Media Training Tips: Maximising Your Media Moment

Media training is a 'must do' professional development program for any serious leader or manager.

Media interview training provides you with the skills to effectively deal with the media.

Media relations training, with a specific focus on media presentation training for television can be seriously nerve wracking for first timers.

Here's why you should consider doing a media training course and some essential tips from our media skill training courses.

If you go to the archives of any commercial television station and pull out footage from a news bulletin from the 1960s and view that footage with a stopwatch, you will find the average length of the quote (known as a sound bite or news grab) from the person being interviewed for the story is around 60 seconds.

If you watch commercial television tonight with your stopwatch at the ready, and measure each sound bite or news grab, the average length will be seven seconds.

This is why its being called McNuggett News! Its quick, slick, fast and tasty, but not very satisfying.

There are three reasons for this shortening of length.

1. Increased competition for our ever diminishing attention spans,

2. Increased choice, noise and clutter in our lives, and

3. The merging of information and entertainment dressed up as news.

So how do you get your message across about a complex, detailed issue through the media in seven seconds?

Well, you need to work out your key message and deliver it flawlessly as a media friendly quotable quote.

Remember, you have only one chance to get it right. The professional TV news crews I work with are constantly telling me about people who ring them after the interview and say "can you come back, I forgot to say this and that?"

Of course, the media are so time poor and deadline driven they never come back.

So you only have one opportunity to maximise your media moment.

How do you do this, especially for TV? Here are my Top 10 Tips:

1. Dress Well.

In the powerful visual medium of television you will be judged by your appearance. Clothing patterns and colours will contribute to the impact of your on camera interview. Avoid clothes with lots of designs or patterns. A dark jacket (blue, black, charcoal or navy) with a white shirt/blouse always looks good on camera. Take your cue from what TV newsreaders are wearing. Heed my mother's advice: "it is better to pay the extra and buy one really good suit than have many of inferior quality."

2. Warm Up Your Voice.

Tiger Woods wouldn't go and play a championship round of golf without warming up. You, as a professional communicator and official spokesperson should never engage with the media without warming up your voice.

3. Speak With Increased Energy.

Speak at a higher volume, range, tone and pitch than you would normally. Imagine having a conversation with someone and speaking at a slightly more animated level than you would normally.

4. Anchor Your Feet and Slow Deliberate Movements.

The more you move around the more your body language will distract from your message. Doing interviews standing, even radio interviews, will change your whole physiology and give your more energy and authority. Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and firmly anchored to the ground. It is hard to sound credible standing on one foot.

At the book launch of Understanding Influence For Leaders At All Levels, I learnt from co-author Des Guilfoyle that slow, fluid and deliberate movements will give you more referent power, charisma and personal magnetism.

TIP: Watch your interviews with the sound off to get a better idea of what your body language is doing in the interview.

5. Keep Calm.

Assertive, aggressive, even angry reporters will fire off questions at you quickly, like bullets spitting from a machinegun. Their speech patterns will be intense and fast. Do not get drawn into mirroring and matching these patterns. In these situations, take a breath and speak more slowly than the interviewer.

6. Memorise Your Three Key Points.

You must be able to deliver these flawlessly without reading notes. Firstly, write them down. Writing things down helps fix them in the mind and seeing them written down also helps. Then compose a visual picture of the actual words. Visually place them in the top left part of your brain. When remembering these points, look to the top left hand part of the brain and they will come to you instantly like magic.

In technical terms, brain experts have shown the left-side of the prefrontal cortex (just behind the forehead) experiences increased blood flow as new information enters our episodic memory. In fact, the brain's thesaurus is dispersed in many separate parts of the left cerebral hemisphere (Source: The Odd Brain by Dr Stephen Juan, Harper Collins, 1998).

7. Never Say No Comment.

Journalists will believe 'where there is smoke there is fire'. Say no comment, but back this up with a valid reason.

8. Drink Plenty Of Water.

Keep hydrated and avoid caffeine and milk prior to an interview. Milk gums up your saliva glands leading to a dry mouth. This manifests itself in the common nervous habit of licking dry lips.

9. Get In The Moment.

Elite athletes talk about and practice getting in the zone to achieve peak performance. You need to do the same.

Try this: Relax, close your eyes and take three deep breaths, focussing on clearing your mind. Then visualise a moment in the past where you felt very motivated and very confident. Capture this moment in your mind and anchor those feelings. Place this mental picture inside your right hand and clench making a fist. Cover this fist with your left hand. Repeat this process until you can instantly put yourself into a state of peak performance.

10. Review, Evaluate and Improve.

After each media interview always review:

What worked well?

What could be improved?

What will I work on for next time?

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries.

You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com. Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom's blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Eight Success Tips for Your First Trade Show Booth

Exhibiting in a trade show can involve a major investment... Read More

Networking: How to Network Within Your Organisation

Although there are any number of different networking groups and... Read More

Ten Fun Ways to Liven up Any Presentation

Most of us would agree that having humor in our... Read More

Present for Success: Simple Strategies to Add Confidence and Credibility to Your Next Presentation

Tomorrow's the day and you're dreading it. You're scheduled to... Read More

Problems with the Lecture Format

ALTERNATIVES TO THE LECTURE FORMAT: How often do you use... Read More

Data Visualization Flash Charts: Information in a Flash

Flash chart, flash map, flash graph may be mistaken for... Read More

The Right Speaker Makes a BIG DIFFERENCE

MORE and more corporations in Malaysia have awoken to the... Read More

Facilitating Panel Discussions

A client recently called to say she was going to... Read More

Audience-Friendly Presentation Style Habits in Three Easy Steps

You have presentation style habits that automatically appear when you... Read More

Presentation Skill Mistakes

Last week my husband and I attended an awesome 4... Read More

Nonverbal Communication in Business

There are five key elements that can make... Read More

Plasma Screen Hire ? What Do You Need to Know for Presentations

How many people will need to see the screen? A... Read More

Your Unique Point of View

I had a chance to go to one of those... Read More

How to Give a Great Speech

As a former owner of a National Speakers Bureau, I... Read More

Handling Questions with Authority

At some point in your presentation you will be expected... Read More

Using Your Audience to Your Advantage

Regardless of what response technique may be convenient in a... Read More

Top Ten Rules for Effective Presentations

I am of the belief that the majority of people... Read More

The Seven Deadly Sins of Presentations

Every day, so many tens of thousands of innocent clients... Read More

Quick and Easy Rehearsal Tips

Never rehearse at the last minute. This creates undue tension... Read More

5 Breakthrough Marketing Ideas

Do you ever get frustrated with your marketing? Are you... Read More

Projector Hire - Choosing the Right One for Your Presentation

Calling a projector hire company will often get you confused... Read More

Seven Tips for Coping with Pre-Stage Jitters

Whether you need to address large groups or small, familiar... Read More

Polishing Your Sales Presentation

Summer is here! It's time to bring out your summer... Read More

Public Speaking Training Tips For Better Business Presentations To Culturally Diverse Audiences

Audiences around the world are all different. Cultural, social and... Read More

Top 6 Reasons Why You Need a Remote for PowerPoint Presentations

A top complaint from audience members is that many presenters... Read More

After the Speech

Usually the emphasis on making an effective speech is what... Read More

Give Your Audience Something to Talk About

There is an old saying: "The first thing to do... Read More

How To Run Your Greatest Conference Ever

Like most good achievements, a magnificent meeting depends on planning... Read More

Practice Makes Perfect ? 7 Tips for Making the Most of Your Presentation Practice

Believe it or not, preparation is a better determinant of... Read More

How to Chair a Meeting

You don't have to be on a stage to be... Read More

The Who, What, Where and When of Color In Your Documents

This article will help you to assess and maximise the... Read More

Transitions: Building Bridges to Your Points

Presenters often tell me that they fear losing their train... Read More

How to Teach: Lecture vs. Discussion

WHEN ONLY A LECTURE WILL DO: Under certain circumstances, of... Read More