Training & Coaching for You & Your Team

No one trains clients for high-stakes situations better than Hennes Paynter Communications. We can prepare your staff and media spokesperson before the media show up and teach you how to communicate with power, mastering even the toughest interview, speech or presentation.

Call us today at 216-321-7774 or email us at info@crisiscommunica-tions.com and ask us about media, spokesperson and presentation training/coaching for you, your top execs -- or anyone who might have to hold the fort down with a reporter until the appropriate spokesperson can be located.

Remember - you’ll be judged not just by how you handle a crisis, but by how you communicate in a crisis. Never again go into a media interview unprepared or go before a hostile audience uncoached.

Media Training

Very few individuals are naturally gifted when it comes to appearing on-camera or speaking before groups.  And when those situations are part of a crisis event, the stakes to perform well are even higher.

Do you know how to handle a high-pressure TV interview? Do you know where to look? What to wear? Where to put your hands? Does your staff know what to do if a reporter calls? What if a camera crew shows up unannounced in your lobby – or ambushes you in the parking lot?

More important – will you have appropriate responses to the toughest questions? Will you “manage the message” and advance the cause of your business, agency or nonprofit?

You can be certain the senior executives at virtually all of the Fortune 500 companies have been through media training where they’ve learned to deal with adversarial situations with journalists. Perhaps it’s time for you to learn this specialized set of media survival skills.

Unlike some media trainers who focus on telling war stories, our media training is centered on giving each participant on-camera experience delivering targeted messages and strategically answering difficult questions.  Typical sessions include repeat interview sessions with critiques after each to help improve performance and hone skills.  Our training is adaptable to both print and broadcast interviews and the lessons learned will apply to future interviews, as well as the situation at-hand.

No one trains clients for high-stakes situations better than Hennes Paynter Communications. We can prepare your staff and media spokesperson before the media show up and teach you how to communicate with power, mastering even the toughest interview, speech or presentation.

Attorney Training

"An attorney's duties do not begin inside the courtroom door."
                 Gentile vs. State Bar of Nevada

We can do our signature seminar - Managing the Media: Lawyers & The Press - for your bar association or in your office for the benefit of your firm's attorneys, corporate counsel and clients. A number of firms have used our seminar as an effective marketing tool to reinforce existing business relationships and prospect for new business. For more information, including a list of the nationally known firms that have retained us for this service, please call us at 216/321-7774.

Extreme Crisis Communications

 From time to time, we do a seminar on “Extreme Crisis Communications” for government officials, fire, law enforcement, health officials and other first responders.

This seminar offers leaders the tools to navigate the harsh realities of speaking to the public, media, partners and stakeholders during an intense public-safety emergency (e.g. pandemic flu, mass casualty, terrorism and other extreme situations involving threats to life and limb).

Leaders must anticipate the mental stresses the population will be experiencing and apply appropriate communication strategies to attempt to manage communications during times of extreme situations. Officials and spokespersons will gain the following understanding: the psychology of communicating in a crisis; their role as a spokesperson; working with the media during a crisis; handling press conferences and Town Hall meetings.

In this two-hour session, public officials, peace officers and safety personnel receive practical instruction about how to communicate with the public during an intense crisis.

This seminar has been approved for Continuing Professional Training (CPT) hours by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission, Office of the Ohio Attorney General.

Learning Objectives: As a result of attending this class, participants will:

• Know how to establish and maintain “control of the message”
• Understand what reporters expect and what is expected of them
• Know how to define and create Key Messages
• Understand the benefits of advance preparation for crisis situations and how to create effective communication action plans for all team members in the organization
• Gain an understanding about how to handle “extreme crisis communications” (i.e. mass casualty and other serious life/limb situations) and why communicating during these situations is different than in other crisis situations
• Gain knowledge and confidence in effectively communicating to protect the image, brand and perception of the department in the community

Managing the Message: Presentation Training

We offer spokesperson & presentation training and Cleveland media coaching, teaching spokespersons to improve their skills and daily interactions with peers, subordinates, investors, journalists and other outside parties.