Five Things to Consider When Hiring a Media Coach
Your new CEO is about to embark on their first external speaking engagement or media interview. You’ve inked the deal with the celebrity influencer to serve front and center on your consumer health awareness campaign. The lead investigators on scientific studies with breakthrough findings have been asked to decipher the data for a slew of high profile traditional and social media outlets. The strategies and messages are set but the messengers have left you and your team less than inspired in your pre-launch briefing sessions despite their title, accomplishments and/or notoriety. For many it can be difficult to give constructive criticism to people who are representing a company or a brand. Constructive cricitism is first nature to highly-skilled outside communications training experts. Here are some tips to consider as you search for the best media training experts:
1. Experience Matters: Coaches who have worked across sectors and with many personalities bring real world insights and observations. Media training techniques are the basis of trainings but time in the trenches working with people from all walks of life whether celebrity influencers or CEO’s cannot be replicated.
2. Regulatory Knowledge: Celebrity influencers are increasingly playing a key role speaking to patients about chronic illness across multiple channels. The Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission are charged with monitoring communications. Spokespeople must be FDA compliant when sharing their stories and your messages. An expert media coach should be as well if they are going to deliver responsible media training.
3. Subject Matter Expertise: Basic media techniques can be honed but an expert media coach with in-depth experience in your sector brings value-added knowledge and an understanding of the media landscape. For example, if you are looking for a media coach to work with a celebrity influencer or health expert who will serve as a spokesperson on a consumer awareness campaign surrounding a complex health condition a coach that has extensive skills at effectively translating medical messaging into understandable consumer terms is invaluable.
4. Coaching Style: Media training is an awkward process. To be effective, expert media coaches must constructively critique a person and egos can get involved. Celebrity influencers and high-profile spokespersons along with their staffs can intimidate less experienced professionals. A good coach must be assertive and able to handle trainee pushback. Since no two people are alike, can the coach pivot and adapt to varying personalities, seniority, fame, or resistance to being coached?
5. Likeability: You have a choice of who to work with as does the trainer or training team. While media coaching isn’t about winning a popularity contest, it helps if the person doing the critiquing is objective, fair, encouraging and someone your trainee will listen to like and respect.
The Media Coach™ is Reilly Connect’s media training resource. We use The Reilly Media Training Method™, a make no bones about it approach to helping people prepare and deliver messages in multiple formats with power, credibility, and authenticity. We offer one-on-on media training and group trainings. Learn more Here.
