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We are sometimes asked on our media training courses whether interview requests should ever be turned down. The answer, perhaps not surprisingly considering what we do, is that these bids should almost always be accepted.

If you’ve been on social media recently, chances are you may have seen posts calling for a boycott of a particular brand. #Boycott has become an increasingly popular way of consumers showing their displeasure.

With yet another general election on the horizon, you might have expected us to feature an interview given by a politician in today's media training blog. They are certainly filling the airwaves and there have already been some less than impressive performances.

Presentations can be scary. And one of the parts that frightens people the most is answering questions from the audience. So how should presenters handle questions during a presentation?

There are some interviews that are simply compelling viewing. And Prince Andrew’s Newsnight interview on Saturday certainly falls into that category.

Sometimes you can say too much in an interview. This is particularly true towards the end when the reporter tries to bring in wider questions, usually about another story that is in the news. This is something we often discuss during our media training courses.

Workplace communication has changed and for many of us writing fills a bigger part of our working lives than we realise – just consider how much of your day is spent on email. Here are five reasons why you should improve your business writing.

It’s not easy to apologise. People often find ‘sorry’ to be the hardest word to say so you can understand why brands might struggle. So we have decided to outline the 9 features of an effective corporate apology.

Live v pre-recorded: What is the best interview format? Instinctively the majority of spokespeople, given the choice, would always opt for a pre-recorded interview over a live one. But does that mean spokespeople should always opt for pre-recorded interviews?

Learn from Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell's disastrous interview: the importance of preparation, knowing your journalist, and maintaining composure under pressure.

Here are eight reasons why your spokesperson is not being quoted in the media.

Can you ‘guarantee’ that what has gone wrong won’t happen again in the future.

Here are eight tips, from our social media training courses, to help those of us who have to pick up the pieces when things go wrong on social media.

It was always likely to be a challenging interview. The Iceland supermarket chain had already received some negative media coverage after it emerged it had removed its labelling from some of its own-brand goods rather than remove palm oil from its entire range. So when managing director Richard Walker appeared on BBC Breakfast on Saturday to discuss the story he would surely have expected some tough questions. So how did he do?

At what point should an organisation put its CEO in front of the media during a crisis? This was a question that came up during a recent crisis communications exercise which we held for one of our clients.

For those not familiar with the term Bridging, it is a media training technique which helps spokespeople take control of interviews.

Jamie Carragher’s recent actions have delivered a potentially devastating blow to his public image.

Just when I began to wonder what I was going to write about today I stumbled across a truly calamitous media interview. In fact such was the awkward nature of the interview that it instantly brought back memories of the infamous exchange between Jeremy Paxman and Michael Howard.

The eight phrases we believe presenters must avoid:

Being asked to deliver a presentation is enough to give some people shaky knees. But what about when you are asked to write a presentation for someone else to deliver? Here are seven tips from our presentation skills training courses:

Navigate tricky interview questions with confidence. Discover strategies to handle hypothetical, accusatory, and competitor-related questions effectively in media interviews.

But if making a presentation is fear-inducing, being asked to deliver one you haven’t written can be positively terrifying and very challenging.

Our tips for managing a crisis media management incident caused by a cyber-attack:

People want to hear stories about other people, not policies, protocols and strategies. They want to know what your announcement means for real people in real life situations. Often the strongest examples, the ones which really stimulate emotions in the audience and persuade them to give money, take action, support an idea or buy a product, are those which are personal to the spokesperson.

On our media training courses we talk to delegates about the importance of trying to exert some control early in an interview. This can be done through techniques such as bridging and by the spokesperson getting straight to examples in their initial answers rather than waiting to be asked.

It is often assumed the CEO or chief executive will front a crisis media management situation. But, although they should be visible, that does not mean they have to be the spokesperson. So if it doesn’t have to be the boss, who should you turn to when you have to deal with bad news? We have identified eight points you should consider when choosing your crisis spokesperson.

It’s no great secret that the key to emerging from a media interview successfully is to prepare properly. We’re pretty certain you know the importance of ensuring your spokesperson is aware of the messages, knows who the audience is and is prepared for the negative questions. But are you missing something? What could you do to enhance this preparation and ensure your spokesperson is in the best possible position for interviews?

It’s probably a scenario which will be familiar to many of you. Your pitch has gained a journalist’s attention and good publicity and widespread coverage are only an interview away. The only problem is the spokesperson has got cold feet and doesn’t want to be interviewed or simply isn’t returning your calls.

It is not so much a matter of ‘if’ a crisis hits your organisation as ‘when’. Our 14 point checklist will help you get that preparation right and think about what you need to do when crisis strikes.

Survive hostile media interviews with these 7 expert tips to maintain your composure and protect your reputation. Learn how to handle aggressive questioning effectively.