Communication Tips from the Front Lines by Heidi Raphael
If you do interviews on behalf of your station or company on a regular basis, you may want to consider investing in media training. Here’s what I mean and why…
Many company leaders, politicians, and frontline people take advantage of this type of training. The purpose of media training is to make you comfortable and confident in delivering your message in an effective and real manner. The way you come across can impact the public perception of you, your organization, and your stakeholders.
As a member of a broadcast industry, you understand the importance of communicating your message in a clear, concise, and compelling way. Whether it’s a private individual session or a group presentation for your key frontline people, media training is a good way to learn how to prepare you and your team in advance in the event any situations arise.
Most communications and public relations firms offer this type of service. If you have a communications director on your team, she or he can help you with this. Either way, it is worth doing if you can. It’s a great way to learn the “nuts and bolts” of how to prepare for interviews. From pitching stories to reacting to an inquiry, this type of training can help you learn how to prepare your message, better understand whom you are speaking with, determine what specific message you’d like to get across, and prepare for any questions that may come up.
For example, during a one-on-one session, you may participate in a role-playing mock interview that may be recorded and played back to provide you with suggestions and best practices. This is especially helpful if you find yourself doing a television interview. From lack of eye contact and fidgeting, to stumbling, not smiling, and using the same word/s [like “you know”] repeatedly, you will be amazed at how you may come across without knowing it. By practicing, you will become more comfortable and smoother in your delivery.
Media training will also help you in terms of how to provide more context to what you are saying, as well as provide valuable insight on how to stay on topic (sticking to three key points). These important tips will ultimately provide you with the tools and skill-set to share your message in a focused and meaningful way. Plus, the person who is interviewing you will appreciate the fact that you are prepared.
This type of training can also be very beneficial in providing you with confidence when doing public-speaking appearances on behalf of your organization.
The confidence and gravitas you will gain will be reflected in the message you want to deliver, making it a win-win.
Heidi Raphael is a veteran broadcasting corporate communications and marketing specialist. She can be reached at [email protected].
