Training

Overview

An inspiring, engaging professional trainer, Kevin has presented to thousands of industry leaders and mentored hundreds one-on-one.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands of PR companies and trainers around the country offering to teach you how to perform in front of the media, but few have ever done it professionally themselves, nor have they been a professional media coach teaching anchors and reporters.

i-Media Strategies is different. Kevin Benz teaches the pros — news anchors, reporters and meteorologists around the country. A trainer trusted by those who deliver the news is the best person to coach your media performance as well.

Kevin pulls back the curtain on what the news media needs and expects from you, sharing the secrets of powerful news media performance.

We’ll teach you how to build a powerful, positive relationship with the news media and leverage your message in each medium. We will make you a news reporter’s hero.

Media Training

How your message is delivered is as important as what you say.

There is nuance to media performance and it revolves around understanding what the audience needs and delivering it with your voice, eyes and physical gesture.

We develop your skills as public supporters and spokespeople. We discover how each individual’s unique skills can be used to enhance your message as well as those skills that don’t work in order to avoid them.

This training focuses on engaging the audience through preparation, relaxation, technique and message consistency. We examine the goals of the journalist, how to take advantage of them and how to bridge to your message and pivot away from the negative and irrelevant.

We use recorded video and real-time coaching to develop the performance skills we coach.

Presentations

The most common phobia Americans have is “glossophobia” — the fear of public speaking (not the fear of lip gloss). 75% of all Americans report having this fear. Harvard University research shows a majority of people would rather be subjected to electric shock than give a 5-minute presentation!

At the same time, a number of studies show that public speaking is the #1 work skill required to move up the ladder.

This need not be torture. We will teach you how to avoid glossophobia, harness your nerves and nail it.

Our presentation skills training includes:

  • How to conquer your nerves and use them to your advantage.
  • The 10 things you need to do in order to ‘wow’ an audience.
  • How to avoid death by Powerpoint.
  • How to avoid confusing and alienating your audience with visual aids.
  • How to own the Q&A session and deal with those who take issue with your presentation.

Crisis Communications

The time to plan for your crisis communications is BEFORE a crisis hits. We are experts at identifying issues in your organization that the news media might exploit and we specialize in creating a media centric defense that diffuses the negative and shortens the news cycle.

There are three questions you must be immediately prepared to answer for the news media in any crisis:

  • What happened?
  • Why did it happen?
  • What are we doing about it?

Your answers to these questions will set the tone for all of your news relationships throughout the news cycle.

We will get you prepared and teach you the 10 things you must know to defend yourself and your organization.

Sample Curriculum

Introduction: Becoming the expert and leveraging your knowledge

  • How to prepare for an interview
  • Building strong media relationships
  • Developing a clear, simple message

Exercise: Identifying your expertise

  • Your unique value proposition in 30 seconds

Team Exercise: Your message in practice

What to expect: What does the media want and need

Understanding the media cycle

TV, Radio and Print interviews

Kinds of TV interviews

  • Reporter
  • Photographer
  • Talk-back
  • On-set

Owning the interview: Presentation techniques

  • Tone of voice
  • Physical gesture
  • How to stand/sit
  • Where to look
  • What to wear

Exercise: Effectively answering questions on camera

  • How to be simple, short and concise
  • Getting YOUR message across
  • The Pivot
  • How to plug your product, service or event
  • How to handle antagonistic questions
  • Crisis communications overview

Crisis: When you need professional help

Video interview practice sessions

  • Practice in teams
  • Indirect-camera interview
  • Direct to camera interviews

Self-critique