Standing in front of a group of CEOs, CFOs, executive directors and the like to “teach them a thing or two” about the media is a daunting experience… for about 30 seconds.
Media training at Flow Communications
“You’ll be fine,” said Flow CEO Tara Turkington after asking me to join her, Kate Turkington, Jeremy Maggs and a small video production team at a media training session the next day – as a trainer! “There’s a lot of stuff you know that you don’t know you know, if you know what I mean.” Um… ja?
But the next morning I realised she was right. Twenty-something years of “doing” builds up a great reservoir for “teaching”, no matter what they say about “those who can” and “those who can’t” (apologies George Bernard Shaw).
Six months on and I’m loving it.
Each month we spend a couple of mornings with small groups of senior executive types helping to demystify and un-demonise the media for them. We share our experiences as journalists, guide them through the current print and online media landscapes and give them practical tips on how best toconduct themselves in radio and television interviews.
After the theory session, our fearless executives are interviewed by Jeremy on camera. Everyone watches the playback of the interview together and feeds back on the strengths and development areas of each interviewee.
“People are understandably nervous going in to the interview, but they always rise to the challenge and grow in confidence,” says Kate.
“I can always tell if I’m doing an interview with someone who has been trained,” adds Jeremy. “They tend to make a far more meaningful contribution, which leads to a richer interview and ultimately presents the organisations they represent in a better light.”
If you’re interested in learning more about how to deal with the media, contact Flow’s Maria Foundanellas on +27 (0)11 440 4841 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).