The formula we teach our media training clients to use in crisis situations was followed to the letter by President Obama when commenting on Hurricane Sandy this week. It was vital Obama got this right, because his performance could have determined the fate of the US election. When preparing to address the journalists in these situations, we recommend that our media training clients produce three key points to focus on. The first must be Regret or a show of empathy for...

Education Minister Hekia Parata is lacking in one media training area when being interviewed over school closures. It showed up again last night during an interview on Close Up with Mark Sainsbury. She appears fed up with the constant complaints about the policy. She has certainly been thrown a hospital pass with the Education portfolio as a new minister. It’s her failure to empathise with those affected by the changes that is lacking. We always tell our media training clients to...

Most people think media training is all about getting messages across to media audiences, but this is only part of the puzzle. This couldn’t be illustrated better than in the recent presidential debates in the US. During the first debate, most people thought President Obama lost. A big part of this was because he had his head down when his challenger Mitt Romney was addressing him. From a media training perspective, this made Obama look defeated and non-presidential. On the other...

Recent coverage showing that John Key was unaware his Commerce Minister had asked the Retirement Commissioner to look at the superannuation age of entitlement raises an important media training issue. While difficult in this situation because a Prime Minister needs to speak on all portfolio areas, it does show how important it is for issues to be fronted by just one spokesperson. This is a major lesson for other organisations. This includes schools, businesses, not for profits or any other group....

Labour claims that a video exists of John Key joking about Kim Dotcom with the GCSB before he supposedly knew about the man may be a total fabrication, but the whole affair has shown the media training progress of David Shearer. The Labour leader still has work to do, but the whole issue has shown that his media training appears to be helping him communicate more clearly and concisely. His long-winded and complex answers to questions are seen less often, so...

One of the first things we tell our media training clients is that they are usually better to front up to issues they are being attacked on. Otherwise, their side of the story will never be heard. This brings up an interesting point that has come to light this week when it comes to government ministers. Campbell Live invited Education Minister Hekia Parata onto the show to discuss the many clear mistakes that had emerged from the Ministry of Education figures...

John Key may have been in the gun this week over the unlawful spying on Kim Dotcom by the GCSB, but he has used a classic media training technique we recommend our clients use when dealing with similar events. From a media training perspective, any preparation for media scrutiny must involve the development of three key points. Expressing regret is often the first one, as it was here. This regret wasn’t directed at the victim as it is in most situations...

The government announcement that a number of schools in Christchurch will either close or amalgamate was always going to be unpopular, but John Key has shown his media training skills in his response to the anger. Issues like this are never easy to win for a government, because no matter how justifiable, facts never win over emotion. With 4500 school students leaving Christchurch after the Earthquake, it’s inevitable that schools will have to close. But try telling that to a community...

The first thing we tell our media training clients is that their organisation must have a single designated spokesperson on any issue with a competent substitute ready to step in at any time. This is for two reasons. Firstly, it prevents mixed messages getting through to the media. And secondly, it's because anyone who talks to the media must have been through a media training course. Over the last week, ACC have failed on both counts. Firstly, when finally agreeing to...

Hone Harawira may infuriate many people, but his use of the word ‘nigger’ this week shows how his media training skills keep him in the headlines. By saying on Twitter that “John Key can tell his house nigger boys what to do” people were clearly going to think he was talking about the Maori Party leadership. But soon he distanced himself from that, saying he was referring to National MPs. From a media training standpoint, this was a clever tactic, although...