Encountering the Media® – Mastering Media Interviews [2 days]

Encountering the Media® is a two-day practical seminar/workshop conducted by two of Canada’s most experienced media trainers (Barry J. McLoughlin and Laura M. Peck) focused on building the skills of participants to handle media interviews of all kinds. Today’s leaders have to communicate to their customers, stakeholders, employees, and communities in myriad ways – including local and national media, social media, and direct engagement. Sometimes instantly, with almost no time to prepare! Learn how to calm your nerves, collect your thoughts and reach your full communications potential in media interviews.

Each participant will receive a copy of the 2016 edition of Barry J. McLoughlin’s internationally renowned pocket tips book, ‘Encountering the Media®’ as well as a video of the interview simulations recorded in the seminar.

Learn from the pros how to: prepare for media interviews – target your audience, develop your messages, get yourself ready to maximize the benefit and impact of media exposure. In this practical, hands-on seminar/workshop, participants will learn key techniques and have numerous opportunities to practice them in audio and video-recorded simulations:

• how to structure answers effectively
• stay in control of your answers
• bridge over to your messages
• convey confident and appropriate body language
• strengthen verbal techniques – pitch, pace, inflection, tone
• handle difficult questions – personal opinion, speculation, rumour, persistent etc.
• manage ‘live’ interviews, and taped-and-edited interviews
• television, radio and social media
• news conferences and ‘media availabilities’
• media strategies and tactics

Leadership in Times of Crisis [1 or 2 days]

WHO WOULD BENEFIT? Government officials – federal, provincial, municipal; Boards of Education, Hydro, hospital staff; Corporate and Association Executives, Emergency Preparedness officials, Directors of Communications, media relations practitioners, senior corporate leaders and managers who are responsible for managing isssues and projects, and ultimately, the reputaion of their organization.

FEATURES: Case studies, video-recorded simulations, and individual feedback

MATERIALS: The IABC Award-winning Overcoming Panic and Fear: Risk and Crisis Communications pocket tips book (2016 edition) by Barry J. McLoughlin; videos of individual simulations

COURSE LEADERS: Barry J. McLoughlin & Laura M. Peck, Senior Partners, TransformLeaders.ca and special guests

YOU WILL LEARN:

WHAT IS A CRISIS? – MODULE 1

• How do we know we have a crisis?
• What is the role of a leader in a crisis?
• Protecting the reputation of the the individual and/or the organization
• 10 principles of crisis communications

COMMUNICATING IN EMERGENCIES – MODULE 2

• Understanding the difference between “incident” and “emergency”
• Pre-planning – key steps, roles of key players
• Executing the Emergency Communications Plan
• Public and stakeholder engagement
• Media relations in an emergency
• The role and requirements of the spokesperson
• How to be a credible spokesperson

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY – MODULE 3

• How do we know we have a crisis?
• Crisis communications strategy template – online (copyright McLoughlin Media®)
• Incident Command structure
• The Leader as Incident Commander
• Working with partner agencies/companies
• How to deal with the media, key stakeholders
• Leading the response from the first few minutes: actions, responsibilities, messages, initiatives, tactics, tools
• What do to at each of the 5 Phases of a Crisis: 1. Issue/Incident Occurs; 2. Crisis Underway; 3. Crisis Builds; 4. Crisis Recedes; 5. Crisis Over
• Restoring trust and credibility

SOCIAL MEDIA IN A CRISIS – MODULE 4 [SPECIAL GUEST!]

• The significance of social media in a crisis
• How a leader uses social media to get the message out, request assistance, refute rumours and inaccurate reporting, correct errors
• Lead and maintain a strong presence throughout the crisis

CRISIS SCENARIOS (VIDEO-RECORDED SIMULATION) – MODULE 5

CRISIS RECOVERY – MODULE 6

• How to return to ‘normal’ having learned lessons from the crisis response
• How to communicate with employees, stakeholders and the public once the crisis is over in order to reassure them and to re-build credibility
• How to resolve tensions and attitudes internally and externally