Prerequisites

• A university degree, preferably in media or related fields.
• Completion of the "Meet the Press" course or practical experience in dealing with the media.

Course Description

“Speaking to the media is not a test… it is a moment of shaping the narrative”. In times of tension and major change, institutions turn to telling their story before public opinion. Here lies the dilemma that institutional leaders and spokespersons often fear, a dilemma involving two parties, both seeking to win over the public. On one side stands a media professional equipped with the expertise and tools needed to uncover a compelling and impactful story. On the other side stands someone highly skilled in the institution’s specialized internal discourse, yet lacking the ability to adapt that discourse effectively for the public sphere. This is where the fear of facing the media becomes deeply rooted.

Course Objective

By the end of this course, participants will:
• Build a clear and coherent institutional media discourse.
• Develop key messages suitable for media interviews.
• Manage media interviews in both normal and high-pressure environments.
• Use body language and visual communication to enhance impact.
• Handle difficult and provocative questions effectively.
• Apply media bridging techniques and control the direction of conversations.
• Conduct media interviews with confidence and high professionalism.
• Evaluate their own performance through interview analysis.

Course Outline

• Building institutional media discourse:
- The difference between internal discourse and media discourse.
- Craft key messages.
- Build a media narrative.

• Visual language and body language:
- Elements of visual composition: camera, angles, and framing.
- Types of body language and their impact.
- Manage appearance and media presence.

• Strategies for dealing with the media:
- Understand the dynamics between media, institutions, and audiences.
- Choose the appropriate platform.
- Manage timing and media context.

• Managing interviews and difficult questions:
- Types of questions: direct, indirect, provocative, and complex.
- Bridging techniques and conversational control.
- Maintain key messages under pressure.

• Knowledge preparation and confidence building:
- Research and preparation for interviews.
- Analyze the media context.
- Build interview scenarios.

• Intensive practical simulation:
- Daily recorded interviews.
- Live interview simulations.
- Individual assessment for each trainee.
- Graduation project: a complete professional media interview.

Course Benefits

• A graduation certificate by Al Jazeera Media Institute.
• Professional video recordings of interviews.
• An individual performance evaluation report.