Acres of newsprint have already been devoted to Emily Maitlis’ interview with the Duke of York, in particular debating whether he should have agreed to it in the first place and, having agreed, whether he succeeded in countering a long list of awkward questions. The near-unanimous verdict is that he failed to offer convincing explanations […]
Washing powder and the most effective tool in corporate communications
“No one can possibly give us more service than by showing us what is wrong with what we think or do; and the bigger the fault, the bigger the improvement made possible by its revelation.” Bryan Magee, Philosophy and the Real World Have you ever wondered how washing powder is made? Of course you have, […]
Download media training guides
Today we have launched our download centre, where you will find all of our media training guides to download in one place. The guides include: Journalists and the media Television interview formats Communicating positive stories Crisis communications You can visit the downloads page here. We’ll be adding more guides in the future, so watch this […]
How to handle an interviewer’s mistake
It’s not unusual for interviewers to make mistakes – journalists are under an increasing amount of pressure and they often go into interviews without being fully briefed. As Graham Leach discusses in this article for PR Daily, it’s important that the interviewee knows how to deal with these mistakes in the right way.
What the 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer means for spokespeople – 3 key insights
The 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer was published this week and, as always, it contains some really useful nuggets of information for spokespeople and comms departments. Here are three of the key insights from the report. 1. Employees are most trusted It’s often tempting to rely on the CEO or a media spokesperson to handle interviews […]
6 tips for getting through tough media interviews
An interview with the media is tricky at the best of times, but when you’re faced with an interviewer who is determined to make things difficult for you, it can go horribly wrong. These six tips will help get you through the tough times. 1. Use emphatic language When an interviewer throws an inflammatory or […]
6 New Year’s resolutions for spokespeople
As we enter 2014, it’s a good time for spokespeople to make some resolutions for the new year. Here are our suggestions for six promises that all spokespeople should make. 1. I will make sure I know exactly what I’m getting into. 2. I will answer the question before moving on to the point I […]
Infographic – Know Your Journalist
This infographic will serve as a useful guide when you are speaking to a journalist or have been asked to take part in an interview. It describes the four main types of journalist, what they want from you, and the kind of questions they are likely to ask (and that you should prepare for) ranging […]
Applying loss aversion to communications
You’ve probably heard of loss aversion. It refers to the fact that we have a strong preference for avoiding losses over acquiring gains. Research has shown that we tend to experience losses approximately twice as strongly, in psychological terms, as gains – that is, losing £100 will feel twice as bad as gaining £100 will […]
Using the halo effect in your communications
Think of somebody you don’t know very well, but who you have already decided you like as a person. This could be somebody famous, or perhaps somebody you’ve met briefly. Now ask yourself some questions about them. Do you think they are clever? Kind? Funny? Trustworthy? You probably find that you answer yes to these […]
