The Media Coach Formula – Path to Success
The Media Coach has a proven formula for preparing for media interviews. For those of you who have trained with us – you will be very familiar with our message houses, reactive lines and interview techniques. Regular readers often say they really like the case studies so here is one for you that is very close to home.
Ten years ago a former colleague from my time at CNCB, asked to meet for a drink so she could discuss media training with me. She was leaving her job, by then at the BBC, to move to Brussels where her partner had been given an amazing new job. She thought she might combine journalism with some media training in the city. To cut a long story short, Laura Shields decided to join The Media Coach and worked with me – as our Brussels office – until about 18 months ago when she went out on her own and formed a company called Red Thread.
Having lived very happily in Brussels for a number of years, she and her now husband and son are very settled there. Unlike me, Laura is politically active and has been fighting Brexit since way before the referendum. A couple of weeks ago she was interviewed on Sky News and she sent me the link, asking me to comment.
I think she did amazingly well. In fact, I fear Adam Bolton didn’t quite get what he expected. Notice too that the interview ran almost double the usual three minutes. My guess is that the control room gave it extra time because she was so good.
Prepared messages with toplines, Facts and Numbers
Laura was kind enough to share her prepared messages and some of her prepared numbers with us. I will leave you to spot the examples in the video but suffice to say they are both tangible and effective.
Top lines
- Ending free movement is bad for all Brits
- Theresa May isn’t being honest about what this means
- We can only fix this with a People’s Vote (that includes us Brits living in EU and EU citizens in U.K.)
Key Numbers
80% of Brits in EU 27 are working age or younger
80% of U.K. economy is services – 26 mn jobs
2/3 of Brits in EU couldn’t vote in 2016 Ref so should have been protected.
Media Coach Formula works!
When I media train people for the first time, one of the hardest things is to convince them that the system of prepared messages, reactive lines, together with brief rehearsal and the control techniques we teach, really does work. There is almost always a breakthrough moment when people say some version of ‘my that is so much easier!’. And of course, it is not just easier but more effective at getting the right sort of coverage.
Laura is one of 12 trainers trained in The Media Coach technique. Why not give me a call to discuss what we can do for your spokespeople. Tel: +44 (0)20 7099 2212.
Lindsay Williams is based in London but runs training sessions in multiple time zones, including the US, Europe, Africa and Asia, working online or travelling to host small and large scale training events. With 20 years of experience as a communications consultant with corporations and international organisations, Lindsay also runs Personal Impact Training and Pitching Via Zoom courses.
- Why Mick Lynch is Right to be Wary of Pre-recorded Interviews - April 16, 2024
- Takeaways from Netflix Scoop: The Prince Andrew Interview - April 10, 2024
- Kate Shows How to Read Autocue - March 26, 2024
It’s a brilliant interview, showing how to bring to life a very complex story (even Adam B got his figures wrong in his intro).
One big take-away for me was that while Laura knows her stuff inside-out, and has spent years doing media interviews, she still goes through formal preparation for them before going live. She’s never complacent.