Can a media-training session work if it’s only two hours long? Oh yes!

Can a media-training session work if it’s only two hours long? Oh yes!

When I started conducting media training courses two decades ago, they were typically a day in length, for up to eight people. My goodness, how things have changed. Now, more and more top executives are pressed for time, and few of them want to take a whole day out. So nearly all of my group training (typically for 2-5 delegates) is now conducted in four-hour sessions, and it’s incredible how much you can get through in that time.

But I’m also seeing more and more senior executives, including partners in professional services firms, asking for 1-2-1 media-training sessions lasting no more than two hours. But they work wonderfully. In that time, it’s more than possible to conduct at least two simulated interviews, go through all the key techniques of media training, discuss key areas for immediate improvement, and send the delegate away with far more confidence and competence in the world of carrying out media interviews. And because the delegate is being trained alone, that person really appreciates having a couple of hours dedicated purely to their own needs.

Incidentally, about half my 1-2-1 sessions are conducted over Teams or Zoom, to make them doubly time efficient. Again, two decades ago, that would have been unthinkable. But now, it’s commonplace. That’s how much media training has changed. Efficiency is the watchword, and media trainers like me have adapted so that clients get what they need, when they need it, as quickly as possible.

Article date

January 23rd, 2025

Robert Taylor

Media Trainer

@RT_MediaTrainer

My main passion is media training, and I’m proud to be one of the UK’s most experienced and successful trainers in this field.