Media Skills Training
How the media works … and how to make it work for you
We offer three courses in media training ranging from basic media skills to crisis communications. All courses employ taped interviews in a variety of scenarios with follow-on collaborative assessment.
Our Basic Media Course – Media 101 – is for those who have limited or no experience with print or broadcast media. We teach you how the media works, how to think like a reporter, how to develop the communications agenda, how to deliver your message with clarity and authority, and how to overcome any fear and intimidation.
In Media Training 101 you will learn
- How the media works and what they really want from
you - How to respond to the interview request : What you need to do first
- Taking care of the preliminaries
- How to prepare a communications agenda with great quotes and memorable soundbites
- How to plant the questions you want to answer
- How to avoid media tricks and traps
- Thinking visually
- How to “direct the interview” where you want it to go
- What to say and how to say it – Style and Content
- What NOT to do and what NOT to say
- How to avoid being manipulated by the media
- How to avoid being “quoted out of context”
- The three-tier response
- How to deliver the right response to the wrong question
- “Off the Record”
- Appearance – Body Language & Posture – Makeup & Dress
- Building Relationships and Developing Future Strategies
How to craft the perfect message and then successfully deliver YOUR message in a clear, concise, confident manner.
Video Taped Interviews
All media training workshops include instruction with assorted video clips, class exercises and videotaped interviews to help you develop the media message, control the TV jitters, and deliver your message with confidence, credibility and authority.
Instructional Methods/Materials
- Lively instruction with assorted video clips
- Interactive class exercises
- Videotaped mock interviews with follow-on class critique
- Media Skills Workshop – Media Workbook
- A DVD of each participant’s on-camera interviews with reinforcement of skills learned and suggestions for future improvement.
Instruction Based on Experience
Instruction is by Michael Drake and other experienced media professionals. Michael has conducted hundreds of interviews as a reporter, public affairs host, producer and news anchor. He has also been in front of the cameras for scores of interviews (both live and taped) as a public information officer and media spokesperson for various organizations. He has appeared in every television market in California, several overseas cities, and repeatedly on the major American networks including CNN, Fox News, NBC, ABC, PBS, et al. He has also planned and conducted several news conferences and served as the principal spokesman in crisis situations.