Training / Coaching

Communication is... a matter of training!

Training is the foundation for success. Every speech you make will boost your confidence. Every on-camera interview will give you a better feeling for the medium. We offer coaching in rhetoric for management, and media training for groups. We prepare you and your staff to face a variety of situations. Communication is craft. You are the story. We bring performance and authenticity together.

We train, analyse and improve. We look for example at footage of your performance and show you how to make the most of your strong points.

We offer our whole training portfolio both for groups and for individuals. Tailor-made to your needs, your challenges. Your story!

Facing the media

A central plank in any company communications platform is talking to the media.

What do journalists expect? How can they help you? And how can you tell your story in the process?

Dealing with the media is an opportunity, not a risk. So long as you do it properly. We’ll show you how to turn journalists into partners.

We’re journalists too. And trainers. Our experience can be your advantage. In the learning of skills, and also in dealing with concrete situations. From the first phone call with the journalist all the way to the successful chat show.

Media training is very personal. Personality training. Clear, effective and emphatic communication is part of your success. On camera. In the team. One on one.

 

Our media training includes:

You and the media

  • the basis and the goal of the training session
  • what topics are the media interested in?
  • mistakes when dealing with journalists
  • how TV, radio and the press work
  • how you see your role; no-go areas
  • confidentiality

Interviews (exercises with TV)

  • the statement
  • the live interview
  • the recorded interview
  • the typical interview – structure
  • feedback and reflection; repetition
  • rhetorical traps – and how not to fall into them
  • behaviour during interview or statement

The press conference (exercises with TV)

  • value of a press conference from the journalist’s point of view
  • course of a press conference
  • arrangement of speakers on the platform
  • questions and answers: Q+A as the focus

The discussion (exercises with TV)

  • non-verbal statements
  • keeping possession of the ball
  • dealing with different types of host
  • behaviour during a discussion

The ‘live switch’ (in our studio) (exercises with TV)

  • two studios – one audience
  • precise and snappy, but not hectic
  • and what point are you making?

Crisis management (exercises with TV)

  • organizational structure of PR in a crisis: Who does what?
  • content of argument: What do I say to whom?
  • press release, press conference, interview: When do I do what? And how?

The exercises are filmed and analysed on the monitor afterwards. In addition, we analyse examples from politics, business and sport – negative and positive alike.

It goes without saying that we tailor the procedure and content of every single training session to your individual situation and your specific needs.

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Appearance on tv & radio

This specialized training focuses on your appearance on television and radio.

The mass media offer huge opportunities for your public relations. More than advertising. Your story, your message, your position in the editorial context. Your credibility.

A great opportunity. But you have to know the rules of the game! Put across interesting material forcefully, precisely and credibly. That way, journalists and producers will see you as a partner.

In our TV training you’ll get to know the different formats. And what matters in each.

Concrete, realistic exercises in front of the camera familiarize you with the situation. Nervous defensiveness will become assured routine.

 

Our TV training sessions include the following aspects:

You and the media

  • the basis and the goal of the training session
  • what subjects interest the media?
  • mistakes when dealing with journalists
  • how press, radio and TV work
  • confidentiality

Professional preparation

  • preparation for an appearance: topics and organization
  • how can I exploit the characteristic features of the audiovisual media?
  • how you see your role; no-go areas

Voice and body language – it’s not just what you say

  • visual and acoustic factors in communication
  • the role of the picture in TV
  • what’s your body saying?
  • how do you deploy your voice?
  • your language and the language of the mass media

The statement (exercise with TV)

  • role of the statement in a TV report
  • professional structure of a statement
  • feedback and reflection; repetition

The live interview (exercise with TV)

  • advantages and downsides of a live interview
  • how do I get my core statement across?
  • onto the offensive
  • feedback and reflection

The recorded interview (exercise with TV)

  • the possibility of repeats
  • potential editing and what you can do about it
  • rhetorical traps and how not to fall into them
  • feedback and reflection

The exercises are mostly on camera and recorded. Afterwards, they are analysed on the monitor. In addition we use a digital player with numerous examples – positive and negative alike – from politics, business and sport.

It goes without saying that we tailor the sequence and content of every single training session precisely to your individual situation and specific requirements.

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Rhetoric

Convincing people is an art. But not a black art. Persuasiveness is a craft. A craft can be learnt. In our rhetoric training words become tools. Theory and practice. Techniques and tricks. Bring them together, and you’ll convince people.

Rhetoric has a goal. Together with you, we discover the goal of your speech, and the strategy to achieve it.

We practise with you what you need. General skills. Or the deployment of a particular speech. A planned appearance.

And it’s all the authentic you, and no one else! You can speak as you like. From the sheet, with bullet points, or without notes. It’s you we hone. Your words. Your voice. Your body language. You.

 

The topics covered in our rhetoric training include:

  • preparing a speech: the basis for success
  • structure of a speech: structure means security
  • the brief statement (exercise): brass tacks!
  • articulation (with exercises): speak clearly and you’ll be understood
  • tone and volume (with exercises): your voice as a weapon
  • the tools of the trade (with exercises): what tricks do Shakespeare, Al Pacino and Obama use?
  • body language: speaks louder than words
  • breathing: more than just inhaling air
  • stage fright: make it your friend, not your enemy
  • your own attitude to the speech: without empathy it’s a useless exercise
  • the written speech (exercises with example speeches): you don’t want to sound like you’re reading from a sheet
  • speaking without notes (exercise): the climax – apply what you’ve learnt
  • the right mix: reading – improvising – back to reading
  • making an (almost) unknown speech: when time’s breathing down your neck
  • things get serious (exercise): addressing sceptics/opponents – the next step, a bit harder

The exercises are mostly on camera and recorded. Afterwards, they are analysed on the monitor. In addition we use a digital player with numerous examples – positive and negative alike – from politics, business and sport.

It goes without saying that we tailor the sequence and content of every single training session precisely to your individual situation and specific requirements.

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Speechwriting

A successful speech can be planned. The goal, the way, the tools: the interplay must not be left to chance.

In this training session, we get to the bottom of things. What means and techniques will your speaker use to achieve his or her goal? How can they best be deployed? Composing speeches is more than writing words on paper. You must know in advance what effect you want them to have.

Speechwriting is a service – in the best sense of the word. It’s the speaker who’ll get the credit. But as speechwriter, you help.

 

Tips for survival as a speechwriter

A long, long time ago, back in the year 2000, the Berlin newspaper ‘taz’ drew up a list of commandments for the successful speechwriter. They’ll doubtless be good for another few centuries yet.

In the process, it used two very effective instruments: exaggeration and humour.

  • Become more and more like your client. ‘The speechwriter must perhaps know the speaker better than the speaker knows himself,’ says former German Vice-Chancellor Hans-Dietrich Genscher…
  • You must learn to suffer in silence. Most German politicians and business leaders won’t appreciate you talking about your services in public. In the land of philosophers and poets, it’s still not respectable to get other people to do your dirty work…
  • Forget your ideals. ‘Your own convictions are irrelevant.’ This is how government spokesman Klaus Bölling once received new colleagues in the ‘scriptorium’ of Chancellor Helmut Schmidt…
  • Don’t be afraid of slumming. You can’t pass off every speaker as having a classical education. Not all speakers are as clever as you…
  • Develop schizophrenia. As a speechwriter, you must write things down to sound as if they were never written down. That can’t possibly work… It gets worse: you must pretend you’re someone else. In the long run, this will cause severe personality disorders…
  • Make friends with the wastepaper basket. The better the speaker, the worse it is for the speechwriter.
  • Take great care when choosing the speakers for whom you write speeches. Some … simply can’t speak, and this unfortunately will rub off on your own reputation.

(Ralph Bollmann, How To Be A Speechwriter, in ‘taz’, 8 September 2000)

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Argumentation

Arguments are tools. Tools to convince people. We’ll help you to deploy them. In a targeted manner.

Argumentation must be proactive. You must determine what you say and when. Even under pressure. And against the trend.

 

Some potential aspects of our argument training

  • logical chains (with exercises): structure your arguments
  • debating techniques (with exercises): the discussion primer
  • (manipulative) steering techniques (with exercises) – not exactly refined, but effective
  • techniques of attack (with exercises) – put the others on the back foot
  • parrying attacks (with exercises) – fighting fire with fire.

PLUS: Getting your point across in a panel discussion

  • body language on the platform: you’re never out of the public eye
  • form alliances: everyone needs friends
  • dealing with different types of host: don’t place yourself at their mercy
  • changing the subject: what shall we talk about?
  • lead the discussion: when and how to have your say

The exercises are mostly on camera and recorded. Afterwards, they are analysed on the monitor. In addition we use a digital player with numerous examples – positive and negative alike – from politics, business and sport.

It goes without saying that we tailor the sequence and content of every single training session precisely to your individual situation and specific requirements.

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Talking to employees

Your employees are your most important capital. This is not a pious platitude, but a fact. Exploit the full potential of your workforce. Let your employees share. Your information. Your ideas. Your goals.

In our training sessions for staff interviews, we show you how to do it professionally. We take concrete situations, typical events. We help you to prepare. For applications. For agreeing shared goals. For feedback. And when plain speaking is needed: what’s the right way to criticize?

And of course we discuss the ‘classic’ mistakes that crop up time and again. To make sure you don’t make them.

 

Talking to staff: our management training includes the following aspects:

  • typical traps for managers
  • preparing the topics and structure of talks with staff
  • checklist meetings
  • interview management techniques
  • fundamentals of rhetoric
  • body language and vocal techniques
  • from praise to motivation (exercise with TV)
  • the critical performance interview (exercise with TV)
  • sugaring the pill (exercise)
  • agreeing goals (exercise with TV)
  • the feedback talk (exercise with TV)
  • feedback rules (exercise)
  • application interview, dismissal interview, returnee interview
  • the communication pro
  • optional: self-assessment re management situation (questionnaire)

The exercises are mostly on camera and recorded. Afterwards, they are analysed on the monitor. In addition we use a digital player with numerous examples – positive and negative alike – from politics, business and sport.

It goes without saying that we tailor the sequence and content of every single training session precisely to your individual situation and specific requirements.

Learn more

Training for PR departments

Your press and PR department is the voice of your organization. Trained voices sound better. They achieve more. This training session is designed for all PR staff. An ‘all-in package’. From the basics of day-to-day media work to the preparation of the CEO interview. From the well-placed home story to crisis management.

PEKK

PEKK stands for ‘PersonalEntwicklungsKonzept-Kommunikation’ – in other words ‘staff development concept communication’. The idea is to optimize your employees’ communications skills – individually. Taking the holistic approach.

On the basis of more than fifteen years of experience in training and coaching in the field of communication, we’ve worked out a modular system that taken as a whole picks up on all the requirements of your company, and in individual modules on the requirements of individual staff members.

PEKK is indicated where there’s a desire for the general improvement in the communications skills of a larger group.

Examples of the modules include: dealing with complaints, telephoning with external organizations, cross-department staff interviews, chairing meetings, presentations with and without PowerPoint, written in-company communication, time management and much more besides.