Frequent Media Questions and Answers - Wendy Burch Communications

WHAT’S MEDIA TRAINING WORTH?
Media Training is worth its weight in gold - or shall we say - endorsement dollars. As proven every season, in every sport, an athlete doesn’t need to be the best player in the league to receive endorsement opportunities. An athlete does, however, need to be well represented in the media and liked by the fans in order to get sponsors to take notice. The way an athlete accomplishes this objective is by being media friendly, being accessible, being well spoken and being comfortable in front of the camera. Our training is designed to increase an athlete’s comfort level and improve his or her skills in responding to reporter questions. We also teach our athletes to speak in memorable soundbites and encourage them to show their personality, so they are perceived as not only great athletes, but as great communicators.

WHAT MAKES WENDY BURCH BETTER?
Unlike many other media trainers, Wendy Burch is an ‘inside’ source — currently working as a on-air broadcast professional. She possesses a comprehensive knowledge of sports and has interviewed countless athletes, coaches, agents and sports executives over the years. She also has long-standing personal relationships with current national and local sports broadcasters—all of whom, serve as valuable resources in ‘scouting’ the effectiveness of an athlete’s current communications skills. Aside from being an excellent communicator and dynamic public speaker, Wendy is knowledgeable about enhancing the marketability (and the likeability) of professional athletes. She possesses an extensive understanding of ‘image’ enhancement and she’s been proven effective in her abilities to improve speech patterns and delivery. In addition, Wendy’s training programs are designed specifically for today’s professional athletes—unlike many media trainers that simply apply corporate communication strategies to the world of sports.

WHAT TAKES PLACE IN A TYPICAL TRAINING SESSION?
Our training is fact-paced, entertaining and informative. We include videotape examples of actual media interviews showcasing successful—and not so successful—techniques. Because we have real world experience in the media and in message development, we are able to provide specific examples which demonstrate the techniques we are discussing. Participants will also receive a complete ’media guide’ that outlines the strategies they need to ‘beat the press’ at their own game. After we are gone, the client and the athlete(s) are welcome to call on us with specific issues throughout the season, or send tapes of actual interviews for complimentary review and critique.

In full day sessions, our training turns the cameras on the athletes. We believe the camera is a powerful tool which permits the athlete to see himself or herself as others actually see them. The camera often yields major surprises and advances the learning process in dramatic ways. At the end of the session, each participant receives a copy of their individual training tape.

WHAT DOESN’T TAKE PLACE?
You won't find a lot of lecturing in our workshops. We provide just a lot of simple, solid advice combined with video examples and athlete involvement. We don’t deal with theories or concepts, we deal with performance.

WHERE DOES THE TRAINING TAKE PLACE?
Our training program comes to your location, whether it’s a locker room or a conference room. All we need is a room with TV and a DVD or VCR machine.

WHAT IF MY PLAYER(S) CAN’T SPEAK ENGLIGH?
With an increasing number of foreign players finding their way into the major leagues, communicating with the media becomes twice as challenging. Wendy Burch Communications can provide a translator for her services and has a specially prepared ‘Media Guide’ for Spanish speaking athletes.

WHAT DOES MEDIA TRAINING COST?
There’s a broad range of pricing. Private Coaching goes for about $1500 for a comprehensive full-day session. A Group Seminar for up to 10-to-12 athletes typically runs about $4000 to $5000 or more for a full day. 90 minute ‘Team Meeting’ sessions are individually calculated at a fraction of the full day cost. Your fee also includes our ‘warm-up’ and ‘post-game’ practices. In the ‘warm up’ phase, we take the time to plan the sessions with the client to ensure the training program meets the special needs of the team, athlete or organization. After the training, we meet with our clients in a ‘post-game’ session to cover the highlights of the seminar. Also, throughout the coming season, your athletes can take advantage of telephone consultations with Wendy Burch if they wish to follow-up on any of the points covered in the training, or if they need help in preparing for an upcoming media interview or opportunity.

WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED IN THE FEE?
The fee does not include travel expenses to the location of the training seminar and any necessary accommodations. Travel expenses are billed to the client at our cost—or travel arrangements can be coordinated and paid directly through your team’s travel office. Also, our fee does not include meeting room rental (if the training sessions are not held on the client’s premises), nor does it include any rental costs for audio-visual equipment . Catering for all-day seminars is also the responsibility of the client.

WHAT’S MEDIA TRAINING WORTH?
We believe if an athlete wins the crowd, he or she can be awarded some of the most valuable incentives the world of professional sports has to offer. Keep in mind, a fan makes a decision about an athlete’s athletic abilities by performance on the field or in the arena — but they make a determination of what sort of a person the athlete is, entirely by how they perform in front of the press. Our training is designed to increase an athlete’s comfort level and improve his or her skills in responding to reporter questions. We also teach our athletes to speak in memorable sound bites and encourage them to show their personality—so they are perceived as not only great athletes—but as great communicators.

Media Training can also be worth its weight in gold, or shall we say, endorsement dollars. As proven every season, in every sport, an athlete doesn’t need to be the best player in the league to receive endorsement opportunities. An athlete does, however, need to be well represented in the media and liked by the fans in order to get sponsors to take notice. The way an athlete accomplishes this objective is by being media friendly, being accessible, being well spoken and being comfortable in front of the camera—all things we emphasize in our media training sessions.

CAN TRAINING GUARANTEE ENDORSEMENTS DEALS?
There are no guarantees that media training will lead to endorsement dollars, but it is nearly certain, that without it—a large majority of today’s athletes would never be considered for lucrative sponsorship deals. Corporate America has been known to select an average athlete with a great personality—over the superstar athlete who comes across as uninteresting or unintelligent. Wendy Burch Communications does not market athletes to sponsors, nor do we pitch athletes for appearances on various sports programs. We do, however, offer recommendations and will help clients prepare for specific engagements.