12 Reasons: Why Every C-Suite Leader Needs Media Training

There are many things in life that look much easier than they actually are. Driving, swimming, playing the piano or any other musical instrument (especially the wind and string ones). When you try it once, you realize how difficult it really is. Regardless of how naturally talented you are as a driver, swimmer or musician, you need to learn and be taught to hone the skill and gain mastery. It is impossible to become highly skilled at anything without practise, experience and some level of tutoring.

This applies also to the art of engaging with the media. Many people think that anyone can do communications or engage with the media but the truth is, you will never know what it is like until you are in the hot seat and the camera is in your face. And there are many examples to draw from – within Nigeria and around the world. Any speech or public appearance on camera or on microphone – that is recorded and can be playbacked for others to read, share and analyse is fair game. And if the individual involved is the face of a major brand or institution, then the stakes are very high

The essence of Media Training is to ensure that senior leaders and executives put their best foot forward whenever they need to engage in public either on a panel, on the sidelines of a conference; in a studio interview or even if ambushed unexpectedly in public.

Media Training is one of the first things that a leader should give attention in their first 100 days in a new seat.

Why do we say so?

There are several but let’s give you a dozen.

1. We live in a digital world

The world is heavily connected today online – much more than it was several decades ago. People in one part of the world can follow events in real-time on their phone from any part of the world. Conversations are borderless; sentiments and emotions can escalate within a split second. The global heart and soul is actively being digitalized and commercialized by the second online. The positive part of this is that brands and businesses can connect or find their audiences much easier than before. The other side is that you do not get many opportunities to do things right. An unfortunate mistake can cause negative impact to a personality or brand for a very long time. And unfortunately because the internet is an excellent memory archive, it will never forget what was said or done in that regrettable instance.

2. Media risk

An important aspect of media training is learning how to identify media risk. Many leaders do not understand the concept of media risk and how it can manifest in owned platforms or paid or shared platforms. Media risk can emerge in many ways. Through misinterpretation, mis-reporting, misspeaking, misinformation or just malicious intent. Media training helps leaders to understand this and put in place the necessary safeguards to secure their brand and reputation privately and publicly.

3. Respect for Messaging & A Script

Media Training teaches you to have a healthy respect for pre-approved messaging and having a script to follow when speaking publicly. Regardless of how knowledgeable you are on a topic, if speaking on behalf of a business or organization, you cannot afford to be pulling examples out of your head. Even the analogies you give or make must have been pre-crafted and de-risked to ensure they would not be perceived as offensive to any audience or are not subject to gross interpretation

4. Learn from experience of others

Media Training also provides the opportunity of learning from others. Classroom media training involves watching video recordings of good and bad interviews or public gaffes made by personalities and studying the techniques that work and do not work.

5. Media platforms provide access to the world

Media Training also helps business leaders understand that media platforms provide access to a wider world than would have been possible in one on one interactions. Understanding this enables leaders to recognize that it is useful tool. Like every sharp instrument, it takes skill and expertise to wield the power of the media and leverage on it for pursuit of desired outcomes in an ethical and sustainable manner.

6. Brand Visibility & Affinity

It is almost impossible to enhance Brand Visibility and Affinity without a proactive media strategy that involves leveraging on leadership/CEO personalities as the face of the Brand. Media Training helps leaders find their own voice and develop an authentic approach to communicating about the Corporate Brand in a way that is compelling, persuasive and enhances Brand visibility and affinity.

7. Interview Techniques

Media Training helps leaders practise interview techniques; how to maintain composure under hostile questionining; how to control your body language and facial expressions; how to use language and tone in spoken interviews. How to bridge from negative topics; How to stay on script and ensure you do not repeat negative words when responding to messaging. How to control your narrative against the most hostile adversaries if necessary. How to pass your message across in a the shortest period of time. How to communicate in soundbites that would travel well to news headlines if possible. How reduce the risk of being misquoted or taken out of context.

8. Familiarity with Do’s & Don’ts

Media Training helps leaders become familiar with the basic Dos and Don’ts of media appearances either in studio, live or recorded, panel presentation; podium speaking etc. Giving a speech standing or speaking. Practise enables each leader to experiment with different formats and understand their preferred speaking and appearance style and stick to what works best for them.

9. Best Practices

Media Training also provides an opportunity for leaders to learn the best practice approaches to media appearances in different contexts.

10. Understand how the media works

Media Training is an opportunity to share insights about how the media works. A good training session should break down the media landscape on a local and national level in the context that is relevant to the business or organization of leaders being trained. There should be mapping of the different platforms, programs

11. Avoid becoming a meme

Media Training is useful in the most unexpected scenarios. The CEO of McDonalds recently became a meme and at the receiving end of jokes across the US internet and social media because of an advert put out to introduce a new meal (product). A lot of the jokes that came from that video were avoidable and the big lesson from that is that – the fact that you are a good speaker in work context or in the boardroom or on investor calls etc does not mean that you can connect in personable and relatable way on social media. And if you had done extensive media training simulating media and social media content, a SWOT Analysis about your capabilities would have been clear. (The side note to that saga was the fact that there must have been some internal misgivings about that content but no one had the guts to point it out at the time. Again media training is a safe place to give C-suite executives feedback about their capabilities on social or traditional media)

*news screenshot in the week of March 09, 2026

12. Put your best foot forward

The purpose of Media Training is to teach you how to put your best foot forward. Even media and communications professionals need to be media trained by media specialists and experts because no matter how good you are, you can always be better. Especially if speaking on behalf of a major brand, organization or institution via a media platform, the only way to ensure that you make the best use of the opportunity is to be well prepared for it.

Sola Abulu & Associates (SA&A) is a strategy and communications training and consulting firm dedicated to enabling businesses, brands and institutions to achieve their desired objectives through strategic communications, organizational effectiveness and reputation risk management.

For media training inquiries, email us on consulting@solaabuluassociates.com