The art of the well-placed message: why HA invests in media training

For 20 years now, HeadlineAffairs has been an integral part of Munich's PR landscape. A lot has happened during this time: governments have changed, trends came and went and the requirements for good communication consulting are different today than they were back then. But one thing remains unchanged: you cannot not communicate. Austrian-American communication scientist Paul Watzlawick already knew this in 1969. And his famous axiom is more relevant than ever.

In the age of social media, everyone can find a platform for their messages and (hopefully) an audience for them. Companies are increasingly discovering that their employees can be their best advocates, a concept known as employee engagement.

Do we still need press officers if everyone is communicating anyway?

Especially now! Because those responsible for communication maintain an overview in the media jungle, identifying the right place to successfully convey the right messages at the right time. And they provide guidance on how these messages should be communicated. An employee who tries their hand at being a corporate influencer on LinkedIn, for example, naturally has different requirements than a board member in front of a live camera. A store manager, on the other hand, can explain operational processes wonderfully, but should remain rather reserved when it comes to economic forecasts.

It is good and right that communication is being spread across more and more shoulders. This lends messages authenticity and makes it possible to place them in a targeted manner. A rapidly changing media landscape also requires us to be able to react and speak more and more quickly. This makes it all the more important to define exactly who can and should represent a company and in what way.

So who needs media training and if so, how many?

With so many channels, messages and potential messengers, a structured communication concept is essential to keep track of everything. This is precisely where external support in the form of good advice comes in with a holistic approach. By means of jointly developed PR strategies, the people who can speak most credibly for a cause or a company in a given situation quickly emerge. These people now need to be prepared for the plunge into the cold media water. Identifying the right communication medium. Rehearsing statements. Allowing enough freedom. But also drawing clear boundaries.

Media training provides them with tools to get the best out of every interview situation – especially with sensitive topics and critical questions. Whether background discussion or live interview, podcast or panel discussion – media training provides speakers with the rhetorical and tactical knowledge to conduct conversations confidently.

How does Headline Affairs do it?

In 20 years of agency history, media training has become a key competence at HeadlineAffairs. Nevertheless, no two training sessions are the same. They are always customized to the individual requirements and circumstances. Those who undergo training are the ones who ultimately find themselves in situations that require speaking skills. And in the end, it does help: after successful implementation, even an unannounced interview situation in front of a running camera hardly seems threatening – because you know how to speak. And that sometimes it can be necessary not to communicate.

All this has to be explained in order to protect what it is all about: credibility and reputation.

Regular repetition consolidates what has been learned and enables constant knowledge transfer. That is why HeadlineAffairs not only offers media training as a service, but also provides internal training on a regular basis – as we recently did at the kick-off of our new train-the-trainer format.

In the creative room of acatech, located in the former lottery headquarters at Munich's beautiful Karolinenplatz, our trainers themselves were trained. With the help of two external PR professionals, our media training was further optimized by means of creative business games. In the end, everyone had learned something: about hooks, bridges, agenda setting and about the fact that not every interview request should be accepted.