Spokesperson Training

Master the art of

public speaking

Whether you regularly talk with the media and participate in many speaking engagements or public speaking is a new concept, spokesperson training is essential to helping you become an impactful thought leader. When done correctly, spokesperson training enhances who you naturally are by providing you with insights and communications tools that build the confidence you need to be your authentic self.

This eight-hour program can be done over the course of one day or conducted in two four-hour sessions. After you conclude the eight-hour program, we also offer brief practice sessions for clients who wish to brush up their skills prior to a crucial media interview, speaking engagement or presentation to your board or investors.

About our program

Prestidge Group offers spokesperson training as a standalone program, or it can be incorporated into any personal branding or PR package.

All full-package clients get two 30-minute (or one 60-minute) free media coaching sessions to help prepare them for interviews with journalists. These coaching sessions focus on reviewing and delivering your messages effectively but do not provide any insights on how to control an interview or respond to difficult or unexpected questions nor does it provide much time to focus on elocution and body language. As such, clients may wish to opt to add the full spokesperson training program into their branding package at a discounted rate.

WE OFFER THE FOLLOWING SERVICES:

Spokesperson training consists of one eight-hour or two four-hour live or Zoom sessions that includes:

  • What makes an effective spokesperson
  • How print/broadcast/online journalists use thought leaders to round out stories 
  • The role of key messages and refining them for your media interviews and speaking engagements
  • Bridging to take control of the media interview
  • Rhetoric techniques reporters deploy to make an interview more “controversial” or “dramatic” and how to respond to and address these techniques
  • How to modulate your voice and body language to maximize the impact of your messages
  • Taped practice sessions where our expert trainers simulate interviews and then go through your responses one-by-one to discuss what’s working and how you can improve
  • Up to four executives can be trained at the same time (usually from the same organization).

Follow up practice sessions.

  • Done via Zoom, these 30-minute sessions are for executives and other spokespersons who have been fully trained, but want to brush up their skills prior to a crucial interview, speaking engagement or presentation to your board or potential investors.

Media Coaching

  • Done via Zoom or over the phone, these one 60-minute or two 30-minute sessions review the basic rules of media engagement and how to effectively deliver key messages with a focus on what you say and how you say it.

Voice modulation and public speaking techniques.

  • This is incorporated into the spokesperson training program. However, clients struggling with performance anxiety, challenges such as stuttering, speaking too quickly or projection issues, or who would like to learn how to maximize the effectiveness of speeches, presentations or television, radio or podcast appearances may also want to sign up for a series of 2 day sessions.
  • Elocution training is one on one, once a week.

Meet our media expert

Sandi Sonnenfeld

New York

With more than 20 years of experience leading corporate communications programs and initiatives at agencies, in-house and as a consultant, Sandi Sonnenfeld has trained 150+ senior executives, political candidates, authors and other celebrities to engage effectively with reporters and assume control of any press interviews. She also counsels clients on how to maximize speaking engagements, prepare for political debates, testify before regulatory bodies, and how to develop and refine key messages. As Media Relations Director in the Seattle office of Publicis Dialog, the PR arm of Publicis Groupe, the world’s third-largest global communications agency, Sonnenfeld underwent specialized training to teach clients how to prepare and response to a crisis situation, including how to handle media interviews when you or you company is under threat. She has advised clients on numerous crises, including workplace gun violence, data security breaches, environmental accidents, corruption allegations, discrimination or sexual harassment allegations, trade secrets theft, product recalls and business disruptions due to Covid-19, extreme weather or terrorism. The winner of more than 15 awards for communications campaigns, including a PRSA Silver Anvil Award, the highest honor bestowed in U.S. public relations, Sonnenfeld holds a MFA in Fiction Writing from the University of Washington (Seattle) and a BA magna cum laude from Mount Holyoke College.

PRESTIDGE GROUP’S

PERSONAL BRANDING STRATEGY

We have been in the game for almost seven years now, branding hundreds of people across industry with our talented team of multidisciplinary team of personal branding experts, from New York, to Dubai, to Australia.

Whether you are already established, or just starting out with your personal brand, Prestidge Group can help. We have developed innovative personal branding framework over the years to help craft and build your personal brand, and use the following 6-step process to make global impact:

1

PERSONAL BRAND AUDIT
INTERVIEW

We conduct a 45-minute interview and our personal branding framework with you to understand your values, goals, and positioning. We conduct a SWOT and benchmark analysis.

PERSONAL BRANDING,
PR & SPEAKERS RELATIONS STRATEGY

Following your personal brand audit, we create your integrated personal brand strategy. We craft your vision and mission, your narrative and your ‘why’. We create a list of media platforms, events and podcasts we will pitch for you to speak on, and how we will turn you into a thought leader on social media.

2
3

Personal Brand DEVELOPMENT

 Before we begin any outreach, we elevate your personal brand on LinkedIn and other social media channels, write and position your executive profile, establish a brand look and feel, design brand assets, and create your media kit.

Content Creation

In your tone of voice, we will ghostwrite and create content for your sign-off, including articles for your LinkedIn, Medium and publications. We have a 360-degree team in house, including senior content writers , graphic designers and video editors.

4
5

SOCIAL MEDIA
MANAGEMENT

Our digital experts will align with the latest trends, so you stay relevant. We will distribute the content, manage your social media channels and build an engaged following.

BE FEATURED IN THE MEDIA, WIN AWARDS & SPEAK ON STAGES

We build credibility and manage your global outreach by proactively pitching you for media coverage, ghostwriting thought leadership for magazines, and negotiating and securing you opportunities to speak on global stages.

6

Who do we build
personal brands for?

Recognized as a top personal branding agency, Prestidge Group has a successful track record of creating and elevating personal brands for many recognized thought leaders, CEOs, High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs), and celebrities around the world.

Prestidge Group has a long-standing presence for personal branding in London, Dubai and New York, with a team of expert personal branding consultants, content writers, PR strategists and producers that specialize in a number of traditional and lifestyle sectors, including business aviation, automotive, banking, fintech, energy, healthcare, technology and digitalization.

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