Blogs, insights and newsletters

Trade publications may not have the glamour of mainstream newspapers or appearing on TV or radio. In fact, some publications like Potato Storage International, Drain Trader and Poultry World have been the subject of jokes on Have I Got News For You.

One of the parts we enjoy most about writing our media training blogs is the interviews our readers ask us to review. It’s always great to see the media appearances that have caught your attention and interest.

There’s often much to be learnt from the way others perform in media interviews. Highlighting both the good and the not so good performances can help others prepare for their time in the spotlight and understand what to expect.

This is a question that is increasingly coming up when we speak to clients about presentation skills, hosting webinars and creating videos for both internal and external audiences.

It’s your worst nightmare at work: taking that phone call that says there’s been a fatality. No matter how long you’ve been with the comms team or how tough a PRO you are, nothing can really prepare you. There is that overwhelming feeling of shock followed by a hundred questions in your head which you don’t know the answer to. Then you have to put your own emotions aside as you know the media will soon be hammering on your door expecting/demanding answers.

We are often asked during our crisis communication training courses whether organisations should try to put an incident into context.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson's A-level memory lapse offers critical media training lessons on personal storytelling, preparation, and responding to questions effectively. Learn how to avoid similar pitfalls.

It’s that time of year where much of the news coverage is filled by exam results. Students across the country have been receiving their A-level, GCSE and BTEC grades. TV screens, radio airwaves and newspapers have been full of students and teachers reacting to the results.

Spokespeople are precious. You need them to tell your story and make the most of media opportunities. And they are crucial for protecting your reputation when things go wrong.

This time of year used to be known as silly season. A six-week period when news would take a well-earned holiday and be replaced by obscure stories unlikely to be covered at any other time.

When it comes to thought leadership, podcasts continue to go from strength to strength.

We all want to create memorable, meaningful messages. Whether you are delivering media interviews, responding to a crisis, writing, or trying to cut through the noise on digital channels, getting those messages right is crucial to standing out from the crowd.

We love receiving questions from our clients and media training blog readers about communication challenges they are facing.

If you’ve been on one of our media training courses before, you’ll know journalists love to speculate about the future.

On our crisis communication courses, we often spend time looking at the potential causes of a crisis.

We’ve got a webinar coming up soon about the science behind making messages memorable – you may have received one or two emails about it… Having listened to our expert panellists discuss some of the topics they will cover during the event, I know it is going to be one you won’t want to miss.

Imagine being a new start-up and almost immediately finding yourself trending on social media. Not only that, but you generate coverage in the Financial Times and Daily Mail. Sounds great, right?

Media interviews can be a bit like buses. There can be times when you have little opportunity to put your media training skills to the test.

Apologies are tricky. Regular readers of our crisis communication and social media training blogs will know there have been plenty of recent examples of apologies that have fallen short of the mark.

Giving feedback to senior leaders about their latest media interview can be a tough conversation. It can be particularly daunting and challenging if that feedback is negative.

What makes a good media spokesperson? Well, you need someone articulate. And they should be confident and comfortable with the subject being discussed.

It has never been easier to make video. Almost everything you need is right there in your pocket. But not all video recorded on smartphones is good quality. And we often see the same mistakes that prevent footage from being watched by the intended audience.

Companies are built on their reputations. But those reputations are fragile. A single incident can cause severe damage. In some cases, reputations are destroyed.

Britain’s first new television news channel for two decades launched on Sunday. GB News is a channel we have been told will set ‘a fresh agenda’ and that it will ‘give a voice to those who have been side-lined’.

There can be many causes of a crisis media management incident. When we ask delegates on our crisis communication training courses to suggest what might cause a reputational crisis for their organisation, they typically suggest things like incidents resulting in loss of life, significant injury or environmental harm.

It is not often tennis features in this media training blog. But Naomi Osaka’s decision not to speak to the media after matches during the French Open produced an avalanche of media coverage.

ouldn’t it be good to know what journalists look for in press releases and story pitches? Perhaps understand more about why some go on to achieve great coverage, and others are instantly spiked?

Have you sat through a presentation and found yourself getting lost because the whole thing just felt a bit disorganised? It is a scenario many of us will be able to relate to.

How would you respond to a question that asked you to comment on one of your competitors? Maybe you think their product is inferior – would you take the opportunity to bash them?

We’ve written before in our media training blogs about spokespeople who start their responses with ‘so’. It’s an infuriating habit we continue to hear in TV and radio interviews.