Crisis Media Training

Learn how to limit reputational damage during crises with credible, confident media interviews

Half-day and full-day crisis media training courses to prepare spokespeople for media scrutiny at times of crisis

What you’ll learn

Every organisation should have effective strategies in place for communicating through the media when a crisis hits. This course prepares spokespeople to use demeanour, tone and empathy to defuse hostility and win round critical audiences. You’ll learn how to prepare for tough probing on challenging issues, using techniques to control your stress response and avoid coming across as defensive. We discuss the way the media works in times of crisis, what journalists are looking for in accountability interviews, the pitfalls to avoid and what we can learn from real-world crisis case studies. 

How you’ll learn

Courses for individuals and groups take place at a broadcast studio in Westminster or in person at our central London training centres or your own offices.  Remote training via Zoom is also available, if preferred.  Delegates are taught by senior broadcast journalists who are also specialist media trainers with years of experience in crisis training.  You’ll put the theory into practice in a series of realistic mock interviews based on the potential crisis scenarios that might affect your business.  Recordings are played back, so the trainer can critique, advise and help you improve throughout the session.  After training, you’ll receive full course notes by email and a link from which to download copies of your recordings.  Each delegate also receives their own, personalised post-training evaluation report from the trainer, assessing their performance during the course and providing suggestions, exercises and tips for continuing to improve and develop.

Who this Crisis Media Training is for

This course is for you if you are a key spokesperson for your organisation at times when its reputation is damaged or at risk.  You may want to follow this course with Select Committee Training which focuses on developing resilience and advanced communications skills for difficult Q&A sessions with MPs.

This training is available as a half-day or full-day training course. Get in touch with us to talk through which might work best for your organisation.

Course Modules

Module 1

Crisis Media Training Theory

  1. Understanding how the media behaves in a crisis
  2. Learning from recent crises and their consequences
  3. The best way to prepare for a crisis media interview
  4. Crisis audit:  identifying your potential crisis issues
  5. Crafting effective crisis messages
  6. Limiting reputational damage with demeanour, tone and empathy
Module 2

Practical exercises

  1. Doorstep interview or crisis print interview
  2. Radio crisis interview
  3. TV crisis interviews
  4. Breathing exercises for overcoming nerves

What our students say

View all testimonials

My time at PA Training was a whirlwind of fun and excitement. The full-time NCTJ course in London is fast-paced and hard work but perfectly sets you up for what to expect in a reporter role.

Camilla Foster
, Reporter
, Newsquest

I was able to count on excellent teachers and professionals who helped me push my limits and achieve my goals. I was impressed by the quality of the course and the motivation teachers put into it. It was a great experience and I would definitely do it again!

Laure Poncet
, Research Officer
, ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes

Not only did I develop the necessary toolkit to become a journalist, but I also did so in an environment that fosters a real sense of community and personal career support.

Erin Waks
, Trainee Sub-Editor
, Daily Mail

I made amazing friends, amazing memories and now it has led me to an amazing job which I never would have gotten without my time at Press Association.  

Holly Bishop
, Digital Reporter
, GB News

The training scenarios are as real to life as you could possibly get. They took considerable time to research our current plans and issues and used these to design a series of true to life radio and TV interviews. The team is outstanding, and their expertise and knowledge has been invaluable. Book them – you’ll be glad you did.

NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group
, Communications Manager

The methods and techniques you learn (and apply) on a daily basis through teaching, coursework and eventually exams crop up again and again in both job applications and jobs themselves – the course content is directly relevant to the realities of the industry. 

James Saunders
, Digital News Reporter
, GB News

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For more information , simply fill out the form and a member of our team will be in touch.

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For more information , simply fill out the form and a member of our team will be in touch.