Media training professional rugby league players

Professionals in sport and corporations need to be highly effective in communicating via the media to stand up to scrutiny and deliver key messages strongly. Media training is a highly effective way for organisations to upskill public facing colleagues.

This week, Fortitude Communications visited professional Rugby League team London Broncos and delivered an interactive media training workshop to the first-team players. 

Objective and purpose 


The training served as a refresher for senior Broncos players and as a development tool for younger professionals. It also provided support to players who are living in the UK for the first time. 

Fortitude’s Greig Box Turnbull and Shaun Reynolds delivered a structured media training workshop that developed the players’ knowledge and understanding of all forms of internal and external media engagement. It gave the players key tools to help them communicate with credibility, clarity, confidence and consistency across all forms of media.

The training was commissioned in line with the Broncos’ commitment to continued professional development for its workforce. 

Why choose media training? 


Many organisations provide media training to colleagues to help them develop the skills required to relay messages to audiences effectively. 

It helps ensure an organisations’ reputation is protected and enhanced and colleagues make the most of media opportunities. Those in the public eye need to be effective communicating via multiple platforms. This includes external print, digital and broadcast media, club or company media, and social media. 

Jason Loubser, CEO of London Broncos, said: As a club we are committed to constantly improving and professionalising in every area. We wanted to provide our playing department with professional media training to help communicate well via the media. 

We have a duty of care to our players and felt educating them on how to engage with the media was an important investment both for their personal development and for the club’s overall reputation. 

The session with Fortitude taught players how to prepare for media interviews and how to identify opportunities and threats. Plus, how to develop a positive tone of voice and body language to deliver messages strongly. 

It included support on how to manage multiple situations and types of interviews. The session also gave the squad guidance on how to enhance supporter and sponsor engagement. 

The session was highly beneficial and provided our squad with some important skills to take forward.”

Social media


Social media platforms provide huge opportunities for businesses, charities and sports clubs to engage its audiences. 

The digestible and instant format is highly effective for sharing content fast and direct. But it also comes with pitfalls. Professional people who use social media, particularly those in the public eye, face enhanced scrutiny. This means they must be careful to post content that is appropriate and is befitting of their employer’s values. Mistakes, or errors of judgement are often seized upon and can have devastating consequences. 

Fortitude delivered detailed guidance and tips to the Broncos squad on how to manage social media, effective ways to avoid controversy and how to deal with online abuse. 

Practical sessions


To conclude the media training session, players were set a series of pre-and post-match interview scenarios which progressively got more difficult to handle. 

Within their COVID-19 support bubbles, they took turns in acting as the interviewer and the interviewee. Fortitude monitored all groups and provided professional advice and guidance during the interactive workshops. 

This included exploring the different ways a person should communicate and present themselves for different media formats such as newspaper and magazine interviews to live radio and TV

Winger Abbas Miski then joined Shaun on stage for a live’ pre-match interview ahead of the Broncos’ Betfred Championship tie against Newcastle Thunder this weekend. 

Response


James Milner, Commercial Manager at London Broncos, said: The session was outstanding and very well received by all members of the squad. It was especially beneficial to the younger players.

Many of first-team players are experienced in handling the media and being in the public eye, but also gained useful insights from the session. Fortitude engaged the whole squad via a mixture of an informative presentation, expert insights and practical tasks. 

It was a valuable experience, and we’d thoroughly recommend their service.” 

Bespoke media training 


We deliver media training in bespoke formats to suit most briefs. This includes one to one CEO and spokesperson training, through to group sessions. Plus providing experience in using broadcast equipment, how to prepare for and deliver effective media interviews, and crisis management techniques. 

Fortitude’s media training team are professionally trained and experienced journalists and corporate communications professionals. 

If you would like to discuss media training for your business or organisation, please get in touch here.

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