Media training in Brussels
Interview & spokesperson skills when the mic is live.
Media and interview training for the Brussels landscape — tell your story, keep to your key message, and stay human under pressure.
“I heard my own answer and cut it in half.”
This is media and interview training for spokespeople in and around the EU bubble. You learn how to give an interview, hold a press conference or brief a journalist so the story is yours, the key message survives, and you still sound like a person.
The day is a rehearsal. Mock interviews, press conferences and talk-show formats, with a camera when that is the room you will face. You sit in the interviewee’s chair and in the interviewer’s. The questions include the hostile and off-topic ones your organisation actually gets. Crisis simulations live on our crisis management training when that is the brief.
Stay on message
when the mic is live.
Why this training
Why this works
Both sides of the microphone
People answer, then switch and ask. They hear how a journalist hears a briefing note read aloud.
A camera, when the room has one
Practice is filmed when the real appearance will be. The playback is the feedback.
Your actual questions
We rehearse the hostile, the off-topic and the ones that try to move you off the message.
One message, still a person
The aim is a short line you can say under pressure, with the warmth still in it.
I have sat on the other side of these interviews. A spokesperson reads the briefing note, the question was something else, and the sentence that survives is the one they did not mean to give.
I put people in the chair and ask the way a journalist asks: short, off the brief, sometimes hostile. We film it when the real room has a camera. The useful moment is hearing your own answer and noticing you left the message behind. We do it again. The warmth stays. The sentence gets shorter.
That is the training. A rehearsal of the questions your spokespeople actually get.
Outcomes
What you will learn
Knowledge
- How journalists think, and what triggers a follow-up
- What a camera does to pace and presence
Skills
- Three messages you can return to from any question
- Bridge back without sounding scripted
Attitude
- Answer the question, and still leave with your point
- Stay human under pressure
Who it's for
Best for
- EU institution and agency spokespeople
- Association and NGO communications leads
- Policy experts who suddenly face the mic
A poor fit when you need a crisis simulation. That is a different training.
Tell us the interview you are preparing for.
Enquire about media training- PracticalNot a long lecture, but bite-size theory and then practice
- CompleteKnowledge, skills and attitude, ready to use from the start
- PersonalSmall groups, your goals, your situations and feedback from peers
This training can also be done one-to-one, as private coaching.
Private coachingWe answer with dates, language and who would take the day.
Practical information
Practicalities
- Duration
- Half-day, one-day, two-day or multi-day (tailored)
- Group size
- Typically 4–12 participants; larger groups get a second trainer
- Location
- Brussels onsite, at your venue in Europe, or online / hybrid
- Indicative price
- Indicative from €1,500 / €2,500 (half / full day, one trainer, ex VAT)
Half-day, one-day, two-day or multi-day, focused on the formats your spokespeople face: interview contest, mock press conference or talk show. Onsite in Brussels, webinar or online.
FAQ
Training FAQs
Practical answers for organisers comparing training in Brussels.
How long is media training?
Half-day to multi-day. Half-day covers message and one interview format; longer programmes add press conferences, talk-show drills and more camera time.
Is this available in-house in Brussels?
Yes — Brussels onsite, your venue, or online. We bring camera practice into the room when useful.
Who trains this?
Olaf Bruns and Anna Gumbau train it. Either can take the day, and a larger group can have both.
Is this the same as crisis communication training?
No. This page is media and interview craft. Crisis simulations live on our crisis management training page when that is the brief.
Can you tailor this to an EU association?
Yes. We rehearse the questions your spokespeople actually get — including hostile or off-topic ones.
What does it cost?
Indicative from €1,500 half-day / €2,500 full day (one trainer, ex VAT).