Managing Public Consultations

Achieving a positive outcome is easier if you are well prepared

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Course Details

Managing a public consultation can be a daunting experience. The general public have genuine concerns about change and their anxieties may make their questions unpredictable, challenging or even hostile.

 This workshop will help you handle the challenging, often controversial issues involved in public consultations. We cover everything from engaging with local communities, preparing key messages, diffusing conflict, handling difficult questions to dealing with contentious issues.

What to expect

This training will be tailored to your organisation. 

We will look at your specific issues. We explore how the public could perceive your project and how new developments and building new roads will impact local people, existing infrastructures and services. 

We help you develop, enhance and rehearse your messages. We will then take you through a series of intense practical exercises, designed to empower you with the skills that you need to communicate these very complex messages, simply, to a variety of challenging audiences. 

Our training will help you handle the challenging, vocal and often hostile audiences who have genuine concerns about changes that affect their neighbourhood. 

You will learn how to develop key messages, deal with intimidating behaviour and communicate potentially controversial proposals during consultations, exhibitions and public meetings.


All exercises are reviewed and analysed. Our open courses are tailored to each participant. We can take a maximum of six participants per course. We send out pre-course questionnaires to help us tailor the training so that you get exactly what you need from the day.

Who should attend?

  • Executives, Directors and Senior Managers
  • Town planners and developers
  • Anyone involved in public consultations and new developments
  • Anyone who has to deliver controversial changes or challenging messages
  • Key Spokespeople

All Participants Receive

  • A recording of all practical exercises
  • Workshop handouts
  • Written confidential feedback, if required
  • Certificate, if required

You will learn

  • How to prepare your messages with more professionalism
  • Develop, enhance and hone your messages

  • Listen to concerns and address issues
  • Manage expectations realistically
  • Deal with challenging people and difficult situations
  • Diffusing conflict, handling aggression and intimidation
  • Focus attention on the key issues so your audience will accept your message.
  • Develop consistent key messages so that all spokespeople sing from the same hymn sheet
  • Practise delivering these key messages to a variety of audiences
  • Practise delivering these messages to the media through interviews
  • Handle heckles, difficult and hostile questions
  • Deal with challenging behaviour and awkward audiences

Book This Course








    Use this form to book, or call us now on 01628 474 154 to discuss the best option for your organisation.

    Need something different?

    We deliver tailored training across the UK and internationally.

    If you have three or more people who require this course, ask us about an in-house training programme. It will be more cost effective, and save you the effort of travelling.

    We will bring our equipment, materials and cameras to your own premises. We tailor the training to you and your organisation.

    Get in touch or call us now to discuss the best option for your organisation.

    Tel: 01628 474154
    enquiries@mediafriendly.org