Mileage Communications conducts Media Training for STACS
Having a microphone suddenly shoved in front of you may elicit a fight-or-flight response. It is such a triggering stimuli simply because so many people are inherently terrified of interviews. To position one’s interests and business in a powerful way that people will take notice of, confidence-building is essential for a spokesperson. Through comprehensive, scenario-based media training sessions that are heavily tailored to our clients’ industry, Mileage Communications provides media-facing individuals with the necessary tools to anticipate reporter behaviour, avoid common traps, and confidently focus on their messaging.
During such sessions, training participants are exposed to the concepts of communication as the ground rules of handling interviews are laid out along with the relevant “do’s and don’ts”. With real-world examples that illustrate best practices and common mistakes in dealing with the media, Mileage Communications has crafted a media orientation segment as part of the media training to be realistic, captivating, and compelling.
Following media orientation, on-camera interview drills are held and training participants are videotaped to capture their strengths and challenges. Repeated rounds allow the interviewee to address shortcomings, adjust their gesticulations, sharpen messaging, and make improvements from one round to the next. Various types of questions are asked in the way that reporters would, and while these may be targeted or generic ones, the line of questioning is consistently and deliberately kept challenging because media interviews come in many forms — from the structured ones in front of a press corps, to the completely unexpected doorstop interview, to the ones in crisis situations — and there are different techniques that can be used to maintain composure and exercise control of the interview.
At Mileage Communications, we are clear-eyed about the nature of media interviews. It is as simple as this: If you fail to prepare, you are prepared to fail. This is the reason why media training sessions are so important at getting the spokesperson comfortable with the concept of being interviewed, so that they can deliver their commentary succinctly and with impact.
On 17 September 2020, Mileage Communications Group Chairman Yap Boh Tiong and Executive Director Patsy Phay conducted a media training session for Benjamin Soh, Managing Director of Hashstacs Pte Ltd (also known as STACS), to prepare him for media interviews in the future. This media training is part of Mileage Communications’ work for STACS, led by a skilled team at its Singapore headquarters with a collective 70 years of experience in dealing with financial institutions, media, and regulatory bodies.
Benjamin Soh, Managing Director of STACS, seen here during the media training session employing various strategic gestures whilst emphasising the talking points to deal with a difficult question. STACS is one of Singapore’s leading fintech development companies that has proprietary blockchain technology and infrastructure built for finance.
Since its inception in 1992, Mileage Communications has handled media training sessions for over 1,000 C-suite and professionals, managers, executives, and technicians (PMETs) in Singapore, Jakarta, Suzhou, and Shanghai, spanning various industries such as shipping, healthcare, technology, and finance. Mileage Communications and its pan-Asia network of offices have also conducted media training sessions for CEOs and media-facing individuals of companies going for their initial public offerings (IPOs).
For more information on specifically tailored media training sessions and what Mileage Communications can offer to your company, reach out to us at info@mileage.com.sg.
