Overview
It is important that spokespeople for any corporation, if not previously media trained, are trained to tackle the many local, regional and international interviews they may be asked to do throughout the course of their careers and the brand that employs them.

The chances of anyone - in business and commerce - to be ‘famous for five minutes’ are now much more likely than ever. The media has become hungry for information, broadcast ‘sound bites' and column inches.

If spokespeople are unprepared, and treat TV, radio, electronic or print interviews as bigger ordeals than a job interview, it could be a disaster. Especially in a crisis.

The real way to look at a request for an interview is to welcome it as an opportunity – a chance to get your message across and to influence the way in which your organisation is conveyed by the media; and at the same time impress the public and stakeholders.

Objectives:
By the end of the programme, delegates will be able to:

• remian comfortable with what is expected during the interview and what will happen once the interview is edited
• prevent themselves from becoming a hostage to interview fortunes
• kinow how to deliver controlled responses – not reactive answers
• establish a relationship with the interviewer
• communicate in the language of the audience they are addressing
• demonstrate how to counter negatives with positives
• know how to deliver key messages in an upbeat fashion and roll them up into one simple statement, which explains their position

Aimed at:
Senior executives, CEOs and other board members who are requird to face the media frm time to time

1 Day Course:

INTRODUCTION TO THE MEDIA
What information specific media needs and why they need it
Editorial policies and writing for target demographics
News agendas and diaries - how to make them work for you
The importance of timing regarding information dissemination – daily deadlines, forward features, media saturation.

THE MESSAGE
What is the secret of a great sound bite?
How do you get rid of jargon? How can I tell if the audience is still with me?
How do I handle controversial questions?
How do I get my point across?
What about off-the-wall questions?

THE INDIVIDUAL
Identifying and minimising visual and audible ‘challenges’.
Dress, movement, body language, eye movement and inappropriate speech behaviours

PREPARING FOR INTERVIEWS
Open ended questions
Forcing questions
Leading questions
Hypothetical questions
Probing questions
Prompting questions
Explorer’s questions
Classical questions

Studio 1:1 or panel
TV remote
Radio telephone
Outside broadcast
Door stopped
Talkback
Press conference

PRACTICALS
Print Interviews
Press Conference
One-on-one interview