Programme Details

Advanced Media Management Training

Control and Influence.

This programme is extensive in that it spends time building an understanding of how to control and influence an interview. It uses a range of techniques and draws on a series of interviewee examples in action in creating in the participant the confidence to handle crisis interview situations. Landing the message and avoiding the bear traps; preserving their job and protecting the brand.

The Advanced Media Management Programme is aimed at senior executives who have had little experience in the media and are fearful of their personal ability to deliver a performance at a level they would wish. They will understand the brand damage and personal career damage that can result from poor management of challenging high profile interviewing.

The AMMP has three components to it mixing input from the interviewee perspective with challenge from the interviewee side. It is as full and near to real life as is possible.

1. The Input Session

This is generally a three hour one-to-one session which looks into every angle of how to influence and control an interview, whether it be Radio 5 Live, or the Ten o’clock News. It covers TV, Radio and Print, at a National and Regional level, and in live and recorded situations, looking at both promotional and defensive techniques.

The key objective of the session is to ensure that the participant is fully prepared for any challenge.

2. The Second Session

The second session is run generally seven days after the first. This puts into practice the learnings from session one, through live down the line interviews with mainstream journalists and recognised interviewers, who will have been pre briefed as they would in a standard BBC way. This is as real as it gets….but with the assurance that the outputs will not find their way onto the screen…..everything we do is absolutely confidential and all the interviewers are contracted subject to non disclosure agreements. The participant may operate under a nom de plume if they wish.

The interviews are filmed and recorded, and the Print interview is written up.

The time commitment for this session is one and a half to two hours.

3. The Third Session

The third session is the review session and takes place approximately seven days later. This goes through the interviews, picks out sound bites and reflects on the use of the techniques established in the first session. It is the time to consider whether further input and practice are necessary.

This session takes up to two hours.

This is a fully embracing programme. It is bespoke and individual to the participant. The emphasis is on its confidential one to one nature as frequently the participant will be concerned about their own self esteem in front of their people. To achieve the full benefit it is important that any distractions are avoided and observers are not encouraged.

The AMMP can be delivered in whatever location and at whatever time best suits the participant. Evening and weekend sessions can be accommodated so as not to impinge on the pressures of daily diaries and to maximise attention.

But the objective is as for other programmes; to prepare the participant for tough media challenges. Protecting their job; preserving their brand.

Fasttrack Programme

Optimised value, concentrated input.

We understand that time is limited for some executives, and whilst we always prefer to spend the proper time, with the door closed, away from the distractions of running a business, we have developed the Fasttrack programme for those who want to minimise their time commitment, but at the same time optimise the value they receive from a concentrated input session.

This type of programme suits senior executives who work daily in pressure situations and are already relatively successful at influencing people. It is less appropriate for people who are not used to managing pressure situations.

The Fasttrack Programme takes the same components as the full Advanced Media Management Programme, and has three elements.

1. The initial input session draws out key techniques to be used in controlling any interview, by reference to several broadcast clips. It identifies key messaging templates and default responses and prepares the participant for specific challenge responses.

2. This is immediately followed by a series of interviews to cover TV, Radio and Print, undertaken by mainstream journalists based on a given pre briefing.

3. The feedback of the recordings can be undertaken at the same time, or can be provided by email within the following few days, which also allows for the write up of the print article

The Programme requires a short telephone conversation in advance to establish the key topics to be focussed on, and can be made flexible to concentrate on each interview type in isolation.

The time commitment for the Fasttrack programme is a maximum of three hours, and can be run outside of office hours if more appropriate.

The objective is the same as for other programmes; to prepare the participant for tough media challenges. Protecting their job, preserving their brand.

Challenge Programme

Remaining sharp for a crisis.

The Challenge Programme is designed for senior executives who have had a reasonable media exposure, but not in a challenging way. Their experience will have been more promotional or explanatory and they will not necessarily have found themselves facing real challenges.

It is equally relevant for executives who have been on previous programmes and want to use it as a refresher to remain sharp, or for a specific and current crisis for which they want to prepare.

The Challenge Programme focus is around the interviews themselves and the post reviews. The assumption is that the candidate is comfortable with their ability to define their approach and formulate their messages, and as such time is not spent in initial input briefing…clients requiring this should consider the Fasttrack Programme or the full Advance Media Management Programme.

The programme is split into three:

1. TV interview and assessment.
2. Radio interview and assessment.
3. Print interview and assessment.

This is a flexible programme.

It can be structured to focus on one specific means. It could for instance focus on three TV interviews, all with different interviewers and different styles, but centred on the same issue.

It can be structured to be done in two stages; the interviews and later the assessments, or, as is usually the case, as a single focussed session with dynamic real time review.

The programme requires an initial short telephone conversation with the participant to agree key topics for challenge.

The time commitment for the Challenge Programme is entirely up to the participant and will depend upon the objective.

As with all the programmes the intent of this programme is for the participant to be fully prepared for tough media challenges. Protecting their job, preserving their brand.

Select Committee Programme

The Select Committee Programme is designed for senior executives who are likely to be invited to present themselves as a witness at a forthcoming Select Committee Hearing. It will be anticipated that the Hearing will be challenging and the client will wish to prepare themselves fully to ensure that their presentation presents them and their brand in the best possible light.

The SCP combines review work into the membership of the appropriate committee, and the likely lines of questioning based on previous hearings, together with the development of the necessary skills for the management of the hearing interview.

The programme is split into three

1. The Preparation Session which

- Reviews the membership and previous hearings
- Assesses the likely line of questioning
- Prepares the client based on interviewee technique

This is followed either directly or a short period afterwards by

2. The Challenge Session

An experienced past Select Committee Chairman will conduct an interview based ‘near as real’ hearing, taking a briefing from Session 1. This will be filmed, as is the case in a real Hearing.

This is followed either directly or a short period afterwards by

3. The Review Session

Based on the filmed Session 2. A full review is undertaken to test the effectiveness of the responses, the demeanour of the client and the overall performance benchmarked against the required outcome.

The SCP is a flexible programme recognising the time constraints of the client. It can be delivered as a full programme over three different sessions, or as a more concentrated Fasttrack programme over a three to four hour timeframe. The right programme balance will depend upon the client’s experience.

It can be delivered in the client’s premises, outside of office hours if need be, or at an offsite location.

The objective of the Select Committee Programme is common with all Primedia programmes…..to ensure that the participant is fully prepared for tough interview challenge………protecting their job, preserving their brand.