Media/Crisis Coaching
Opening exercise Everyone individually faces a troublesome scenario. With only a couple of minutes to think, you must endure a tough videotaped media interview with me about the situation. The taping captures the good and not-so-good responses.
Critique Together we review the videotape and evaluate each interview for trustworthiness, reassurance, knowledge, etc.
Crisis Principles We review the principles for managing a crisis.
Crisis Decision-Making Model You get the model I often use for handling crises to come up with smart tactics.
3-Step Interview Preparation Model We examine a simple yet powerful format for preparing for all future media interviews – crisis or positive. We learn that your job is not simply to answer questions but to seize the opportunity to deliver a reassuring message. We look at how to guide the interview to your benefit.
Team-based tactical decision making exercise including message preparation and delivery Combining all that has gone before during the session everyone works as a team to decide the course of action for seven crisis scenarios, drafts messages and delivers the messages in videotaped interviews. This reinforces the importance of a team approach, a model and principles based approach, and, of course, gives everyone practice.
Media Handbook and Audio CD Since training reinforcement is critical, each participant gets: (1) a handbook as a permanent resource for dealing with crises and the media and (2) the Rescue Your Reputation audio CD to reinforce the principles.
Session Length Typically a full day from 9am to 330pm with a half-hour working lunch. I arrive an hour early to prepare the camera equipment that I bring. You provide a TV/VCR and flip chart (or laptop and overhead projectors for special-occasion large groups or for keynotes)
Group Size Media training works best with the smallest number of people because they get the personal attention needed for true skill building. I recommend no more than five people. Should you need to do a large group because they inherently work together – like HR chiefs or plant managers – then we can arrange a two-trainer program that would cover up to about 12 people. CEO’s sometimes want to work one-on-one to minimize their time involvement or for privacy reasons. That is no problem.
Location I come to you to do the session so that you do not tie up valuable executive time with needless travel. For out of town sessions, I arrive the night before. In the immediate area we train at the nearest “city club”, on-site, or at a location of your choosing.
Tuition I usually specify the tuition only after we discuss your needs – numbers of people, length of session, etc. Then we develop the ideal session length and class-size to suit what you want.
Customizing All of the above can be varied to suit your needs. For example, if you need more media training and less crisis management then I will refocus the session accordingly. Also, some situations demand that media training be done by telephone and I am happy to oblige. However, I highly recommend we only do that when the participant has some previous experience and the need is primarily message focus for a specific event or issue.
Importantly, we will get to know each other and I become an extension of your crisis team. Since we will have worked together and have a common crisis vocabulary, you can call upon me as a consultant to help facilitate problem solving and decision making should an incident occur. Again, because I will be a friend instead of a stranger, this will give senior management more confidence in my input to their teams. It will be like an insurance policy in the back pocket. Remember too that this process is valuable for communicating to all manner of audiences and in benign situations as well as crises.