Was tun Sie, wenn Ihr Team in der öffentlichen Verwaltung Schwierigkeiten hat, effektiv mit den Medien zu kommunizieren?

Not everyone can be brave and speak openly before the media. It takes guts, training or some people are just born for it. In such circumstances ,preference would be to take the team through media training such that each is fully equipped with how to respond if a situation requires them to. I would also; 1. Identify amongst the team the one responsible for handling media interviews aka spokesperson. 2. Do dry runs so the person feels comfortable 3. Have talking points (open, subject, close) 4. Always be prepared and refuse to be ambushed by the media 5. Organise an interview with a supportive journalist to kind of dive in 6. ALWAYS BE PREPARED

There are many ways to help your public administration team improve their communication with the media and effectively convey your organization's messages to the public, but I think the first step is to provide your team with media training sessions to help them understand how to communicate effectively with journalists. This training should include techniques for delivering key messages, handling difficult questions, and projecting confidence and credibility. Once media training is done, you can proceed with developing a clear communication strategy, designating a spokesperson, and encouraging your team to build relationships with key journalists and media outlets.

La gestión del relacionamiento y el vínculo corporativo en el mediano y largo plazo con líderes de opinión y medios de comunicación es un activo fundamental de las compañías y organizaciones. Y es un diferencial competitivo que se construye y se gesta todos los días sobre la agenda de medios, en el mediano y largo plazo, a través de sus departamentos de prensa, responsables de comunicación externa, asuntos públicos y áreas afines. Es fundamental que las compañías y las organizaciones establezcan, con foco estratégico, áreas de gestión especializadas en trazar estos puentes, con el claro objetivo de tener una comunicación y un vínculo eficaz, legitimado y sostenido en el tiempo.

In my experience, I have had to face this challenge myself. It stems from the fact that members are given objectives to meet, however rarely thought ways to meet the objectives in the organisation. This gap is the crux of the issue and must be dealt with appropriately. As a team manager, I’d do the following: - Access the situation - Identify the gap - Educate/Train members - Provide smaller tasks at first to help build confidence - Allocate larger assignments & assess Lastly, I strongly feel, there is no one way of doing this. Regular feedback, clear communication & supportive culture and help one overcome these issues and face challenges head-on!

It is somewhat of an oxymoron to say a communications team doesn't know how to communicate, but that happens far too often. A number of factors cause the issue including staff not having the appropriate skills, staff doing the wrong jobs and policies that hinder effective communication. A thorough and honest analysis of the operation and staff is necessary to determine the exact reasons for the failure and to begin to plan ways to solve the issue.

The communication field is ever-changing with each new technology and changes in people's needs for information. To ensure that the staff is current on both, consistent training and evaluation is necessary. Training must include learning new communication methods as well as becoming aware of societal changes that affect how information is received.

Formar y contratar profesionales. La capacitación y la especialidad en el campo de la comunicación y los medios establecen una ventaja competitiva clave respecto a empresas u organizaciones que no los tienen y no los desarrollan. Los especialistas establecen una jerarquía que distingue la gestión corporativa de la comunicación externa, por tener en sus skills la mirada estratégica y adaptación constante al cambio y desafíos que nos plantean las nuevas plataformas, junto a la capacidad de interperlar con eficiencia y efectividad al público target y cumplir los objetivos de la organización en ese campo.

One of the best professional trainings that I have had, was when I attended a class that had a media panel with different types of media there. They communicated with us about what they need, and why deadlines are critical to them, and we were able to discuss our needs as well. That interaction was very enlightening and allowed us to work better, together. I recommend doing this every couple of years as media personalities, guidelines, and outlets change constantly.

La comunicación con periodistas suele ser complicada. Por eso la mejor opción es una capacitación que cuente con la participación de varios periodistas activos en los medios de comunicación. Ellos son los únicos que pueden dar una retroalimentación más precisa de las fallas que está teniendo el equió a la hora de hacer contacto con los medios. Y, a partir de ahí, se puede trabajar en las falencias identificadas.

Policies must be in place so that all members know what is expected of them and what their responsibilities are in various situations. This is especially crucial during a crisis. Without well-defined policies, communication will remain ineffective.

Creating a protocol is important, but so is executing the protocol. If you name someone in a press release, let that person know he/she might need to be available for media questions. Reporter inquiries should go through media relations staff. But usually, the reporter wants to talk with someone else in the organization.

Most mediums today are short staffed and doing too many things with too few people. That makes having a good relationship with the media is crucial if you are to get your message across. That relationship can be as simple as inviting media members to meet with you formally or informally, but it must be done regularly. Those meetings will help ensure that when the media members either receive your communication or need to contact you, they know they can. Building trust with the media is also important during a crisis. If the media members don't trust you they won't believe what you're saying and your message will not be used appropriately.

Find an update catchy subject, write down a narrative and pick up the phone and offer an important journalist a goid matter. 😎

You can't just put out a press release. It takes time, but it's best to establish relationships with people at key outlets you care about the most. That can mean reaching out when you don't have something to pitch, just to find out the kinds of stories they look for.

What you need is that the public knows you. Being in that position to communicate with media directly is power. Send through relevant updates and news kits. Be visible

It's always important to track the effectiveness of messaging, whether in a spreadsheet or in another mechanism. Recording the sentiment will give the communications team a better way to relay how the messaging is coming across to executives. A simple classification such as positive, neutral, or negative is helpful. Then this feedback can be used to guide the communications team on next steps.

La audiencia. Un eje fundamental. Entender dónde queremos que nuestra novedad corporativa se lea, se conozca o llegue a un determinado público objetivo, a través de qué medios, plataformas o canales. Una vez hecho el anuncio, realizar el seguimiento para evaluar el nivel de amplificación e impacto que tiene la noticia. Es central poder responder las nuevas consultas de periodistas o líderes de opinión que recibe el departamento de prensa de la compañía u organización producto del interés genuino que genere la novedad y es un ejercicio muy necesario ya que permite seguir fortaleciendo su posicionamiento en la agenda de medios de nuestra novedad, aportando mayor información y detalle.

Monitoring feedback is crucial for engagement with the media and the public. If you quickly answer messages and address concerns, you will slowly gain the respect of the community. They won't always like your answers, but that is ok. Communication is the key. They will know that they can communicate with you, and you will listen.

Monitoring media coverage is vital, yet too many organizations don't bother with it. There are tools available for automating the process. However, I would not rely entirely on those tools.

Six words you don't want your staff to say are: "We always did it that way." While that may be true, and in some cases may still be effective, you must adapt to the current situation. The ability to adapt will allow you to remain effective.

From my experience it is essential to build up a connection to the people who create that media. It enables you to learn what they need while at the same time making them more aware of the messages you send and the stories you have to tell. One way to do that is to offer any service you possibly can, even if it doesn't lead to mentions.

Whether you are a seasoned communicator, or new to the profession, you will have to adapt and keep learning. Every day. Also, a key strategy is to listen to your community on what they need, and what platforms they are using for engagement.

- Understand their Niche. - Identify what’s media’s writing style, nature of topics that interest them, how they like to be treated (e.g. some enjoys chatting over diverse topics while some like to keep it straightforward to the work) - Respect their time and understand that you are not the only brand and they may have other stories to write as well - Don’t be pushy. We can always educate on our point and ask, without building any pressure, leaving room for mutual agreement. Once you crack the above, you should be able to communicate effectively

Give the media NEWS. something new they and their readers will must read. Give a good story, they will go with it. Match your writing to the target, too.

Seriously analyze if the spokespersons are the correct ones for transmitting the messages and to stablish a proper rapport with media. Not necessarily a position in the company automatically creates a good spokesperson. Training is definitely required, and during it a deep analysis can be done to determine how behaves as a spokesperson. Many times I had found that somebody could be the responsible of the area/product/process but not the correct person to transmit a message , either because do not like speaking in public, the non-verbal language do not help or simply do not want to be exposed publicly. In that cases it is better to find somebody else, otherwise the results would not be the ones expected.