What is media training?
Media training is a professional development program designed to teach business executives, public relations teams and other key members of your organization the tools and strategies they need to ensure any interactions they have with the media result in media coverage that has a positive impact on the company. While media training sessions vary based on the needs of the company, typical components of a program may include:
- What to wear and how to sit during a media interview
- Preparing and responding to different media platforms
- Supporting your responses with facts and figures
- Expecting and preparing answers to tough questions
- Responding to questions about proprietary information
- Responding to questions you didn’t expect or don’t know the answer to
- Transitioning an interview discussion to cover the company’s objectives
- Communicating in a manner that makes your company’s message clear
- Responding to statements a reporter makes that you disagree with
- Watching real video examples that show best practices and common mistakes
- Taking part in recorded video drills and reviewing them for strengths and areas of opportunity
- How to ask the interviewer for more time if they signal the interview is over and you have something else you want to discuss
- Best practices for various messages such as making a large external announcement, preparing for a major interview or responding to a crisis or emergency
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Why is media training important?
Media training teaches businesses and their employees’ several important things, including how to:
- Exercise control during media interviews
- Be comfortable and confident during media interactions
- Prepare and relay communications consistent with the company’s brand
- Garner positive media coverage that creates and maintains a positive public impression
Media training also creates a safe, non-public environment in which a business’s representatives can practice and develop the key skills and strategies related to communicating with the media.
Related:5 Steps to Creating an Effective Training and Development Program
How to train for the media
Use the following steps and best practices when training for the media:
1. Determine your talking points
Begin by determining what message you need to communicate on behalf of your company. Then, choose specific talking points to help you communicate your message, writing each major discussion topic on a notecard you can bring to the interview. This acts as an outline for your interview.
2. Conduct research relevant to the interview
Begin your research by finding the name of the journalist who is conducting your interview, the name of the media company they work for and what personal views and beliefs they have related to your message. Then, research what media format they will use to deliver your message so you can prepare accordingly.
3. Practice discussing your talking points
Use the talking points you chose in the first step and the information you learned from your research to practice discussing each talking point. If possible, ask someone else to help you by taking the role of the interviewer.
4. Practice responding to questions
As you practice discussing each of your major talking points, think about the questions the interviewer may ask and practice your answers to those questions. If someone is helping you practice, give them a list of questions you have thought of and ask them to add additional questions they think of. Try answering as many questions as you can think of so the interviewer doesn’t surprise you with a question you don’t have an answer for.
Here are the answers to a few frequently asked questions about training for the media:
