The leader who can give a great interview is likely to find themselves in greater demand, and this could be beneficial to an entire organisation.
I have spent the last couple of years working with the entire senior team in the UK, throughout 25 regional offices, who could be on the end of unexpected media attention at any time (press, radio, TV, social sites, blogs, the lot).
Rather than rely on their PR agencies, they have taken the forward thinking approach of training everyone in media awareness and media interviews. As a result they now know how to react to an unexpected phone call, how to get out of an immediate interview situation (so they have thinking time), how to communicate well with their PR agencies, and how to plan and deliver a good interview in which they stay in control of the situation.
My last example (although I could give many more!) is an international giant IT company who brought me in to help them present some worldwide webinars. They had heavily invested in an extremely professional set up - literally like a TV studio with mock sets including a hospital, shop, a home, and various places where their technology can be used.
The people presenting needed to be confident, clear, fluent and interesting, like a TV presenter, but they were technical people who weren't used to this type of presentation (to camera) - hence the need to employ my services!
Beyond that though, with my TV director’s hat on (I spent 10 years working as a professional actor where I gained quite a bit of experience in TV studios, I was able to spot some other glaring oversights. For example, they hadn't thought too well about lighting angles, so sometimes the presenters would move into a position where they were suddenly in semi darkness.
A number of Mirrors had been positioned within a set that depicted a hairdressing salon, but the camera operators were completely forgetting about camera angles so, with a presenter stood in front of a mirror, the mirrors were often reflecting the camera, the crew and everything that was going on behind the camera's, which was completely distracting to people viewing the webinar.
This international webinar, that should have looked highly professional and was created at great expense, was in danger of looking extremely amateur!!
If you think this is all a bit above what your organisation needs to think about, consider this - you talk during a webinar and without you knowing, one of the participants is recording it on their computer, just for their own reference. Later on though, they decide to show it to some other people. They are likely to do this for one of two reasons, either because they think it's particularly good, or else because they think it's particularly bad!!
The point being that, in this technology driven media age, you never really know where your face, your message, your presentation or your image is going to end up. How you come across might have much greater and far-reaching implications for you, and your organisations reputation than you might imagine.
So, ask yourself some questions:
Do your leadership communications always inspire?
Are your face-to-face presentations creating enough impact?
Do your online communications (webinars & webcasts) pack enough punch, vocally & visually?
Do the slides in your webinars really grab and maintain attention?
Do your leaders know how to come across well on camera?
How much does your organisation think about peoples' online image & impact?
Do your business bids stand out from the crowd?
Would you know how to handle unexpected media attention (press, blogs, social media, radio, TV)?
If you have answered no, or don't know, to any of the above, then maybe your organisation should consider seeking some help and guidance, and start to develop the knowledge & skills required.
Michael Westland-Rose is a presentation specialist with 20 years experience working with an international client portfolio. He is Director of Presentation Partners Ltd based in the UK.
http://www.presentation-partners.co.uk
Leadership in the Media Age Feature
30 | TRAINING MAGAZINE EUROPE FEB 2015