Hillside Media Training

How do big name businesses like Toyota and Eurostar still get communications so wrong in this highly sophisticated era of media onslaught? It is fascinating that these companies have possibly never practised a crisis day in terms of how to get the basic communications right. And if they did  – did their executives actually take on board the consultants’advice who probably talked them through the implications of what happens when it goes wrong?

Not to do a global product recall is a disaster. Remember Perrier Water? They recalled contaminated water bottles in the US but not in Europe. Sales went down the sink with the water and they lost market leadership of what was a multi billion $ market. This can be very costly as Toyota will discover.

How do you keep your hands on the steering wheel in a crisis and not end up in the buffers? Get trained by us! Check out our crisis training package.

TOP CRISIS TIPS

1. Have a clear chain of command who have all been media trained

2. Respond IMMEDIATELY – call a press conference & take control. Practise press conferences – they are an art-form!

3.  If it’s a faulty product  remove it worldwide – not in just one country – we live with GLOBAL media – other countries will learn about it online or on TV & wonder why you haven’t bothered with them – this is when the panic and distrust starts.

Yes Andy Murray’s Wimbledon win was impressive but why wasn’t I glued to the set during the match? In fact I was driven to keep wandering out to find something else to do. There is a huge difference between what works on screen and what works in the flesh. Often some TV presenters you meet in the flesh are strangely plain but the camera loves them and they light the screen.

Poor old Murray is not blessed yet with on screen looks. He may be magnificent when you are actually there watching him in Centre Court but just why doesn’t he translate to the TV screen?

Like many people he or his PR team have not yet realised that any interview on radio and TV should be a managed, controlled performance. We producers are not looking for actors or automatons but real characters who look and sound passionate and enthusiastic. McEnroe and the other on air commentators can bleat on how great Murray is but we the audience can’t see it! When he speaks to the interviewer after the match, he breaks one of the cardinal rules of a good TV presence. Just look at his eye line. He looks away before he answers any question – the viewer interprets that as shifty or unsure. He has nervous tics which betray his unease even when he has just delivered a 3 straight set victory. For God’s sake, he should be on cloud 9.The adrenaline should still be flowing . But he scratches his head. He looks down. He even sounds defensive. Even more surprising, at the end of the interview when he thinks it’s all over his shoulders collapse and he appears awkward. He looks dare I say it –DEFEATED!

Come on Andy –  Today you were a winner. You need to look like one. What you need is some TV Training!!

BBC’s excellent recent series on the art of public speaking wheeled in the great and good to discuss top tips which, to be honest, have rarely changed since the Ancient Greeks who called the whole process Rhetoric. I have to admit I didn’t get to see all the episodes but was impressed by the odd snippets I caught and recommend you follow the link  below for some great advice http://www.bbc.co.uk/speaker/improve/.

Alastair Campbell’s fascinating contribution on Persuasion, (not the Jane Austen variety!), shown here, at least hits the strategy spot when it comes to PR campaigns. We find that most clients at the start of interview training completely forget the need for strategy and don’t even ask themselves one simple question: Why are we doing this??? You’ve got to plan what you want your audience to think or do about your message, or why bother?? You need to know exactly what you want to say and plan a strategy for making this message come alive. Watch BBC presenter Kate Silverton’s contribution on story-telling for a few ideas.

We often play in our media coaching workshops with what makes a good story. Like Kate, everyone when first asked this question comes up with ‘narrative’,  i.e beginning/middle/end but it is far more than that. Your story-telling needs characters (make sure you are the good guys in the story!), a setting (where is this happening) and some action (what’s happening!). There are several other aspects but if nothing else you’ve got to grab the audience right at the start with a great hook, or grabber as US readers call it, and back this hook with colour, as Campbell calls it, in other words, the stunning powerful imagery you should be choosing to bring your story-telling alive.

Click on the link here to our Public Speaking page for more ideas.