Media Training FAQ - Media Education

How to effectively use a microphone

Microphone Techniques

A microphone amplifies your voice and is not a substitute for good vocal expression.
Consider using a voice coach to really learn how to get the best from your voice.
Actively listen to radio announcers - e.g. someone like Fran Kelly from abc Radio National

How to avoid appearing nervous in a Media Interview

Nervous Girl

Everyone to some degree is nervous when doing something new or where they become the focus of attention. Some nerves can be welcome as it will help focus you on your task.
You may feel very nervous but how do you really look? Quite often even though people are obviously nervous they are not visibly showing it.

OK - deep breathing etc may help but one great technique is to simply be yourself - there is no one better qualified.

Try to relax and breathe properly so your voice does not sound constrained or higher than it should be.

Whilst preparation is important things will never go perfectly to script. Learn to actively think during the interview and adapt to any changes of direction that occur.

Practise and get reliable feedback.

Publicity Boost - How to identify Publicity Opportunities

Publicity is far more affordable and often more effective for business than advertising.
Gaining good relationships with those that can provide good publicity is helpful.
Nuture these relationships as they can be mutually beneficial.
Its about being professional and working with not against the media.
Reporters are often negatively portreyed - however experience can prove this to be not the case at all.

Channel ten reporter Mark Aiston has some great workshops on Media Training and Boosting Publicity.
Some of the tips include :-

Sound Quality - the importance of Sound Quality

Did you know that the most important part of a cartoon is the sound quality?

When viewing amature video it is ussually the poor sound that stands out most.

If you are cutting costs on your production or press release or considering DIY media try to make the audio as professional as possible.
Sound editors need to start with reasonable quality sound.

Twitter - Can it be used to benefit my business?

Twitter revolutionized a term known as ‘micro-blogging’ which expands the traditional idea of web-logging. However, sites such as Twitter may potentially be considered somewhat of a fad. In fact, the Managing Editor of The Industry Standard Ian Lamont likened it to the ‘net bubble’ which burst in 2000. He also listed Twitter as one of the ten internet services which will probably fail. Indeed, many questions surround both the stickiness and business models used by Twitter. (stickiness refers to the ability of a website to hold visitors on thier site)

An article entitled ‘Twitter is a Fad’ by Burt Helm references a study conducted by Nielsen Online which observes that the site has a retention rate of only 40%. (Helm, B 2009). The original article 'Twitter Quitters Post Roadblock to Long-Term Growth' states "There simply aren’t enough new users to make up for defecting ones after a certain point." (Nielsen Online 2009).

A similar predicament surrounds the revenue models supporting Twitter. Although Twitter has gained immense popularity, according to Aidan Henry, a social media explorer, it has "failed to capitalize on it." (Henry, A 2008). This is actually due to Twitter’s lack of revenue model(s) used. (Gustin, S 2008). The small amount of Twitter’s revenue is actually coming mostly from advertising on the Japanese Twitter. (Kafka, P 2008b). The issue for advertising on Twitter is that the majority of Twitter users utilize non-web interfaces for the site. (Martin, D 2009). This hinders affective advertising due to the diverse mediums used to access Twitter content. (Kafka, P 2008b). Consider too that many valuations of the site are often inflated. (Kafka, P 2008b). Therefore, at this point it seems Twitter is a risky investment option.

Twitter does have some advantages in the speed that information can be moved around - even if it is only 140 characters.

Twitter can be used effectively to give short updates of what your company is doing. It does work well for celebtreties who can use it to maintain contact with their fans in a personal way.

We will have to wait and see if Twitter is more than a flash in the pan.

Thanks to Richard Spring for providing some of this research.