When your organisation faces the press — a product launch, a leadership change, or a crisis — the people in front of the camera or quoted in the article shape how customers, regulators and staff see you. This media training course gives the team members who speak on your behalf the structure and practice they need to stay on message under pressure.

Course Overview

Introduction

Good first impressions create lasting relationships. Professionals in media and public relations need to master effective introductions and strong first impressions, because conclusions are often formed within the first thirty seconds of meeting. This course builds the networking, communication and media-engagement skills your team uses every day — from a quick meet-and-greet to a televised interview.

Course Content

The programme covers the following modules:

• Networking for success — effective introductions, making strong first impressions, minimising nervousness, using business cards effectively, and remembering names.
• Meet and greet — case studies, the three-step process, and the four levels of conversation.
• Dressing for success — the meaning of colours, interpreting common dress codes, and deciding what to wear.
• Business writing — writing business letters, proposals, reports and executive summaries.
• Goal setting — using the SMART framework to set communication objectives.
• Media relations — engaging across television, print and web (blogs and internet presence).
• Issues and crisis communication planning — gauging the impending crisis level, providing feedback and insight, and tracking the overall effect.
• Social media — the PR toolkit — blogs, wikis, podcasts and RSS feeds.
• Employee communications — verbal and non-verbal communication, email etiquette and negotiation.

Who Should Attend

This course is intended for those involved in media or public relations. It suits PR and communications officers, marketing and brand teams, executives and managers who may face the press, and any staff member nominated to speak on the organisation’s behalf.

Media Training for Spokespeople

A spokesperson is the human face of your brand in every interview, statement and press conference. Even strong leaders can lose control of a message when faced with a sharp question or a tight 20-second broadcast slot. Spokesperson media training turns nervous improvisation into a repeatable, confident process.

In this part of the programme, delegates learn to:

• Build and bridge to key messages — define two or three core points and return to them no matter how the question is framed.
• Stay on message under pressure — handle hostile, leading or hypothetical questions without being pulled off topic.
• Master delivery — manage tone, pace, body language and eye contact, drawing on the meet-and-greet and “dressing for success” modules so the messenger reinforces the message.
• Give a clean broadcast soundbite — speak in short, quotable sentences suited to television, radio and print.
• Prepare before every engagement — anticipate likely questions, agree on boundaries, and rehearse using case studies and real-world scenarios.

Because the course is delivered in-house, the practice scenarios can be tailored to your sector — financial services, mining, manufacturing, public sector or NGO — so your spokespeople rehearse the exact questions your industry attracts. For organisations that nominate more than one spokesperson, the 3-person and 10-person rates make it cost-effective to build a small, consistent bench of media-ready voices rather than relying on a single individual.

Crisis spokesperson readiness

Crises rarely give notice. When one hits, the gap between a calm, prepared spokesperson and an unprepared one is the difference between protecting reputation and amplifying damage. This module links the spokesperson skills above to the course’s issues and crisis communication planning content — gauging the severity of an unfolding situation, providing timely feedback to stakeholders, and tracking the overall effect of your response. Delegates practise holding statements, managing “no comment” risk, and coordinating a single message across the team so your organisation speaks with one voice.

Why Train Your Team with BOTI

• Practical, not theoretical — built around case studies and real-world application so skills transfer straight back to the desk.
• In-house convenience — training comes to your venue in any major South African city centre, with no travel cost or downtime moving staff off-site.
• Tiered pricing for teams — significant per-person savings when you train 3 or 10 delegates together.
• Part of a wider offering — BOTI runs 450 courses and trains staff for organisations including Sasol, Glencore and the City of Johannesburg.

Ready to prepare your spokespeople? Request a quote or book a free 15-minute callback to scope an in-house media training session for your team. Call BOTI on 011-882-8853 and we’ll tailor the day to your sector and group size.

How Media Training Supports Skills Development and B-BBEE

For HR and L&D buyers, a media training course is more than reputation insurance — it is a recordable staff-development activity that supports your wider skills agenda. Most employers with an annual payroll above the threshold already pay the Skills Development Levy (SDL) at 1% of payroll. Investing that money back into structured workplace learning helps you demonstrate genuine skills development rather than treating the levy as a sunk cost.

Training spend also feeds your B-BBEE scorecard. On the skills-development element, the target is 6% of the leviable amount (not 6% of payroll), and well-documented courses — with attendance registers, content outlines and delegate records — give your verification agency clear evidence of investment in your people. Because this course is delivered in-house, it is straightforward to run dedicated sessions for staff in the priority demographic groups your transformation plan prioritises.

Please treat the above as general guidance only, not legal, tax or B-BBEE advice — confirm how any spend applies to your organisation with your skills-development facilitator or verification professional. BOTI can help you scope the session and supply the supporting documentation your records and audits require.

Build a Complete Communication Skill Set

Media training works best when it sits alongside broader presentation and writing skills. Explore these related BOTI courses to round out your team’s capability:

• Communication Strategies Course — sharpen how your team plans and delivers messages internally and externally.
• Business Writing Course — strengthen the press releases, proposals and executive summaries that support media work.
• Communicative Reading and Writing Course — improve clarity and impact in written communication.
• Browse all options on the BOTI public courses page or the full media and public relations course listing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a media training course?
A media training course prepares the people who speak for your organisation to handle interviews, press questions and crisis communication with confidence. BOTI’s one-day course covers media relations, message control, crisis planning and the social-media PR toolkit.

Is the media and public relations course accredited?
No — this is a practical, facilitator-led skills programme, and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of completion (this is not an accredited qualification). It focuses on immediately usable media and PR skills rather than a SETA or QCTO credential. Need accredited training? Ask about BOTI’s QCTO/SETA-accredited programmes in related areas such as Business Administration or Office Administration.

Can the course be delivered at our offices?
Yes. The course is delivered off-site or in-house at your venue, in all major South African city centres. In-house delivery lets us tailor scenarios and spokesperson practice to your industry.

Who should attend the media training course?
It is intended for anyone involved in media or public relations — PR and communications staff, marketing and brand teams, and executives or managers nominated to speak on the organisation’s behalf.

Can you train more than one spokesperson at once?
Yes, and it is more cost-effective to do so. The 3-person and 10-person rates make it practical to build a small bench of media-ready spokespeople so your organisation is never dependent on a single individual.

Request a quote or a free 15-minute callback. Tell us your team size and sector and BOTI will scope a tailored in-house media training course — plus send you a free spokesperson interview-prep checklist to use before your next media engagement. Call 011-882-8853 or request a quote via boti.co.za.