‘Broadcasting confidence’ media training with Cumbria Wildlife Trust

The Yellow Jigsaw team took a trip to a beautiful part of the world to deliver media training to staff from Cumbria Wildlife Trust to increase their confidence when giving broadcast interviews and creating social media video content.

The team, made up of a diverse group of park rangers, marine researchers and fundraisers (to name a few) has now been upskilled with a series of strategies to improve their delivery of key messages with the help of our media director Kirsty Day, who has over 20 years in journalism and PR.

They were also briefed on how to manage surprise questions and what to expect while working with the media.

Importantly, they were also able to get in front of the camera with our producer and journalist Jodie Smith, practising potential questions using clarity and confidence, before reviewing the footage and being given practical feedback that they will be able to take forward with them.

As part of the trust’s ongoing effort to improve engagement using social media, the group also tried their hand at planning and creating mobile-first content which can then be uploaded to Instagram and TikTok.

The aim is that they will be able to grab content while out on the job as part of a collaborative effort to capture the great projects that they work on.

At the start of the training, each one of the 15 participants was asked to write on a scale as to how confident they felt working with the media and being in front of the camera and asked the same questions at the end – with each one of them significantly moving up the scale with increased confidence.

One participant, Mandy Roberts, from Nature North, said: “I have learnt that our sector has so many interesting stories and that getting these across is vital. I loved that it was such an enthusiastic group and all were able to speak and give their opinions. I would feel much more confident in radio and TV interviews after this training.”

Another, Joshua Adams, Red Squirrel Ranger, said: “The training was very relaxed but informative, which was much appreciated. We were encouraged to think and discuss what would work for us. I feel reassured that interviews should be fun and enjoyable, not a chore.”

And Keziah, an Assistant Reserves Officer, added: “The trainers were great: friendly, patient and above all very knowledgeable. It was very helpful when they got the group to get involved and ask questions, it meant that they then understood the importance of the training and what it meant to us.”

As trainers we were rated five stars and the training content 4.5/5.

Would you or your team benefit from media training tailored to your organisation’s needs, delivered by communication professionals? Get in touch with us today.