Positive Media Relations

Objectives

Our one and two-day workshops are intended to meet the needs of elected officials, executives, professionals and experts who occasionally have to give interviews to the media. The workshop is designed to provide participants with a basic knowledge of the media and to increase their comfort level during interviews, through a combination of formal presentation and practical exercises. The workshops are available in English and French.

 

Components

Practice constitutes the key element of the workshop. Each participant is interviewed twice (four times in the advanced workshop) on camera over issues within his/her areas of responsibility. The interviews are then reviewed with comments by the instructor identifying strengths, weaknesses and ways to improve performance.

The workshop covers familiarizing participants to the needs of the media, developing and articulating powerful messages, identifying and using “trap” questions and nurturing a professional relationship with journalists. This portion of the workshop is presented using computer-animated slides and pertinent audio-visual material.

A manual summarizing the workshop content, is provided to each participant.

 

The workshop covers the following areas:

• Understanding the media and their needs
• Negotiating with reporters
• Identifying target audiences
• Structuring information
• Delivering “sound bites”
• Taking advantage of “trap” questions
• Preparing for interviews
• The art of “bridging”
• Preparing powerful news releases
• Organizing and conducting news conferences
• Working proactively with the media

 

Class size

In order to provide optimal personalized coaching, each workshop is limited to six participants. For larger groups, two instructors lead the workshops.

 

Technical requirements

The workshop is usually conducted on the client’s premises. The basic equipment requirements are a table, chairs and a projection screen. Immedia Communications can conduct the course at an outside location at additional cost.

 

One-Day Workshop agenda

08:30 Introduction, course outline, participants’ expectations

09:00 Overview of the media and their characteristics

10:00 Coffee break

10:15 Exercise:First interview (Face-to-face)

11:00 Debriefing and critique

12:00 Lunch

13:00 Structuring information, target audiences, key messages

13:45 Exercise: Developing three key messages

14:00 Coffee break

14:15 Exercise:Second interview (Stand-up)

14:45 Debriefing and critique

15:30 Trap questions & bridging techniques

16:00 Managing interviews, being proactive

16:20 Conclusion, evaluation

 

Two-day Workshop Agenda

Day 1

Similar agenda as one-day workshop with added information on media advisories and news releases. Participants to write a news release.

Day 2

09:00 Trap questions & bridging techniques

09:30 Media scrums

10:00 Coffee break

10:15 Exercise: Conducting a media scrum

11:00 Review

12:00 Lunch

13:00 Organizing and conducting a news conference

13:30 Preparation for news conference

14:00 Exercise: Conducting a news conference

14:30 Coffee break

14:45 Review

15:30 Managing interviews, working with the media

16:00 Review, conclusion and evaluation

 

Rate structure

Available upon request.