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You will better understand how
to think like a reporter, to know how the media
sources work and what they want, so you can leverage
your material and message to get it farther on
your terms, not theirs.
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You will be far less intimidated by
the lights, the camera, the reporter, and the routine
and far more at ease and confident because
you will have already gone through mock interviews
and tough questioning in media training “boot camp.”
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You will learn how to package all of your
most effective material in soundbites of
15 seconds or less so your points will have a
stronger punch, and you will be edited much less
than those who are just “winging it.”
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You will be less vulnerable to being blind-sided by those reporters who use stealth tricks and carefully-honed tactics to get you to say what they want, not what you want.
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You will understand that from your viewpoint,
an interview is not a conversation. You will realize
how it is your unique platform to tell
your story in your way.
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You will learn how to say much more (that will resonate) by saying less, but saying it far more powerfully.
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You will learn how using short, powerful similes, metaphors, and word pictures will stick in the minds of your hearers far more than long, eloquent speeches.
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You will already have done significant work on your messaging so that no matter where the interview might stray, you will be able to smoothly “bridge” back to your message to greatly increase the chances of your key points coming through clearly.
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You will understand that with the current media
staffing reductions, you can greatly “help”
a reporter do a good story when you do
the proper preparation, since they have less and
less time to spend doing what they might have done
before “back-pack journalism” became so deeply
ingrained.
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You will learn that just being an expert in your field does not automatically prepare you to be seen as an expert in media relations, any more than knowing you own neighborhood makes you an expert in a foreign country.
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You will have confidence the way your
material is packaged will be delivered
on your terms with far less editing than people
who don’t know how to effectively message.
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You will much more quickly detect a reporter’s “trick questions” when he/she is baiting you into going where you don’t want to go.
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You will gain control and perspective on why you don’t want to say certain things in certain ways because of how your words could be leveraged against you.
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You will be more on your guard to not let a reporter befriend you so much that you get off message or “off the record” and say something damaging that can haunt you.
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You will better understand what stories and issues will attract the news media’s attention and will understand how more effectively to “pitch” your story idea.
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You will learn why saying “no comment” is a terrible idea, and what to say instead even when your attorney says keep quiet.
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You will learn how to most effectively
handle “crisis communication” when things
go hideously wrong and reporters and cameras
are outside your door.
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You will learn how to pro-actively take
charge of a bad situation and turn it around to
your benefit so it actually bolsters the image
of your organization.
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Even if you never speak to a reporter the rest of your life, you will be able to transfer all the media skills you learn to any presentation you do—to your board, to stockholders, to a public meeting, to an address to a civic club, etc.
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You will learn more engaging, creative
ways to present so you can overcome
the “death by powerpoint” syndrome that plagues
most speakers and audiences who have to endure
these endless droning sessions.
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You will learn how to use your media training skills to better position you as the “resident expert” so you will attract more interviews, get a lot of free publicity, and enhance your credibility so you begin to see the media as an opportunity, not a threat.
