What is Media Training?
Media training is a play on words. It is you, the crisis manager teaching your brand or client how to avert a crisis on their own. And this is done by avoiding passionate or opinionated responses in front of a mic or camera. It involves having a premeditated general response to a variety of situations ready by asking oneself, "How can I answer this in a way that makes my brand look as positive as possible?" Or even "How can I not make this situation worse?" Essentially it's thinking in your head, "How can I not turn this into a crisis?" You are averting a crisis! But on your own. That is Media Training. It involves teaching your employee or brand how to avert a crisis on their own.
It's a classic PR move to answer a question without really saying anything that will tarnish your brand or make you look worse. If someone has a distasteful opinion or answer, instead of being blunt and straightforward, a media trained person would be someone who would find a least distasteful or perhaps a more general based answer to say. For example, a media trained person would say, "That's just another perspective," "another viewpoint from mine," or "just another unique way of expressing..." such and such.
Who Are Some Examples of Media Trained People?
Politicians, Actors, CEO's, anyone who is the face of a brand, celebrities, and currently Influencers. Basically anyone who happens to be faced with a lot of cameras or interviews. CEO's who happen to be constantly speaking to the public sharing both positive and negative views. Politicians looking to make their way up in politics. Actors looking to connect further with other actors, directors and most importantly, broader audiences. And currently, influencers who are growing in their brand (connections) and viewership.
How Do You Determine Who Should Be Media Trained?
Anyone who becomes the face of a brand or company that so happens to speak in the public eye a lot should be media trained. Someone who has already gone through consistent crisis and only seems to do more damage to themselves or their brand by the way they responded, should be media trained. I.E Either someone with a large (or increasing sized) audience, impact, or with more to lose are all suggestions of the type of people should be media trained. Especially if they're looking to be in the limelight; to stay in the spotlight (in a positive light) you need to avoid controversies as much as possible.
How do You Get Media Trained?
To get the proper media training, you have to just go through lots of consistent practice. One would help the media trainee by throwing them typical (and targeted) questions and then the preferred way to answer; this is the way the trainer would then teach them how to react and respond. Media Training is perfected through adequate practice built upon through the years. Usually hired management will tell the trainee how to answer typical questions and the trainee can personalize their responses over time. Another great method is through looking at examples of common interviews in the media that people in similar genres or brands take on and how they answer (as well as what the opposite of media training would look like - ie failed examples). The trainer to the trainee could also help them review some of their past mistakes and how a well medi trained person would answer. A peaceful more general response is the best way to go. People can be turned off to a strong reaction. Someone who is media trained is also less likely to be so reactive to everything.
What Are the Benefits of Being Media Trained?
The purpose of being media trained is to gain a more positive brand image of the trainee, people prefer to follow someone when they're more neutral, keep their own opinions to themselves and can be polite and professional. Not to say people shouldn't have strong opinions or that celebrities can't...however these are also the people who are least likely to have more opportunities and more likely to earn more "haters" as opinions can also be divisive. Media training means more people can be ok with your response, more likely to agree with how you respond, as well as finding a way to create a conversation that is positive leading or enjoyable for everyone. It's great for increasing your overall audience and business connections, by keeping your negative opinions or distaste to yourself by harboring them in a professional manner; you're more likely to be seen, approached and offered with connections, making for a more famous person or find an increase of work opportunities -as people will want to work more with someone who clearly shows signs of professionalism that they can count on.
Media training is another form of crisis communications but in a proactive form. Instead of the PR person handling a situation, you are teaching the brand or influencer a proactive way of how to prevent a crisis themselves before and after it starts.
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