In this blog, Zachary Harford, Associate Director, Whiteoaks, explores:
- Why media training has an expiry date
- What audiences now expect from B2B spokespeople
- How to retrain executives to be confident, credible and inspirational across every channel
If your senior leaders last took part in media training before the pandemic, they were probably taught to do three sensible things: deliver a clear key message, stay in control when questions get tricky and keep interviews tight. Those principles are still sound. We teach them too, because message discipline and risk awareness protect accuracy and reputation.
The issue is the definition of success. If the only goal is to “get through it” with no surprises, leaders can come across as guarded or generic, even when they have something genuinely useful to say.
A new context for communication
The landscape leaders operate in has changed. Podcasts, livestreams and LinkedIn videos encourage longer, less scripted exchanges. Viewers expect leaders to think on their feet and speak naturally. Every clip can be shared, replayed and fact-checked in seconds, which means confidence now comes from how well someone handles follow-up questions, not just how neatly they deliver a headline message.
Trust is also a tougher starting point than many leaders expect. Ipsos’ Veracity Index shows only 31% of UK adults generally trust business leaders to tell the truth.
Given this level of wariness, heavily polished answers can sound like you are managing perception rather than sharing expertise.
From message delivery to real conversation
Classic media coaching often prioritised risk reduction. Repeating proof points, bridging away from uncomfortable lines of questioning and keeping answers short are valuable skills when you need to stay accurate and avoid getting dragged off topic
The missed opportunity comes when those techniques flatten the interview. For B2B tech brands, buyers are dealing with AI governance, cyber resilience and regulation. They expect senior spokespeople to offer in-depth insight and a point of view, not just safe phrasing. Employees and recruits notice it too, particularly when a leader sounds direct and thoughtful internally but formal and cautious externally.
This is where authenticity and rapport matter. Rapport comes from showing you have heard the question, recognising what is driving it and responding plainly before you return to your message. That approach still keeps you on track, yet it feels human, and it makes space for the expertise audiences are hoping to hear.
What modern media training needs to do
Media coaching now has to start with your wider B2B tech PR strategy. At Whiteoaks, we begin by clarifying what you want leaders to be known for, which audiences matter most and how interviews, podcasts and social content support Performance PR outcomes such as awareness, credibility and pipeline.
The emphasis then shifts from memorising lines to mastering conversations. Leaders still need clear messages, but they also need room to explain decisions and show how they are responding to genuine concerns.
It also helps to connect media coaching with executive visibility, because the same leaders doing interviews are usually posting on LinkedIn, appearing on panels and speaking in internal town halls. Training should help them adapt their delivery to different formats while keeping a consistent voice across earned media and owned channels.
If you want a sense of how we approach that, you can see how the Executive Visibility Programme is structured.
Where to start
The first step is a simple audit. When were your leaders last trained? Which formats are they most exposed to? And where are you seeing missed opportunities? For example, interviews that feel safe yet forgettable or podcast episodes that never quite reach the interesting insight?
From there you can build a refreshed programme that blends classic interview discipline with coaching on modern formats and social dynamics. Short, regular refresh sessions and integrated planning across PR, digital and social teams, with media performance linked to the same KPIs you use for wider campaigns, all help keep leaders sharp.
If you would like to modernise how your spokespeople perform across media, podcasts and social, take a look at our Executive Visibility Programme and integrated B2B tech PR services, or get in touch to talk about tailored media and social training that fits your leadership team.
