Lights, camera, action.
Media interviews can test the mettle of even the most experienced CEOs. Some enjoy the opportunity, to pit their wits against a journalist. But most are less confident when going into the experience.
The latter is a far more common response to a media interview than the former. You may think that the less confident CEO is most in need of media training. But the truth is that everyone, ranging from the ultra-confident to the ultra-anxious will benefit from support in the shape of media training.
Whether it’s to ensure they stay on message or it’s to put pre-interview minds at ease, media training will make sure they thrive.
Protect your brand’s reputation
Leaders and CEOs undergo media training for exactly this purpose.
Because when a media interaction goes wrong, it can damage not only the public credibility of the CEO but adversely affect the company as a whole.
It is also vital that media training is right up to date. It must reflect every media interview opportunity that a CEO could face, right from getting those down-the-line interviews from the home or office to heading to a television or radio station studio for a face-to-face interview.
The Face of the Business
Being the external media-facing voice of a business, charity, or publicly funded organisation is a hugely significant part of the CEO role.
But as the face of the business, you are the visual representation of your company. When the camera is on you, the things that you say and do really matter.
A throwaway comment, a shrug of the arm, a certain body language… all of these things can have a huge effect on leaders and their companies.
There is a classic example of saying something you’ll live to regret with then BP CEO Tony Hayward being vilified after saying ‘I want my life back’ in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010.
So it might not seem like a big deal but media training is more than worth the investment when you consider the potential implications otherwise.
Experience + Training = Success
On an almost daily basis, senior executives at the very top of our companies, public sector organisations and charities need to weigh up taxing decisions.
But one area where many CEOs are often found to become anxious is when it comes to dealing with journalists.
In their day-to-day, they will have to weigh up all sorts of evidence to make the right decisions at the right time to ensure long-term prosperity. They’ll do so with tremendous confidence.
But, with the glare of an audience and the red light of the camera, that confidence and preparedness can often dissolve.
That’s usually because the individual in question has little to no experience of the process, nor any kind of formalised training to reinforce their knowledge and experience.
Communicating Clearly and Concisely
The purpose of media training isn’t to teach CEOs and leaders how to bulldoze journalists in an interview situation – sometimes that tact can have an adverse effect.
Media training is about teaching the individual how to hold their own, how to carry themselves and how to communicate clearly and concisely. To quote the great Sir Clive Woodward, it’s about thinking correctly under pressure.
Messaging is naturally the core of any media training programme.
What’s the line, how can we stay on the story and communicate our messages clearly and effectively but without looking like we’re trying to spin or obfuscate?
How we achieve this is by workshopping lines and key messages, shaping the narrative and ultimately roleplaying various journalist scenarios. From the more gentle to the more extreme.
It’s about being prepared for every eventuality.
The importance of what’s not said
Merhabian’s communication model tells us that verbal components only account for 7% of the overall message, 38% of the message comes from tone of voice and inflexion. While 55% of the message is conveyed in body language.
So robust media training must factor in these elements as well. Where you look when speaking a line, can completely change the way its received. For example, eyes shifting to the left and right, the public perceives that as deception. Looking up indicates that you’re making it up as you go along. Looking down, that can be seen as guilt.
With media training, these non-verbal cues can be honed to ensure maximum clarity of message.
Live interviews
Live broadcast interviews are the panacea of media opportunities. They are the most sought-after, they can be potentially lucrative or equally damaging if handled incorrectly.
But TV is not what it once was, interviews no longer need to be done in real life. They can be done ‘down the line.’ This has its pros and cons.
In the pros column, you don’t have to travel to a studio which can be a stressful experience, being out of your comfort zone in the bright lights of the studio, or sitting right there opposite a radio host.
In the cons column, it is the same thing.
The Zoom interview is part gift, part curse. Being in the comfort of your own home or office can often lull interviewees into a false sense of security. The very nature of being in the studio, can often up the performance level. Being at home, can make the interviewee subconsciously feel ‘safe’ which can bring down the performance level.
CEO media training should also include how to look the part when you’re being interviewed for broadcast media via Zoom or Teams. Covering everything from what to wear, how to position yourself, how to set up your camera, your sound and even your backdrop.
In summary
Executive media training is a critical skill for business leaders.
Executive media training enables you to roll with the punches by making sure CEOs identify a few key messages to deliver and provide guidance on how to make sure you’re not denied the chance to share them with the public.
Its benefits are apparent, but not one-dimensional.
The skills learned during media training are incredibly transferrable. If you can operate with confidence and conciseness in a situation out of your comfort zone – like a live interview – those skills learned in media training can only serve to reinforce other aspects of leadership roles. Such as AGMs, stakeholder meetings and difficult negotiations.
The old saying ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ rings true here.
As both the reputations of the CEO and the organisation or enterprise that the leader is representing are on the line, it is difficult to overstate the merits of sound executive media training with a professional media trainer.
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