Very few corporate leaders are “natural” communicators, comfortable in front of the camera and confident facing a barrage of journalist questions.
Having covered hundreds of news conferences and conducted one-on-one interviews with corporate titans including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, Andrea knows what separates success from disaster. With years of experience on both sides of the camera and microphone Andrea knows what it takes to be an effective communicator.
Andrea provides one-on- one corporate training that goes far beyond the typical “how to dress and sit, where to look” coaching that so many offer. Each session is custom-designed to your speaker, whether they are a C-suite exec or start-up founder.
Her training is broken into two key segments. First, working with corporate public relations, Andrea reviews and helps to focus the messaging, and then goes over news conference basics, from what to expect to how to deliver. She works to put the presenter at ease, stressing that the journalists come to news conferences to get a story, not to “get you.”
Key points include:
· Prepare, prepare, prepare. Don’t think you can just wing it.
· Make sure your key points are presented clearly and early.
· If possible, back your points with facts and figures.
· Avoid jargon and speak naturally.
· If you don’t understand the question, say so. Don’t guess.
· Pivoting an answer back to your message.
· If you don’t know an answer, say you’ll get back to the reporter.
· Eliminate nervous habits.
· Never mislead.
· Always conclude by restating your key take away point(s).
The second, and most critical part of Andrea’s training, is a live one-on-one mock interview. Your executive will present and Andrea will ask the kinds of questions, including the tough ones, that your presenter can expect to face. The interview is videotaped and once complete, played back for the entire team to review and sharpen.
She applies the same process to preparation for presentations and one-on-one interviews.