Hello! Did you just land here from a CPA Academy “Use the News” webinar? These additional handouts build on some of the key points about making the most of earned media opportunities. 

 Be Heard — This white paper shows why women are a ‘secret weapon’ for winning media mentions. 

WSJ 11-20-14 Fischer copy — This Wall St. Journal feature outlines the career path of a Moss Adams staffer, since promoted to partner. The story illustrates the power of sharing personal experience in the context of professional expertise.

Annotations in this article show how the story was built: Glasshammer 2012

Media training is essential to capture the full value of earned media opportunities. Wilson-Taylor’s “Always on the Record: Media Readiness & Message Development Tools” workshop equips you to develop and deliver the right messages for the right audiences, at a moment’s notice.  Contact Joanne Cleaver at (980) 224-8781, or [email protected], to learn how this time and cost-effective program can be customized for your media goals.

Always on the Record: Media Readiness & Message Development Tools

• For those with little or limited interview experience
• Understand what journalists want, why and how to give it to them, while achieving your organizational goals for reputation and reach
• Master 3 interlocking formulas for quickly formulating the right message for the right audience, at a moment’s notice
• Learn how to navigate on-the-record interviews & practice within the training session with a journalist (under cloak of confidentiality)
• Cost-effective and efficient small group format (4 to 6 participants), 4-hour session, via Zoom or on-site.

What to say. How to say it.

You have to have a message before you can get it across. And you want to be sure that you’ll be quoted accurately, and that your message gets through to key audiences.

We help you develop and deliver messages in unscripted situations, such as media interviews, panel discussions, in social media channels and in public forums.

Your subject matter expertise, experience as a business person, volunteer, parent, and citizen, all can position you to build your personal brand and your company’s authority through media interviews.

Having a hard time breaking through to journalists? Make the most of women experts to carry your message. Women and minorities in business and technical fields are hard-to-find sources for journalists – which means that women and minorities are ‘secret weapons’ for getting journalists’ attention. Read more in our white paper,  Be Heard .

News editors need your insights and expertise.

Colleagues, industry influencers and customers (current and potential) want to hear your point of view.

The ability to handle any interview opportunity, at any time, for any medium, is an essential professional and career skill.

Be prepared to make the most of those opportunities (and to get in on them!).  Media Readiness professional development with Joanne Cleaver, former deputy business editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and national award-winning newspaper real estate editor, delivers proven message mapping techniques in a structured training session. Participants immediately gain confidence and competence.

• Wilson-Taylor’s unique methodology equips you with a proven ‘recipe’ guaranteed to help you make the most of any media interview opportunity that comes up, no matter when or where. Commonplace media training is a random collection of do’s and don’ts served up by ex-journalists relying on only each individual’s  experience. Our training is based on collective expertise.

• The Wilson-Taylor approach is structured using adult learning best practices to ensure that participants internalize techniques. Memorizing canned answers leads to one place in an interview: misquotes. You don’t want that (and neither does the journalist). Our approach ensures that journalists get what they need, and that your message is quotable.

• Our communication and media training is customized for your industry, relevant news trends, and the experience of session participants.

• Classic message mapping is great: We show you how to put it into action for any situation. Be prepared to connect with key audiences under any circumstances, as outlined in this Network Journal article showcasing Joanne Cleaver’s expertise.

• Always on the Record sessions incorporate working journalists (under a confidentiality agreement) so that participants gain confidence and skill in real-world interview settings.

• Training content can be further customized to prepare participants for upcoming interviews or to anticipate expected interviews.

• PR Newswire liked our ‘How to Choose a Media Trainer” quiz so much they featured it in their latest Media Training handbook. 

Let us help you be heard. 

“I have had media training before, but Joanne’s session was an eye-opener. It helped me reach the next level in my work with the media and think of our messaging in a completely different way.” – Beth Doyle, Director, Marketing and Communications, Council for Adult and Experiential Learning

Use the News

Don’t you just hate it when you open a news story and your competitors were quoted…and you didn’t even know about the story in time to get in on it? ‘Use the News’ helps you get in on opportunities to be quoted in stories. This 90-minute workshop may be presented pro bono to industry, nonprofit and professional groups, via virtual platform.

• Understand what news editors want from you
• Learn the ‘silver bullet’ for getting found by journalists while their stories are in process
• Create a plan for integrating your web content, marketing, and reputation development
• Designed for groups of 15 to 25
• Content customized for trends relevant to your industry
• Cost-effective chapter or professional development program

“Using Joanne’s “Use the News” advice, I decided to see what I could do to be quoted in the media. I began to reach out to reporters.  Here are two recently published articles I wanted to share with you. I was soooo excited!  Thank you, Joanne, the information you provided was priceless!” – Jackie Voit

“Thank you so much for speaking at our ASP® Educational Conference! Your presentation and topic on ways to effectively use the media was powerful and so educational, so needed and yet you made it fun as well.  I’ve received many great comments, so I’m sure you will too.  I would highly recommend you as a speaker to anyone who might ask.” – Barb Schwarz, Founder and President of The International IAHSP Association and Foundation®,  CEO,  Stagedhomes.com®

Individual Coaching for Message Preparation and Delivery

• Just-in-time preparation for high-stakes interviews

Joanne’s technique for helping executives and experts find their voice was profiled in a PR Newswire guide on media relations expertise. Here it is:  PR Newswire – Cadence & Cues: Characteristics of Communication Styles | PR NewsPR News  and this article that ran in PRNews’ annual roundup of best advice for crafting messages: Helping Experts Find Their Voices PRNews

Our Clients Say:

“Joanne gave me some very practical tools that can be used in just about any media seting. I feel much more conident about facing and interview and successfully relaying our message.”  —  Raquel DeGroot, Project Director, Council for Adult and Experiential Learning

“Joanne presented material in a way that was immediately relevant to me.”
– ‘Media Readiness’ participant, Chicago

Joanne Cleaver’s approach blends customized content with engaging presentation that ensures that participants achieve learning goals. Here’s what Judith Campbell, acting director of Canadian Women in Telecommunications, has to say about Joanne Cleaver’s “Lattice Strategies” webinar:  “We had a phenomenal response from our webinar participants to “The Career Lattice with Joanne Cleaver.” The webinar provided exactly what a lot of people are looking for – what are the new rules of career advancement.  Both in the webinar and in her book, Joanne clearly outlines and then easily breaks down the steps for making the Career Lattice effective and meaningful.  I especially like her techniques for approaching new skills and new environments.  It’s all fabulous, concrete advice… especially for women. Joanne Cleaver was fantastic to work with, and made my job much easier. I highly recommend her.”