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Media Coaching
Media Training

If you’ve had media training before, your coach probably focused on superficial presentation, like hand gestures and eye contact, or they gave you a script to follow.

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I am not a traditional media trainer.

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I believe that dynamic public speaking is an inside job. While an exterior detail like gesturing is something to keep an eye on, obsessing about cosmetic fixes avoids the real issue, which is how do you feel about yourself and the opportunity you’ve been given to speak? Does an inner voice ever say to you: “You’re going to get nervous and freeze up.” Or “Why should anyone listen to you anyway?” That’s what I address in our work together, because it’s the best indicator of how you’ll do in an interview. The exterior things get better when the interior is calm.
 

Tracey Pepper

Here is what I do in my media coaching sessions:

 

  • DELIVER SOLID TIPS AND TECHNIQUES ON HOW TO NAVIGATE THE PRESS. What is the media looking for? I spent much of my career as a reporter and magazine editor and approach media coaching from a journalistic perspective. What makes a compelling story? Reporters often ask generic or repetitive questions. How do we work around that and deliver something quotable and truly interesting to the audience?

 

  • UNCOVER LIMITING BELIEFS THAT PREVENT CLIENTS FROM SHOWING UP AT THEIR BEST. Public speaking can be a vulnerable process. My method is holistic. I coach the person, not the problem. How do you feel about doing interviews? Does it make you anxious? Do you believe you are worthy of the opportunity? Are you bored being asked the same questions repeatedly and are you on autopilot? Where are you paralyzed by perfectionism and afraid of saying the wrong thing? Once these issues are addressed, significant transformation can occur.

 

  • LOCATE THE STORY AND SHARPEN THE MESSAGE. We research each client thoroughly before each session. We know who you are, what you’ve done, and what you’ve said to the press. I bring questions I think you will be asked and we brainstorm these answers together. I make suggestions, but you know your story and message better than anyone. You will emerge from our session prepared, but never scripted, which enables you to stay present in the moment, be more authentic, and actually enjoy the experience.

Tracey Pepper Coaching clients range from newcomers to the interview process to veterans. If you have prior media experience, I provide an assessment of your performances to date and make recommendations for ways to refine your message, be aware of your blind spots, and take your communication to the next level. 

“Tracey coached our team to be able to speak from the heart, not just recite memorized talking points.”

“Tracey is a uniquely talented and empathic coach. She effectively uses her experience as a reporter to home in on the right questions and follow-up questions to ask in practice interviews."

I have prepared clients for appearances on daytime and late-night talk shows, to speak with reporters from major print outlets, and to sit down with such on-air personalities as Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper, Howard Stern, and Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. I have coached celebrities to be judges on The Voice and The X Factor, as well as individuals instructing on the online learning platform MasterClass. I prepare clients to speak on live panels and red carpets at major events like the Oscars, the Met Gala, and the Grammy Awards. I also coach on-air hosts on how to be more skillful interviewers. 

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