When preparing people for media interviews, it’s key to help people find their own words and phrases to communicate their ideas to reporters. I don’t tell people what to say. I help them discover new ways to communicate using their own words, usually rearranged in a more compelling and economical format.

I did a media training yesterday for a group of savvy businesswomen. Two of them had previous media training experience which turned out not to be very helpful. In fact, they were not really looking forward to my session for fear it would be more of the same.

Evidently in the prior training, the instructor had listened to their key ideas and developed scripts for them that didn’t sound very authentic. The instructor was recommending words and phrases that were difficult to remember mainly because the wording didn’t ring true for these women.

How you play with words can make a big difference in your comfort level and how you are perceived by your audience. You don’t need a makeover to do great media interviews. You just need to identify your key ideas, stay true to yourself and your beliefs, and use language that is authentically you.

A good media trainer will bring out your best, not try to mold you into someone else.

If you are looking for more great trips from some of the best media trainers in the business, Media Savvy maven Nancy Juetten is posting great insights this week. Today’s post is from Susan Harrow. Yours truly will be highlighted on Friday. Click here to check it out.

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