MEETING THE MEDIA - 2-DAY VERSION (G019)

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WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

This two-day workshop offers an opportunity to refresh media skills and prepare for the busy fall and winter seasons. It's a chance to assess and improve interview performance and enhance your effectiveness as a spokesperson - and more generally as a communicator dealing with management, colleagues, clients, partners - in a challenging but positive environment.

It's also a chance, if appropriate, to try out possible messages and communications approaches for future programs, issues and policies, strategies, etc. in a realistic interview context working with some of Ottawa's top media trainers. Even if you're not directly invovled with media, the skills and techniques learned in this workshop are invaluable when presenting, briefing, speaking in meetings, dealing with committees or on similar occasions. They can be applied whether the audience is the boss, other bosses, colleagues, stakeholders, the public .or members of the media.

You'll be able to:

• Confirm the basics;
• Sharpen and solidify skills;
• Focus on strengthening specific elements of giving media interviews;
• Practice various types of interview;
• Test messages and approaches.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

• Your current skill level and how to enhance it.
• Ways of increasing your interview effectiveness.
• Planning for, focusing on and reinforcing transmission of key messages.
• Maximizing opportunity and minimizing risk.

Participants will be contacted prior to the workshop and asked to provide particular issues/situations they are concerned with, possible messages, areas of interview delivery they want to work on and other relevant information.

WHAT WILL YOU TAKE AWAY?

• Workbook
• Personal evaluations and recommendations
• Your interview tapes

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COMPETENCIES

• Thinking Things Through: Innovating through analysis and ideas
• Engagement: Working effectively with people, organizations and partners
• http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/tal/kcl/ekl-eng.asp

PRINCIPAL INSTRUCTOR

Ian Parker, a former CBC and CTV journalist and producer, and long-time media relations and communications trainer, is a Senior Associate of the Centre for Excellence in Communications and the principal instructor for this workshop. Mr. Parker, well known as a host of CBC's the Fifth Estate national public affairs show, has many years of experience across all facets of news and current affairs programming and communications. An expert in media and communications training, he has developed and delivered a wide range of courses for government, corporate and institutional clients in Canada and the United States. Mr. Parker will join with other Centre instructors to provide a dynamic, practical and strategic communications approach to dealing with and communicating through the media.

Agenda Day 1
8:45 - 8:50	Introductions and Workshop Overview
8:50– 9:15	Lessons Learned - What did or didn’t work Instructor-led discussion on what has and has not worked for participants in dealing with media, possible reasons and lessons to be learned as well as the issues they wish to focus on during the workshop.
9:15 - 10:00	Preparing and Planning - Basics Review Instructor-led discussion and review of the components and process of developing the basic interview plan for an issue or situation, preparing the response model for expected questions and getting ready.
10:00 - 10:15	Break
10:15 - 11:45	Radio Interview Each participant will take part in a challenging recorded radio interview on the issues identified by them prior to the course. Each interview will be replayed and critiqued in-depth by instructors with an emphasis on strengths shown, lessons learned and areas for remedial development, including any specific areas identified by participants prior to the workshop.
11:45 -12:30	Nasty Questions and Reasonable Answers Instructor-led review and discussion of types of questions and response techniques.
12:30 - 13:30	Lunch
13:30 - 15:15	Sit-Down TV Interview Each participant will take part in a challenging recorded TV interview. Replay and critique of interviews.
15:15 - 15:30	Break
15:30 - 16:30	Appearance, Language, Behaviour and Other Matters Instructor-led review and discussion of body language, voice, facial expression, where and how to look and focus, dress and deportment, word choice and phrasing, “no comment,” recovering from mistakes, the perception you want to achieve and other related questions.

Agenda Day 2
8:30 - 8:45	Review of Outstanding Issues
8:45 - 10:15	Stand Up TV Interview Each participant will take part in a challenging recorded “stand-up” TV interview in the open air. Replay and critique of interviews.
10:15 - 10:30	Break
10:30 - 12:15	Scrums and Ambushes Instructor-led discussion on dealing with scrums and ambush interviews. Each participant will take part in a recorded scrum. Replay and critique.
12:15 - 13:15	Lunch
13:15 - 14:30	Communicating with Media in a Crisis Instructor-led discussion and review of dealing with media in a crisis – best practices. Participants will be given a crisis scenario and divided into groups. Each group will develop a communications and media response and present this for discussion and critique. Participants will then prepare individually for an aggressive TV “double ender” interview on the crisis.
14:30 - 14:45	Break
14:45 - 16:20	“Double Ender” Interviews of Crisis Spokespersons Each participant will act as a spokesperson during the crisis and take part in a recorded “double ender” TV interview. Replay and critique of interviews.
16:20 - 16:30	Wrap-up and Workshop Evaluation Participants will complete a short evaluation