Businesses of all types turn to Furia Rubel for media training as part of their public relations and crisis communications efforts. Effective media training helps businesses to master the art of influencing the public through media relations.

Media Training by Public Relations Experts

**Lawyers, law firm executives, legal marketers, and parties to litigation, please go to Media Training for Lawyers and Law Firm Executives, a specialized and industry-focused service provided by Furia Rubel.

Most executives and entrepreneurs want their companies to get media coverage and, in the process, develop strong relationships with the press. Many overlook a critical element of media relations: media training. When a company finds itself in the spotlight or makes its leaders available for media commentary, it is essential that they understand the rules of the game.

Media training involves preparation, practice, planning, and performance. Each element is an essential component of effective media relations which should be a part of every public relations and crisis communications plan.

Benefits of Media Training

Media training teaches entrepreneurs, business leaders and spokespersons how to:

Speak in such a way that the audience notices and recalls the key messages
Communicate key messages clearly, concisely and persuasively
Participate in offensive or defensive interviews
Manage tough questions
Control the interview and the message
Speak in easy-to-understand sound bites
Appear favorably on video
Sound confident on audio
Identify relatable examples
Curate memorable data
Use metaphors and analogies effectively
Overcome physical and verbal roadblocks to effective communications
Persuade the court of public opinion

Executives and entrepreneurs should be well prepared and media trained before the opportunity to work with the press arises. To the extent possible, companies can and should control messages provided to the media.

Specialized Media Training Programs for Your Company

While media training should be part of a company’s overall public relations efforts, there are times when businesses require focused training for their executives and spokespersons. The goal of media training such leaders is to develop their full potential as corporate advocates when participating in press interviews for print, digital, radio (audio), and broadcast (video) interviews.

Furia Rubel’s media training programs help executives and entrepreneurs to:

Recognize the impact of public opinion
Analyze today’s popular culture
Understand today’s media and how it operates
Develop skills to deal successfully with members of the media
Apply principles of message design to media interviews
Develop confidence in dealing with all forms of media
Recognize the advantages of working with the press as a strategy in business management
Understand how to maintain a positive and ongoing relationship with journalists
Prepare for the unexpected
Represent the company proficiently

Approach and Deliverables

Furia Rubel designs each corporate media relations workshop to meet the specific needs of the individuals within the organization. We work with for-profits and nonprofits alike. We take into account the number of participants and their profiles, the time constraints of your in-house marketing and public relations staff, the nature of your business, and the configuration of the available space.

Workshops are organized and conducted to maximize individual participation. The emphasis is on learning through doing, in a neutral and relaxed atmosphere. The expert media training facilitators offer some lecture and demonstration and provide an opportunity for participants to rehearse the techniques.

Half-Day Corporate Media Training Workshop

The initial half-day media training workshop is a four-hour program. It will:

Allow participants to share their experiences
Demystify the media relations process, venues, and formats (print, broadcast, radio, digital)
Discuss media background and theory
Cover media interaction strategies, techniques, and industry lingo (i.e., off-the-record; on-the-record; on background; exclusives)
Provide practical tips on every touchpoint of media relations
Work with actual issues relevant to the company and its stakeholders
Address best practices for visual appeal for in-person or photographed interviews
Provide techniques to prepare key messages, Q&A and to research reporters
Provide methods to practice for all forms of interviews including in-person, virtual, podcasts, via satellite, radio and print
Provide performance and practical tips for visuals including imagery, attire, lighting and sound

Executives and entrepreneurs who participate in this media training program will learn how to:

Define communication objectives
Identify the target audience (readers, viewers, listeners)
Develop key messages (clear, compelling, confident, and practiced)
Speak in sound bites or “information kernels” (clear, concise, quotable language)
Manage body language and vocal tone (authenticity, approachability, likeability, impact)
Handle the media (who they are, how they work, what they need, how to deliver)
Prepare for interviews (relaxation, appearance, props, logistics, preparation)
Bridge and deflect questions and comments
Avoid common mistakes
Approach media follow up (after the interview)

Media Training Empowerment Program

The Media Training Empowerment Program includes the Half-Day Media Training as well as:

Individual break-out sessions with each participant for 2 hours (on separate days) with typical scenario training for B2B and B2C interviews (30-minute prep discussion; 30-minute mock interview; 30-minute interview critique; 30-minute discussion and Q&A)
Full debrief with recommendations to empower and maximize participants’ effectiveness

Media Training Concierge Service

Furia Rubel’s Media Training Concierge Service is designed to transform your company’s spokespersons into the leading industry representatives, leverage media interviews to grow brand ambassadors and customer loyalty, provide a concierge-level communications partnership, and empower and diversify current and future spokespersons. The concierge-level service includes:

Half-Day Training
Individual break-out sessions and full debrief described in the Empowerment Program
Unlimited virtual media training follow up for your company’s spokespersons
One-on-one media training for newly hired spokespersons during the time of the contract

Ongoing Consultative Services

Ongoing consultative support is available to each Half-Day Corporate Workshop participant. Furia Rubel also provides one-on-one training for executives and entrepreneurs.

Media training consultation offerings include:

Furia Rubel Quick Prep Sessions^TM: Quick Prep Sessions in advance of each interview are available for corporate media training workshop participants. Preparation includes but is not limited to a review of all relevant information about the interview topic, an overview of the media outlet, the background of the interviewer, a review of key talking points and the messaging used to deliver these talking points.

Furia Rubel Practice and Polish Sessions^TM: Practice and Polish Sessions are available to corporate media training workshop participants to practice the fundamentals of interviewing to the point that they become second nature. Once practiced, it is critical to polish the responses so they do not appear canned. In many cases, it is necessary to stick to a prepared statement, especially when high-stakes matters are discussed.

Furia Rubel High Stakes Training Sessions^TM: High Stakes Training Sessions focus on preparing for high-profile media interviews through videotaped role-play sessions and issues preparation when we anticipate ambush, assault, talk show and cross-examination-like interviews. Such sessions are used in crisis management, litigation communications and trial publicity, and controversial issue situations.

Types of crises and other situations that require crisis planning:

Allegations of corporate wrongdoing, deception or malfeasance
Bet-the-company litigation
Breaking news issues
Corporate financial distress
Corporate litigation
Cyber breach and technology issues
Death of key executive
Diversity Issues
Financial crisis
Government relations
High-profile trial publicity
Hostile takeovers
Industrial accidents
Layoffs
Natural disasters
Pandemic issues
Protests
Regulatory and ethics communications
Scandals
Sexual harassment accusations
Shareholder and board relations
Terrorist attacks
Workplace violence

Public opinion matters. If you are looking to up your game and have more success with your media relations and crisis communications efforts, now is the time to contact Furia Rubel.

In addition, check out On Record PR, a podcast sponsored by Furia Rubel which addresses business management issues, media relations, and leadership opportunities. If you’re interested in media training, take time to listen to the interviews with today’s journalists.