Media Training with Gavin Duffy
For more than 25 years, Gavin Duffy has been training spokespersons who have to face the media. He is the acknowledged expert in media coaching.
Gavin says:
"The training session will be a highly intensive, practical workshop delivered in a morning or afternoon session. It will cover:
- Why you will improve 100% with this training
- Are the media out to trip you up?
- Coping with nerves
- Making a positive start
- Taking control
- Handling interruptions
- Getting your message across
- Being memorable
- Dealing with crossfire
- Giving quotable quotes
- Having the last word
Below I'll explain how we go about achieving this for you:
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I will improve your performance by 100%
Here's a guarantee. You will be twice as good at doing media interviews after our short session together. How can I be so confident of such a dramatic improvement? I will not teach you a whole new set of skills. You have talked all your life, you answer hundreds of questions everyday, you have attended thousands of meetings and you've been appointed or volunteered to be a spokesperson on many occasions. Yes, modesty will make you think straight away of some colleague who you think is much better than you. But as regards a straight forward Q & A, you are, despite yourself, reasonably accomplished. So, my job is to acclimatise you to the media arena where the environment is tougher and the game plays a lot faster. It is like taking a tennis player and saying, now play squash. I don't have to explain, "Here's a ball, and this is a racquet". But I will teach you how to best perform in this particular type of game, where the ball bounces a lot more and will come at you from any direction.
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For an individual or a small group we need 3 hours
The majority of my training sessions take three hours. The training is delivered, one-on-one, or in a small group up to a maximum of four participants.
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We'll do the training through radio type interviews with you, followed by assessment
95% of media queries to spokespersons are from newspaper journalists over the phone, but my training will concentrate on helping you do your best in a live radio interview format. I have learned that once people believe they can do themselves and their organisation justice in that type of interview, they feel more confident, competent and comfortable dealing with all types of media.
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There is no studio required or big set up. It is all very discreet
These days, the equipment is dinky. I just turn up with a discreet digital video and we play it back on my laptop. For a larger group, we can play it onto a screen. I can do it in your office or meeting room, at your PR Company's offices, at a nearby hotel, or at our offices.
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Mastering the "3 C's". Is the media out to get you?
I am going to coach you to master the 3C's. That is - speaking with Clarity, Credibility and Colour. Yes, the "colour" one comes as a surprise to most. Nearly every spokesperson I have come across wants to be clear and credible, but foremost in their minds are other C's such as - be Careful, Cautious and definitely don't Cock-up. Genuinely, the media is not out to get you, but practitioners are paid to make you interesting. So it is in YOUR interest not to deliver your message in an overly careful or cautious manner. The onus is on you to control the interview by delivering the message in an interesting way.
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When we've done the interview, then the real learning starts as we playback
Even though an interview may only be about five minutes long, we could spend more than an hour assessing it. This seems like a long time. But I'll be covering all the techniques you have to understand and master if you are to score well on the media. This includes how to deal with interruptions, make a positive start, handle the awkward questions, take control and convince the audience.
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Learning how to prepare for a media interview
Having assessed your interview and taken you through all the correct techniques, I will talk to you about preparation or more correctly how not to prepare. A big take away from the training is learning how to get into the zone in the five minutes before you talk to the journalist or presenter.
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Messaging
The session is not just about understanding the media - it is about helping you craft your messages and position it for the reader, viewer or listener.
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Handling telephone queries from journalists
Up to this moment in the session, we have concentrated on a radio style interview, but now I'll cover other media channels such as how do you best handle a telephone call from a journalist? I'll teach you how to professionally park it, buy time to prepare a response and then deliver your message to the journalist. Also I will give you the techniques to ensure that the reporter uses your best quotes.
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The final interview
The session concludes with a quick interview to confirm that you have taken all the training on board. There is no in-depth analysis of this interview, because now you will see for yourself your dramatically improved media technique.
COSTS
Gavin offers a three-hour, highly intensive, practical session which you can do one-on-one, or along with up to three colleagues. The all-in charge for that is €1,800.
For a larger in-house group of up to 7/8 participants, Gavin offers a full day at €3,500.
Or you can attend one of our open, three-hour workshops for €385.