Media training online is more important than ever.
Pre-pandemic, an online interview with a journalist was a rarity.
Media outlets worked hard to bring you into their studios.
It’s different now.
Broadcasters are as happy speaking to someone on Teams as they are in person.
So it’s important you learn how to deal with this scenario.
Here are three reasons why you should book media training online.
I remember six-time world long-distance champion Paula Radcliffe MBE speaking to the media a few years ago in the face of doping allegations, which she strenuously denied.
She told the press:
I don’t want my kids googling Paula Radcliffe in the future and seeing the words “drug cheat”.
Admirable and robust as Paula’s defence was, she’d fallen right into the media trap.
Anyone googling Paula Radcliffe now has a decent chance of seeing the words ‘drug cheat’ associated.
More so after this article too (sorry, Paula).
The fact is that we need to be extremely careful what we say and do online.
It’ll be there for the rest of our lives.
If you get that right, that’s a huge positive.
But reputation takes a lifetime to build a moment to destroy.
Just ask Will Smith.
That’s why it’s worth investing beforehand to make sure every single word and action is planned.
Remote interviews have given us some terrific comedy moments.
There was Professor Robert Kelly, whose kids burst in on him during a BBC interview.
Texan lawyer Rod Ponton, who uttered the infamous “I’m not a cat” during a court hearing, unable to change his feline face filter.
The simple fact is that we act differently at home.
It could be the postman delivering a letter. Dodgy wi-fi and patchy audio.
Or simply that we’re surrounded by our home comforts rather than a cold, draughty radio studio.
If your guard is down, the chance of getting it wrong goes up.
That’s unlikely to happen in a TV studio, an unfamiliar environment which has the effect of helping us to stay guarded.
In our online training courses, we’ll ask you the difficult questions and help you stay professional, switched on and engaging.
Right down the lens of the camera (link to online presentation tips).
You may only speak to the media a handful of times in your life.
But where else can media training online help you?
In your customer meetings, where you need to demonstrate value in a short period of time.
In difficult conversations with colleagues, when you must hold your ground and say no.
In personal situations, where saying sorry helps you to move past the emotion to the rational solution.
Every media training principle, if correctly practised, helps you persuade others.
And it helps you build positive relationships along the way.
Just ask the clients who have been with us since 1989, who routinely come back to us to improve their skills.
If you can hold your own with the media, you can take on anyone.
You’ve got a choice.
Either you email us directly to arrange your session.
Or, if you want to learn right now, here’s the link to our media training online course.
Or you can enjoy our e-learning session in your own time, at your own pace.
That way, when anyone Googles you, they’ll only find you saying what you planned in the first place.
Andrew McFarlan is Managing Director of Pink Elephant Communications.
You can read more about him here.
All photos in media training online blog by Pink Elephant Communications.
Media training online blog edited by Colin Stone.
24th January 2023 Featured in: Blog, Media training blogs By: Pink Elephant
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