Media Training
Workshop Description

We take great pains to customize every workshop -- indeed, we have never conducted two workshops exactly alike, even though we have trained more than 3,500 people. This is how we will conduct your workshop.

Goals

1. To help the participants deliver their messages effectively to target audiences.

2. To show the participants how the audiences receive and process what they hear. Meeting this goal helps us meet the first goal.

Critical Success Factors

Experience has taught us that these are the critical success factors for a successful workshop:

1. Participants must be willing to prepare.

Preparation includes a reasonable amount of time spent preparing messages or refining existing messages.

2. The workshop must take place in a proper setting:

A conference room of sufficient size
Video recording and playback equipment (we supply them)
Isolation from interruptions and distractions

Preparation

Working directly with you by telephone and e-mail we gather: Relevant background on each participant, especially on personal style and interviewing experience; a definition of the key public relations challenges the company will face during the coming year and the specific role of each workshop participant in meeting those challenges.

Needs Assessment

At the beginning of the workshop, we ask all participants to describe their interviewing experience, their own assessments of their interviewing strengths and weaknesses, and their specific personal goals for the workshop. In addition, we ask them to express any top-of-mind questions or concerns they may have about interviewing. Even though we have most of this information already, we want the participants to state it out loud and to "own it."

We don't rush this process because it opens the participants' minds and prepares them to learn.

Lecture and Q&A

We present the following information and then answer questions about it. How to prepare for an interview. How to anticipate questions and prepare answers. How to know what information you should not reveal, and how to avoid revealing it. How to know if you really are ready for an interview. What to do after an interview.

Examples:

How to learn from interviews. How to establish a relationship of trust and respect.

Messages:

We guide the participants in a brief tune-up of their messages. As preparation for the practice interviews that will follow, we tell the participants how they can help ensure that their target audiences will understand, believe and remember their messages.

Practice Interviews:

We conduct a number of realistic practice interviews: From simple to complex. From easy to difficult. We videotape every interview.

After each interview, we comment on the interviewee's strengths and weaknesses, and restate the principles involved. Each participant has at least two opportunities to be interviewed.

Each participant leaves the workshop with a personal videotape of his or her interviews. These videotapes are essential for the participants' later self-analysis and practice.

Wrap-Up

At the end of the workshop, we summarize our key advice for the group. In addition, we carefully answer any questions still in the minds of the participants, or expand answers already given.

Follow-Up

After the workshop, we send a follow-up report of recommendations.

In addition, we offer additional one-on-one consulting and advice by telephone, free of charge, for one full year following the workshop.

NIKKI RICHARDSON STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS
THREE LANCASTER AVENUE, CHELMSFORD MA 01824
Phone 978.256.1651-- Fax 978.256.0751