Crisis Management: How media training can help

How is your organisation’s crisis management? During a crisis, your organisation will likely receive more media attention than you’ve ever experienced before. This can become a problem when your team is unsure of how to respond to the media on your doorstep.

Adoni Media Managing Director Leisa Goddard, said being unprepared can turn a small issue into a PR disaster.

“Media training should be a key part of your organisation’s crisis management planning process,” Leisa said.

“It is all about being pro-active and ensuring everyone in your team knows their roles and responsibilities in crisis management.”

Here are some of the important ways media training can help your organisation prepare for a crisis.

Interview techniques

Being interviewed by the media can be nerve-wracking, particularly when you’re not familiar with journalists and their techniques. In crisis management, the CEO will need to lead and represent the organisation.

Their body language and facial expressions will contribute to the company’s overall image, so it’s important for them to be prepared and comfortable when facing the media. Appearing nervous or bored may make audiences think you are unprofessional or unprepared.

Media training helps business leaders prepare for an interview and be skilled at delivering a key message even in times of crisis. As experienced senior journalists, we teach people how to handle a media ‘pack’ while working on presentation skills like body language and message delivery.

Developing key messages

Timeliness is essential in the crisis management cycle, which makes it important to have your organisation’s key messages ready. Having these prepared will help you stay on topic during an interview and provide your team with a message to stand by.

During an Adoni Media training session your ability to respond to the press (under pressure) will be perfected, as we use experienced journalists and TV cameras to replicate an interview situation. This not only gets participants more comfortable in front of a TV camera, but allows you to craft the key message you want to promote to the public.

Dealing with difficult questions

Along with a key message, you should also have a prepared list of answers to potential questions in your crisis management checklist. Although you may feel ready for a media interview, it’s more than likely journalists will be asking tough questions you haven’t thought of.

With a customised approach, media training focuses on making sure your organisation can answer any question with confidence and use bridging techniques to direct the answer back to your key messages.

Understanding the media

When developing your crisis management framework, understanding what the media will be looking for is crucial. There’s no better way to understand how journalists think than to learn from those who’ve been one. The team at Adoni Media are former senior journalists, news bosses, foreign correspondents, and political reporters, with decades of experience in the industry.

Media training helps you understand what journalists really want from an interview and how to answer their questions while managing your organisation’s reputation during a time of crisis.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to be media ready. Contact us to ensure media training is a part of your organisation’s crisis management approach.