Media Training Tips

An interview with Media Trainer
LeeAundra Keany

Fun fact: The Beatles were the first famous guys to understand that the media is someone to be courted, not avoided. They understood that the media can take a message you want to deliver and blast it to more people than you could ever do alone.

Years ago, media training taught you how to be on the defense, how to not screw up—essentially how to control the message. But unlike back then, the media is now fragmented.

We have cable, streaming, newsletters, social media, your mom's friend's blog! So now the goal is not so much to control the message, but rather to control the lens through which the message is viewed.

I had the pleasure of chatting about all of this with my longtime and very brilliant colleague LeeAundra Keany of Keany Communications. She has worked with the C-suite of major companies like Adidas, Apple, HBO and New Line Cinema, as well as with countless celebrities like Marcia Cross and Pierce Brosnan.

I asked her to debunk the myth that media training is only for people who, ahem, suck at media interviews— newbies, novices, those who can't string a sentence together. (Because that could not be further from the truth.)

If you are embarking on a high stakes situation with oral communication (keynote speech, press interview, negotiations, giving testimony before legislature, executive presentation, CEO interview), media training will help you prepare. Let's dive in on how.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk,
Molly

1. Through the looking glass.

When I first started in PR, it was about controlling the message: "I’m glad you brought up the weather, because my pie is the best pie you will ever eat." "Controlling the message is very difficult to do in a fragmented state," LeeAundra explains. "Instead, you need to control the lens." An example of this is George Clooney. He has created such great relationships and is so likable, that when he does screw up, everyone gives him the benefit of the doubt. That’s because he has been very good at controlling the lens through which the message is received.

2.  You're in the club. 

How do you build friendly relationships with these gate keepers, a.k.a. very jaded journalists? Of course, as a publicist, it is my job to spearhead this effort, but once you are in a room or over the phone with a reporter, you have to be able to back up what I have set in motion. This is where media training can help. Whether or not you know it, you are always communicating. How you are sitting, your voice, your gestures. Nonverbal cues are often the most important. And the ones that will determine whether or not you are sending warm and friendly vibes (or not). 

3. Mixed messages

Have you ever cringed at hearing your voice on tape? We've all been there. You never sound the way you think you sound. Similarly, we don't always send the message we think we are sending, especially when it comes to nonverbal cues. Ok I'll go first. I know (from so much feedback) that when I am not smiling, people think I'm upset or mad. Yup, I have RBF. Because I know this, I have to really turn the energy up and smile a lot during meetings and on video. If you are working with LeeAundra, she may say, "This is the message you are sending. Is that the message you want to send?" If not, adjust and hit restart.

4. Fascinating, tell me more.

Media training goes beyond on-camera interviews. Whether you are putting together a key note speech, or simply want to have a larger platform on social media, media training can help you figure out your "why" and help you understand the universal structure of stories so that people are fascinated and want to learn more. What do you want to use your platform to talk about? What gives you a unique perspective? You can discover all of this during media training.

5. Killerbite.

If you're interested in media training with LeeAundra, you generally would start with 2-3 sessions. The first session focuses on distilling and framing your story, and the second session focuses on delivery—how do you tell your story in a way that leverages the media you are going to be using. If you are doing an interview for a print article, they are only going to take one soundbite out of a 15-minute conversation. Media training will teach you how to make sure it's the bite you want.