Media training for executives, PR and spokespeople

Become confident – and effective – at dealing with the media

I’m a former Sydney Morning Herald editor and journalist who offers two kinds of media training:

executive media training, which prepares leaders for interviews, managing crises and talking to the media
a high-level refresher course for PR and marketing professionals, so they can refine both their stories and the way they pitch them.

Executive and spokesperson media training

Whether you’re giving an interview on camera, over the radio or to a newspaper or magazine, I can help you prepare (and relax) for it.

The training will vary depending on your needs and situation – but it can include:

preparing for difficult questions
understanding the different techniques journalists use – and knowing how to respond
steering the interview back to your key message without sounding like a robot
knowing how to respond when the media contacts you
giving quotes that will actually be used by the media
becoming aware of body language and tone of voice
crisis comms essentials (and how to avoid making the most common mistakes)
using rhetorical techniques (such as the power of three) to become more persuasive
becoming comfortable when being interviewed.

The training usually includes mock interviews, so participants can practice answering questions in a realistic interview environment – and directly receive valuable feedback.

Most participants find these simulated interviews the most valuable part of the training, as it allows them to put theory into practice. Although most people (including senior leaders) are nervous at the beginning, by the end they’re always more confident – and self-aware – about how to handle themselves when talking to the media.

Participants will also receive a handbook filled with tips to help them prepare for interviews.

Find out more or get a quote

Media training for marketing, PR and comms teams

Topics that can be covered include:

understanding what the media wants – and how journalists work
identifying the kinds of stories that different media outlets will run
pitching your story to the media
writing press releases that will be read and not deleted
becoming comfortable and confident in media interviews
how to use key messages without sounding like a robot
contacting journalists and editors
handling media requests.

Find out more about my media training

If you only have one or two staff members who need training, I also offer half-day public courses on press release writing and pitching to the media.

Who will be running the media training?

Every session will be run by myself, a former Sydney Morning Herald editor and journalist with over 30 years of experience.

I have written for and edited almost every section of the newspaper, covering areas from travel, hospitality and entertainment to health, science and technology.

In other words, regardless of what industry or area you work in, I understand exactly what kind of questions you’ll be facing from journalists – because at one time or another in the past, I was the person asking them.

I also have extensive experience in media training, having run my business for over 15 years now. I’ve trained people from across all sorts of organisations, from C-suite executives at large councils right through to finance and hospitality CEOs.

Confidential media training customised for you

Everyone’s media training needs are different, which is why I’ll take the time to customise the course to suit your particular situation.

For example, if your organisation might face a certain kind of crisis – whether it’s a cyber attack, outage, product recall or employee misconduct – we can prepare your leaders and spokespeople on how to respond to that. The training will remain entirely confidential and I’m willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement if needed.

The training can run at your office or online – whatever you prefer.

Who can benefit from media training?

I’ve run media training for almost every kind of organisation across every industry, including:

education
finance
hospitality
technology
government
health.

Most of my clients tend to be:

CEOs and other C-suite executives
founders
spokespeople
general managers
board directors
team leaders.

However, each session is customised, taking into account your specific needs and situation – so regardless of where you work or what you do, I can tailor the training for you.

"I've had similar training before, this workshop was the best of them. I enjoyed the interaction, informal presentation and Dan's anecdotes. The first-hand experience from a professional journalist is very valuable."
Nicole Brackenreg – Department of Education, Queensland
"Loved how engaging it was. Appreciated your honesty as well as the insights into the journo industry. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!"
Ella Mueller – Eleven PR
“Educational, empowering and engaging. This has given me a lot to think about – not just for media comms, but for all my writing. I appreciated the humour in the delivery too.”
Lydia Griffiths – Department of Justice and Community Safety
"Dan was a wealth of knowledge and has done a fantastic job of shaking up our team's approach. I feel confident that we will put these learnings into practice."
Phoebe Angelatos – ACT Emergency Services Agency
"Loved the honesty and transparency – refreshing for someone to tell us how it is. Definitely trust your knowledge and insight given your journalism background!"
Jayda Galvin – FleishmanHillard PR
"A helpful workshop which went over both the basics and pertinent points for copywriting and communications professionals."
Vanessa Gregory – Access-DGC
"Very useful workshop – highly recommended. Dan was very professional and questions and answers were welcomed. Nice and relaxed environment."
Ciarne Denham – Jaywing
"Thanks Dan, loved your workshop. Really appreciated that you found some recent examples of our work, it helped ground your advice in a very practical way."
Emily Schade – Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra)
"Expertly taught lesson on media skills from a knowledable presenter. His depth of knowledge and approachable nature made the session engaging, interactive and valuable. This has benefited my understanding of media and supported my professional development. Thank you."
Lachlan Randell – Emergency Recovery Victoria
"I really enjoyed the session. It got into the finer details and gave the inside scoop that we wouldn’t otherwise have. Certainly made me curious about trying some new approaches in my pitching."
Lauren Coskerie – Western Sydney University
"The course was very insightful. I found myself restructuring my pitches and releases today. Thank you."
Bella Temelkovski – Sweaty Betty PR
"Really enjoyable. Content is broad, which is great – it links all kinds of comms strategies."
Alana Doyle – Melba Support Services
"Loved learning how to cut my sentences and work on structure. Particularly good to get some tips for media releases and sending to journos. Great exercises to actually put theory into practice."
Amelia Quenby – Tonic PR
"Great workshop! It was very helpful to get an insight into how editors and journos respond to pitches."
Mond Liu – The Atticism
"Enjoyed the format and content and how elements had been applied to our work. Thank you for a fabulous session."
Vanessa Hollidge – Reymond Communications

Dealing with Grumpy Editors – the book

Dealing with Grumpy Editors explains what does and doesn’t work when it comes to pitching story ideas and press releases to the media.

It covers:

- how to write press releases that will grab an editor’s interest
- how to pitch stories
- the danger of offering exclusives
- the real reasons why some stories don’t make it to press
- understanding what makes editors tick
- what information editors and journos need from PR
- what to do – and not do – when calling an editor
- what should be on a PR’s and client’s website
- how to handle media requests
- interviews (and how to give good quotes)
- PR damage control tips.

Price: $4.99 for the ebook and $16.50 for the paperback

Buy Dealing with Grumpy Editors on Amazon

“This is required reading for any newsroom or PR agency.”
Colin Kruger, business journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald
“An insightful and honest read and I liked that it was funny as well. I hope more people (especially CEOs and general managers) read it.”
Cheryl Ng, director of public relations,The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore
“This book should be required reading for all PRs, marketeers, ad people who are thinking of hiring PRs, all junior journalists and all clients who have PRs.”
Emma Gardiner, editor and freelance PR
“Dealing with Grumpy Editors had me laughing out loud – and despairing. This should be compulsory reading for all in the industry.”
Georgia Macmillan, public relations consultant