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What spokespeople stood out during 2022. And what communication lessons can you learn from them?

Who stumbled under the media spotlight in 2022? And what media training lessons can you learn from them?

Have you ever had the advice "just be yourself" in a media interview? Find out what it looks like when someone does just that.

Your journalist is ready to fix a time for an interview. You’ve meticulously constructed your message and have your neat A4 briefing sheet ready. What next? How do you get a spokesperson ready for your interview? At a recent exclusive masterclass for members of The Media Team Academy, it was quickly established that, when it comes to preparing and briefing a spokesperson, one method doesn’t fit all.

Why is there so much “thanks for having me” on the airwaves? Why does it matter? And how should you start media interviews?

When it was confirmed the Prime Minster would break her silence on the economic turmoil by appearing on regional radio, there were suggestions she was taking an easy option.

What happens when your media interview veers away from the subject you want to discuss? Can you steer it back? How do you do that?

Two and a half years after coming to power, Boris Johnson’s time as Prime Minister is coming to an end. It has been a period marked by challenges and scandals. And it ended in humiliation as he suffered more resignations than any other Prime Minister in modern history.

Sky News says it is noticing more interventions from PRs when they don’t like the questions their spokespeople are facing from journalists. Do you trust your spokespeople to answer questions on contentious issues?

Golf, but louder”. That’s how a new lucrative and controversial golf tournament has been billed.

We often talk about the importance of creating eye-catching messages. One message we saw this week succeeded in grabbing attention.

The negative language journalists use in their questions is something we explore regularly during our media training courses.

Managing frustration in media interviews can be a challenge. Interviews do not always go as planned, and spokespeople may face unexpected and uncomfortable questions.

How do you feel when one of your competitors is across the airwaves giving their thoughts on a story?

Your spokespeople will face awkward and uncomfortable questions in their media interviews. Even those who have done their preparation and had recent media training can find themselves facing questions they don’t want to answer, or that are unexpected.

The World Cup later this year will put Qatar under the most intense of spotlights. Hundreds of thousands of football fans will travel to the Gulf state. Millions more will watch it from home on television.

Many politicians have faced questions about the price of milk and bread. It is an entirely predictable line of questioning. But it is also one many spokespeople have stumbled over.

Do you find your media spokespeople are unwilling to be briefed ahead of media interviews? Perhaps, with a busy diary, they are hard to tie down for briefing and feedback sessions.

The Bank of England Governor is having a month to forget. Andrew Bailey produced a PR clanger at the start of February by telling workers to moderate their pay demands despite spiralling prices - the wealthy telling others not to ask for more rarely works out well.

It hasn’t felt like there have been many good news stories lately. But the decision by the chief executive of the Co-op to take time out to help her children with their exams has won the company plenty of praise.

Should you try to change the way you talk for a media interview? Perhaps you have a regional accent, or you tend to drop your Gs. Would that annoy the audience when you are in front of a microphone or TV camera? Maybe you just have a perception of what sounds ‘right’.

The NHS, United Airlines, Carhartt, Next, Ocado, Morrisons – these are just some of the big-name brands that have found themselves walking a reputational tightrope as companies are increasingly drawn into making decisions about the health and safety of their workforce.

Apologies. We’ve all seen plenty of them lately. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said sorry for attending a party during lockdown. Novak Djokovic, the world’s number one tennis player, apologised for a mistake on his Australian immigration paperwork and for breaking isolation for a photoshoot when he had covid.

Have you played Wordle yet? If you haven’t, you’ve probably noticed some of your friends posting cryptic grids of different coloured squares on social media and either lamenting or boasting about their vocabulary skills.

Did you know most BlackBerry phones will stop working this week? The once ‘must-have’ gadget was not that long ago being touted by the rich and famous and was the device of the working professional – boasting 20 per cent of the smartphone market at its peak.

We’ve already brought you our guide through the worst interviews of the year. But what about those that went well? And the people who have proved to be excellent communicators over the past 12 months?

It is the most wonderful time of the year. No, not Christmas. Our look back at the interviews of the past year that have stuck in the memory for all the wrong reasons.

MI6 bosses tend to avoid the spotlight. So, when Richard Moore – known as ‘C’ – gave his first live broadcast interview, we knew it was one we could not miss.

What do two statements made almost 50 years apart have in common? The answer is they both serve as painful reminders of the danger of negative language.

A local council meeting may seem like an unlikely source of a story that has captured the attention of the nation’s media. But then, not many council meetings discuss something so stomach-churningly bizarre.