2020 has been a challenging year in more ways than anyone could have expected. As we approached the second lockdown, national moral was hitting an all time low.
But finally, the end is in sight.
You wait (what seems to be) ages for a vaccine and then three come long at once. In reality this is an amazing scientific achievement and promises to return the world to some type of normality.
As always the solution brings more questions in the short term:
Who is eligible?
How effective is it?
Who will get it first?
How does it work?
Will developing nations be able to afford it?
The list of questions is endless. But this is good news and is best seen in a quote from Dr Stephen Griffin, from the University of Leeds, on the Oxford University vaccine:
“This is yet more excellent news and should be considered tremendously exciting. It has great potential to be delivered across the globe, achieving huge public health benefits.
It’s a fantastic success story, the result of dedicated scientific research and one that the world has been waiting for.
But even when your news is ground breaking, dealing with journalists and handling media interviews can be nerve racking. It may be completely outside your comfort zone.
The fear that journalist can ask you anything is ever present.
Of course they can, but they won’t. Their job is to get a story. They may think that they already know the story and are just looking for a few juicy quotes to spice it up. It might not be the same success story that you think it is.
You need to make sure that your success messages are communicated effectively and that your prepared quotes are the one’s that are repeated.
It’s a game. If you understand what makes a good news story, and recognise the news value of your work, then it’s your game.
All you need is effective preparation. Media training is essential. If you practise the media interview and develop your media interview techniques with an expert media trainer you will be able to give any journalist the story that you want to see in print.
Sounds simple? It is!
Unlike creating a global vaccine to save humanity, handling the media effectively doesn’t take decades and a lifetime dedicated to scientific research.
With just a few hours of remote media training you can become the “go to” spokesperson for your organisation. You may need the occasional refresher to brush up your skills or prepare for more challenging scenarios, but it’s an easy process.
Since the pandemic we’ve been doing most of our training on line via Zoom and Teams. Allow 2 hours for 1:1 media training session, 3 hours if you would like to prepare for a media interview with a colleague. So whether you have good news to tell or you’re facing a potential media crisis, call Media Friendly.
Our expert media trainers will help you prepare for media interview, deliver effective presentations or handle a media crisis.