Effective media training delivered face-to-face and virtually

Without hesitation, we would recommend Saltwater Media Solutions as a professional, high level media training consultancy. Luke Waters took time to understand our business and the issues confronting it, and created a course pitched precisely at the experience level of our spokespeople. The session challenged our spokespeople, but they felt supported the entire time. It was a great opportunity to hone their skills.

Saltwater Media Solutions offers a very realistic, effective and comprehensive media training service. From ensuring the media training scenarios are authentic and relatable to our organisation – to the delivery by an experienced and successful journalist. The sessions have been extremely well received by our executives and senior management, who have improved their effectiveness and confidence in engaging with the media considerably as a result of the training. Having a real journalist create and deliver the course makes it extremely effective.

Saltwater Media Solutions has delivered a suite of professional and tailored media training courses to researchers, academics and staff from several Departments at University of Melbourne. Much of this training has been for doctors and researchers within the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. One of the most impressive aspects of the training is the supportive nature in which it is delivered. Many of the spokespeople are extremely nervous at sharing their research in the media and cutting through the complex language and ideas but Luke’s courses provide a confidence building process for them to follow. Several of our academics have now received considerable media exposure for their research and work which they didn’t think possible. I would highly recommend Luke and Saltwater Media Solutions to anyone considering getting media training in the higher education sector.

Saltwater Media Solutions Pty Ltd delivered training courses which were relevant and significantly elevated the media skills of staff and elected officials at Wellington Shire. The courses were clearly thought out, easy to understand, practical – and most importantly effective. It was clear Luke and his team had significant experience working in regional councils and this made the practical interview component authentic. I would have no hesitation in recommending Saltwater Media Solutions Pty Ltd as a training provider.

Despite having a variation of media experience and proficiency within our group, the Saltwater Media course was delivered in a manner which saw all participants improve considerably. The time taken in preparing before the course became clear as the interview workshops got underway. It encouraged us to work on the positive aspects of our media messages not just being “defensive.” I would recommend Saltwater Media as a progressive and extremely professional training provider.

The Saltwater Media training demonstrated a clear understanding of what is required when emergency management spokespeople communicate in the media. The course was dedicated specifically to incident management, effective message preparation and delivery. It was extremely authentic – the trainers clearly had a high level of experience reporting on emergencies/natural disasters, and this translated into their realistic and valuable advice. I would highly recommend Saltwater Media as a training provider in the emergency management sector.

Luke’s course was well-structured, took into consideration the complexity of our business and demonstrated how we can simplify messages for general media consumption. The course was logical and practical and provided our spokespeople with a process to follow in all media situations. Luke was extremely professional at all times throughout the planning and course delivery.

The courses were well thought out, easy to understand and extremely practical. Most of all the training was effective. Luke’s experience as a journalist ensured the sessions were extremely authentic and built confidence. The training exceeded our expectations and I would happily recommend Luke and Saltwater to any organisation looking to up skill their media spokespeople.

Luke’s highly professional approach garnered through years of practical experience enabled him to cover theory in a digestible manner and provide great insight into the interview process through the interview workshop and tips he delivered. Luke’s expertise provided a clear, simple and highly effective process for our spokespeople to follow and apply which has in turn delivered them great confidence in dealing with the media.

We were very pleased with the outcome. Not only was the training tailored to our needs, but Luke was a very knowledgable and approachable trainer. Our team gained great insight into working with media and we benefited from practical exercises. The sessions were created and delivered specifically for a regional media environment which was perfect for us.

The course was extremely well received by all who participated. The facilitators demonstrated a thorough understanding of the workings of council, the media related challenges faced by a regional community and provided clear media strategies to assist. The courses provided an appropriate balance of theory and practical interviews which gave us a process to follow and a considerable boost in confidence.

We would highly recommend the professional media training services of Saltwater Media Solutions. Luke and his team developed the confidence of our spokespeople to handle all types of media interviews. His focus on using positive messaging while responding to questions was very valuable. Saltwater Media delivered a quality training product which we would highly recommend.

We were incredibly pleased with the outcome of the media training delivered by Saltwater Media Solutions. The course provided our spokespeople with a process to follow when preparing for interviews and delivering messages in all live and pre-recorded formats.

That process reduced the fear, nerves and uncertainty many of our senior clinicians experience when participating in media interviews. The training was extremely well thought out and delivered by highly professional journalists. It is a course we would recommend highly for any organisation wanting to establish or elevate their media performance.

“Saltwater Media Solutions created and delivered media spokesperson training courses to participants from a range of Victorian emergency management services across all levels. All courses received excellent feedback – they were written specifically for the emergency management sector and were delivered by highly experienced journalists with years of success reporting in this environment. 

The courses were weighted toward practical interviews and included simulated live, multi-camera press conferences which was extremely valuable – particularly when honing skills to deliver incident management messaging. Saltwater Media was highly professional throughout the process and delivered an outstanding training service from start to finish.“

“Saltwater Media Solutions has delivered highly professional, bespoke media training programs to spokespeople across all levels of the organisation. Considerable preparation goes in to the sessions, which target spokespeople in the emergency management sector in a highly effective manner.

The sessions vary from one-on-one intensive sessions for high level spokespeople (including hostile, issues-based scenarios) to large group sessions providing an introductory or intermediate level of training depending on the experience of the people involved.

Saltwater Media training also includes a component of “Live” broadcast training including the creation of a multi-camera press conference which provides a most authentic experience. Every aspect of the training is aimed at preparing spokespeople for real media situations. The training is highly effective, and we would recommend it to any organisation considering engaging a media training consultant.”

“The media training delivered by Saltwater Media Solutions was outstanding and incredibly valuable in professional development for volunteers and staff in the emergency management sector. The sessions were highly effective in providing a clear process for developing and delivering clear messages when responding to emergency incidents. 

The training resonated with emergency management personnel as it was delivered by people who have first-hand experience working with the sector. It was incredibly authentic – workshopping realistic incidents in simulated pre-recorded and live media environments. By embracing the process suggested by Luke and his team, our spokespeople grew considerably in confidence throughout the day. Many have said it was the best professional development that they have had. We would highly recommend Saltwater Media Solutions to any emergency management organisation needing communications/media/crisis management training.”

“Saltwater Media Solutions demonstrated a thorough understanding of the relationship between the media and local government. As a consequence, the courses delivered to council executives and elected officials were extremely relevant and highly effective. The course structure, content and delivery was first class. The feedback received from participants was that they felt far more informed, empowered and confident to participate in media interviews after completing the session.”

“Transport for NSW engaged Luke Waters for media training of our executive team. Luke’s pleasant nature and warm demeanour allowed our participants to feel comfortable and engaged. The well-structured sessions enabled each participant to learn, develop and progress their media skills including key messaging. Luke was an authentic and effective trainer with one senior member of the team stating it was the best training session she had been to.”

“Saltwater Media Solutions delivered an outstanding media training course. The end-to-end service was excellent with pre-training client/provide meetings ensuring that the session was tailored to our requirements.

The balance between theory and practical interviews was well-considered and the outcome was a clear process for our spokespeople to follow when approached to participate in media interviews. Their confidence and performances have improved accordingly.”