“Great question!” Why media training isn’t about creating brand zombies
Journalist and founder of The Means Agency, Mic Wright, explains what media training should do for your company’s spokespeople and, more importantly, what it shouldn’t…

The first time I did media training for executives from a major consulting firm, the opportunity to be gratuitously mean to people who earn considerably more than me was almost better than the pay cheque.
I played two scenarios: One as an amiable reporter from a trade magazine — who I was when I started out in journalism — the other as a cynical and overly-critical tech reporter for a national — who I’ve ended up being. I definitely prefer playing the latter.
Good media training challenges a company’s potential spokespeople. It’s about making them feel uncomfortable and getting them ready to get your message across without them seeming like badly programmed robots. If an informed viewer can say, “Yeah, she’s been media trained,” when watching a spokesperson, you and your trainer have failed.
May not be the best example…
Take a look at British Prime Minister, Theresa May, in any TV interview (like the one below) to see bad media training at work. She’s obsessed with staying on message, repeating buzz phrases and refusing to ever engage with the question. It’s the most ineffective way to deal with any interviewer, especially a combative one. Endless repetition doesn’t enhance your message — it degrades it.
Media training isn’t about giving every spokesperson the same voice. While you’ve got to have a shared message as a team and a company, there’s a huge benefit in fostering and encouraging individual voices to deliver those messages. Challenging and well-designed media training will show you who has the potential to be a good press spokesperson.
Sometimes you need to say NO to the CEO
Technical experts are often the best people to deploy for interviews with trade press. They’ll give journalists good and detailed answers. But, you have to ensure they’re also ready for queries that drift towards the philosophical or are about broader issues in your market. Specialists can get lost in the weeds and flustered when questions move away from their usual focus.
Don’t assume that the CEO or other senior managers are necessarily the right people to put your message across either. Of course, some CEOs and founders are brilliant performers and can sell the company and their vision with passion. But others are just not naturals on camera or even in off-screen interviews. Where there’s potential, you can work on it but pushing someone to be good at doing press when they’re naturally nervous or camera shy can and often does backfire on you.
Funny choices

On a similar note, don’t assume because someone is funny, charming and quick-witted in your office environment that it will translate to media appearances and interviews. That’s why media training can be so effective: It provides an opportunity to learn, test and improve those skills before they’re required in the high pressure environment of a face-to-face interview or TV appearance.
Media training doesn’t need to be time consuming — put aside between three and four hours to work with a group of five potential spokespeople, with time for feedback and group discussion included. It’s also not costly, even if you’re working, as you should, with a journalist who has experience across both web, print and TV.
Before your first session, you should also discuss the messages you’re trying to get across and the relative strengths and weaknesses of your spokespeople.
You don’t want a bunch of zombies to promote your company. You want smart, charming and articulate advocates who are ready for tricky questions and difficult interviewers. Investing in media training is the best way to make that happen.