Executives are busy people. Their jobs entail a global view of complicated and sometimes very intricate business operations. They have to keep multiple constituencies happy all at the same time.
Most CEO types are passionate about the organizations they lead. Most of them know a lot about the organization and can speak glowingly about great things going on in every department. Execs also have the authority to speak on behalf of the organization. These are the key components of a good spokesperson. So why is it so hard to get them to take time out of their busy schedule for formal media training?
It's the perceived return on investment. What value will the executive receive for the time spent in training? It's a valid question, and one that can be addressed on both fronts: Time and value.
Most media training sessions I've facilitated last the entire day. Trainees are put through the paces by the trainers. Bagels are served. Breakout sessions are held with each individual, where constructive criticism is given. Time is wasted shifting gears between one exercise and another. Tangents can sometimes materialize between tidbits of important information. Interns appear with lunch, and the work stops cold.
Do you see a pattern?
Don't subject a busy executive to busy work. Plan a half day training session without all the time wasters. Make sure the time spent with an executive is planned to the minute. A very effective media training session can and should be executed within a four hour session. Also, limit executive media training sessions to very few individuals at one time.
Now, what about value? Make sure your session is challenging and relevant to the individuals being trained. The president of any organization likely has had some experience with media interviews. Gather information ahead of time and know what the individual executive would like to work on. What does he or she want to learn or gain from the session? What is the objective?
If you train an executive without knowing their expectations or goals ahead of time, how can you possibly know if they've gained anything from the session with reasonable certainty?
Make sure each participant has a take-away from the training session. A media training manual is probably not going to be useful. Boil down the information to fit on no more than four pages. A manual will be too long and probably gather dust within weeks. Afterwards, post the information to the company intranet and send a link in a follow-up email.
Make sure that the executive is allowed to give feedback to the presenter at the end of the session. A follow-up email requesting feedback might get lost in the shuffle of the hundreds of emails that the executive likely receives every day.
Media training is a must for all spokespersons. Just make sure they get a return on the time invested.
