Media trainers came in for a bit of stick recently – apparently we have been teaching politicians to dodge and avoid questions.
Well I say ‘we’, but Media First were not responsible for the training which angered Scottish National Party MP Mhari Black.
During a recent debate in the House of Commons, Britain’s youngest MP spoke about a media training course she had recently been on ‘where we were taught to look at the camera, where to put our hands and so on’.
She continued: “One of the guys taking the course said, ‘If you, as politicians, ever find yourself in a difficult situation where you realise you’re in the wrong and you need to get through an interview, just start talking about what you want to talk about’.”
This was either a really poor training course or a massive simplification of what Ms Black was taught.
There are many techniques for dealing with a ‘difficult situation’ in an interview. I believe from her comments she is roughly alluding to the bridging technique, but there is far more to that than simply avoiding the questions.
Bridging, when taught and used well, is an essential tool for taking control of the interview and moving the conversation on from a negative question posed by the interviewer. It is a way of ensuring you get to your key message and that your message is heard.
But the key to this technique is remembering it starts with answering, or at the very least addressing, the question you have been asked. You cannot simply ignore the question and talk about whatever your key message may be. And if you are being interviewed about a particularly difficult issue you have to provide responses to that question which will satisfy the listening and viewing public.
But bridging is just one technique and media training is about far more than that.
A huge part of our training is about raising the confidence levels of spokespeople. We often find that no matter how confident or experienced a public speaker someone is, they struggle to get their messages across when put in front of a TV camera or microphone. The reason is simple – there’s nothing in your normal working life which will prepare you for it.
Nerves can be a great hindrance in an interview and just imagine how anxious someone would be if they had not had any prior exposure to the media or training, particularly if they found themselves fronting a crisis response.
Good media training also helps spokespeople to sound authentic, simplifies their language so messages are easier to understand and helps them avoid journalists’ tricks and traps (they do use them). All vital tools to ensuring messages are heard by the audience.
And yes, the body language and eye contact tips Ms Black referred to her in her comments are also important. Many of us talk with our hands, use expansive body language or avert our eyes – things which on television can look suspicious or even insincere.
While we cannot vouch for the training given to Ms Black, ignoring or dodging the question definitely does not feature on a Media First course. And we are only a short train journey from Paddington if she wants to find out for herself.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 30 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
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