Strategic Marketing and Communications for Change

ZA Group (Pty) Ltd
Bryanston, Johannesburg
Phone 0860 92 0000
International calls
+27 11 706 1685
info@zagroup.co.za

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Look who’s Faced the Media:
Partial listing.
  • Carte Blanche
  • Commission for the Restitution of Land Rights
  • Daimler Chrysler
  • DAV Professional Placement Group
  • Department of Justice
  • Ernst & Young
  • Institute of Directors
  • L’Oreal South Africa
  • SA Police
  • SABC2 Morning Live
  • Safcor Panalpina
  • Sasol
  • SBV Services Pty Ltd
  • STATS SA
  • Super Sport
  • Transnet
  • Umgeni Water



The media interview
— be it Radio, Television or Press —
is an opportunity that is often wasted through
lack of understanding of its possibilities.

Getting it right can be worth a fortune in positive publicity.
Getting it wrong can, literally, put you out of business.

Face the Media: Foundation Workshop.

The purpose of this training is to familiarise senior executive management with the psychology and the practicalities of the media interview and to fully prepare them to make the most of their exposure.

"The entire programme was extremely beneficial!
Each aspect — from defining the needs of the journalist to maximising the interview —
has a substantial and meaningful impact on my everyday work.
An absolute invaluable foundation course for all business communicators!"
— Guy Kilfoil, Media Manager for Daimler Chrysler

The workshop covers:
  • Reaching the right audience with the right message
  • Putting your case first
  • Understanding your rights in an Interview
  • Discovering the interviewer's agenda — what do they really want?
  • Preparing and marshalling resources
  • Learning the interviewer's "tricks of the trade"
  • The dangers of the "off the record" interview
  • Becoming a "resource" rather than a "source"
  • Presenting a positive image
  • Preventing "over-speak"
  • Case studies on video

The workshop is highly interactive and requires audio and visual recording resources, provided by the trainers.

Each delegate is filmed before and after the course to enable them to measure their progress. Delegates retain their recordings for benchmarking purposes and receive comprehensive notes on all material covered in the course.

Due to the intensity of these full day training workshops and the high degree of participation required, each workshop is limited to a maximum of six delegates.

Foundation and Advanced Workshops

Public Workshops:
2010 Dates:
  • Foundation Workshop
  • Thursday, April 29th
  • Thursday, June 24th
  • Thursday, August 26th
  • Thursday, October 28th
  • Thursday, November 25th
  • Advanced Workshop
  • Thursday, March 25th
  • Thursday, May 27th
  • Thursday, July 29th
  • Thursday, September 30th
Place: The BDG training facility, Johannesburg
Price: R4 075.50 including VAT per delegate. Includes lunch, refreshments and parking.



In-house Workshops:

The BDG training facility, Johannesburg:
R20 998.80 including VAT. Includes lunch, refreshments and parking.
At the client's choice of venue:
R22 258.50 including VAT. Lunch, refreshments and parking not included.

Questions? Call 0860 92 0000 or email info@zatraining.co.za

"Of great value. Would like to go to the next level (advanced course).
An interesting, challenging and fun-filled day."
— Bruce Thorenson, Safcor Panalpina Marketing and Sales Director.

Face the Media: Advanced workshop.

The Foundation Workshop prepares the ground for the Advanced Workshop. The Advanced Course provides answers to such questions as:

  • How do you present yourself and your company to greatest effect?
  • What communication tools do journalists use? And how you can use them?
  • What is "spinning"? Is there really such a thing?
  • Can you take your agenda to the interview?
  • How do you handle the "ambush interview"?

The Advanced Course focuses specifically on the most high profile, valuable (and dangerous) medium of all — the Live Television interview.

The topics are extremely practical:

  • How to prepare and present yourself
  • Preparing for, and understanding the pressures and challenges of various types of interviews.
  • The coercive interview
  • The ambush interview
  • The hostile interview
  • Literally, how to combat the interview from hell

"Excellent! I now have no hesitation in accepting journalists invitations to be interviewed. Especially on TV!"
— Mario Fazekas, Ernst & Young Relationship Manager

In this one-day workshop, for a maximum of six delegates, your executives and communications team will learn of the dangers and pitfalls hidden among the many opportunities Television affords. Full filming resources are provided and delegates receive their recordings for benchmarking purposes as well as comprehensive notes on all material covered in the course.

Due to the intensity of these full day Training Workshops and the high degree of participation required a maximum of six delegates are accepted for each Workshop.

"The presenters' experience carries the course through.
The course is very relevant, interactive and extremely exciting."
— Tlhogi Mokhema, CSIR, Marketing and Communications

About the author / presenter:

Malcolm Russell's vast experience in broadcasting includes working with the Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation, the SABC and other top Radio & TV stations in South Africa including 5FM and Radio702. He has worked with the entire crew of SABC 2's Morning Live and is working on an on-going basis with the Carte Blanche and Super Sport presenters and production teams.

Over the past twelve years Malcolm has trained many of the broadcasters and interviewers you hear and see today and brings his wealth of experience to the "Face the Media" Foundation and Advanced workshops.

His training portfolio encompasses major communications skills, strategic crisis management and assistance, one-onone Media / Strategy mentoring and consultations with CEOs and spokespersons of large organisations. Malcolm makes professional speaking appearances at large conferences and is co-author, with Cliff Coetzee, of the book "Truth Extraction — How to read between the Lies."

ZA Group was founded with a firm commitment to making a significant, positive contribution to the economic and social wellbeing of all South Africans. We harness the power of communication to empower people and institutions to grow their businesses, generate employment and create wealth for themselves and their communities.

ZA Group (Pty) Ltd | Phone 0860 92 0000 | International calls +27 11 706 1685 | info@zagroup.co.za
Postnet Suite 84, Private Bag X75, Bryanston 2021, South Africa
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Testimonials: Face the Media Foundation Workshop

"All professionals in the communications field can benefit vastly from the workshop as it presents practical real life situations on dealing with media."
— Lesedi Dibakoane, STATS SA

"Useful, helpful, entertaining ... fun but hard work."
— Phillipe Raffray, MD of L'Oreal South Africa

"It was an excellent workshop and I learned a lot. The skills that I acquired will be used not only in interviews, but also when dealing with the general stakeholders."
— Harry Thema, STATS SA

"Great!! Extremely empowering / enabling."
— Clive Pillay, Ombudsman for Banking Services

"The course was empowering. The fact that it is practical and interactive as well as theoretical makes it a very well rounded and balanced course."
— Bonisiwe Makhene, Dept. of Justice

"Great, thanks so much. Wish I had done the training earlier!"
— Ingrid Kast, CEO for DAV Professional Placement Group

"A delightful adventure where I was taken outside my comfort zone."
— Desmond Gird, Manager of Product Trading at Sasol

"I think it was a great course and I found it to be extremely valuable. Both the theory and the practical has prepared me well for interviews."
— Gugu Moloi, CEO of Umgeni Water

"Great, gives me greater confidence to engage with the media."
— Ismail Mamoojee, Ernst & Young Partner

"Excellent. Better understanding of why the media works the way that they do. Equips us to handle media and our messages - internally and externally."
— Mike Krogh, General Manager of SBV Services Pty Ltd

Testimonials: Face the Media: Advanced workshop.

"Extremely valuable. I enjoyed the transactional analysis as it gives background to the approach of the interviewer."
— Nozipho Sithole, General Manager: Ports and Corporate Affairs, Transnet

"Within one day my understanding of the broader strokes of the Media and the psychology thereof has been enhanced."
— Michelle Garforth, Presenter on SABC2 Morning Live breakfast show

"Thank you for a very professional course! Just a pity I didn't have the opportunity to attend years ago."
— Augaustides, SA Police Area Head: Communications

"The course was an eye-opener and should be recommended for all Government communication practitioners."
— Zwelihle Memela, Communications Officer at the Commission for the Restitution of Land Rights

"Excellent ... very interactive, stimulating and highly informative. Well done."
— Tony Dixon, Executive Director at the Institute of Directors (IOD)

Strategic Marketing and Communications for Change