Spokesperson + Advocacy Training

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Confidence, content, and connection to the audience separate powerful presenters from the rest of the pack. This is true in both media interviews or in person. With a carefully honed message and practice with an experienced trainer, speakers can go from good to great, and some even turn into stars.

I offer four interactive and fun training and coaching sessions, each custom-tailored to address your particular issues and challenges. Each session focuses on content and developing your messages. Participants learn skills to communicate effectively across multiple platforms – in-person, print, television, radio, and online.

Trainings focus on:

• Delivering a persuasive presentation
• Getting on your media game
• Emergency Room — 911 for effective communications
• Developing powerful advocates and winning campaigns

Persuasive Presentations/Powerful Presenters

All professionals should feel they can make a persuasive presentation before a live audience—whether in a ballroom or boardroom. Persuasive Presentations offers speakers the opportunity to learn the skills of effective presenters and an opportunity to practice and polish to perfection. This training can be facilitated through one-on-one sessions or a workshop with a group of colleagues.

Agenda

• Crafting a persuasive presentation using a style that works for you.
• Tips for staying on track.
• Can you do this extemporaneously or would a graphic roadmap work best?
• Do you need to have every word written out or can you use a teleprompter app for your iPad?
• Practice to build confidence, control and learning how to stick to your central message like glue.
• Mastering question and answer sessions.
• Proven techniques for overcoming nerves.
• Reading an audience for better engagement.

Participants will have the opportunity to develop presentations and then practice, practice, practice using video recording and playback; tracking improvements and addressing issues like body language, voice modulation, gesturing, and posture.

Getting on Your Media Game

Few people are born to dominate as media spokespeople; they learn it. But, you can accelerate the learning curve through training before you make your debut. Even if you have experience, everyone can improve and polish their performance.

Agenda

• Diagnosing previous challenges.
• Learning the “rules of engagement” for working with various types of reporters and the media in general.
• Crafting a compelling message and learning how to stick to it.
• Essential skills such as speaking in soundbites and bridging back to key points.
• Working with different types of reporters and outlets to master:
• TV and radio interviews for soundbites
• Talk show debates
• Long form and hostile print interviews
• Live remotes
• Editorial board meetings

This training can be facilitated through one-on-one sessions or a workshop with a group of colleagues. Sessions are scheduled and customized to meet the needs of the individual or group. The trainer gets immersed in the content you want to address so the difficult questions can be deftly handled. It is recommended to schedule trainings in-person whenever possible. However, virtual video sessions are an option.

Emergency Room – 911 for Crisis Communications

Crises can blow up quickly. Gaining control is critical. Often the first way you know about a huge problem is a call from a reporter seeking your reaction. Don’t panic, call my communications “emergency room.” I can provide you with in-the-moment coaching to nail those tough interviews. The focus is on developing and practicing the message and quickly crafting answers to those tough questions. (I pose the dreaded questions, too, and we work on responses that help you handle them with poise.) Then we can roll up our sleeves together and mount a strategy to strengthen your reputation during and after the crisis.

Feel free to call for coaching when it isn’t an emergency, too!

Advocacy for Change – Mounting a Kick-Ass Campaign

This interactive workshop/training is focused on brainstorming advocacy campaigns.

Agenda

• Developing achievable goals and outcomes.
• Zeroing in on key audiences.
• Mapping a campaign plan (including chunking out results on a realistic timetable).
• Persuasive messaging.
• Tools of the trade such as polling-list building, events, and social and earned media outreach.
• Campaign evaluation.

This training is best done as a facilitated workshop with a group of key team members who can then collaborate on implementing the winning strategy.

Ongoing coaching is available as the plan rolls out.

For more on how DG+Co could help your organization, watch our videos on becoming an effective spokesperson and making your board better ambassadors for your organization.

In 2018 and 2019, I was privileged to work with the following clients:

Americares
Arkansas Association of Community Colleges
Atlantic Philanthropies
Center for Jewish History
Center for Medicare Advocacy
Cerritos College
Hearts on Fire — IF Hummingbird Foundation
Jiangsu International Education Center
Milbank Memorial Fund
Physicians for Human Rights
Southern Poverty Law Center
UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
UNFPA — The United Nations Population Fund
UN Women — The UN Development Fund for Women
VanWest Media

I also plan strategy and coach numerous private individuals facing serious communications challenges. For our full client list, visit here.