Squiggle substitutes when Brett is unavailable.
We offer stupendous media training, marketing training and communications training across Australia. Most of our standard workshops are privately booked by individual organisations, peak bodies, groups of similar / partner organisations, local governments on behalf of community groups, foundations etc. We have no typical size – we’ve trained groups from 1 to 100 across Australia.
In 2012 we will also stage a series of public webinars open to anyone from anywhere. These webinars are usually more specific than the larger one day workshops. Check out our schedule and prices.
All our workshops and training is energetic, challenging and based on our direct experience consulting to hundreds of clients over 13 years. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn.
Our media and communications training clients include Amnesty International Australia, Greenpeace, Australian Conservation Foundation, Telstra Foundation, Neighbourhood Houses, AusAID, Cancer Council, Oxfam and Seeing Eye Dogs Australia. You get the drift.
Fear not; we don’t narrate a giant PowerPoint presentation. We do offer pre-workshop preparation, lots of practical examples, exercises, hefty back up notes. Here’s some things we do differently:
Media Savvy 101 includes story pitching practice in which participants telephone a journalist (played grumpily by Brett) in an attempt to persuade him to take on the story. This is more practical and more important than spending precious training time tweaking your next media release – yet it is rarely taught.
Speak Savvy 101 participants leave with a list of banned jargon and an accompanying list of mandatory facts, phrases and messages to be delivered no matter what questions are asked. We also simulate talkback radio in the class – after all its the fastest, cheapest way to gain media coverage 24 hours a day.
Online Savvy 101 classes get to grips with Twitter by “tweeting the old fashioned way” – on paper. Suddenly everyone is creating 140 character messages, receiving them from strangers, deciding what is interesting, who they will follow and who they will retweet. In 20 minutes everyone is Twitter literate and good to tweet.
Would you like a year of back up support for your staff with that?
Here’s our biggest media and communications training difference:
We understand that great workshops leave you excited but that the morning after can be a different story. What happens then?
That’s why we include 12 months of follow-up coaching and advice for all participants in our standard privately booked workshops. Participants can call us when they need help to pitch a story idea, write a headline, draft a speech, perform for an interview, choose a picture, start a relationship with a journalist, select an ambassador, market an event – whatever you need. If we covered it in your workshop, we will help.
We think that makes our one day workshop more like a year of training and support.
Who hires us and how?
We are engaged by individual organisations, peak bodies, industry associations, alliances and, increasingly, local councils which open the workshops to their local community, sporting and business groups. You may wish to include us in your training calendar. Join up with similar organisations and book a workshop – a great way to save $$$. We often present our workshops as part of conferences so consider Brett as MC / trainer at your next event.
We often team up people / organisations who can gather a together posse. Perhaps you have links to Neighbourhood Houses, Scout Troops, sporting clubs. If so; call us 03 9017 1062.
Snoop through our glowing testimonials – we won’t mind.
There are lots of trainers from which to choose but not all are created equal. Here’s why Hootville is worth considering for your media or communications training:
- we have worked with endless NGO, NFP and community groups;
- we tailor the workshops to your priorities;
- trainer Brett de Hoedt is a former journalist (New Idea, 3AK, ABC Radio Perth, Sunday Age) turned social marketer;
- we don’t just teach this stuff – we practice it daily in our consultancy;
- we supply 30-40 pages of notes after the session.
Welcome to our brain.
Finally: why do so many people who present themselves as trainers give so little of their knowledge away? Every day Hootville Communications offers free media, marketing and communications advice to its hundreds of website visitors, 2000 eNewsletter subscribers, 500 Facebook pals and 600+ Twitter followers. We think that walks our talk nicely.
Call us, we’ll talk and maybe later, we’ll train.
