Briefing a communications agency to conduct media training for clinical spokespeople
By Palin Communications
Being interviewed by journalists or being included in news stories as what is known in the media industry as “talent” is unfamiliar territory for the vast majority of clinicians and medical experts.
This is why appropriate training is so important for clinicians who take on public-facing media roles.
Conducting effective training with medical spokespeople ensures your campaign delivers its messages, meets its objectives and avoids wasteful distractions and lost opportunities.
But the focus of the training has to be right, and it needs to be tailored to the kinds of challenges that healthcare professionals face in translating technical or medical data into usable, bite-sized chunks of information that act to trigger action by consumers.
Most medical professionals are more familiar talking with their peers about clinical issues than they are talking to consumer audiences via the media about things that can help them. Sometimes people who are highly respected experts in their narrow area of medical specialisation struggle to translate that information into layman’s terms. Whether it is the reimbursement of a new medicine, the availability of new medical technology or the launch of a disease awareness campaign – each will present specific challenges to the medical spokespeople supporting the campaign.
That’s why it is so important to get the media training, the rehearsals, the resources and the follow-up perfectly tailored to the needs of your medical spokespeople.
Media training for clinicians is different to general media training for Company Executives
Medical professionals need a specific kind of media training to effectively support campaigns. In fact, the general term “media training” is something of a misnomer in a typical clinical setting. In almost all cases, what medical spokespeople really need is a “message rehearsal” session. This is a session specifically framed around a particular launch, news event, set of messages and regulatory environment.
In these sessions, the communications agency would work from a set of media relations objectives and key messages to help the medical spokesperson understand their role and responsibility in the process. It’s a session during which the clinicians are educated about what the media need and how news works. Then they are given opportunities to practice their messaging via simulated interviews.
In general, media training for executives is typically focused on broader issues. Medical message rehearsal sessions are more targeted on specific campaign objectives and scenarios. The success of these message rehearsal sessions is underpinned by the development of clear objectives and clear key messages. They are tailored to suit the specific needs of the medical spokesperson, taking into account their media experience and clinical expertise.
The sessions would also cover regulations regarding the role of spokespeople, what they can and can’t say, and how medical regulators define terms like “promotional” and “comparative”. This is a key part of ensuring regulatory compliance in health campaigns.
Clinical experts often benefit from message rehearsal sessions because it trains them to explain issues briefly in ways that the general public can understand. Medical specialists and researchers are more used to communicating with their peers and using academic or technical language, so all of that needs addressing in a message rehearsal session.
For example, in presenting a clinical paper at a medical conference, the speaker would set the context and begin with the background to the issues. But in doing a TV news interview, an external expert needs to capture the essence of the “take-home message” upfront as a “media grab” in around 12 to 14 seconds.
Experts are also used to using a lot of shortcuts and acronyms that their peers have used for decades, and all understand. But this jargon means nothing to journalists and the general public. Clinical spokespeople need to learn to talk simply without technical jargon so they can hit their key messages in an impactful way.
Being able to deliver key messages consistently in a media setting takes specific training, rehearsal and experience.
Message rehearsals for clinical experts versus media training company spokespeople: How they differ
Feature | Generic corporate media training | Specialised message rehearsals for clinicians |
Format | Simulate general scenarios | Rehearsals to sharpen messaging for specific campaigns |
Messaging focus | Polished corporate message | Deliver pre-agreed campaign or launch messages |
Compliance and risk | Standard reputation management | Major focus on Medicines Australia, Therapeutic Goods and Medical Device Codes. |
Issues management or educational? | Issues focus. Train to deflect from negativity | Positive educational focus: Train to deliver positive, engaging messages |
Interview style | Combative, challenging, trying to test the person | Enquiring, curious, trying to understand the news |
Overall goal of session | Increase skills to improve corporate reputation | Increase skills to feel comfortable delivering key campaign messages |
Working with your agency to set up for a successful clinical media session
There are a number of resources that underpin the success of a message rehearsal session. We’ll come to the format shortly. But first let’s look at the required resources.
Accurate information about the ability and media experience of the medical spokesperson. This is often captured via a short questionnaire or chat ahead of the session. It helps frame the objectives and allows the facilitator to decide whether to start from “scratch” or assume some experience and focus more on polishing the deliver.
Clear campaign objectives. The campaign objectives set the context for the session. The clinical spokesperson plays an agreed role in achieving campaign objectives, and it’s important for them to buy into that.
Clear key messages. Media interviews are not opportunities for a general “fireside chat” with journalists or program hosts. They are opportunities for spokespeople to convey agreed key messages. Practising the delivery of those messages is a key objective of the session.
Draft media materials: Having a set of media materials that are already drafted brings focus and clarity to the session. It helps if those materials can be edited and reframed after the session (to take on board improvements in delivery) but message rehearsal sessions are not typically used to begin the drafting of media materials. The sessions are used to give spokespeople practice in delivering the key messages in those materials.
Plausible media scenarios: There’s little point practising media interview scenarios that are unlikely to occur in real life. The task here is to predict likely media interest and frame rehearsal sessions around those. For example, if an announcement is being made primarily for GP media (Australian Doctor, Medical Republic etc) it would make little sense to practice a hostile “A Current Affair” style interview. Time is best used focusing on the most likely scenarios.
Clear regulatory guidelines. Different scenarios and launches have different regulations that impact what a media spokesperson can or can’t say. For example, prescription medicines can only be discussed directly in healthcare professional media. They can not form the direct focus of interviews in consumer-facing media. The rehearsals need to take these restrictions and regulations into account to ensure clinical spokespeople are not rehearsing responses that will infringe key medical codes or legislation.
Experienced consultants who can conduct credible simulated interviews for practice. Getting busy experts into a room or onto a remote meeting call to focus on media scenarios is never easy given their busy schedules and clinical responsibilities. That’s why you need experienced facilitators to getting the most out of that session. People who have run those sessions in a way that has delivered great performances from clinical spokespeople. That is what Palin Communications offers.
Finding the right format for your media training or message rehearsal
The best media sessions are a mix of education about media expectations and practical rehearsals or interview scenarios.
They also focus on the main people who will be doing the interviews. Too often companies feel they are getting the best value by including additional people in sessions when what they are really doing is taking rehearsal time away from the people who will be doing the bulk of the interviews.
The timing of the session needs to be close enough so the messages stay fresh but with enough lead time so that clinical spokespeople do not feel rushed. Typically one or two weeks before the campaign launch works well.
As an example, an agenda for a two-hour message rehearsal session convened a week or two before the campaign launch might be:
20 minutes | Set the context |
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20 minutes | Review existing materials |
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80 minutes | Rehearsals and practising message delivery in specific scenarios |
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The format and framing help clinical spokespeople deliver messages effectively in the context of the broader campaign objectives.
Delivering value after the training: Ongoing support and feedback for medical spokespeople
Helping clinical spokespeople get more comfortable in a media setting does not end when their interviews are done.
As in any learning situation, they get better with feedback, encouragement, tips and insights.
The key actions that come into play after a campaign include the following:
Media team listens “live” to news interviews to get the same perspective as the audience for that media outlet. Listening live without filters or expectations gives the media team a clear indication of the impact is being made in the interview.
Prompt feedback on performance soon after the interviews. Feedback is best delivered when the interview is “fresh” in the memory of the clinical spokesperson who has delivered the interview. Like all feedback on performance, it is best done in the period immediately after. This is typically framed in a constructive and helpful way.
Contact with clinical spokespeople. A lot can be gleaned from the feeling of the clinical spokesperson. How did THEY feel the interview went? Did it feel comfortable conveying key messages? Were there any questions or lines of enquiry that were not predicted? The answers to these questions have important implications for future planning and delivery of key messages.
Discuss their performance with editors and journalists. Building a positive reputation as “good talent” is the key to being invited back to media programs as an external expert. This is why it is important to ask the journalists how they felt the interviews went. Any tips for the external expert? What would make them better in the future? These questions to journalists deliver important guidance for the future media performance of the clinical spokesperson.
Incorporate message delivery as an important campaign performance indicator. An interview itself is not a sufficient performance indicator for a campaign. The question is more around what messages were delivered via that interview and what framing (positive or negative) did the story take? Message delivery as a campaign performance indicator reinforces media training and/or message rehearsal as important steps in campaign development.
The Palin Communications approach to improving the media skills of clinicians
Palin Communications has developed and implemented hundreds of health-focused PR campaigns. We’ve been doing it for 30 years, and at last count in the agency there were more than a thousand campaigns.
Many of these required training sessions with medical spokespeople.
We’ve media-trained psychiatrists to talk in the news about addiction, helped medical specialists in their delivery of messages about rare disease, and run sessions with allergists to help discuss new technologies in anaphylaxis. All of these sessions (and many more in areas like infectious diseases, shingles, oncology, respiratory and others) have contributed significantly to the success and impact of those campaigns.
We’ve run sessions about how to communicate messages when new medicines are registered and reimbursed. We’ve trained clinical spokespeople to talk in the media when medicines are knocked back for registration or reimbursement. The messages change, but the tested process is the same.
The sessions are led by senior, experienced consultants using processes that have been tested and tweaked over many years.
Our job is to turn your brief into a great session and to ensure that session contributes significantly to the success of your campaign.
Are you ready to brief your agency on a media session for your clinical spokespeople?
If you’ve got a campaign on the horizon and you’ve got clinical spokespeople in mind, it could be time to think about briefing your agency to run a media session to get them prepared.
You want to make the most of the opportunities your campaign will present, and you want to minimise the chances of any media interviews triggering regulatory issues.
So you’ll need an agency that can hit the ground running to deliver a tailored, proven session to help your clinical spokespeople nail their key messages.
That’s where the Palin Communications team comes in with its 30 years of experience in running sessions like this.
If this sounds like you, why not get in touch with Palin Communications?
Email us at hello@palin.com.au
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance of a launch should we book media training for our clinical spokespeople?
There needs to be enough notice so that clinicians do not feel rushed into their media role but it needs to be close enough to the launch for the lessons to be fresh. Somewhere in the vicinity of one or two weeks prior to the launch works well.
What information does a health PR agency need in the brief before running a media training session?
The agency needs to know the media experience of the clinical experts and the issue or launch around which the session is being convened. The rest can be worked out between the client and the agency.
How do you media train clinical experts without making them feel uncomfortable or over-coached?
Most clinical experts genuinely enjoy the opportunity to test themselves in a media setting. It is a different environment for them, they are taken out of their comfort zone ad typically they enjoy the process of learning new skills. If they understand the context, the objectives and their role in the campaign, then they rarely feel uncomfortable or come across as over-coached.
How does clinical media training account for TGA guidelines, rules around promoting Medical Technology and the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct?
Compliance is a key part of any clinical media training or message rehearsal session. Clear guidance is provided in advance of rehearsals, and any controversial phrasing or promotional tendencies are managed within the context of feedback and agreements around messaging.
What is the difference between general corporate media training and medical rehearsals for medical specialists?
Corporate media training typically focuses on the delivery of a polished company message. Message rehearsal for clinical spokespeople typically focuses on the delivery of specific messages to support a campaign or launch. The message rehearsal sessions with medical spokespeople will also have a more tightly focused regulatory framework or reference.
How do we measure whether a medical specialist is genuinely ready for live media interviews after training?
Once medical specialists start to understand what media “need”, can deliver messages under some pressure, are sensitive to the regulatory restrictions and appreciate the role of expert spokespeople in news stories, then they are approaching a point where they are ready for live media interviews.
