Mr. Media Training

Six Ways To Electrify Your Next Panel Discussion

Brad Phillips @MrMediaTraining — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:02:14 +0000

I hate panel discussions. Sure, I’ve been to the occasional panel discussion that features an unobtrusive moderator and three panelists who capture the audience’s attention. But they’re rare. Finding a great panel discussion is more challenging than finding a chain drug store with friendly customer service. The problem is the format. Too often, you’ll find [...]

What I’ve Learned In Business: Don’t “Convince” People

Brad Phillips @MrMediaTraining — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:02:27 +0000

This article is part of an occasional series about what I’ve learned from running a business. You can read other articles in this series here. I recently received this email from a reader named Patreice: “I have a question about creating a Media Training business in Detroit. Often times, [small non-profit organizations] feel that media [...]

Book Review: Confessions Of A Public Speaker

Brad Phillips @MrMediaTraining — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:02:49 +0000

I’ve been catching up on some long-overdue reading lately, and finally read a book that’s been sitting near the top of Amazon’s Public Speaking Bestsellers list since its 2009 release. It’s easy to see why Confessions Of A Public Speaker by Scott Berkun has gotten so much buzz. It’s the single funniest book about public [...]

How To Use A Teleprompter And An “IFB” Earpiece

Christina Mozaffari (@PMRChristina) — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:02:57 +0000

Editor’s Note: This post was written by David Shuster, a former MSNBC and Current TV anchor who currently serves as the managing editor for Take Action News. In this post, he responds to a reader who asked for tips on how to read from a Teleprompter and use an “IFB” earpiece, into which a producer [...]

Six Ways To Prepare Office Staff For A Reporter’s Visit

Brad Phillips @MrMediaTraining — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:02:03 +0000

A local reporter is scheduled to visit your office in a few days to conduct an interview with you. It’s a critical interview for your company, one that will impact your growth, your reputation, and your bottom line. You prepare for it carefully, huddling with your leadership team and preparing highly memorable media messages that [...]

The Seven Ways To Respond To A Crisis

Brad Phillips @MrMediaTraining — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:02:16 +0000

In his classic public speaking book, You Are The Message, Roger Ailes defines five ways to respond to a crisis: attack, defend, counterattack, sell, or ignore. That’s the most succinctly articulated crisis communications playbook I’ve ever seen, and it’s a good one. To complete his list, I’d add two other strategies: deflect and apologize. In [...]

Before You Can Convince, You Have To Connect

Brad Phillips @MrMediaTraining — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:02:17 +0000

I once watched a libertarian conduct a question and answer session with a group of high school students. The libertarian began the session by sharing his belief that the federal government should have no role in helping a person who is poor. State governments could help that person if they chose to, but it would [...]

The Big Misconception Executives Have About Jargon

Christina Mozaffari (@PMRChristina) — Mon, 13 May 2013 04:04:38 +0000

My husband and I recently attended a wedding during which I was reminded of an important lesson in communications: Ditch the jargon. Always. In communications training, this is an obvious rule. When you speak in complicated terms, most audiences don’t get the message. Even if the average person could understand it, the more effort he [...]

Eight Questions To Ask Before Every Interview

Brad Phillips @MrMediaTraining — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:57:01 +0000

This is an excerpt fromThe Media Training Bible: 101 Things You Absolutely, Positively Need to Know Before Your Next Interview, available in soft cover and all major e-book formats. In lesson 2, I mentioned that you shouldn’t conduct an interview the moment reporters call. Instead, I advised that you should offer to return their calls [...]

Bookmark This New Website: Retro Report

Brad Phillips @MrMediaTraining — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:02:21 +0000

Many of this blog’s readers are news junkies. So in a slight departure from this blog’s usual content today, I’d like to suggest you bookmark a new website that debuted this week called “Retro Report.” I really like the promise of this site, because it seeks to correct one of the biggest problems with today’s [...]