Five benefits of media training

Communications and corporate affairs leads know the importance of media training. 

Positive media coverage can boost brand profile and corporate reputation. Negative scrutiny can cause long-lasting damage. 

However, the benefits of media training aren’t always obvious to everyone in your leadership team. Your CEO might say, ‘We’re not in the news all that often’ or ‘I’ve done media interviews before.’

As it happens, media training has multiple benefits even if your business has an infrequent media exposure. 

Media training benefits extend beyond the news studio

1. You’re ready for unexpected opportunities 

You never quite know when the media spotlight might fall on your organisation. 

For example, your industry sector suddenly becomes newsworthy, or you’re asked to comment on a trend.

News cycles are short and you’ll want to be ready to respond. 

Even infrequent interview requests can be valuable opportunities, especially when a well-placed quote can be amplified on social media. 

If you’re not up for the challenge, your competitor might be all too ready to take your place. 

2. You can improve your on-camera performance 

In a world of Teams meetings, webinars and online town halls, business life is increasingly being conducted on video. 

Media training helps build your confidence and authority when presenting and handling questions on camera. 

Yes, watching your own performance on video can sometimes be excruciating, but it’s a remarkably effective learning tool! 

Just like athletes, good spokespeople understand the importance of staying 'match-fit' with regular media trainer refreshers. 

3. You can road-test your messages 

It’s one thing to draft written corporate messages, but they can land very differently when spoken out loud. Often, they’ll need to be shortened or paraphrased in a way that someone would actually say in conversation. 

Rehearsing and refining your messages in media training is often the best way of ensuring they resonate with your audience.

As business strategies change, so do your messages. Media training gets your senior team aligned on the narrative and how to deliver them to all audiences, not just the news media.

4. You’re better prepared for a crisis

The ability to respond promptly, calmly and consistently can make all the difference in a crisis.

The stakes are high and the questions are often hostile. A poor media performance can worsen the situation and have a lasting reputational and business impact.

No-one wants to be like Tony Hayward, the former BP CEO who became famous for his media missteps during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Having a media trained crisis spokesperson is a core component of crisis readiness.

5. It’s career-building

Media training helps build executive presence. Leadership often involves responding to challenging questions from your teams, your customers or your investors.

Leaders need to make their points confidently and persuasively to drive business outcomes.

Media training is not just for news publications; it strengthens your communication skills.

That’s why many corporate affairs teams book media training for executives as a career development tool.

Isn’t it time you thought about media training for your organisation?