Hawkeye Media Training Blog
After a media training session you will never listen or watch the news in the same way as before. You will spot experienced interviewees deflect awkward lines of questioning and some will talk with great passion about causes close to their heart. But it’s not always this way.
Those who really should know better can make a terrible hash of things even royalty, senior politicians and broadcasters.
During our weekly blogs we note what has gone well and not-so-well for those making the news. We offer regular advice slots and hot tips which we hope you will find useful.
Why Media Skills Belong in Every Senior Job Description
Senior job descriptions traditionally focus on commercial judgement, strategic thinking, financial management and the ability to lead people. These qualities remain essential, but modern executives are also expected to communicate effectively under a level of public...
Five Mistakes Organisations Make When Choosing a Media Spokesperson
Choosing the right media spokesperson is not simply a matter of finding the most senior person in the organisation or the individual with the greatest technical knowledge. A spokesperson must be credible, available, well prepared and capable of communicating clearly...
Inclusive Media Interviews: Handling Sensitive Topics with Confidence
Questions about race, gender, disability and social inequality can arise in almost any media interview. A discussion about recruitment may develop into questions about representation. An interview about public services might turn towards accessibility, while an...
Building a Message House for Your Next Media Interview
A successful media interview should sound like a natural conversation, but that does not mean it should be improvised. Spokespeople need a clear understanding of what they want the audience to remember, which facts support their position and how they will respond if...
How Video-Based Media Training Can Transform Your Internal Communications
Video is now a central part of workplace communication. From live town-hall meetings and leadership announcements to recorded staff briefings and updates about organisational change, employees increasingly expect important information to be delivered on screen....
Cut the Jargon: Sounding Human in Technical Media Interviews
Technical, scientific and financial specialists are often chosen as media spokespeople because they understand a subject better than almost anyone else. They know the evidence, recognise the risks and can explain the reasoning behind an organisation’s decisions. Yet...
Joining the Dots Between Broadcast Interviews and Your Social Media Strategy
A broadcast interview should never be treated as a standalone moment. Whether your spokesperson is appearing on television, speaking on radio or joining a live podcast, that appearance can do much more than reach one audience in one slot. When it is properly connected...
From Interview to Asset: Turning Media Appearances into Evergreen Content
A strong interview can do much more than fill a news slot for a day. With the right planning, a TV, radio or podcast appearance can become a long-lasting content asset that supports marketing, internal communications, training and reputation-building well beyond the...
Is Media Training Worth It? How to Measure the ROI of Better Interviews
For many organisations, media training is easy to approve in principle but harder to defend in a boardroom once budgets are under scrutiny. Senior teams often understand that interviews matter, reputations matter and crisis response matters, but they still want a...
Embedding Media Training Skills Back in the Office
The training day is not the finish line A strong media training session can transform how a spokesperson thinks, sounds and responds under pressure. It can sharpen messages, build confidence and help people handle difficult interviews with far more control. But one...
Online vs In-Person Media Training: Which Is Right for Your Organisation?
A decade ago, most spokespeople prepared for a very specific moment: a scheduled interview in a studio, a press conference, or a journalist arriving with a microphone. Today, the “media moment” might still be a studio booking — but just as often it’s a live Zoom from...
How to Brief Your Media Training Provider for Maximum Impact
A successful media training day rarely starts in the studio. It starts with a strong brief. When comms and HR teams take the time to set clear objectives, define realistic scenarios and agree what “good” looks like, the training becomes more than a general confidence...