So farewell Mr Fairburn, boss (till the end of the month) of the house-builder Persimmon. He is the victim of his inability to handle fall-out from his £75m bonus, but is he himself wholly to blame? Where were his media advisors when he was questioned, quite legitimately, about his bonus in a BBC interview? Well, […]
Don’t sweat the small stuff in media interviews
When taking part in one of our media training programmes, some course participants tend to be overly self-critical about their performances. This is particularly the case when it comes to television or radio interviews when they see themselves on a TV screen or hear themselves in front of a radio microphone. When we play back […]
Why koalas should make PRs paws for thought
There are so many tools you can rely on to aid your organisation when a crisis hits. Koalas could be a big help, for instance. “Sorry, did you just say koalas?!” I did. Let me explain: One of the areas we cover in our media training courses is how companies can foster positive relationships with […]
Not just Dancing Queen – Abba songs for politicians
On the final day of this year’s Conservative Party conference, we saw a new Theresa May. Firstly, the way she spoke sounded less like the recitation of a boring Downing Street press release, which is how she normally comes across, and more like everyday language. Secondly, her entry onto the stage, ahead of delivering her […]
It’s all about the people
Brexit is non-stop. Daily we are engulfed by an avalanche of proposals, counter-proposals, Chequers plans and no-deal scenarios. We are told of customs unions, free-trade agreements, deadlines looming. Acres of newsprint and hours of broadcasting are devoted to trying to explain what is happening. Business correspondents beaver away, finding fancier and fancier ways of getting […]
Which pronunciation is right?
Do you say “says” as in “fez” or “says” as in “ways”? What about “ate” as in “weight” or “ate” as in “bet”? Is it “CONtroversy” or “ConTROVersy”? During the seventies, Brian Widlake, a distinguished presenter of the BBC’s The World at One, shook Broadcasting House to its foundations when he started pronouncing “disPUTE” as […]
Can you ask for a list of questions before a media interview?
A lot of participants who take part in our media training courses ask this question: “When we do a real-life interview, can we expect questions in advance?” Having conducted hundreds of interviews during my career, I’ve never once conveyed to an interviewee, ahead of our encounter in the studio, in their office or out in […]
Yes Minister, that is the way to do a media interview: how even politicians can get it right
When the new ministerial appointments were made this week, following the Brexit exits of Davis and Johnson, something very significant struck me about Jeremy Hunt being promoted to Foreign Secretary, Matt Hancock taking his place as Health Secretary and Dominic Raab becoming the new Brexit Secretary. If you watch or listen to their media interviews, […]
The four categories of participants on a media training course
A row of unfamiliar faces along the other side of the conference table. Three, four, maybe five. The start of another media training session. Soon those faces will begin to swim into focus and their owners’ characters will start to emerge as the course gets under way. Yet already, even before the course has started, […]
Why a down-the-line interview took the sparkle out of Mr Markle
Unless you’re in a dramatic location – the scene of a fire, earthquake or riot etc – a down-the-line TV interview, where you, the interviewee, looks directly into the camera and hears questions through an earpiece, is rarely as attractive as being in the studio, where the interviewer can see the “whites of your eyes” […]
