Why
Media Train?
Take
Control
Senior spokespeople are interviewed by the media multiple times through their careers. They’re expected to announce good news, justify bad news, and sometimes manage crises – while journalists are asking hard questions. Their words move markets and impact policy.
That’s why we deliver customised training to help leaders and decision-makers stay on message, and confidently take control of interviews to get their key messages out.
Our media training clients are already experts in their fields: young leaders full of promise; C-suite executives; change-makers; government ministers. We help them to deliver their knowledge and insights by eliminating the barriers that get in the way of effective public appearances.
They already know what they want to say. We make it easy for them to say it effectively and with impact.
What
We Offer
We Help You
Deliver Your Message
We make sure that you are confident and prepared, in person and in your messaging, so that you deliver great TV, radio, print and online interviews.
That’s because we’re not just trainers, but doers. The skills we’re offering you are the same ones we use day in and day out in our professional lives.
We understand
what interviewers are looking for because we are hired professionally to interview influential decision-makers.
We anticipate
what interviewers want because we’re trained producers, directors, journalists and presenters.
We know
how to get you camera-ready because our day job involves making beautiful films for blue-chip clients.
Our
Process
The first step is to distil what you want to say into powerful soundbites. We workshop your brand messages with you to create memorable sentences and phrases that get your point across in a succinct way. We teach you how to package your message and back it with evidence. And invaluably, we give you behind the scenes insight into what journalists are looking for when they’re interviewing you.
HWM has extensive expertise in finding compelling, factual and balanced messages for a wide spectrum of industries. We already work to create great content for a host of industry names. We bring that expertise to you in intensive workshops to help you craft clear, compelling messaging that you have confidence in. Because when you’re confident in your message, you’ll be confident in you.
There’s always a reason behind an interview. We help you understand the interview context, which means you’re in control before the journalist asks the first question. With us, you learn about different interview situations – from announcing good news or launching a new initiative to facing a hostile interviewer after a crisis. We teach you to set your own agenda and stick to it without being derailed.
By now, you’ll know what your message is – but you’re still going to want to deliver it in a natural and confident way that seems spontaneous and attractive.
We teach you the body language that works on camera, the quirks of movement, how to pitch your voice, and why people are around you seem to be speaking in strange industry jargon.
We brainstorm crisis messages and hone them with your team. We put these to the test in simulated interviews. We can also prepare interactive scenarios with skilled actors to test your responses in scenarios where you are put in the spotlight as time runs out.
Diction and Voice
It doesn’t matter whether the interview is for print, radio or video – speaking clearly and pitching your voice the right way helps you gain control and stay comfortable. We work with you on speaking clearly and pitching your voice so that you can come across as assured and in control.
On-Camera Presentation
Cameras and studio lights need a specific way of dressing. We’ll give you insider insights into how to dress for the camera, and how to look your best under studio lighting. Our style consultation services range from providing tips, tricks and techniques within a group setting to personalised, one-on-one style consultations and makeovers.
Body Language
Here’s a video interview secret: you need to look relaxed, but stay really alert. It’s not a posture most of us adopt in real life. The good news is that we have a set of really easy steps to get you into a state of “relaxed poise” for your next interview.
Overcoming Nerves
Find yourself nervous when in front of a camera or journalist? Most people do – even if they’re professional speakers, or are interviewed every day. But don’t worry. We can transform even the most self-conscious individual into a confident interviewee, regardless of how nervous you feel.
Bespoke
Solutions
Tailored
Training Sessions
What our clients say has the power to move markets, impact policy and even affect diplomatic relations. We’re aware of our responsibilities when we train top level CEOs and VIPS, especially in the Middle East region.
We design solutions that address the needs very senior leaders have – in complete privacy. Whether it’s a fear of cameras or hesitation in delivering a public speech, we help VVIPs master messaging, delivery and presentation – all with the greatest confidentiality and discretion.
Crisis
Communications
Enact
Crisis Scenarios
We brainstorm, rehearse and enact crisis scenarios. We realise that many of our clients have their own corporate communications departments. In these cases, we work collaboratively to set up crisis room scenarios that discover, evolve and perfect the right messaging for every probable scenario.
We then put crisis messaging to the test with pilot interviews, and can even engineer crisis scenarios with the help of trained actors to put the finishing touches on preparation.
Meet Your
Trainer
Eve Hester-Wyne
BBC-trained Eve Hester-Wyne is one of the most experienced and respected director/journalists working in the Gulf region. She has directed and scripted a host of noteworthy projects all over the world, for broadcasters of international repute such as National Geographic, the BBC, CNN, NBC, CBC, Bloomberg, and RTE.
As a media trainer, Eve’s unique advantage is that she’s not just a trainer, she’s a “doer”. The skills she teaches in her training sessions are the same ones she uses on a daily basis in her work as a director, journalist and interviewer.
Eve has an in-depth knowledge of the Gulf’s government, society and senior figures. This makes her ideally placed to lead tailored media training to benefit top management and CEOs for companies in the region.
StayInformed
Inside
Information
Behind
The Scenes
Energetic
& Engaging
From the start, our trainees find themselves in the thick of it, doing interviews on camera and honing their skills with live feedback. We don’t do “listen to the teacher” lectures. Instead, the atmosphere is interactive, dynamic, and full of stimulating exchange. It’s exciting, rewarding, and there’s never a dull moment!
What started as a media training workshop quickly became a deep dive on effective message construction and delivery, which will be incredibly useful for our BBG ambassadors in their discussions on and offline with members and industry stakeholders around the UK and UAE trade relationship, compliance and Expo 2020.Katy Holmes, Marketing Manager, British Business Group Dubai and Northern Emirates
I had the pleasure of working with Eve and the brilliant team of HWM for media and crisis management session for the regional senior management of the Group. They were extremely professional and delivered above and beyond my expectations. This is definitely the first of many more collaborations to come.Ruwaida Abela | Assistant Vice President, Corporate Communications - Middle East, India and Indian Ocean | Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd.
You managed the challenge of DISTREE in Abu Dhabi with a lot of professionalism and put an amazing amount of energy in all the sessions. Well done, and I look forward to working with you again.Farouk Hemraj | Founder, Distree Events
We’ve been working with HWM regularly for PR and journalistic copy. They’ve been consistently excellent over years, and understand our clients as well as any member of the team. They keep our clients happy, and that works well for us.Joe Akkawi | Managing Partner, Paz Marketing
I came to HWM with a specific problem – I wanted our menus to be clear about the food we offer. They sat down with us, took us through the customer journey and came up with a copy and layout that was intuitive and told hungry customers exactly what we cook up. Nice work! Tahir Shah | Founder, Moti Roti
I heard great things about HWM in the past but never had the opportunity to work with them until recently. The project was easy to explain in person but was hard to get the right words across in writing. Not only did they “GET IT” but they also shared valuable advice. They were efficient, straight to the point and I had my project completed in 10 days.Shamim Kassibawi | Founder, Spread Communications
We’ve worked with HWM on a large website project for one of the UAE’s largest real estate brands. He delivered great copy on time, and synced effectively with everyone involved. It was great working with them – to the point that now, when the client has approached us again, they are our default choice for the project.Devesh Mistry | UX Director and Co-Founder, Red Blue Blur Ideas JLT
HWM helped us launch a next generation product in the market. We came to them for copywriting but they took us through our entire business model to come up with web, sales and company profile copy that makes the product’s advantages absolutely clear. They totally get the business world, and we really appreciated how invested they were in making our product work.Dr. Leen Alsaka Amini | Marketing Director, Lenizer FZ-LLC