In the New Age of Video, Are Executives Ready for Their Close-Up?

Washington, DC, February 1, 2016 (Newswire.com) - ​ In this era of 24/7 news cycles and phone cameras, knowing how to manage a video interview has never been more important.

“If you’re going to be in the public eye, we need to refine what you’re going to wear, what you’re going to say, what your strategy is,” said Oratorio Media and Presentation Training founder Susan Tomai in a recent Washington Post profile of the company. 

"So many more people are on video now than would have been even a few years ago. There is great opportunity; you also have to be careful," said Bill Connor, partner in Oratorio Media and Presentation Training.

Oratorio partner Bill Connor added “So many more people are on video now than would have been even a few years ago. There is great opportunity; you also have to be careful.”

In Oratorio’s downtown Washington television studio, Tomai and Connor teach high-profile Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, heads of Fortune 500 companies and non-profit executives how to handle Skype interviews, online presentations and TV appearances.

In their media training sessions, the team starts off asking predictable questions, and then a zinger: an uncomfortable question that might bring unflattering details to light. They watch how the clients take the bait or handle the situation well. Tomai notes body language – clenched fists, hand gestures and crossed legs - as well as weak voice inflection, poorly chosen words and other problems.

One recent example from the news: A prepared interviewee would never repeat a negative word like “buffoon,” as Donald Trump did on “The O’Reilly Factor” last week.

Bill O’Reilly said, “A lot of people, when you started to run, thought that this was a joke, that you weren’t going to get anywhere, that you were a buffoon,” to which Trump responded “I don’t think they thought I was a buffoon - what kind of statement is that?”

Interviewees can’t control what the reporter says - but they can and must control what they say, because a repeated negative can become the sound bite highlighted in the story and distract from the message. Perhaps that gaffe didn’t hurt Trump in the polls -  but repeating the word “buffoon” made him look like one.

###

Based in Washington, DC and led by award-winning broadcast journalists Susan Tomai and Bill Connor, Oratorio Media and Presentation Training serves senior-level clients from business, government, politics, associations and more.