, you’ve already guided the conversation in your favour.

Think of it this way: if the journalist only had space for one line, what would you want it to be? That should be the sentence you put up front. It might be a clear statement of your position, a striking fact, or a simple, human expression of why what you’re saying matters.

Here’s a quick exercise for PR people to share with their clients: take the key point you want to get across and practise saying it in no more than 12 words. That’s your first sentence. If you can deliver that confidently and without jargon, you’ll sound authoritative and above all memorable.

Waste that first line and your client will lose their best opportunity to make an impact.

Guy and Paul had fun as always media training last week; a new CEO at an established client, the job was to put him through his paces, highlight areas that needed work and – in this case – stress test the messaging.

The new CEO was great and asked them tfor a fun bit of follow-up. “Could you,” he said, “make a list of ten bastard questions journalists might ask?”

Fun being a b*st*rd

Hah, of course we could! And we did. And we’d urge all our colleagues in the public relations industry to do the same for their clients. It’s a given that clients and journalists should produce and receive the FAQ list, it should be available on the website so editorial staff can get to the more commonplace queries quickly and easily.

But we’d suggest PR colleagues to do the other thing too – think of “ten bastard questions” and work out how the client is supposed to deal with them when inevitably they crop up. No lying, no “no comment”, journalists will need proper answers, just make sure the client is prepared.

We had fun writing a load of questions we’d actually be embarrassed to ask in person. So, what are the questions you’re really hoping the media won’t ask – and do you have a strategy for when they do?

Meanwhile we might just develop an entire half-day course and call it “Ten Bastard Questions”, it’s too good a title to use only once..!

Public relations – a “nice to have” according to the board? And therefore a layer of media training is an “if you’re lucky/want to treat yourself” but the board isn’t fully sold on it?

This is the attitude my trainers and I find from time to time working with partners in the public relations industry. When PR companies are pitching for work they sometimes get told they’re not a priority “in these tough times”. And from my own point of view, one of them with a number of clients told me a while ago “I don’t think anyone’s got the budget for media training any more” (actually her ex-colleague who’d gone in house has become one of my best clients this year but no matter – the picture is uneven).

If you’re in either of those camps it can be worth having another think. Take the first: you’re a board member and you don’t want to invest in comms because it’s not essential. Have another look at that. The way you present your business to existing and potential external stakeholders – that would be your entire reputation – isn’t worth monitoring and management? If you don’t have any sort of comms management then your reputation is still out there, you’re just not participating. That’s every misconception and indeed every positive comment going unrecognised.

Board level

To me this isn’t a nice-to-have. I align with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and regard it as something that should be taken into account at board level.

Likewise media training. Obviously I have a vested interest but if you’re in PR and putting the right messages are out there then your client delivers them in a confused manner, puts too much detail in, assumes the journalist, podcaster or whoever will report them uncritically and not ask questions or gets irritated by theirn independence, that client needs help. Preferably they need putting in front of an experienced journalist for a briefing and to be offered a dummy run on video so they can see how they perform.

Again, this is about how the world will perceive their company. Many take it seriously; twice this year public relations people have commissioned me to visit C-suite people at their client with a camera operator and someone skilled in stage work to polish up their performance (never to deceive, that’s not what media training is about). For others it seems to be a “nice to have”.

I’d advise board members at least to monitor how their business is perceived in public. That’s not a “nice to have”, it’s a sign of how many potential clients will consider working with you and it’s influential on the share price.

It’s something the PR industry and its partners like me can help with – get in touch for more information.