Media Training
Preparing the people who speak for a cause to be understood under pressure, by a reporter who has already decided the frame.
When the person who knows the most about your issue is the person least prepared to be interviewed about it.
Most of the field teaches bridging: acknowledge the hard question, pivot back to your message. It works for a corporate spokesperson whose job is to protect a position. It is the wrong instinct for almost everyone we train.
A scientist, a physician, a union officer, or an executive director carries authority precisely because they will answer the question. Visibly steering away from one on camera spends the credibility that made them worth interviewing in the first place.
So the work here is the harder version: know the material well enough to answer directly, in plain language, at the length a broadcast segment actually allows, and get to your point without appearing to dodge anything on the way.
What This Includes
Message preparation built from the story actually in play
On-camera practice with playback, so the spokesperson sees what the audience sees
Hostile and skeptical question drills, including the questions nobody wants asked
Plain-language translation of technical, scientific, or legal material
Executive media training for leaders who will carry the argument in public
Preparation for testimony and formal hearings
As a clinician scientist, having access to Aric Caplan's expertise has been invaluable. I have been particularly impressed by his grasp of complex medical issues and knowing how best to explain them to various audiences. He and his group have my highest recommendation.
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02Crisis & Rapid ResponseFAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
A working session rather than a class: your own material, your own likely questions, a camera, and playback. You leave with recordings, written notes, and a short set of habits to work on. Nobody is handed a laminated card of key messages.
Before the interview is offered, not after. We will prepare someone for a placement confirmed for next week, but a spokesperson working under that pressure gets one pass at the material instead of three. If a report, a filing, a hearing, or a launch is on the calendar, work back from that date.
Yes, and it is most of the value. The drills cover the questions an organization hopes will not come up, including funding, past positions, and internal disagreement. The goal is not a deflection technique. It is knowing the answer well enough to give it plainly and move on.