My Upcoming Workshop: How to Plan and Gain Approval for Your Media Training Program (12/7/21)

As public relations professionals charged with oversight of the media relations function for our organization or clients we serve, we often hear that we need to train executives and others to help them improve their skills in speaking with journalists. But beyond that suggestion there’s precious little guidance available to help even the most seasoned practitioners navigate a sea chock full of media trainers ready, willing, and able to help. That's why I've developed the workshop How to Plan and Gain Approval for Your Media Training Program. It will be offered by The Communications Board on December 7, 2021 from 11:30 am to 1 pm EDT, to fill this void in information by providing public relations professionals the opportunity to step back, reflect, and strategize about their media relations program objectives before undertaking media training programs. It will address not only how to get your media training budget approved, but also how to convince your executives and senior leaders to commit to regular media trainings.

Among the issues the How to Plan and Gain Approval for Your Media Training Program workshop will address are the following: 

• Whether you should invest time and resources in conducting media interview training for individuals in your organization or for your agency or individual clients;
• The critical success factors for your particular media training program;
• How to sell the need for training to senior executives and other key stakeholders, and to keep them engaged in the process in the short and long term; 
• How to get your CFO to approve your media training budget and convince your executives that they will benefit from training;
• What the ideal program would consist of content-wise given specific challenges, budget, and other factors;
• How this training should be delivered, whether that’s live and face-to-face; live and virtual; asynchronous, or some combination of these options;
• The advantages and disadvantages of these different options;
• Who should conduct this training, whether that’s you, another staff member, an external agency, an independent consultant, or some combination of these options; 
• The advantages and disadvantages of doing it yourself as opposed to hiring an independent consultant; 
• How to prepare to both impart information about the media relations process and build the skills of staff who will be speaking with journalists, assuming you choose to conduct the training yourself; 
• What to look for when hiring a media training consultant, should you opt not to conduct the training yourself and instead hire an external agency or independent consultant; and 
• How to measure and evaluate your media training program. 

How to Plan and Gain Approval for Your Media Training Program has been designed to help you grapple with these topics, among others, to help you assess your need for media training, and how to best proceed once you’ve gained clarity. Whether you consider yourself a seasoned media trainer or new to the function, you’ll find considerable value in this workshop. 

Please note that this workshop will not be an actual media training per se, where you’d learn how to respond to a journalist’s questions, although the content of such training will be addressed. Instead, consider this workshop as an opportunity to take a broader look at the media training itself and its role in your media relations efforts. 

The successful media trainer is a subject matter expert on media relations, and the particular challenges faced by an organization or cause; a trainer, who understands the difference between providing information and building the skills of others and knows how to design and deliver material to achieve the latter ends; and a coach, whose confident, friendly, but firm hand can transform an otherwise mediocre experience into one that’s informative, memorable, and enjoyable. You’ll have the opportunity to explore each of these roles at this workshop in the process of thinking through the challenges outlined above, and will leave with greater insight, clarity, and enthusiasm for media training. 

For more information and to register, go here or contact me.